Page 9 - Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un may meet with Putin in Russia this month, says US official

A US official said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia soon to meet with President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin tries to acquire military equipment for use in its war in Ukraine. The official, who was not authorised to address the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. expects Kim will make the trip within the month. The official said the U.S. isn't sure exactly where or when the meeting would take place, but the Pacific port city of Vladivostok would be a likely possibility given its relative proximity to North Korea. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson noted Monday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang last month and tried to persuade North Korea to sell artillery ammunition to Russia. Watson said, We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia. She added that the U.S.

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N Korea says it simulated nuclear attacks on major command centers S Korea

North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated scorched earth nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it's also been rehearsing an occupation of its rivals' territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them in potential wars with South Korea and the US. But the North's disclosure of detailed war plans reaffirmed its aggressive nuclear doctrine to intimidate its opponents, as it escalates its protest of the ongoing South Korean-US military exercises that it views as a major security threat, observers say. North Korea's military said it fired two tactical ballistic missiles from the capital on Wednesday night to simulate scorched earth strikes at major command centers and operational airfields in South Korea, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The North's military said the missiles carried out their simulated strikes through air bursts, suggesting it confirmed the ...

Putin, Kim traded letters as Russia looks for munitions from N Korea: US

The White House on Wednesday said that it has new intelligence that shows Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have swapped letters as Russia looks to North Korea for munitions for the Ukraine war. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby detailed the latest finding just weeks after the White House said that it had determined that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during a recent visit to Pyongyang called on North Korean officials to increase the sale of munitions to Moscow for its war in Ukraine. Kirby said that Russia is looking for additional artillery shells and other basic materiel to shore up Russia's defence industrial base. The Biden administration has repeatedly made the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on North Korea, as well as Iran, for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine. North Korea and Iran are largely isolated on the international stage for their nuclear programmes and human rights records.

Kim Jong Un asks his military to be ready to smash US-led invasion plot

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military to be constantly ready for combat to thwart plots to invade his country, as he accused the US of conducting "more frantic" naval drills with its allies near North Korea, state media reported Tuesday. The US and South Korean militaries are holding joint summer exercises that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. The allies have insisted the drills are defensive in nature. Kim said in a speech marking the country's Navy Day that falls on Monday that the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been made unstable "with the danger of a nuclear war" because of US-led hostilities, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He cited a recent US-South Korean-Japanese summit, the deployment of US nuclear strategic assets and the US drills with its allies. "The prevailing situation requires our navy to put all its efforts into rounding off the war readiness to maintain the constant combat alertness and get prepared to break

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North Korea plans to launch satellite within week between Aug 24-31: Japan

On May 31, Pyongyang attempted to put into orbit what it claimed was a military spy satellite but was unsuccessful

N Korea watches cruise missile launches as US, S Korean troops begin drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a navy ship, state media reported Monday, as the U.S. and South Korean militaries kicked off major annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. The North's report on missile tests came three days after the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan agreed to expand their security and economic ties at a summit in the United States. During an inspection visit of a navy flotilla on the eastern coast, Kim boarded a patrol boat to review its weapons and preparations for combat. He later watched its seamen conducting a drill of launching strategic cruise missiles, the official Korean Central News Agency said. KCNA didn't say when the missile launches happened, and a state media photo showed Kim watching the launch of a missile from another place, not on the patrol boat. KCNA's use of the word strategic in reference to the tested weapons implied they were developed to carry nuclea

North Korea increasing repression as people are reportedly starving: UN

North Korea is increasing its repression of human rights and people are becoming more desperate and reportedly starving in parts of the country as the economic situation worsens, the UN rights chief said Thursday. Volker Turk told the first open meeting of the U.N. Security Council since 2017 on North Korean human rights that in the past its people have endured periods of severe economic difficulty and repression, but currently they appear to be suffering both. According to our information, people are becoming increasingly desperate as informal markets and other coping mechanisms are dismantled, while their fear of state surveillance, arrest, interrogation and detention has increased, he said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il closed the borders of his northeast Asian nation to contain COVID-19. But as the pandemic has waned, Turk said the government's restrictions have grown even more extensive, with guards authorized to shoot any unauthorized person approaching the border and with .

North Korean leader slams 'irresponsible' officials as typhoon hits country

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lashed out at "irresponsible" officials for failing to prevent damage from typhoon Khanun that swept through the Korean peninsula last week

Kim Jong Un orders increased missile production ahead of US-S Korea drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made another inspection tour of major munitions factories and ordered a drastic increase in production of missiles and other weapons, state media said Monday, days before South Korea and the US begin annual military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. Kim's push to produce more weapons also comes as US officials believe Russia's defence minister recently talked with North Korea about selling more weapons to Russia for its war with Ukraine. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited factories producing tactical missiles, mobile launch platforms, armoured vehicles and artillery shells on Friday and Saturday. During a stop at the missile factory, Kim set a goal to drastically boost production capacity so the facility can mass produce missiles to meet the needs of frontline military units, KCNA said. The qualitative level of war preparations depends on the development of the munitions industry and the factory bears a very importa

Kim Jong tours weapons factories, vows to boost war readiness amid tensions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the country's key weapons factories, including those producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military's arms and war readiness, state media said Sunday. Kim's three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to cope with the growing North Korean threat. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Korea's missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle. Some experts say Kim's tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches o

North Korea's Kim shares center stage with Russian, Chinese delegates

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared center stage with senior delegates from Russia and China as he rolled out his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, marking a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States. State media said Friday Kim attended Thursday evening's parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over the city's main square. The streets and stands were packed with tens of thousands of mobilized spectators, who roared in approval as waves of goose-stepping soldiers, tanks and huge, intercontinental ballistic missiles wheeled out on launcher trucks filled up the main road. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the parade also featured ceremonial flights of newly developed surveillance and attack drones, which were first unveiled by state media this week as they reported on an arms exhibition attended by Ki

Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defence minister on military cooperation

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media said Thursday as the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu talked Wednesday in the capital, Pyongyang, and reached a consensus on unspecified matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment. The report did not specify what was discussed. KCNA also said Kim took Shoigu to an arms exhibition that showcased some of North Korea's newest weapons and briefed him on national plans to expand the country's military capabilities. Photos from the exhibition showed Kim gesturing while talking to Shoigu as they walked near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks. In a rare case of diplomatic opening since the start

Kim Jong Un vows to boost nuke capability after observing new ICBM launch

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further bolster his country's nuclear fighting capabilities as he supervised the country's second test-flight of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the mainland U.S., state media reported Thursday. Kim's statement suggests North Korea would ramp up weapons testing activities to expand its arsenals in response to recent U.S. steps to enhance its security commitment to ally South Korea. "The present unstable situation in which the security environment on the Korean peninsula is being seriously threatened by the hostile forces every moment," Kim said, according to state media. "(That) requires more intense efforts to implement the line of bolstering nuclear war deterrent." The Korean Central News Agency disclosed Kim's comments, after confirming the North conducted a successful launch of the Hwasong-18 ICBM on Wednesday. The launch was first reported by its neighbours soon after its liftoff. The Hwasong-18 is a ...

Chandrababu Naidu calls Jagan the brother of North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Jagan has till now ruled the State by simply threatening the people and the public is no longer ready to bear it, Chandrababu alleged

N Korea's Kim Jong-un touts leadership of China's Xi in b'day greetings

Kim also said he is pleased to see Xi's achievements and wished him more success in his "important and responsible work" in leading China

Kim Jong-un voices willingness to build stronger strategic ties with Russia

Kim said the Russian people's struggle to counter hostile forces' move to deprive Moscow of its sovereignty and security has entered a "new decisive phase"

North Korean leader's sister vows 2nd attempt to launch spy satellite

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the North's first, failed launch. The North's attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsula's western coast. An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was still convened at the request of the U.S., Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. On Sunday, Kim's sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.N. council a political appendage of the United States, saying its recent meeting was convened following America's gangster-like request. She accused the U.N. council of being discriminative and rude because it only takes issue with the North's satellite launches while ...

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