Page 10 - North Korea

Smiling with the enemy: North Korean Olympians in hot water over selfie

Human Rights Watch has condemned the situation, urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to protect athletes from harassment and abuse

N Korea shows new drone attack as Seoul, US hold military exercises

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a demonstration of new exploding drones designed to crash into targets and pledged to spur development of such weapons to boost his military's war readiness, state media said Monday. Kim has been flaunting his growing military capabilities amid tensions with Washington and Seoul. North Korean photos of the test showed a white drone with X-shaped tails and wings supposedly crashing into and destroying a target resembling South Korea's main K-2 battle tank. Most combat drones stand off from targets and fire missiles. The test, which state media said took place Saturday, came as the U.S. and South Korean militaries are conducting a large-scale exercise aimed at enhancing their combined capabilities to defend against growing North Korean nuclear threats. The allies said the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which continue through Thursday, are focused on enhancing their readiness against North Korean threats and will also reflect lessons learned fro

US, S Korea begin military drills, N Korea says invasion rehearsal

US and South Korean troops kicked off a large-scale exercise Monday aimed at strengthening their combined defence capabilities against nuclear-armed North Korea, which again accused the allies of practicing an invasion. The annual summertime exercise comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the pace of both North Korea's weapons demonstrations and the US-South Korea combined military exercises have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat. The exercise began hours after North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement repeating the North's contention that such exercises are provocative war drills for aggression. It said the North's nuclear ambitions are thus justified, adding that it is crucial to "constantly maintain the balance of power for preventing a war by stockpiling the greatest deterrence. The United States and South Korea described their joint drills as defensive in nature and have been expanding and upgrading their training in recent years to cope with the

North Korea has flown more trash balloons towards South Korea: Seoul

North Korea recently has flown more than 2,000 balloons carrying waste toward South in retaliation toward South civilian activists flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets

Flood victims to be brought to Pyongyang for temporary care: Kim Jong

North Korea will not seek outside help to recover from floods that devastated areas near the country's border with China, leader Kim Jong Un said as he ordered officials to bring thousands of displaced residents to the capital to provide them better care. Kim said it would take about two to three months to rebuild homes and stabilise the areas affected by floods. Until then, his government plans to accommodate some 15,400 people a group that includes mothers, children, older adults and disabled soldiers at facilities in Pyongyang, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday. KCNA said Kim made the comments during a two-day trip to northwestern town of Uiju through Friday to meet flood victims and discuss recovery efforts. The agency gave Kim its typical effusive praise, saying the visit showed his sacred leadership and warm love and ennobling spirit of making devoted service for the people. State media reports said heavy rains in late July left 4,100 houses, .

Nuclear weapons would fracture US ties: South Korean defence chief

The prospect of another term for former U.S. President Donald Trump, who complained about the cost of the U.S. military presence in South Korea and launched unprecedented talks with the North

King Jong Un marks delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers

North Korea marked the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units at a ceremony where leader Kim Jong Un called for a ceaseless expansion of his military's nuclear program to counter perceived US threats, state media said Monday. Concerns about Kim's nuclear program have grown as he has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea and authorised his military to respond with preemptive nuclear strikes if it perceives the leadership as under threat. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the launchers were freshly produced by the county's munitions factories and designed to fire "tactical ballistic missiles, a term that describes systems capable of delivering lower-yield nuclear weapons. Kim said at Sunday's event in Pyongyang the new launchers would give his frontline units overwhelming firepower over South and make the operation of tactical nuclear weapons more practical and .

Russia offers disaster aid to N Korea for flood damage, hails strong bond

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered humanitarian assistance to help North Korea cope with damages from recent floods, both countries said, in another sign of expanding relations between the two nations. In a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, Putin extended deep sympathy and support and conveyed his willingness to provide immediate disaster aid to help North Korea recover from the floods, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. Russia's state news agency Tass carried a similar report, saying that Putin told Kim in the message: You can always count on our assistance and support. Ties between North Korea and Russia have been improving significantly amid widespread outside beliefs that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. During a meeting in Pyongyang in June, Kim and Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is

Recent rains in North Korea flood thousands of houses, vast farmland

The recent heavy rains in northwestern North Korea flooded thousands of houses and a vast extent of farmland and left many residents homeless and living in makeshift tents, North Korea's state media reported Wednesday. North Korea earlier said more than 5,000 people stranded in Sinuiju city and Uiju town were rescued by airlift and other evacuation work after Saturday's rains caused a river on the Chinese border to swell. But it hadn't mentioned any specific damage, or said if there were any casualties. North Korea is prone to flooding from heavy summer rains because of poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure. The official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that about 4,100 houses, 3,000 hectares (about 7,410 acres) of agricultural fields and numerous public buildings, roads and railways in Sinuiju and Uiju were flooded. It said about 150 people in nearby Jagang province had also been isolated due to a separate river flooding there, but they were all ...

Russia-N Korea defence deal 'risky for the world': Australian foreign min

Australia's foreign minister said on Tuesday the recent defence deal between North Korea and Russia was destabilising and risky for the world, after she visited the tense border village shared by North and South Korea on Tuesday. In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked, deepening worries about the expanding ties between the countries. The US and its partners have steadfastly accused North Korea of supplying much-needed conventional arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. I also want to say something about the security pact between North Korea and Russia. And say again, this is destabilising. This is risky for the world and again we say Russia is behaving in ways which are not conducive to peace but are escalatory, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters following a visit to the southern side of the Korean

Olympics: South Korean athletes introduced as North Koreans, IOC apologises

The International Olympic Committee attributed the mistake to a 'human error' and expressed deep regret over the incident

US indicts North Korean hacker for major cyberattacks, offers $10mn reward

North Korean hacker Rim Jong Hyok has been accused of orchestrating major cyber attacks on US defense, Nasa, healthcare systems, and Asian companies

South Korea seeks to lower inheritance tax in first revision since 2000

High inheritance taxes have been cited by analysts as a factor behind the "Korea discount", which refers to South Korean firms' comparatively lower valuations.

North Korea drops trash balloons near President's compound in South Korea

Since May, North Korea has dropped more than 2,000 balloons filled with wastepaper, scraps of cloth, cigarette butts, and manure on South Korea

N Korea's trash balloons fall on South Korea's presidential office compound

Yonhap news agency says North Korean trash-carrying balloons have fallen on the compound of South Korea's presidential office. Yonhap gave no further details. But other South Korean media reported the balloons have caused no damages. South Korea's military earlier said North Korea flew more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Wednesday. It said the North Korean balloons were flying north of Seoul on Wednesday morning after crossing the border. North Korea flew more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Wednesday, Seoul officials said, days after South Korea boosted its frontline broadcasts of K-pop songs and propaganda messages across the rivals' heavily armed border. The tit-for-tat Cold War-style campaigns between the Koreas are inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with the rivals threatening stronger steps and warning of grave consequences. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the North Korean balloons were flying north

N Korea to launch major tourism site in 2025 despite blocking tourists

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a major tourism site being constructed on the country's eastern coast and discussed steps to open the zone by next year, state media reported Thursday, though the country still blocks visits by most foreign tourists. The Wonsan-Kalma zone is one of Kim's most talked-about tourism projects. For years North Korea has been building luxury hotels and recreational facilities there to create a key attraction for international visitors. But the project reportedly suffered setbacks due to shortages of construction materials as a result of toughened UN sanctions and COVID-19 restrictions. Kim toured the Wonsan-Kalma zone with top deputies on Tuesday and discussed preparations for its opening by May 2025 as decided by a ruling party meeting in January, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. A coastal wonderland to be known to the world as the best tourist resort of (North Korea) would be successfully built, Kim was quoted as saying by KCN

Senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defects to South Korea

Any high-level defection can be an intelligence bonanza for South Korea, allowing it to look at the workings of North Korea's secretive government

Sister of Kim Jong hints at resuming flying trash balloons toward S Korea

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed Sunday to respond to what she called a fresh South Korean civilian leafleting campaign, signalling North Korea would soon resume flying trash-carrying balloons across the border. Since late May, North Korea has floated numerous balloons carrying waste paper, scraps of cloth, cigarette butts and even manure toward South Korea on a series of late-night launch events, saying they were a tit-for-tat action against South Korean activists scattering political leaflets via their own balloons. No hazardous materials have been found. South Korea responded by suspending a 2018 tension-reduction deal with North Korea and resumed live-fire drills at border areas. In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said that dirty leaflets and things of (the South Korean) scum were found again in border and other areas in North Korea on Sunday morning. Despite the repeated warnings of (North Korea), the (South Korean) scum are not ...

US, South Korea sign joint nuclear guidelines amid North Korean threats

The US and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, weeks after North Korea and Russia struck a defence pact that deepened concerns in the region about the North's growing nuclear threats. Meeting Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commended what they called the tremendous progress that their countries' alliance have made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Consultative Group. Last year, the US and South Korea launched the bilateral consultation body to enhance information-sharing on nuclear and strategic operations. The US will retain the control of its nuclear weapons, and the body's establishment was meant to ease South Korean worries about North Korean nuclear threats. The two leaders authorised the US-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula that was signed by their defence officials earlier Thursday, according to South Korea's ...

N Korea balloons, GPS interference raise safety risks for S Korean airspace

Hundreds of balloons landed in the South during seven waves between May 29 and June 27, including one on a runway at Incheon airport