Page 17 - North Korea

North Korea has fired several cruise missiles into sea, says South Korea

South Korea's military said Wednesday that North Korea fired several cruise missiles into waters off its western coast, as an analysis of commercial satellite images suggested that the North has torn down a huge arch in its capital that symbolized reconciliation with war-divided rival South Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week described the Pyongyang monument as an eyesore and called for its removal while declaring that the North was abandoning long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered a rewriting of the North's constitution to define the South as its most hostile foreign adversary. The launches marked North Korea's second known launch event of the year, following a Jan 14 flight test-firing of the country's first solid-fuel intermediate range ballistic missile, which reflected its efforts to advance its lineup of weapons targeting US military bases in Japan and Guam. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that the US and Sout

N Korea stresses alignment with Russia against US, hints at Putin's visit

North Korea said Sunday it has agreed to further strategic and tactical cooperation with Russia to establish a new multi-polarised international order, as the two countries work to build a united front in the face of their separate, intensifying tensions with the United States. In describing North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui's meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last week, the North's Foreign Ministry said Putin also reaffirmed his willingness to visit Pyongyang and said that could come at an early date. North Korea has been actively strengthening its ties with Russia, highlighted by leader Kim Jong Un's September visit to Russia for a summit with Putin. Kim is trying to break out of diplomatic isolation and strengthen his footing as he navigates a deepening nuclear standoff with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. In a separate statement on Sunday, the North's Foreign Ministry condemned the U.N. Security Council for calling a

Number of N Korean defectors to S Korea tripled in 2023, says Seoul

The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea nearly tripled in 2023 compared to the previous two years, including a higher number of youth and elite, CNN reported

N Korea tests underwater nuclear attack drone in response to rivals' drills

North Korea said on Friday it had tested a purported underwater nuclear attack drone in response to a combined naval exercise between South Korea and the United States and Japan this week, as it continues to blame its rivals for raising tensions in the region. The alleged drone test came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared he would scrap his country's long-standing goal of a peaceful unification with South Korea and that his country would rewrite its constitution to define South Korea as its most hostile foreign adversary. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years with Kim accelerating weapons demonstrations and threatening nuclear conflict and the US and its Asian allies responding by strengthening their combined military exercises. North Korea's alleged nuclear attack drone, which the North first tested last year, is among a broad range of weapon systems demonstrated in recent years as Kim expands his arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons. .

S Korea calls on divided UN council 'to break silence' on N Korea's threats

South Korea called on the divided U.N. Security Council on Thursday to break the silence over North Korea's escalating missile tests and threats. It's a big question, South Korea's U.N. Ambassador Hwang Joonkook told reporters after an emergency closed meeting of the council on the North's first ballistic missile test of 2024 on Sunday. South Korea is serving a two-year term on the council. The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking so far unsuccessfully to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in 2017. China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches. Since then, the two veto-wielding permanent council members have blocked any council action, including media ...

US, S Korea and Japan conduct naval drills as tensions deepen with N Korea

The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted combined naval exercises involving an American aircraft carrier in their latest show of strength against nuclear-armed North Korea, South Korea's military said on Wednesday, as the three countries' senior diplomats were to meet in Seoul to discuss the deepening standoff with Pyongyang. The training in waters off South Korea's Jeju island came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues a provocative run in weapons testing and threats that has raised regional tensions to their highest point in years. At Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament this week, Kim declared that North Korea would abandon its long-standing commitment to a peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered a rewriting of North's constitution to eliminate the idea of a shared statehood between the war-divided countries. His speech on Monday came a day after the North conducted its first ballistic test of 2024, which state-media described as a new solid-fuel ...

N Korea scraps agencies managing ties with South as Kim cites hostility

North Korea has abolished key government organisations tasked with managing relations with South Korea, state media said on Tuesday, as authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un said he would no longer pursue reconciliation with his rival. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the decision to abolish the agencies handling dialogue and cooperation with the South was made during a meeting of the country's rubber-stamp parliament on Monday. During a speech at the assembly, Kim blamed South Korea and the US for raising tensions in the region. He said it has become impossible for the North to pursue reconciliation and a peaceful reunification with the South. He called for the assembly to rewrite the North's Constitution in its next meeting to define South Korea as the North's "No 1 hostile country". Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years after Kim in recent months ramped up his weapons demonstrations. The US and its allies Seoul and Tokyo responded

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North Korean minister visits Moscow as concern grows over alleged arms deal

North Korea's foreign minister is visiting Russia on Monday for three days of talks, as international concern grows over an alleged arms cooperation deal between the two countries. A delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived in Moscow on Sunday, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. She is to meet her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. Choe is visiting at Lavrov's invitation, the ministry said. The United States and South Korea say North Korea has provided Russia with arms, including artillery and missiles, to help its fight in Ukraine. The Biden administration said it has evidence that missiles provided by North Korea to Russia have been used in Ukraine. In a joint statement last week, the U.S., South Korea and their partners said the missiles support Russia's war, while North Korea receives valuable technical and military insights in return. Koo Byoungsam, spokesperso

North Korea says it tested solid-fuel missile tipped with hypersonic weapon

North Korea on Monday said it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead as it pursues more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons designed to strike remote US targets in the region. The report by North Korea's state media came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected the launch from a site near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, in what was the North's first ballistic test of 2024. The launch came two months after North Korea said it successfully tested engines for a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, which reflected a push to advance its lineup of weapons targeting U.S. military bases in Guam and Japan. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday's launch was aimed at verifying the reliability of the missile's solid-fuel engines and the maneuverable flight capabilities of the hypersonic warhead. It described the test as a success but didn't provide flight details. KCNA did not mention ..

Tested solid-fuel missile tipped with hypersonic weapon, says North Korea

North Korea on Monday claimed it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead as it pursues more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons designed to strike remote US targets in the region. The report by North Korea's state media came a day after the South Korean and the Japanese militaries detected the launch from a site near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, in what was the North's first ballistic test of 2024. The launch came two months after North Korea said it successfully tested engines for a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, which reflected a push to advance its lineup of weapons targeting US military bases in Guam and Japan. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday's launch was aimed at verifying the reliability of the missile's solid-fuel engines and the maneuverable flight capabilities of the hypersonic warhead. It described the test as a success. KCNA did not mention whether North Korean leader Kim

North Korea fires intermediate-range ballistic missile, can reach US bases

North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, two months after the North claimed to have tested engines for a new harder-to-detect missile capable of striking distant US targets in the region. The launch was the North's first this year. Experts say North Korea could ramp up its provocative missile tests as a way to influence the results of South Korea's parliamentary elections in April and the US presidential election in November. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected the launch of a ballistic missile of an intermediate-range class from the North's capital region on Sunday afternoon. It said the missile flew about 1,000 kilometres before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launch a provocation that poses a serious threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula. It said South Korea's military will maintain its readiness t

N Korea to welcome Russian tourists, country's first since pandemic: Report

Russian tourists reportedly going on a ski trip to North Korea will be the first international travelers to visit the country since its borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown. The report, published Wednesday by the Russian state-run Tass news agency, underscores deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. It also follows the meeting last September between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in Russia's Far East. Tass did not specify a timeframe but the report brough some surprise to Asia observers who had expected the first post-pandemic tourists to North Korea to come from China, the North's biggest diplomatic ally and economic pipeline. According to Tass, an unspecified number of tourists from Russia's far eastern region of Primorye will first fly to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, where they will visit monuments such as the Tower of Juche Idea, named after the North's guiding philosophy of juche or

Japan launches an intelligence satellite to watch for N Korean missiles

Japan launched a rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite Friday on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and improve responses to natural disasters. The H2A rocket, launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, carrying the optical satellite as part of Tokyo's reconnaissance effort to rapidly buildup its military capability. The satellite can capture images even in severe weather. Japan began the intelligence-gathering satellite program after a North Korean missile flew over Japan in 1988 and it aims to set up a network of 10 satellites to spot and provide early warning for possible missile launches. Kishida's government, under its national security strategy adopted in 2022, is pushing to deploy long-range U.S.-made Tomahawk and other cruise missiles as early as next year to build up more strike capability, breaking from the country's exclusively self-defense-only postwa

S Korean Oppn leader released from hospital a week after being stabbed

South Korea's main opposition leader expressed hopes for an end of politics of hatred, as he left a hospital Wednesday about a week after he was stabbed in the neck by a knife-wielding man who approached while asking for his autograph. The suspect's motive isn't known, but he told police that he attempted to kill Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal Democratic Party. The shocking assault came as political strife was deepening in South Korea ahead of its parliamentary elections in April. Our respected and dear citizens, I feel sorry for causing concerns for you and I'd like to say thank you. Our people saved me, Lee said in front of Seoul National University Hospital, as his supporters shouted his name. Lee said he hopes the attack will serve as a chance to end politics of hatred and politics of confrontation and return to politics of mutual respect and co-existence. The attack, which happened during his visit to the southeastern city of Busan on Jan. 2, left Lee, 59, bleeding and .

Kim calls South Korea 'principal enemy' amid heightened tensions with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called South Korea our principal enemy and threatened to annihilate it if provoked, as he escalates his inflammatory, belligerent rhetoric against Seoul and the United States before their elections this year. Experts say Kim will likely further raise animosities with weapons tests to try to influence the results of South Korea's parliamentary elections in April and the U.S. presidential election in November. Kim made the remarks during inspection tours of munitions factories in North Korea this week, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday. He said North Korea's priority in its relations with Seoul "is to bolster up the military capabilities for self-defense and the nuclear war deterrent first of all, KCNA said. If South Korea dares to use his military force against North Korea and threaten its sovereignty, Kim said We will have no hesitation in annihilating (South Korea) by mobilizing all means and forces in our hands, ...

North Korea fires 90 artillery shots from western coast, alleges Seoul

North Korea conducted a new round of artillery firing drills near the disputed sea boundary with South Korea on Saturday, officials in Seoul said. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired more than 60 rounds near the western sea boundary. A day earlier, North Korea fired about 200 artillery shells near the area, prompting South Korea to conduct its own firing drills in response. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it strongly urges North Korea to halt acts that heighten tensions.

N Korea conducts military drills along sea border, S Korea to respond

South Korea says North Korea has conducted artillery drills along the rivals' tense sea boundary in violation of a 2018 military agreement. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea fired 200 rounds in the waters north of their disputed western sea boundary on Friday. South Korea called the North Korean drills a provocation, though it suffered no damage. Residents of South Korea's front-line island of Yeonpyeong say the South Korean military has asked them to evacuate because it plans to launch firing drills later Friday.

N Korea to push production of mobile launch vehicles amid tensions with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered authorities to increase production of mobile launch vehicles for missiles because the country faces a looming military showdown with its enemies, state media reported Friday, as it pushes to make its launches harder to detect. The report on Kim's order came hours after the White House said US intelligence has determined that North Korea has supplied ballistic missile launchers to Russia for its war in Ukraine. The US and its allies have previously accused North Korea of sending artillery and ammunition to Russia in return for Russian technologies to enhance its own military programmes. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited a factory that produces transport erector launchers, or TELs, without saying when he went or where the factory is. TELs are mobile launch vehicles which give North Korea the ability to move missiles around its territory, making it more difficult for its adversaries to detect launches in advance. Some South

North Korea providing Russia with ballistic missiles, says US govt

US intelligence officials have determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish supplies for its war with Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday. Recently declassified intelligence found that North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Russian forces fired at least one of those ballistic missiles into Ukraine on December 30 and it landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said. Russia launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles on Tuesday as part of an overnight attack, the impact of which the US was assessing, he said. Kirby said a Russia-Iran deal had not been completed, but that the US is concerned that Russia's negotiations to acquire close range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing. The Biden administration has repeatedly sou