Page 2 - North Korea

South Korea has asked Trump to be 'peacemaker' with North Korea: FM Hyun

South Korea's president has asked President Donald Trump to become a peacemaker and use his leadership to get North Korea to talks to reduce military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the South's top diplomat said Friday. Trump welcomed the request from President Lee Jae-myung and he expressed his willingness to be engaged with North Korea again, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in an interview with The Associated Press. There was no immediate word from the White House. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met three times as North Korea was building a nuclear weapons stockpile, which Kim views as key to the country's security and his continued rule of the northeast Asian country. There were two summits in Singapore in June 2018, and in Vietnam in February 2019, where Trump and Kim disagreed about US-led sanctions against the North. A third meeting that year at the border between the two Koreas failed to salvage their nuclear talks -- and Kim has since shunned any diplomacy with t

Kim Jong Un recalls good memories with Trump, urges US to drop nuke terms

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he still has good memories of US President Donald Trump and urged Washington to drop its demand the North surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy. Speaking to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, Kim stressed that he has no intention of ever resuming dialogue with rival South Korea, a key U.S. ally that helped broker Kim's previous summits with Trump during the American president's first term, according to a speech published by state media on Monday. Kim suspended virtually all cooperation with the South following the collapse of his second summit with Trump in 2019 over disagreements about US-led sanctions against the North. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have worsened in recent years as Kim has accelerated his weapons buildup and aligned with Russia over the war in Ukraine. Kim's comments came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung prepares to depart for New York to attend the United Nations Genera

Kim Jong Un calls AI-powered drone development top military priority

Kim inspected weapons, surveillance vehicles and multipurpose drones at North Korea's Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex

North Korean hackers used ChatGPT to help forge deepfake military ID

The group responsible for the attack, which researchers have dubbed Kimsuky, is a suspected North Korea-sponsored cyber-espionage unit previously linked to other spying efforts against South Korea

US, South Korea, Japan launch joint air, naval drills in show of strength

The United States, South Korea and Japan opened an air and naval exercise off a South Korean island Monday in their latest joint drill condemned by North Korea as a "reckless show of strength." The exercise called Freedom Edge is aimed at strengthening the countries' combined operational capabilities in the sea, air and cyberspace and is necessary to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's defence ministry said. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the exercise will include US Marine and Air Force aerial assets and feature enhanced ballistic-missile and air-defence drills, medical evacuations and maritime operations training, making it "the most advanced demonstration of trilateral defense cooperation to date." The exercise off South Korea's southern Jeju Island runs through Friday. The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier condemned the drills in state media, saying they show the countries' confrontational stance toward the ...

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversees test of new rocket engine for ICBMs

North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of a new rocket engine designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the latest step in his effort to build an arsenal that poses a viable threat to the continental United States. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Monday's event marked the ninth and final ground test of the solid-fuel rocket engine built with carbon fibre and capable of producing 1,971 kilonewtons of thrust, more powerful than past models. The report came a week after Kim visited the research institute that developed the engine, which North Korea then said will be used for future ICBMs, including a system called Hwasong-20. North Korea in recent years has flight-tested a variety of ICBMs that demonstrated potential range to reach the US mainland, including those with built-in solid propellants that are easier to move and conceal and can be prepared for launch more quickly than the North's previous liquid-fuel missiles. Kim h

China's Xi, North Korea's Kim pledge deeper ties during meeting in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged mutual support and enhanced cooperation during talks in Beijing after a commemoration of the end of World War II, the countries' state media said. Xi and Kim, along with top officials from their countries, met at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, a day after Kim attended a Chinese military parade alongside other foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim is making a rare trip outside North Korea. Xi highlighted the traditional friendship between China and North Korea and pledged to consolidate and boost relations, according to a readout of their statements published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday. This position will not change regardless of how the international situation evolves, Xi told Kim, according to CCTV. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said on Friday that the leaders discussed increasing high-level visits and contacts as well as strengthening ..

Kim Jong Un in Beijing: What history says about China-North Korea ties

Beijing remains Pyongyang's closest ally, with their allegiances dating back to their joint action during the Korean War in the early 1950s, but relations have been fraught with mistrust, too

Xi, Putin discuss 'immortality' at China's biggest military parade

Putin said development of biotechnology has helped transplant human organs vigorously helping people stay young and even achieve immortality

Xi says world faces choice between 'peace or war' as Trump cries conspiracy

China stages its largest military parade to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in attendance

China's Xi hosts 'old friend' Putin, North Korea's Kim in challenge to West

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing by train on Tuesday to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, an event that observers say could potentially demonstrate three-way unity against the United States. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who will join China's President Xi Jinping at Wednesday's massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China's fight against Japan's wartime aggressions. It's set to be Kim's first time attending a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule, and the first time Kim, Xi and Putin, all key challengers of the US, have gathered at the same venue. None of the three countries have confirmed a private trilateral leaders' meeting. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim was greeted at Beijing railway station by senior Chinese officials. Kim was cited as saying he was pleased to visit China and ...

Kim Jong Un crosses into China by train to attend parade with Xi, Putin

The train is expected to arrive in Beijing later in the day, Yonhap said, citing the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, the North's state-run radio service

Kim Jong Un's China trip signals shifting dynamics in nuclear diplomacy

For Kim, the visit will mark his debut on a multilateral diplomatic stage since taking power 14 years ago, showing his confidence backed by the partnership with Russia and his growing nuclear arsenal

Xi hosts Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar at Beijing military parade

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who rarely travels abroad, will also attend, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday

Kim Jong Un to attend Xi's military parade in Beijing alongside Putin

The parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two is a major event on the political calendar for Chinese President Xi

Trump wants to meet North Korea's Kim this year, raises issues with South

Since Trump's January inauguration, Kim has ignored Trump's repeated calls to revive the direct diplomacy he pursued during his 2017-2021 term in office

North Korea accuses South of 'serious provocation' over warning shots

North Korea accused South Korea of a serious provocation Saturday after South Korean troops fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers setting up barriers along their tense border. Ko Jong Chol, vice chief of the North Korean People's Army's General Staff, noted that Tuesday's warning shots coincided with the South Korea-US summertime military drills and accused Seoul of deliberately trying to raise tensions. Shortly after Ko's statement, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed it had fired warning shots Tuesday afternoon at North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line in the central border region while carrying out unspecified construction work. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In recent months, South Korea's military has occasionally used loudspeaker warnings and fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers crossing the military demarcation ...

North Korea's Kim slams US-South Korea military drills, vows nuke buildup

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned South Korean-U.S. military drills and vowed a rapid expansion of his nuclear forces to counter rivals, state media said Tuesday, as he inspected his most advanced warship being fitted with nuclear-capable systems. Kim's visit to the western port of Nampo on Monday came as the South Korean and U.S. militaries kicked off their annual large-scale summertime exercise to bolster readiness against growing North Korean threats. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, which the allies describe as defensive, will mobilize 21,000 troops, including 18,000 South Koreans, for computer-simulated command post operations and field training. North Korea has long denounced the allies' joint drills as invasion rehearsals and Kim has often used them to justify his own military displays and testing activities aimed at expanding his nuclear weapons program. The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war, divided by the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea and .

South Korea, US launch annual military drills against North Korean threats

South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to any provocation against its territory. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, after another set in March, will involve 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training. The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies' exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear programme. In a statement last week, North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies' stance of military confrontation with the North and declared that

S Korea's President vows to restore 2018 inter-Korean military agreement

South Korea's new liberal president, Lee Jae Myung, said Friday he will seek to restore a 2018 military agreement with North Korea aimed at reducing border tensions and urged Pyongyang to respond to Seoul's efforts to rebuild trust and revive dialogue. Speaking on the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee's overture came amid soaring tensions fuelled by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear ambitions and deepening ties with Russia over the war in Ukraine. The 2018 military agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between Kim and South Korea's former liberal President Moon Jae-in, created buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes. South Korea's previous conservative government suspended the deal in 2024, citing tensions over North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons toward the South, and moved to resume frontline military activities and propaganda campaigns. The step came after North Korea