Page 20 - North Korea

North Korea would pay 'price' if it supplies weapons to Russia: US official

In a briefing on Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States believes the negotiations between North Korea and Russia are "actively advancing"

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.

Yoon to call for strong int'l response to N Korea's nukes at ASEAN, G20

South Korea's president says he'll tell world leaders about the need to faithfully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea and block the country's illicit activities to fund its weapons programmes when they converge in Indonesia and India for annual summits this week. President Yoon Suk Yeol is to visit Jakarta for four days starting Tuesday to attend a series of summits scheduled on the margins of a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders. On Friday, he'll travel on to New Delhi for a summit of the leading rich and developing nations. At the upcoming ASEAN-related Summits and the G20 Summit, I intend to urge the international community to resolutely respond to North Korea's ever-escalating missile provocations and nuclear threats and to work closely together on its denuclearization, Yoon said in written responses to questions from The Associated Press. As long as the U.N. Security Council sanctions currently in place are faithfully implemented, North Korea's

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North Korea conducts simulated "tactical nuclear attack" drill on Saturday

North Korea on Sunday announced that it carried out a simulated "tactical nuclear attack" drill on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported citing the state news agency KCNA

N Korea fires missiles into sea after US-South Korean military drills end

North Korea launched several cruise missiles into the sea Saturday, South Korea's military said, extending its weapons testing activities in response to the United States-South Korea summer military drills. South Korea's military detected the launches early Saturday morning off the North's west coast, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The statement said South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launches. It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a firm military readiness in close coordination with the United States. The launches came two days after the US and South Korean militaries wrapped up their 11-day training exercises that North Korea regards as a rehearsal for invasion. Washington and Seoul officials maintain their drills are defensive. A day before the US-South Korean training ended, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in a launch it said was meant to simulate .

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 ...

North Korea launches ballistic missiles toward sea after US flies bombers

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday night, its neighbours said, hours after the US flew long-range bombers for drills with its allies in a show of force against the North. The launches, the latest in the North's barrage of weapons tests since last year, came amid ongoing annual US-South Korean military exercises that North Korea regards as a rehearsal for invasion. There were no reports of damages caused by Wednesday's launches. But observers say North Korea likely aimed to demonstrate again it has missiles capable of striking key targets in South Korea in protest at its rivals' military exercises. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the North Korean missiles both travelled about 360 kilometres before landing in the waters of the Korean Peninsula's east coast. It said the missiles were launched from the North's capital region. The Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launches a grave provocation that threatens ...

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

North Korea to allow citizens abroad to return home as Covid curbs ease

North Korea said Sunday it will allow its citizens staying abroad to return home in line with easing pandemic situations worldwide, as the country slowly eases its draconian coronavirus restrictions. In a brief statement carried by state media, the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters said those returning to North Korea will be put in quarantine for a week for proper medical observation. The statement didn't elaborate. But analysts predicted the announcement would lead to the return of North Korean students, workers and others who have had to stay abroad, mostly in China and Russia, because of the pandemic. The workers are a key source of foreign income for the country. North Korea banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely curtailed border traffic and trade after the pandemic began. The lockdown has further worsened the North's chronic economic difficulties and food insecurity. Earlier this month, South Korea's spy agency said North Korea was preparing to furth

N Korea's 2nd attempt to launch spy satellite fails, vows third attempt

North Korea said its second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed Thursday and it will make a third attempt in October, the country's state media reported. The North's state news agency said Thursday's launch ended in a failure because of an error that happened during a three-stage flight of the rocket. It cited the country's aerospace agency as saying that North Korea will conduct a third attempt in October after finding what caused a failure. The announcement followed a statement by South Korea's military that North Korea had launched a long-range rocket. In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un's push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had since vowed to make a second attempt.

North Korea signals reopening with first passenger flight in three years

Cargo train and ship traffic has slowly increased over the past year, but North Korea has only just begun to allow some international passenger travel

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 may launch spy satellite in coming days after earlier failure

North Korea told Japan on Tuesday it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, possibly a second try to put a military spy satellite into orbit three months after its first effort failed, Japanese officials said. In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un's push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had vowed to make a second attempt after studying what went wrong with the first launch. Japan's coast guard said North Korean authorities notified it about a plan to launch a satellite from Aug. 24 and the end of Aug. 30. Coast guard spokesperson Hiromune Kikuchi said that the notice didn't specify what type of satellite North Korea intends to launch but that he believes it possibly refers to one similar to the spy satellite in the May launch. The North Korean notice mentioned three maritime zones that could be affected b

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 .

N Korea preparing ICBM tests, spy satellite launch: S Korean spy agency

North Korea is preparing its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit as well as tests of long-range missiles to mark a key national anniversary and protest efforts by the United States to strengthen its regional alliances, South Korea's intelligence service told lawmakers Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been expected to conduct weapons tests in response to major US-South Korean military drills that begin next week and a trilateral US-South Korea-Japan summit at Camp David in the United States this Friday. The National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that North Korea may try to launch a spy satellite in late August or early September ahead of the country's 75th anniversary on September 9, according to Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing. The NIS said North Korea has been testing an engine for the rocket to be used for the satellite launch and has installed an additional land antenna to receive satellite data

Travis King wants refuge from mistreatment, racism in US Army: North Korea

A private in the US Army, King dashed into the North while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas

N Korea denounces US plans for open UNSC meet on its human rights record

North Korea on Tuesday denounced US-led plans for an open Security Council meeting on its human rights record as despicable and only aimed at achieving Washington's geopolitical ambitions. Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong called the United States a declining power and said if the council dealt with any country's human rights, the US should be the first as it is the anti-people empire of evils, totally depraved due to all sorts of social evils. The United States, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, scheduled the meeting on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name, for Thursday. It will be the first open council meeting on the DPRK rights issue since 2017. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters last week that UN human rights chief Volker Trk and Elizabeth Salmon, the UN's independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, would brief council members. The Security Council