Page 21 - North Korea

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

Top Russian official pitched N Korea on increasing sale of munitions: WH

The White House on Thursday said US intelligence officials have determined that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke last week to North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang about increasing the sale of munitions to Moscow for its war in Ukraine. Shoigu made the pitch during his visit to North Korea for events marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, according to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched Shoigu to lead the Russian delegation for the commemoration. The Biden administration says Shoigu's pitch to tighten cooperation with North Korea underscored that the Kremlin has become reliant on the country, 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 programs and human rights records. This is yet another example of how desperate Mr. Putin

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

Any nuclear attack will result in end of N Korean regime, warns S Korea

Seoul's warning has come after Pyongyang had said the deployment of a US nuclear-capable submarine and other strategic assets here could meet the conditions for its use of nuclear arms

N Korea fires cruise missiles, stays mum on US soldier who crossed border

North Korea fired several cruise missiles toward its western sea Saturday, South Korea's military said, marking the second launch event this week apparently in protest of the docking of a nuclear-armed US submarine in South Korea. While adding to its barrage of missile launches in recent months, North Korea remained publicly silent for a fifth day on the fate of an American soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border this week. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were detected beginning around 4 am but did not immediately report how many missiles were fired or how far they flew. It said the US and South Korean militaries were closely analysing the launches. On Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. They flew about 550 kilometers (341 miles) before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. The flight distance of those missiles roughly matched the distance between .

Japanese, US, and South Korean officials condemn North's weapons plans

Senior officials from Japan, the US and South Korea condemned North Korea over its recent ICBM-class ballistic missile launches and vowed to step up their trilateral cooperation to strengthen deterrence and sanctions against the North, while stressing the need for dialogue with Pyongyang. Their meeting Thursday in the central Japanese city of Karuizawa comes days after North Korea's solid-fuel ICBM launch last week, which landed in the water off the western coast of Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido and one day after the launch of two missiles on Wednesday. The US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, also said that the United States was working hard to gather information about an American soldier who fled to the North earlier this month. The US was seeking to ensure his safety and return him home, Kim said. Pvt Travis King, 23, had been held in South Korea on assault charges and was released on July 10 after serving his time. He was taken to the airport Monday bu

No word from North Korea on US soldier who dashed across military border

US officials said Pyongyang has not responded to communication from the American military about the soldier, Private Travis T. King

N Korea silent on apparent detention of US soldier who crossed border

North Korea was silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas' heavily fortified border although it test-fired short-range missiles Wednesday in its latest weapons display. Nearly a day after the soldier bolted into North Korea during a tour in the border village of Panmunjom, there was no word on the fate of Private 2nd Class Travis King, the first known American detained in the North in nearly five years. The North's missile launches Wednesday morning were seen as a protest of the deployment of a US nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea the previous day and weren't likely related to King's border crossing. It's likely that North Korea will use the soldier for propaganda purposes in the short term and then as a bargaining chip in the mid-to-long term, said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea. King, 23, was a cavalry scout with the 1st Armoured Division who had served nearly two months in a South Korean

US soldier flees into North Korea in new crisis over nuclear-armed state

The U.S. Army identified the soldier as Private Travis T. King who joined up in 2021 and was facing disciplinary action

N Korea fires 2 missiles into sea as US docks nuclear submarine in S Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States deploys a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that from 3.30 to 3.46 am North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near capital Pyongyang that flew about 550 kilometers before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. Those flight details were similar to the assessment of the Japanese military, which said the missiles landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone and that there were no immediate reports of damage from ships or aircraft in affected areas. The flight distance of the North Korean missiles roughly matched the distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean port city of Busan, where the USS Kentucky arrived Tuesday afternoon in the first visit by a US nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea since the ...

US national detained in North Korea after accidentally crossing border

The national detained is thought to be an American soldier who was on an orientation tour of the joint security area between North and South Korea

S Korea-US consulting group meets in response to North Korea's threats

A bilateral consulting group of South Korean and US officials met Tuesday in Seoul to discuss strengthening their nations' deterrence capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. The Nuclear Consultative Group was established as part of agreements Presidents Joe Biden and Yoon Suk Yeol made when they met in April. Seoul officials say the body is tasked with sharing information on nuclear and strategic weapons operation plans and discussing joint operations. The US would retain operational control of US nuclear weapons, and Washington officials say the group's establishment and other steps announced in April were meant to ease South Korean worries about North Korean provocations while keeping Seoul from pursuing its own nuclear program. The group's inaugural meeting will serve as an important starting point to establish powerful, effective Korea-US extended deterrence, Yoon said during a televised Cabinet Council meeting, referring to a US security commitment to use .

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 ...

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North Korea launches ballistic missile toward its eastern waters: S Korea

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Wednesday, its neighbors said, two days after the North threatened "shocking" consequences to protest what it called a provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch was made on Wednesday morning but gave no further details such as how far the weapon flew. Japan's Defense Ministry said it also detected a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea. The launch, the North's first weapons firing in about a month, came after North Korea earlier this week released a series of statements accusing the United States of flying a military plane close to North Korea to spy on the North. The United States and South Korea dismissed the North's accusations and urged it to refrain from any acts or rhetoric that raises animosities. In a statement Monday night, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean sister Kim Jong Un, claimed that the U.S. spy plan

S Korea pushes for action against North's nuclear ambitions at Nato summit

South Korea's president says it's time to clearly demonstrate strong international resolve to deter North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and plans to discuss how to cope with the North's expanding weapons arsenal with NATO leaders this week. Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the annual NATO summit being held this year in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a two-nation trip that includes a stop in Poland. "Now is the time to clearly demonstrate that the international community's determination to deter North Korea's nuclear weapons program is stronger than North Korea's desire to develop nuclear weapons," he said. It's the second consecutive year that Yoon will take part in the summit, underscoring his push to deepen ties with the world's biggest military alliance. South Korea faces a mix of security challenges, including North Korea's nuclear program and the U.S.-China strategic rivalry. Last year, he became the first South Korean leader to attend a NATO summit when he took

US flies nuclear-capable bombers in a fresh show of force against N Korea

The United States flew nuclear-capable bombers to the Korean Peninsula on Friday in its latest show of force against North Korea, days after the North staged massive anti-US rallies in its capital. The long-range B-52 bombers took part in joint aerial drills with other US and South Korean fighter jets over the peninsula, South Korea's Defence Ministry said in a statement. The bombers' flyover is the latest in a series of temporary US deployments of strategic assets in South Korea in response to North Korea's push to expand its nuclear arsenal. Two weeks ago, the US deployed a nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying about 150 Tomahawk missiles to South Korean waters for the first time in six years. The USS Michigan's arrival came a day after North Korea resumed missile tests to protest previous US-South Korean drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The South Korean Defence Ministry said the B-52 bombers' deployment boosted the visibility of US strategic assets to the