Page 27 - North Korea

North Korea opens New Year with short-range ballistic missile launch

North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Sunday, entering 2023 with another weapons test after a record number of missile firings last year. South Korea's military detected the launch from the North's capital region around 2:50 a.m. Sunday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It said the missile travelled about 400 kilometers (250 miles) before falling into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launch a grave provocation that hurts peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and around the world. It said South Korea closely monitors North Korean moves in coordination with the United States and maintains a readiness to deal with any provocations. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the launch highlights the destabilising impact of North Korea's unlawful weapons programs. It said U.S. commitments to the defense of South Korea and Japan remain ironclad. North Korea test-fi

North Korea to boost nuclear warhead production 'exponentially': Kim Jong

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads exponentially and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday, signaling deepening animosities with the United States, South Korea and others. Kim's statement at a key ruling party meeting was released hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, entering 2023 with another weapons test following a record number of missile firings last year. The currently established situation calls for our country doubling down our efforts to strengthen our military power overwhelmingly to safeguard our sovereignty, safety and basic national intertest to cope with the dangerous military moves by the U.S. and other hostile forces that target us, Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA cited Kim as saying North Korea is compelled to boost the production exponentially to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons. It also

North Korea fires unspecified ballistic missile into East Sea: South Korea

North Korea fired an "unspecified ballistic missile," just hours after South Korea conducted a test flight of a solid-fuel space launch vehicle, according to Yonhap News Agency

South Korea's unannounced missile launch causes UFO scare in Seoul

South Korea's military confirmed it test-fired a solid-fuelled rocket on Friday after its unannounced launch triggered brief public scare of a suspected UFO appearance or a North Korean missile launch. The Defence Ministry said in a statement that the rocket launch was part of its efforts to build a space-based surveillance capability and bolster its defence posture. It said it didn't notify the general public of the launch in advance because it involved sensitive military security issues. A twisty tendril of vapour in white-to-red ombre could be seen snaking behind a bright white light in parts of South Korea's sky on Friday evening. South Korean social media and internet sites were abuzz with messages by citizens who said they saw a soaring object, rainbow-coloured vapour trail or other mysterious lights. Some also posted photos and videos. What is this? Is this a UFO? I'm scared, said one Twitter user. Another said they suspected it was a North Korean missile launch and worrie

North Korea's Kim Jong Un lays out key goals to boost military power

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented unspecified goals to further bolster his military power next year at a meeting of top political officials, state media reported Wednesday, in an indication he'll continue his provocative run of weapons displays. Kim's statement came as animosities with rival South Korea rose sharply this week as the South accused the North of flying drones across the rivals' border for the first time in five years. This year, North Korea already performed a record number of missile tests in what experts call an attempt to modernize its arsenal and increase its leverage in future dealings with the United States. During the Tuesday session at the ongoing plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim analyzed new security challenges in international politics and on the Korean Peninsula and clarified principles and directions to take in external relations and fights against enemies to protect national interests and sovereignty, according to the official Korea

South Korea's leader calls for stealth drones to monitor North Korea

South Korea's president on Tuesday called for a stronger air defence and high-tech stealth drones to better monitor North Korea, a day after Seoul accused North Korea of flying five drones across the rivals' tense border for the first time in five years. South Korea's military fired warning shots and scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters in response Monday, but there has been no confirmation that any of the North Korean drones were shot down. That has raised a serious question about South Korea's air defence network at a time when tensions remain high over North Korea's torrid run of missile tests this year. We have a plan to create a military drone unit tasked with monitoring key military facilities in North Korea. But we'll advance the establishment of the drone unit as soon as possible because of yesterday's incident, President Yoon Suk Yeol said during a regular Cabinet Council meeting. We'll also introduce state-of-the art stealth drones and bolster our surveillance ...

Kim Jong Un claims North Korean successes, says it faces challenges

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger effort to overcome hardships and challenges facing his country as he opened a key political meeting after carrying out a record number of missile tests this year. A plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party was convened in Pyongyang on Monday to review past projects and discuss next year's work plans, the official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday. Kim will likely use the meeting to reaffirm his resolve to expand his nuclear arsenal and introduce high-tech weapons targeting the US and South Korea while laying out projects to revive pandemic-battered public livelihoods, some experts say. In his opening comments, Kim compared hardships and challenges since a bigger party meeting in early 2021 to the ten-year struggle of the revolution. But he claimed North Korea has reported some successes in the arduous course and that his country's power has remarkably increased in political, military, economic and cultural areas. He ...

South Korea fires warning shots after drones from North cross border

South Korea says it fired warning shots after North Korean drones violated the South's airspace. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said several unmanned North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border and were detected in the South's territory on Monday. It's the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017. Monday's incident came three days after South Korea said North Korea test-launched two short-range ballistic missiles in its latest weapons tests.

N Korean hackers steal NFTs using nearly 500 phishing domains: Report

The use of "malicious Mints" which tricked the victims into thinking they are minting a real NFT by connecting their wallet to the website, was one of the strategies implemented

North Korean economy down 0.1% in 2021 amid prolonged Covid, sanctions

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the second consecutive year, following a 4.5-per cent on-year drop tallied in 2020, according to the data from Statistics Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles, says Seoul military

It added the two missiles were launched into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan

North Korea fires ballistic missiles after drills by US-South Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Friday, its latest weapons demonstration that came days after US and South Korean warplanes conducted joint drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year in what some experts call an attempt to bolster its weapons capability and pressure its rivals to make concessions such as sanctions relief in future negotiations. Recently, the North also claimed to have performed major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US mainland. South Korea's military detected the two missile launches from North Korea's capital region at around 4:32 pm on Friday. Japan said it also confirmed at least one missile launch by North Korea. It wasn't immediately clear exactly what kinds of missiles North Korea fired. South Korea's military said the missiles ...

North Korea fires ballistic missile days after US-South Korea joint drills

South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch was made on Friday but gave no further details like what type of weapon North Korea fired and how far it flew. The launch was three days after the US flew nuclear-capable bombers and advanced stealth jets near the Korean Peninsula for joint training with South Korean warplanes. North Korea typically views such military exercises by the US and South Korea as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea threatens to take strong military action against Japan

North Korea threatened Tuesday to take bold and decisive military steps against Japan as it slammed Tokyo's adoption of a national security strategy as an attempt to turn the country into an aggressive military power. The North's statement came four days after Japan announced a security strategy that reflects its determination to possess counterstrike capability and double its military spending to gain a more offensive footing against threats from China and North Korea. The North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Japan's push to acquire counterstrike capability has nothing to do with self-defense but is a clear attempt to acquire pre-emptive attack capability meant to launch strikes on other countries' territories. Japan's foolish attempt to satiate its black-hearted greed -- the building up of its military invasion capability with the pretext of a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights -- cannot be justified and tolerated, an unidentified ministry spokesperson said in

N Korea conducts 'important' test for developing reconnaissance satellite

North Korea will "finish the preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023"

North Korea launches two medium-range missiles into East Sea: South Korea

North Korea launched two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, Yonhap news agency said citing South Korean military

North Korea launches ballistic missile off east coast, says Seoul official

North Korea launched a ballistic missile Sunday off its east coast, South Korea said. South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said the launch was made on Sunday morning but gave no further details. The launch came three days after North Korea said it tested a high-thrust solid-fuel motor for a new strategic weapon, a development that could allow it to possess a more mobile, harder-to-detect arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. In recent months, North Korea has test-fired a barrage of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles including last month's launch of its developmental, longest-range, liquid-fueled Hwasong-17 ICBM designed to carry multiple warheads. Some experts say North Korea would eventually use an expanded arsenal to seek sanctions relief and other concessions from the United States.

North Korea performs key test to build more agile strategic weapons system

North Korea has tested a high-thrust solid-fuel motor as a key step toward building a new strategic weapons system, state media reported Friday, as the country pushes to develop more agile and powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the US mainland. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the successful static firing test at the country's northwest rocket launch facility on Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency said. KCNA said the test, the first of its kind in North Korea, carried strategic significance as it provided a sure sci-tech guarantee for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system. It said Kim expected the new weapon would be built in the shortest span of time. North Korea is likely referring to a solid-fuelled ICBM, which is among an array of high-tech weapons systems that Kim vowed to introduce during a major ruling Workers' Party conference early last year. Other weapons systems Kim promised to manufacture include

S Korea to hold international forum on N Korea's human rights situation

South Korea's new envoy for the North's human rights, Lee Shin-hwa, plans to serve as a moderator for the seminar

N Korea hails its Covid response as greatest achievement this year

The paper also carried an article the previous day highlighting the North's anti-virus efforts in an apparent call for loyalty to the leader