Page 31 - North Korea

North Korea launches missile toward sea after US-South Korea drills

The South Korean military said North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Sunday, the latest in the country's barrage of weapons tests in recent days. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the launch occurred early Sunday but gave no further details, including how far the weapon may have flown. The Japanese government also said North Korea fired what was a possible ballistic missile. The Japanese coast guard said it has warned ships around the country's coasts about falling objects and urged them to stay away. The launch, the North's sixth round of weapons tests in two weeks, came hours after the United States and South Korea wrapped a new round of naval drills off the Korean Peninsula's east coast. The drills involved a US aircraft carrier. North Korea's military warned Saturday that the US redeployment of the aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula is causing a considerably huge negative splash in regional security, as it defended its

India, US condemns North Korea's missile launch, calls it regional threat

India has joined the US in condemning North Korea's missile launches as a threat to the international community

US sanctions Asian firms over N.Korean fuel shipments amid missile launch

In the midst of increasingly aggressive North Korean missile launches this week, the US on Friday imposed sanctions on people and firms in Asia accused of helping North Korea procure fuel in violation of UN sanctions. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted two people and three firms from Singapore, Taiwan and the Marshall Islands. The US accused them of moving fuel through an "illicit ship-to-ship transfer" that circumvents United Nations sanctions restricting the import of petroleum products and supports the development of North Korea's weapons programmes and military. The sanctions are the first directed toward the isolated Asian country since the start of its most recent round of missile launches six rounds of tests in less than two weeks. North Korea also flew 12 warplanes near its border with South Korea on Thursday, prompting the South to scramble 30 military aircraft in response, Seoul officials said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said North Korea continu

N Korea draws up guidelines for emergency health crisis, natural disasters

North Korea has come up with new guidelines on how to cope with the country's emergency health crisis and natural disasters at a key parliamentary meeting, its state media said on Friday

US aircraft carrier, S Korea warships start new naval drills amid tensions

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan launched a new round of naval drills with South Korean warships on Friday, a day after North Korea fired more ballistic missiles and flew warplanes in an escalation of tensions with its rivals. The Reagan and its battle group returned to the waters near the Korean Peninsula after North Korea earlier this week launched a nuclear-capable missile over Japan in response to the carrier group's earlier training with South Korean navy ships. North Korea views US-South Korean military exercises as a practice to invade the country. The latest two-day drills, which also involve US and South Korean destroyers and other ships, were taking place in international waters off the peninsula's east coast. The drills are aimed at bolstering the allies' defence capabilities and will involve training to escort the Reagan southeast of South Korea's southern island of Jeju, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. We will continue to .

India, US, UK, France condemn North Korea's ballistic missile launch

India, joining the US, UK and France, has strongly condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launch which overflew Japan, with New Delhi underlining that these launches affect the peace and security of the region and beyond. The missile fired on Tuesday was the first from North Korea to fly over Japan in five years. The launch mark the 24th time this year that North Korea has conducted missile tests. We have noted with concern the reports of ballistic missile launches by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said at a UN Security Council meeting on DPRK on Wednesday. "These follow the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile by the DPRK in March this year, which was discussed in this Council, as well as other successive launches, she said. Later, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield delivered a joint statement on behalf of Albania, Brazil, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Norway, South

N Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles towards sea as US redeploys carrier

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Thursday after the United States redeployed an aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang's previous launch of a nuclear-capable missile over Japan. The latest missile launches suggest North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is determined to continue with weapons tests aimed at boosting his nuclear arsenal in defiance of international sanctions. Many experts say Kim's goal is to eventually win US recognition as a legitimate nuclear state and the lifting of those sanctions, though the international community has shown no sign of allowing that to happen. The latest missiles were launched 22 minutes apart from the North's capital region and landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The first missile flew 350 kilometers (217 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of 80 kilometers (50 miles) and the second flew 800 kilometers (497

S Korea, US fire 4 missiles into East Sea against N Korea's provocation

South Korea and the United States fired four ground-to-ground missiles into the East Sea in joint drills, a day after North Korea's intermediate-range ballistic missile launch

Joe Biden consults Japan PM Kishida after North Korea missile test

President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss their next steps after North Korea conducted its longest ever test launch by firing a nuclear-capable ballistic missile over Japan. The White House in a statement said the leaders condemned North Korea's missile test in the strongest terms, recognising the launch as a danger to the Japanese people, destabilising to the region, and a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The White House said the leaders agreed to coordinate an immediate and longer-term response together, as well as with South Korea, and with the international community. They also vowed to work to limit North Korea's ability to support its unlawful ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs." North Korea has test-fired about 40 missiles over about 20 different launch events this year as its leader, Kim Jong Un, refuses to return to nuclear diplomacy with the United States, but Tuesday's

North Korea missile flies over Japan; stopping trains, sparking panic

In response, US and South Korean warplanes practiced bombing a target in the Yellow Sea and Japan warned its citizens to take cover and suspended some train services

N Korea fires ballistic missile towards Pacific Ocean for weapon tests

North Korea on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over Japan, its neighbors said, escalating tests of weapons designed to strike key targets in regional US allies amid stalled nuclear diplomacy. The Japanese prime minister's office said at least one missile fired from North Korea flew over Japan and was believed to have landed into the Pacific Ocean. It said authorities have issued an alert to residents in northeastern regions to evacuate buildings nearby in what was reportedly the first such alert in five years. Trains were temporarily suspended in Japan's Hokkaido and Aomori regions before their operations were resumed later after a government notice that the North Korean missile appeared to have landed into the Pacific. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it also detected the launch of a ballistic missile that was fired toward the North's eastern waters. It gave no further details such as how far the weapon flew. The launch is the fifth round of weapons test by North Korean

North Korea fires missiles after Kamala Harris leaves South Korea

In a show of defiance, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, hours after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew home from a visit to South Korea during which she emphasised the ironclad U.S. commitment to the security of its Asian allies. It was the third round of missile launches by North Korea this week, extending a record pace in weapons testing as it accelerates a push to expand its arsenal and pressure Washington to accept it as a nuclear power. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean missiles were fired nine minutes apart from an area near the city of Sunchon, just north of the capital, Pyongyang, and flew toward waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It didn't immediately release more details. Japan's military said it also detected a launch. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, while Harris was in Japan, and fired one before she left Washington on Sunday. Harris earlier capped h

N Korea test launches missile on eve of Kamala Harris trip to Seoul

South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters a day before a visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched Wednesday but gave no further details. It was the second missile launched by North Korea this week. Harris is to visit the demilitarized zone separating the rival Koreas during her visit to South Korea. The launch also comes as US and South Korean navy ships are conducting drills off the Korean Peninsula's east coast.

Kamala Harris to visit DMZ on Thursday as tensions rattle region

The trip on Thursday will focus the world's attention on the vice president, who has sought to burnish both US influence -- and her own foreign policy credentials

Kamala Harris to visit demilitarized zone during her visit to South Korea

During her trip to South Korea this week, US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated the two Koreas, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced on Tuesday.

North Korea test-fired ballistic missile toward sea, says South Korea

South Korea's military says North Korea has fired at least one unidentified ballistic missile toward its eastern sea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday did not immediately say what type of missile it was or how far it flew. The launch came a day after South Korean officials said they detected signs that North Korea was preparing to test a missile designed to be fired from submarines. North Korea has dialled up its testing activities to a record pace in 2022, testing more than 30 ballistic weapons, including its first intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a prolonged stalemate in nuclear diplomacy. The launch came as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group arrived in South Korea for the two countries' joint military exercise to meant to show their strength against growing North Korean threats. The North Korean threat is also expected to be a key agenda when US Vice ...

North Korea denies US claims of sending arms to Russia amid Ukraine war

North Korea says it hasn't exported any weapons to Russia during the war in Ukraine and has no plans to do so, and said US intelligence reports of weapons transfers were an attempt to tarnish North Korea's image. In comments to state media on Thursday, an unidentified North Korean defense official told the US to stop making "reckless remarks" and to "keep its mouth shut." Biden administration officials earlier this month confirmed a declassified US intelligence assessment that Russia was in the process of purchasing arms from North Korea, including millions of artillery shells and rockets. North Korean arms exports to Russia would violate United Nations resolutions banning the country from importing or exporting weapons. The North Korean official stressed that Pyongyang has never recognized the "unlawful" UN Security Council sanctions against the country "cooked up by the US and its vassal forces." The official said the export and import of military equipment is a "lawful right ..

North Korea says it will never give up nuclear weapons to counter US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed his country will never abandon the nuclear weapons it needs to counter the United States, which he accused of pushing to weaken the North's defenses and eventually collapse his government, state media said Friday. Kim made the comments during a speech Thursday at North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, where members passed legislation governing the use of nuclear weapons, which Kim described as a step to cement the country's nuclear status and make clear such weapons will not be bargained. The law included a provision that requires North Korea's military to automatically execute nuclear strikes against enemy forces if its leadership comes under attack. Kim also criticised South Korea over its plans to expand its conventional strike capabilities and revive large-scale military exercises with the United States to counter the North's growing threats, describing them as a dangerous military action that raises tensions. Kim has made increasingly ..

South Korea proposes meeting with North on war-affected family reunions

South Korea on Thursday proposed a meeting with North Korea to resume reunions of families separated by war, despite long-strained ties between the rivals over the North's nuclear weapons programme. It's unclear if North Korea would accept the offer because it has already rejected the new South Korean government's offer to provide massive aid in return for denuclearisation. The South and the North should confront the painful parts of the reality. We must solve the matter before the term separated families' disappears, Unification Minister Kwon Youngse said in a televised briefing. We need to use all possible means immediately to come up with quick and fundamental measures. Kwon said South Korea hopes that responsible officials of the two Koreas will meet in person as soon as possible for a candid discussion. Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended, the two Koreas have been banning millions of people who found themselves suddenly divided from visiting each other's territory across the .

North Korea calls US' human rights abuse accusations 'grave provocation'

In July, a US State Department spokesperson expressed concerns over the North's rights situation following Seoul's appointment of a new envoy for Pyongyang's human rights