North Korea fires projectile, S. Korea on high alert

North Korea fired a projectile at about 6:32 a.m., South Korea’s military said Wednesday. The projectile, which the North claims is a space launch vehicle, was launched in the southwesterly direction, setting off warnings across regions in the South, including Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol called an emergency National Security Council meeting. The North had earlier announced that a space launch vehicle carrying a military satellite will be launched between May 31 and June 11. At about 6:5

May 31, 2023

N. Korea plans satellite launch as S. Korea aims for deterrence

North Korea said Tuesday its military would launch its first-ever reconnaissance satellite in June to monitor in real time "hostile military activities" led by the US, amid a doubling down on joint military drills by South Korea and the US. In a statement by the North’s state media Korean Central News Agency, Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, said “careless military movements by Washington and Seoul&

May 30, 2023

N. Korean satellite launch would violate UN sanctions: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- Any satellite launch by North Korea would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit long-range missile tests by Pyongyang, a state department spokesperson said Monday in a prebuttal of the North's planned satellite launch. North Korea has notified the Japanese government of its plan to launch a space launch vehicle between May 31 and June 11, according to earlier reports. "Any DPRK launch that uses ballistic missile technology, which would include

May 30, 2023

N. Korea open to high-level talks with Japan if Tokyo unshackled by past: vice FM

North Korea's vice foreign minister said Pyongyang is willing to hold high-level talks with Tokyo if Japan shows a change of stance on pending issues, such as the abduction of Japanese citizens by the North, the country's state media reported Monday. The statement by the North's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Sang-gil, carried by its Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently expressed his wish to initiate high-level talks with Pyongyan

May 29, 2023

S. Korea slams N. Korea's planned satellite launch, warns of consequences

South Korea on Monday "strongly warned" against North Korea's plan to launch a satellite in the coming weeks, vowing to make Pyongyang pay "due prices" if it goes ahead with the launch. "We strongly warn against North Korea's announcement of provocative actions that threaten regional peace and urge them to immediately withdraw their illegal launch plan," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson of Seoul's foreign ministry, said in a statement. Lim warned the North will be made to

May 29, 2023

N. Korea notifies Japan of plan to launch satellite between May 31-June 11: Kyodo

North Korea has notified Japan of its plan to launch a satellite between May 31 and June 11, a Japanese media report said Monday, as the secretive regime is preparing to put its first military spy satellite into orbit. The North notified the Japanese government of its plan to establish a maritime danger zone during the cited period, Japan's Kyodo News reported. North Korea also informed the International Maritime Organization of its plan for the satellite launch, according to Japanese broadcaste

May 29, 2023

N. Korea to hold plenary meeting of ruling party in early June

North Korea has decided to convene a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in early June to discuss economic projects implemented in the first half and other policy issues, state media reported Monday. The political bureau of the WPK decided to hold the eighth plenary meeting of the party's eighth central committee, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not disclose the date of the upcoming meeting. The plenary meeting will be held to review "the impl

May 29, 2023

Dead body of suspected N. Korean found on western island coast

Military officials discovered the dead body of a suspected North Korean man in a coastal area of a western island last week, intelligence officials said Saturday. They found the body, presumed to be of a North Korean civilian, last Friday on Ganghwa Island, 50 kilometers west of Seoul, prompting a joint investigation by the National Intelligence Service, the military and other related agencies, according to the officials. Authorities have also discovered items suspected to be drugs with the body

May 27, 2023

US has credible deterrence against N. Korea, seeks to institutionalize trilateral cooperation with S. Korea, Japan: officials

WASHINGTON -- The United States maintains ready and capable deterrence against North Korea's evolving threats together with its key allies South Korea and Japan, ranking US officials said Thursday. They also said the US seeks to institutionalize trilateral defense cooperation between the three countries. "We share the widespread concern about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, certainly a concern shared by our allies in the region, notably Japan and the ROK," Siddh

May 26, 2023

US imposes sanctions on four N. Korean organizations, one individual for illegal cyber activities

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four North Korean organizations and one North Korean national for engaging in illegal cyber activities that help fund the country's illicit weapons development programs. The Department of Treasury said those put on the blacklist "obfuscated revenue generation and malicious cyber activities that support the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) government," referring to North Korea by its official name. &

May 24, 2023

S. Korea, US sanction N. Korean IT workers

South Korea and the US announced fresh sanctions on North Korean IT workers and groups believed to be bankrolling the isolated country’s nuclear and missile programs in the latest round of bans that last took place a month ago. In a statement Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul singled out seven North Koreans and three entities, saying the individuals were responsible for overseeing North Korean information technology workers earning and laundering money overseas. “The three group

May 23, 2023

Pro-N. Korea newspaper slams S. Korea, US, Japan for seeking to conspire trilateral military alliance

A pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan on Tuesday condemned the latest summit of leaders from South Korea, the United States and Japan as an attempt to plot a trilateral military alliance, claiming the move is "maximizing" the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula. The Choson Sinbo, the pro-North Korea newspaper, lashed out at the outcome of the trilateral meeting held Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan. At the summit, President Yoon Suk Yeol, US Presi

May 23, 2023

Minister urges NK leader to curb nuclear ambitions, return to dialogue

South Korea’s Unification Minister on Monday urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to make the “right decision” and change his course towards denuclearization, calling on Kim to reflect on his continuing and ongoing failures to boost the economy as a result of fixating on developing North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se underscored that Kim has not achieved his objective of improving the lives of the North Korean people, despite more tha

May 22, 2023

N. Korea celebrates completion of building more new homes in Pyongyang

North Korea has held a ceremony to mark the completion of building another housing district in Pyongyang as part of the country's project to construct 50,000 units of new homes in the capital by 2025, state media reported Monday. The North held the ceremony to celebrate the completion of the construction of new residential areas in the Taephyong district in Pyongyang on Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The Taephyong district in western Pyongyang is located near Mangyongd

May 22, 2023

N. Korea bristles at planned S. Korea-US live-fire drills

North Korea on Friday condemned South Korea and the United States for planning to kick off their major joint live-fire drills next week, describing the drills as a "war exercise" against Pyongyang. South Korea and the US are set to stage the drills from May 25 to June 15 as they mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance. The drills are expected to involve advanced weapons systems, including F-35A stealth fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, K2 tanks and Chunmoo multiple rocket

May 19, 2023

N. Koreans held after sea border crossing

South Korean authorities have detained a group of North Koreans that crossed the maritime border in the West Sea on a fishing boat two weeks ago for questioning, a senior official in Seoul said Thursday. “We were tracking their movements well before the group approached the Northern Limit Line,” the official said, referring to the maritime border. “Authorities are looking into the motive as per protocol.” The official, however, did not say how many North Koreans had cross

May 18, 2023

N. Korean satellite launch violates UN sanctions, will face consequences: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's anticipated launch of a claimed satellite would violate multiple international sanctions that prohibit the use of any ballistic missile technology by the recalcitrant country, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the state department, also said the United States will take necessary steps to hold North Korea accountable should Pyongyang decide to go ahead with its planned launch. "Any DPRK launch that uses ba

May 18, 2023

N. Korean leader inspects military spy satellite facility: state media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the country's first military reconnaissance satellite and gave the green light for its next action plan, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday, adding that the satellite is "ready for loading" on a rocket. Kim made the on-site inspection to the Non-permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee a day earlier to check the overall status of the spy satellite and approved of its "future action plan," the Korean Central News

May 17, 2023

US will hold to account any country violating UN sanctions on N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States possesses various means to hold to account any country that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions on North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Monday, amid reports that trade between North Korea and China may have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the state department, declined to provide a direct comment on potential violations of UNSC resolutions by China but insisted every UN member country has the obl

May 16, 2023

N. Korea's denial of religious freedom remains 'absolute' in 2022: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to execute, torture and physically abuse its own people for their religious activities in 2022, the US State Department said in an annual report on international religious freedom, citing an earlier report by a nongovernmental organization that said the country's denial of religious freedom remains "absolute." The report also noted the country especially persecuted Christians and followers of shamanism. "The government reportedly continued to ex

May 16, 2023