North tests grieving South with barrage of artillery, missiles, one over NLL

North Korea fired 25 missiles and around 100 artillery shells over the course of about 11 hours on Wednesday, the South Korean military said. But one North Korean ballistic missile unprecedentedly flew over the de facto inter-Korean maritime border and landed in waters south of the border for the first time since the division of the Korean Peninsula. In response, the South Korean military fired three missiles from fighter jets toward the north of the inter-Korean maritime boundary to demons

Nov. 2, 2022

N. Korea says S. Korea, US will pay 'terrible price' if they use force

WASHINGTON -- North Korea on Wednesday said the US and South Korea will pay a terrible price should they decide to attack the North, arguing the allies' ongoing joint military drills are aimed at preparing for a potential invasion. Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, also called on Seoul and Washington to halt what he claimed to be military provocation against Pyongyang. "If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces

Nov. 2, 2022

N. Korea fires 3 SRBMs toward East Sea, one flying over NLL: S. Korean military

North Korea launched at least three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, one of which flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea, according to the South's military. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile firing from a site in or around the North's eastern coastal city of Wonsan was detected at around 8:51 a.m. The North's latest provocation came in apparent protest of the five-day large-scale combined air drills of South Korea and the United States th

Nov. 2, 2022

N. Korea urges US to stop joint air drills with S. Korea, warns of 'more powerful' actions

North Korea warned Tuesday that it could stage "more powerful follow-up measures" if the United States continues "military provocations," citing its large-scale combined air exercise with South Korea. A spokesman at the North's foreign ministry denounced the ongoing combined air drills by the allies, called Vigilant Storm, as "ceaseless and reckless" military provocations. The exercise is "a war drill for aggression mainly aimed at striking the strategic t

Nov. 1, 2022

N. Korea fires two ballistic missiles after US warns of toppling Kim regime

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off the east coast on Friday, hours after the Biden administration warned of toppling the Kim Jong-un regime should it launch nuclear attacks against the United States and its allies in its unveiled nuclear strategy. The South Korean military “detected two short-range ballistic missiles being fired from the area of Tongchon County in Kangwon Province toward the East Coast between around 11:59 a.m. and 12:18 p.m. local time” on Friday, accordi

Oct. 28, 2022

‘No scenario for Kim Jong-un to employ nuclear weapons and survive’

The United States warned that any nuclear attack North Korea carries out against the US or its allies would result in “the end of the regime,” as speculations of a nuclear test by Pyongyang runs high. “Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its Allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime,” the US Department of Defense said in a report, named "Nuclear Posture Review," released Thursday. “There is no

Oct. 28, 2022

Nuclear attack by N. Korea will result in end of Pyongyang regime: US

WASHINGTON -- A nuclear attack by North Korea against the US or its allies will result in the end of the country's regime, the US Department of Defense said Thursday. In its National Defense Strategy, the department said the US will also hold North Korea responsible for any transfer of nuclear weapons or related materials and technology to other actors. "Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of

Oct. 28, 2022

Ex-spy chiefs cry foul over North Korea investigations

The ex-directors of the National Intelligence Service, Park Jie-won and Suh Hoon, claimed on Thursday that they were being “wrongfully accused” in the investigations of North Korea controversies from the Moon Jae-in era. In July, the spy agency filed charges against its two former chiefs in a rare move, alleging that Park destroyed the intelligence reports on North Korea’s killing of the fisheries official Lee Dae-jun in 2020 and that Suh prematurely closed the investigative

Oct. 27, 2022

Punish N.Korea’s human rights violations: UN expert

The international community should criminalize and punish human rights violations suffered by North Koreans through all available avenues including criminal prosecutions, the top UN expert on human rights in North Korea said Wednesday, calling for eradicating a vicious cycle of structural impunity. Elizabeth Salmon, the newly-appointed UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, said that she will uphold and protect the human rights of victims by redoubling efforts to

Oct. 27, 2022

N. Korea builds ice cream factory on Kim Jong-un's order

North Korea has completed building an ice cream factory in Pyongyang as instructed by leader Kim Jong-un, its state media reported Thursday, amid an economy faltering under global sanctions. A ceremony was held the previous day to celebrate the construction of a "modern" ice cream production base in the center of Taesongsan, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Jon Hyon-chol, the North's vice premier and head of the economic policy office of the ruling Workers

Oct. 27, 2022

Ex-commanders of S. Korea, US divided on S. Korea’s nuclear acquisition

Former South Korean and US military commanders are divided on whether to consider South Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons as a potential option to deter North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats. The policy debate has rapidly evolved over the past few weeks in South Korea in the aftermath of North Korea’s pronouncement on first-use nuclear doctrine and explicit threats to strike targets in South Korean territory with tactical battlefield nuclear weapons. In Seoul, a wide ra

Oct. 26, 2022

US very much focused on human rights conditions in N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is very much focused on improving human rights conditions in North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling it a serious challenge. Ned Price, however, said he had no announcements to make when asked if the US would appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights, a position that has remained vacant for nearly six years. "When it comes to human rights in North Korea, of course, it is something that we are deeply concerned with,"

Oct. 26, 2022

Tighter muzzle, crackdown on defectors: Lawyers address rights issues in Kim Jong-un’s North Korea

South Korean lawyers said Thursday the human rights situation in North Korea under Kim Jong-un remains dire, and called for more action from the South Korean government. Speaking at a seminar hosted by the Korean Bar Association, Joo Sung-ha, who left North Korea in 2002, said attempts to flee the country have been more severely punished over the past five years there. “During the Kim Jong-il era, people who tried to defect because they were unable to feed themselves and family were som

Oct. 24, 2022

Warning shots traded after N. Korean vessel crosses border

The two Koreas exchanged “warning shots” off the western coast after a North Korean merchant vessel “intruded” over the de facto inter-Korean maritime boundary and crossed into South Korean waters early Monday morning. North Korea’s border intrusion came hours before South Korea and the United States began staging their four-day large-scale maritime maneuvering exercise in the West Sea to enhance combined and joint operational capabilities against “enemy provo

Oct. 24, 2022

North Korea may carry out more than one nuclear test, experts say

North Korea could carry out consecutive nuclear weapons tests, experts say, as intelligence authorities warn of the rising possibility of Pyongyang conducting the first test of its kind in five years. “It is likely that they need several tests to meet the requirements of their ambitious nuclear weapons program, which has tactical nuclear weapons, intermediate range and intercontinental ballistic missiles," Olli Heinonen, former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energ

Oct. 23, 2022

Former defense minister, ex-Coast Guard chief arrested over slain fisheries official

Former Defense Minister Suh Wook and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee were arrested Saturday over their alleged mishandling of the death of a fisheries official in September 2020 at the hands of North Korea. The Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrants for them, citing the risk of them fleeing or destroying evidence, after hearings held Friday. The prosecution requested the arrest warrants for both Suh and Kim on Tuesday in connection with the previous Moon

Oct. 22, 2022

Ex-chiefs of defense, maritime police summoned for prearrest questioning

A Seoul court summoned former chiefs of national defense and maritime police for questioning on Friday, after prosecutors filed for a warrant to arrest them in an investigation into North Korea’s killing of South Korean fisheries official Lee Dae-jun two years ago. Appearing at the Seoul central district court at around 9:40 a.m., Seo Wook, who was minister of national defense at the time, declined to respond to reporter questions. Seo is accused of falsifying documents and ordering des

Oct. 21, 2022

At UN, S. Korea highlights human rights violations suffered by N. Koreans, defectors

The Yoon Suk-yeol government has stepped up efforts to shed light on dire human rights situations in North Korea and speak out against the forcible repatriation of North Korean defectors by China and Russia. South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook openly highlighted human rights violations that North Korean women defectors have faced during the UN Security Council’s open debate on Women, Peace and Security on Thursday. In his speech, Hwang called for the international community t

Oct. 21, 2022

Seoul’s North Korea human rights envoy speaks with Lee Dae-jun family

The family of Lee Dae-jun, a South Korean fisheries official slain at sea two years ago, talked Thursday about meeting with Seoul’s new North Korea human rights envoy, Lee Shin-wha. Lee Rae-jin, the late official’s brother, said he and the family’s lawyer Kim Ki-yun spoke with the ambassador-at-large on North Korean human rights issues for about an hour on Wednesday. “She said that bickering among ourselves would do nobody good but North Korea, and that South Korea sho

Oct. 20, 2022

N. Korea urges effort to attain this year's economic goals during Cabinet meeting

North Korea has held a Cabinet meeting to assess its economic performance so far this year and called for utmost efforts to achieve its goals in the remaining months, its state media reported Thursday. At the expanded plenary meeting of the Cabinet held the previous day, Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun made a report on the economic performance and plans for the third and fourth quarters of this year and discussed ways to carry out the economic plan set forth by leader Kim Jong-un, according to the off

Oct. 20, 2022