US, 5 others urge N. Korea to end missile tests, return to dialogue: statement

WASHINGTON -- The United States and five other countries called on North Korea to cease its missile tests and engage in denuclearization negotiations on Monday. The joint call came shortly before the UN Security Council was set to hold a meeting behind closed doors on North Korea's missile test that Pyongyang claims to have involved a newly developed hypersonic missile. "We stand today unified in our condemnation of the DPRK's most recent missile launch, which the Security Council will di

Jan. 11, 2022

N. Korean missile test in violation of UNSC resolutions regardless of nature: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's latest missile test is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions regardless of whether it involved a hypersonic missile as claimed by the North, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday. Kirby said the US was still assessing the details of last week's missile test. "We don't have any updates to an assessment ... with more specificity as to what was fired. We've called it a ballistic missile, and we're still assessing the details of it," he tol

Jan. 11, 2022

N.Korea test-fires unidentified projectile toward East Sea: JCS

North Korea on Tuesday test-fired an unidentified projectile(s) toward its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, without further details. Tuesday’s launch came less than a week after North Korea on Jan. 5 test-fired what it claimed to be a “hypersonic missile.” This marks Pyongyang’s second weapons test this year. The consecutive show of force is noteworthy given that Pyongyang on Jan.1 announced the country‘s policy direction for the

Jan. 11, 2022

20 N. Korean defectors have migrated overseas over past 5 years: ministry

A total of 20 North Koreans who defected to the South have migrated to other countries over the past five years, the Ministry of Unification said Monday. The living conditions of North Korean defectors here have drawn keen attention, especially since a defector who fled the North in late 2020 reportedly crossed the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border again earlier this month to return home. "The number of North Korean defectors who have emigrated over the recent five years (from 2016-20

Jan. 10, 2022

Seoul monitoring possible change in N. Korea's COVID-19 policy, lockdown

South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it's closely watching a possible change in North Korea's anti-coronavirus policy, such as the lifting of its strict border closure, after Pyongyang's main newspaper said the country will shift to more "advanced" antivirus measures from the current control-focused approach. "We need to move to a better advanced, people-oriented epidemic work from one that focused on control measures," the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said. It did not

Jan. 10, 2022

[Newsmaker] UN Security Council expected to meet Monday on NK’s missile launch

  The UN Security Council is expected to meet behind closed doors on Monday to discuss North Korea’s missile launch, but a joint statement after the session appears to be less likely. 　 Diplomatic sources say the US, France and the UK -– three of the five permanent members on the council –- as well as Ireland and Albania, requested an emergency meeting to be held on Monday in the US to discuss the launch of what Pyongyang claims to be a hypersonic missile. 　 “We ca

Jan. 9, 2022

Seoul says N.Korea did not test hypersonic missile

The South Korean military on Friday said North Korea did not test a hypersonic missile, clarifying that the launched projectile was a Maneuverable Reentry Vehicle, or MaRV. North Korea’s state media on Thursday claimed the country had test-fired a “hypersonic missile” the previous day.  Pyongyang said the missile made a “120 km lateral movement in the flight distance of the hypersonic gliding warhead from the initial launch azimuth to the target azimuth and precis

Jan. 7, 2022

N.Korea says ‘hostile forces,’ COVID-19 preclude Olympic participation

North Korea officially notified China that the country would not attend the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics in a letter, citing “hostile forces’ maneuver” and the COVID-19 pandemic as hindrances, the North’s state media reported Friday. North Korea’s Olympic Committee and Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports sent the letter to the related Chinese authorities, including the General Administration of Sport, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing

Jan. 7, 2022

N. Korea claims it tests ‘hypersonic missile.’ Why does it matter?

North Korea on Thursday claimed that it test-fired another type of “hypersonic missile,” around 100 days after the test launch of the Hwasong-8 “hypersonic missile,” although South Korean authorities did not confirm the validity of the announcement. The test-launch on Wednesdasy “reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile in the active-flight stage and assessed the performance of the new lateral movement technique applied to the detached hypersoni

Jan. 6, 2022

Govt. to launch new team to support vulnerable N. Korean defectors

The South Korean government is preparing to launch a new team to step up support for North Korean defectors suffering from economic and psychological difficulties after resettlement here, officials said Thursday. The team -- which will comprise of officials from different government agencies, including the unification ministry and the police -- is expected to be set up by next month to provide defectors with tailored support in fields ranging from education and employment to living and psycholo

Jan. 6, 2022

Blinken condemns N. Korean missile test in phone talks with Japanese FM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned North Korea's latest missile test in his telephone conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Wednesday. The two also discussed ways to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the state department. "Secretary Blinken condemned the DPRK's ballistic missile launch and stressed US commitment to the defense of Japan remains ironclad," department spokesperson Ned Price said of the call

Jan. 6, 2022

N. Korea stages rally in Pyongyang to back key party meeting decision

North Korea held a major outdoor rally in Pyongyang earlier this week, with a number of citizens and some top officials in attendance, in support of decisions from a recent key party meeting, according to state media Thursday. Wrapping up a year-end Workers' Party plenary session last week, the North outlined its policy priorities for the new year on developing the national economy and bolstering anti-virus efforts. "In order to thoroughly accomplish the decisions of the 4th Plenary Meeti

Jan. 6, 2022

US condemns N. Korean missile launch, reaffirms commitment to dialogue

The United States on Wednesday condemned North Korea's missile launch as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and a threat to the international community. "The United States condemns the DPRK's ballistic missile launch. This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," a state department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email. DPRK stands for the Democratic

Jan. 6, 2022

Seoul urges N. Korea to respond to calls for dialogue following projectile launch

South Korea's unification ministry on Wednesday urged North Korea to respond to calls for dialogue after the North launched what appears to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea in its latest show of force. The North fired the missile at around 8:10 a.m. from the northern province of Jagang where it claimed to have fired a hypersonic missile in September last year, according to the South Korean military. The missile launch came hours before President Moon Jae-in attended a groundbreaking

Jan. 5, 2022

NK projectile raises stakes for talks, ratchets up pressure

North Korea on Wednesday fired what could be a ballistic missile from an inland area into the East Sea, days after leader Kim Jong-un urged to further defense capabilities and reviewed key policy directions. “Our military detected one (short-range) projectile, which is presumed to be a ballistic missile, being fired from the Jagang Province area in North Korea into the East Sea today (Jan. 5) at around 08:10 a.m.,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Bu

Jan. 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] Seoul says NK defector presumed as border crosser received due settlement support

The North Korean defector who is presumed to have crossed the tense inter-Korean border to return home last week had received due resettlement support from the South Korean government, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday, amid reports he suffered economic difficulties after his defection. The man crossed the heavily fortified eastern border into the North over the weekend, about a year after he reached the South, also using an eastern front-line route in November 2020, according to the mi

Jan. 4, 2022

Defector refled to N. Korea 14 months after jumping border fence: MND

A defector who had previously jumped over the inter-Korean border fence has refled to North Korea after 14 months, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed Monday. The announcement came one day after the South Korean military said an unidentified person had moved into North Korea across the Military Demarcation Line on Saturday. The government said the man, who had escaped North Korea by jumping over the 3-meter fence along the eastern inter-Korean border, redefected to Nort

Jan. 3, 2022

NK is one year closer to perfecting nuclear weapons due to Biden’s policy: Bolton

A former national security adviser to Donald Trump slammed Joe Biden’s foreign policy, saying North Korea is a year closer in perfecting its nuclear and ballistic missile technology as a result of Biden’s diplomacy on Pyongyang -- or lack thereof. 　 In an op-ed published by Washington-based news outlet the Hill on Sunday, John Bolton identified Iran and North Korea as the Biden administration’s nuclear proliferation failures in 2021. 　 Bolton, who championed a hawkish policy

Jan. 3, 2022

Weekend border crosser thought to be NK defector: S. Korea's military

South Korea's defense ministry said Monday the person that crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea over the weekend is presumed to be a North Korean defector. The ministry's statement came amid reports the man appears to be the one who crossed a barbed wire fence on the heavily fortified border to enter the South in November 2020. "Regarding the border crossing, the authorities presume the person is a North Korean defector and are in the process of verifying related facts

Jan. 3, 2022

N. Korea remains unresponsive to S. Korea's message about weekend border-crossing

North Korea remains unresponsive after South Korea sent it a message about an unidentified person having crossed the eastern inter-Korean border over the weekend, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. On Sunday, South Korea sent the message through a western military communication line "in light of protecting our citizen," though it has yet to verify details about the person who crossed the heavily fortified border on Saturday night. The fate of the person was not immediately confirm

Jan. 3, 2022