US warns N. Korea of consequences for 'Christmas gift'

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- The United States on Wednesday warned North Korea of consequences if it makes good on threats of a spectacular weapons test in the New Year, while offering flexibility if it stays in talks.Frustrated by the lack of sanctions relief after three summits with President Donald Trump, North Korea has vowed an ominous "Christmas gift" if the US does not come up with concessions by the end of the year.At the UN Security Council, the US ambassador, Kelly Craft, voiced c

Dec. 12, 2019

Biegun’s visit leaves slim chance for resumption of US-NK dialogue

The US top negotiator on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is expected to visit South Korea next week amid heightened tensions on the peninsula after North Korea conducted a rocket engine test. Biegun’s visit is likely to begin Sunday, and he hopes to meet North Korean officials at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency and local media. The Foreign Ministry was not able to confirm Biegun’s plans to meet with North Korean officials. The US

Dec. 11, 2019

NK exports dropped 83.9% in 2018: UN agency

North Korea’s exports plummeted last year amid the continued international sanctions, according to the latest data of a UN agency for trade and investment.The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Handbook of Statistics 2019 issued on Monday shows that North Korea’s exports plunged 83.8 percent in 2018 from a year ago to $300 million last year. Its imports dropped 34.1 percent from the previous year to $2.59 billion.The latest UNCTAD handbook did not disclose the

Dec. 11, 2019

N. Korea likely tested liquid-fuel engine for rockets: US expert

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's "very important test" over the weekend likely involved an existing liquid-fuel engine for rockets, not a solid-fuel one, a US expert said Tuesday.Pyongyang has not revealed details of the test other than to say that it took place at the Dongchang-ri satellite launch site on Saturday and that the results "will have an important effect on changing the strategic position" of the country.Speculation has mounted that North Korea tested an engine for a n

Dec. 11, 2019

Pompeo says US is hopeful N. Korea will refrain from nuclear, long-range missile tests

WASHINGTON -- The United States is hopeful North Korea will continue to refrain from nuclear tests and long-range missile tests, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday, after Pyongyang said it had conducted a "very important" test over the weekend.North Korea said the test occurred at its Dongchang-ri satellite launch site on Saturday, raising tensions ahead of a year-end deadline North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has imposed for the US to show flexibility in their negotiations o

Dec. 11, 2019

Trump urges Russia to help denuclearize N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday and urged Moscow to help ensure North Korea's denuclearization, the White House said.Trump and Lavrov met a day before the UN Security Council is set to convene to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches and the possibility of a provocation by the regime. The US president "urged Russia to support United States efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and ensure the denucle

Dec. 11, 2019

North Korea to declare end of dialogue with US: expert

North Korea is expected to declare a suspension of its nuclear talks with the US as the regime has already decided to beef up its military capability and accelerate self-development of the economy next year, experts said on Tuesday.During a press conference hosted by Institute for Far Eastern Studies, experts offered a pessimistic outlook on North Korea’s relations with the US and South Korea due to the packed domestic politics in 2020 in each country, such as the presidential election in

Dec. 10, 2019

NK lauds leader’s ‘achievements’ in military affairs, diplomacy

North Korea’s official newspaper on Tuesday lauded this year’s “achievements” by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in military affairs and diplomacy in an apparent bid to consolidate internal unity amid rising tensions with the US. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the country’s Workers’ Party, said in a commentary titled “Our party’s record of revolution in 2019 will be long remembered in history” that hostile forces maneuv

Dec. 10, 2019

Defense minister: N. Korea conducted rocket engine test at Dongchang-ri site

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo confirmed Tuesday that North Korea tested a rocket engine in what the regime called a "very important test" at its western satellite launching station over the weekend, calling on the communist country to stop such military acts.Jeong's remark, made in Sydney after a meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, represented the first time that a government official has confirmed what the North tested Saturday at the Sohae Satellite

Dec. 10, 2019

US, North Korea on collision course as New Year deadline looms

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Tensions are quickly rising between the United States and North Korea, which has ramped up pressure as it demands concessions by President Donald Trump's administration by the end of the year.The United States called a UN Security Council meeting for Wednesday on North Korea's series of rocket launches, the latest return to antagonism as diplomacy languishes.Monday's announcement came two days after North Korea claimed to have carried out a "very important" but othe

Dec. 10, 2019

US asks UN to discuss risk of N.Korea 'provocation'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Monday called a UN Security Council meeting this week on the risk of North Korean "provocation" as Pyongyang demands US concessions by a year-end deadline.The United States, which holds this month's presidency of the Security Council, is scheduling the session instead of a planned meeting on human rights in North Korea, one of the world's most authoritarian states.This week's meeting will provide "a comprehensive update on recent developmen

Dec. 10, 2019

N. Korean airline increases flights to Russia ahead of deadline for repatriation of workers

North Korea's national carrier has increased flights on a route between Pyongyang and Vladivostok as the deadline for the repatriation of North Korean workers draws near, sources said Monday.Air Koryo increased the number of weekly flights connecting the two cities to five from the previous two this week, according to Vladivostok International Airport. The change is set to last until Dec. 20. The increase apparently reflected the upcoming deadline for the repatriation of North Korean worker

Dec. 9, 2019

N. Korea blasts Trump's warning, says it has nothing more to lose

North Korea has nothing more to lose, a senior Pyongyang official said Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the communist nation could lose everything if it engages in hostile acts.Kim Yong-chol, a former North Korean nuclear negotiator, made the remarks in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, stressing that the U.S. should think about how to keep the two countries from clashing, rather than spending time choosing warning expressions."Trump has too

Dec. 9, 2019

Seoul closely monitors Pyongyang’s activities amid latest possible provocation

The South Korean government is closely watching activities at major North Korean sites after the regime announced that it carried out a “very important” test at its Sohae satellite launch site. Experts believe it is likely that the test was for a new solid fuel engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the continental US. Pyongyang has refrained from conducting ICBM tests for the past 18 months.As of Monday, the defense and unification ministries could not

Dec. 9, 2019

US always open to talks with N. Korea: Esper

The United States is always open to talks with North Korea, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, amid growing concern that the communist nation could restart testing of long-range missiles or nuclear weapons amid stalled talks with Washington.Esper made the remarks during an interview with Fox News aired Sunday (Washington time) when asked what the US would do if North Korea resumes nuclear testing, following a recent statement from the North's UN ambassador that denuclearization is off the negoti

Dec. 9, 2019

Trump warns N. Korea could lose 'everything' with hostile acts

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could lose "everything" if he acts in a hostile manner, sending a clear warning to the regime to refrain from provocations such as nuclear and missile tests.Trump sent the tweet as the two countries have exchanged heated rhetoric over their stalled negotiations on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.Earlier Sunday, North Korea said it had conducted an unexplained "very important te

Dec. 9, 2019

North Korea intensifies pressure on US as it tries to exact concessions

North Korea has intensified pressure on the United States both in words and action in an apparent attempt to exact concessions from Washington before it returns to the negotiating table for nuclear talks. On Sunday, the North’s state-run Korea Central News Agency reported that the country had successfully conducted a “very important test” at the Sohae Satellite launching ground Saturday, quoting a statement issued by a spokesman for the Academy of National Defense Science. 

Dec. 8, 2019

N. Korea says it has conducted 'very important test' at satellite launching site

North Korea said Sunday that it has conducted a "very important test" at its western satellite launching site, saying that the test's results will alter its "strategic position" going forward.The claim came days after news reports that the North's Sohae satellite launching station, also known as Donchang-ri site, had shown signs that could suggest the communist nation is preparing for a missile engine test.The site has been used to launch satellite-carrying long-range rockets

Dec. 8, 2019

Trump warns N. Korea not to interfere with his reelection bid

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday he doesn't think North Korea will engage in hostile acts and interfere with the upcoming US presidential election, an apparent warning that the communist nation shouldn't undertake provocations that could hurt his reelection chances."I'd be surprised if North Korea acted hostilely," Trump was quoted as telling reporters at the White House. "He knows I have an election coming up. I don't think he wants to interfere with that. Bu

Dec. 8, 2019

North Korea says US denuclearization talks 'out of negotiation table'

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- North Korea on Saturday said denuclearization talks with the United States were "out of the negotiation table," while slamming European UN Security Council members who had recently denounced its "provocative" ballistic missile launches.The statement from North Korea's ambassador to the UN Kim Song came after Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom on Wednesday condemned North Korea's "continued testing of ballistic missile

Dec. 8, 2019