WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration’s current North Korea strategy has failed to embrace and take into account geopolitical realities and regional security dynamics, according to Joel Wit, the founder of 38 North, a US-based North Korea monitoring program. To resuscitate nuclear negotiations and get a step closer to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, he says the US first and foremost should alienate North Korea from China. Wit said the Biden administration’s current North Korea poli

North Korea Nov. 14, 2022

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the US should move toward retooling their alliance to collectively counter the challenge from China, including in relation to Taiwan, according to Randall Schriver, a top Asia policy official in the Pentagon during the previous Donald Trump administration. Schriver took note of the alliance’s imperative to focus on countering escalating and existential North Korean threats and to preserve deterrence on the Korean Peninsula. But South Korea and the US should ex

Defense Nov. 13, 2022

North Korea on Wednesday fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast, as the United States counts the ballots for the midterm elections it held Tuesday. The South Korean military detected one short-range ballistic missile being fired from the area of Sukchon County in South Pyongan Province toward the East Sea at 3:31 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The short-range ballistic missile traveled about 290 kilometers at a speed of Mach 6 and an altit

North Korea Nov. 9, 2022

The South Korean military on Monday began conducting the Taegeuk military exercise to enhance military readiness posture against North Korean missile and nuclear threats. The four-day military exercise aims to strengthen the South Korean military’s capabilities to manage the crisis and its ability to transition into wartime, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The Taegeuk exercise will enable the South Korean military to master its mission capability in real-world scenarios in preparation for

North Korea Nov. 7, 2022

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States on Thursday fleshed out their plans to enhance the viability of US extended deterrence against escalating North Korean threats after months of discussion. The US also publicly sent a strong warning against North Korea’s nuclear saber-rattling at the annual bilateral security talks. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reached an agreement at the 54th Security Consultative Meeting on Thursday at the

Defense Nov. 4, 2022

North Korea fired three more short-range ballistic missiles Thursday night, after a top North Korean military official denounced South Korea and the US for extending the “Vigilant Storm” air combat exercise. The South Korean military detected three short-range ballistic missiles being fired from the area of Koksan County in North Hwanghae Province toward the East Sea from 9:35 p.m. to 9:49 p.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The short-range ballistic missiles traveled about

North Korea Nov. 3, 2022

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States on Wednesday agreed to step up coordination in monitoring North Korea in a bid to reinforce the alliance’s deterrence amid North Korea’s continuing saber-rattling, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup visited the headquarters of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency -- an intelligence and combat support agency under the auspices of the US Defense Department -- during his visit to t

North Korea Nov. 3, 2022

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

North Korea Nov. 2, 2022

The South Korean and US defense chiefs will discuss how to enhance the alliance’s deterrence and readiness against escalating North Korean threats during their annual security talks, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Sunday. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are set to host the 54th Security Consultative Meeting on Thursday at the Pentagon, outside Washington. Lee and Austin will discuss major alliance issues including the assessment of the securi

Defense Oct. 30, 2022

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

North Korea Oct. 28, 2022

The South Korean government will dispatch a naval ship and more than 100 personnel to Japan’s international fleet review next month, marking the first time it will participate since 2015. The Yoon Suk-yeol government has decided to accept Japan’s invitation to the international naval event hosted by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday. The international fleet review is set to take place on Nov. 6  in Sagami Bay, off

Defense Oct. 27, 2022

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

North Korea Oct. 27, 2022

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

North Korea Oct. 26, 2022

The Yoon Suk-yeol government has reiterated that the redeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and NATO-style nuclear sharing agreement are currently off the table. The Yoon government has recently reaffirmed its endorsement of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula as heated debates have erupted in Seoul over how to counter North Korea’s escalating threats to fire tactical nuclear arms at South Korean targets. South Korea’s Defense Ministry “has not yet disc

Defense Oct. 25, 2022

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

North Korea Oct. 24, 2022