North Korea's weapons

October 5, 2023

South Korea's defense ministry says Thursday it was "closely monitoring" a North Korean nuclear reactor site after local media reported its operations had been temporarily suspended, potentially to extract weapons-grade plutonium.

The Donga Ilbo newspaper reports earlier in the day that intelligence sources in Seoul and Washington had detected signs the five-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon had temporarily stopped operations late last month.

The suspension could be an indication that spent fuel rods are being reprocessed to extract plutonium for use in nuclear weapons, the report cited a government source as saying. — AFP


September 28, 2023

State media reports that North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature has enshrined the country's status as a nuclear weapons power in the constitution.

"The DPRK's nuclear force-building policy has been made permanent as the basic law of the state, which no one is allowed to flout with anything," leader Kim Jong Un said at a meeting of the State People's Assembly that was held Tuesday and Wednesday, the KCNA news agency says. 

DPRK is the acronym for the country's formal name. — AFP


September 8, 2023

State news agency KCNA reports that North Korea announced it had built a "tactical nuclear attack submarine" as part of its effort to strengthen its naval force.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, saying the new sub was part of a "push forward with the nuclear weaponization of the Navy in the future", according to KCNA.

The launching of submarine No. 841, named the Hero Kim Kun Ok, "heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK", the KCNA report said, referring to the country by the abbreviation of its formal name. — AFP


September 3, 2023

State-controlled media reports Sunday that North Korea staged a "simulated tactical nuclear attack" drill at the weekend with mock atomic warheads attached to two long-range cruise missiles that were test-fired into the ocean.

The Korean Central News Agency says the operation early Saturday was a "counteraction drill" in response to joint military activity by US and South Korean forces that KCNA said has escalated tensions in the region.

"A firing drill for simulated tactical nuclear attack was conducted at dawn of September 2 to warn the enemies of the actual nuclear war danger," KCNA reports. — AFP


September 2, 2023

Seoul's military says North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its west coast on Saturday, the latest in a string of recent Pyongyang military actions. 

The launches come three days after the North launched a pair of short-range ballistic missiles as part of a "tactical nuclear strike drill" prompted by the annual US-South Korean Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, which always infuriate the reclusive regime.   

Pyongyang views such the drills as a rehearsal for invasion while the two allies say they are defensive in nature. — AFP


August 24, 2023

North Korea's latest attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit has ended in failure, state media say Thursday, just months after Pyongyang's first such launch crashed into the ocean shortly after blast off.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made the development of a military eye in the sky a top regime priority, with his nuclear-armed country claiming it is a necessary counterbalance to growing regional activity by US forces.

Pyongyang's National Aerospace Development Administration "conducted the second launch of reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1" early Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency says. — AFP


August 23, 2023

North Korea is planning to launch another satellite just three months after its first attempt to put a military eye in the sky failed, prompting condemnation from Tokyo and Seoul and demands to call it off.

The launch is set to take place between August 24 and 31, Pyongyang told Japan's coast guard Tuesday, with Tokyo mobilising ships and its PAC-3 missile defence system in case it lands in their territory.

Seoul said the launch would be "an illegal act" because it violates UN sanctions prohibiting the North from tests using ballistic technology, which is used for both space launches and missiles. — AFP


August 22, 2023

The Japanese government says North Korea has informed Japan it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, less than three months after a failed effort saw a military satellite plunge into the sea.

The office of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says in a statement that Pyongyang had informed Japan of the planned launch, adding he had instructed his government to work with the United States, South Korea and other nations to urge its cancellation. 

The Japan Coast Guard said the "satellite rocket launch" would take place between August 24 and 31, with three designated danger areas: the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and waters east of the Philippines' Luzon island. — AFP


August 19, 2023

North Korea on Saturday lashes out at the UN for accusing the Pyongyang regime of widespread systematic human rights violations and calls North Korean defectors who had escaped from hardships "human scum", according to state media.

The name-calling came after the nuclear-armed state was held accountable at the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday for spending heavily on its nuclear arms program while its people go hungry and lack basic necessities. 

Ilhyeok Kim, a North Korean defector, told the council that he had been forced at a young age to work in fields without compensation, and that the grain they grew all went to the military. — AFP


August 10, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismisses his top general and called for stepping up war preparations "in an offensive way", including boosting weapons production and conducting more drills, state media reported Thursday.

With a cigarette in hand, Kim was shown talking to a room full of uniformed top generals, and pointing at maps, images in state media showed, while he discussed "major military actions" against South Korea at a meeting of the Central Military Commission.

The Korean Central News Agency said the agenda of the meeting, which comes just days after Kim inspected key arms factories, was "the issue of making full war preparations" and ensuring "perfect military readiness for a war". —  AFP


August 6, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited several major arms factories this week, including facilities producing engines for strategic cruise missiles, and called for increased weapons production, state media reported on Sunday.

The three-day inspection of the factories comes less than two weeks after Kim attended a major military parade with Russian and Chinese officials, showcasing North Korea's newest weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and spy drones. — AFP


July 25, 2023

Pyongyang conducts twin missile launches, ahead of Korean War anniversary celebrations that will be attended by Chinese dignitaries in the first foreign delegation visit to the country since its 2020 pandemic border closure.

South Korea's defense ministry described the two projectiles as ballistic missiles that flew about 400 kilometers (248 miles) before falling into the sea, according to reports by news agency Yonhap of South Korea and Japan's Kyodo.

"Our military detected two ballistic missiles North Korea fired from areas near Pyongyang into the East Sea at 11:55 pm on the 24th and at midnight of the 25th," Yonhap quoted South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying. — AFP


July 22, 2023

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff say Saturday that North Korea has fired "several cruise missiles" into the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula.

The launches, which the military said took place around 4 am (1900 GMT), come as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points ever.

"South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analysing the launches while monitoring signs of additional activities," the JCS says. — AFP 


July 13, 2023

North Korea says Thursday it had successfully tested its new intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported, as Pyongyang vented its fury after threatening to down US spy planes it said had violated its airspace.

The report from state-run KCNA news agency says the Hwasong-18 -- a new type of purportedly solid-fuel ballistic missile that has reportedly only been fired by the North once before, in April -- flew 1,001 kilometres at a maximum altitude of 6,648 km before splashing into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. 

The flight time of around 70 minutes is also similar to some of North Korea's previous ICBM launches, experts say. — AFP


June 19, 2023

North Korea's ruling party slammed a recent failed satellite launch in a high-level meeting, state media reported on Monday, "bitterly" criticising the officials responsible.

North Korea attempted to put its first military spy satellite into orbit on May 31, but the projectile and its payload crashed into the sea shortly after launch due to what Pyongyang said was a rocket failure.

In the report from the meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party "bitterly criticised the officials who irresponsibly conducted the preparations for satellite launch" and demanded a probe into the "serious" failure, state-run KCNA said.

The committee reiterated a pledge to soon successfully launch its spy satellite, which Pyongyang has previously said it needs in order to counterbalance the growing US military presence in the region. — AFP


June 4, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong slammed the UN Security Council for holding a "most unfair" meeting over Pyongyang's recent spy satellite launch, state media reported on Sunday.

North Korea's new Chollima-1 rocket lost thrust and crashed into the sea with its satellite payload on Wednesday, Pyongyang said in a rare same-day announcement, adding that another test will be conducted as soon as possible.

The United States, South Korea and Japan slammed the launch, saying it violated UN resolutions barring the nuclear-armed country from any tests using ballistic missile technology.

The UN's under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, took the Security Council to task on Friday for a "lack of unity and action" on North Korea's tests.

Kim Yo Jong said the UN meeting was another reminder the council was acting as a "political appendage" to "gangster-like" Washington. — AFP


June 3, 2023

The United States, Japan and South Korea aim to share North Korean missile warning data before the end of 2023, the three countries said in a statement following a Saturday meeting of their defence chiefs in Singapore.

The three sides "recognized trilateral efforts to activate a data sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data before the end of the year in order to improve each country's ability to detect and assess missiles launched" by North Korea, the statement said.

The announcement followed a failed North Korean attempt to launch a spy satellite on Wednesday, which crashed into the sea after a rocket failure. — AFP


May 31, 2023

North Korea's launch of a "ballistic missile" violates UN Security Council resolutions, Japan says Wednesday, after what Pyongyang said was a failed attempt to put a satellite in space.

"As a ballistic missile launch like this one violates relevant UN Security Council resolutions, Japan firmly protested against North Korea and strongly condemned" the launch, Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno says

The reclusive state on Tuesday confirmed it planned to launch what it called a military reconnaissance satellite before June 11, having told Japan of its plans a day earlier. — AFP


May 30, 2023

State media reports that North Korea has confirmed it will launch a reconnaissance satellite in June, saying it is needed to monitor military movements of the United States and its partners in real time, citing a senior defense official.

Japan said Monday it had been informed by Pyongyang that a satellite launch could happen as early as this week, but Tokyo warned the North may in fact be planning a sanctions-defying ballistic missile test.

The North's state Korean Central News Agency cited Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the ruling party's central military commission, as saying the "military reconnaissance satellite No. 1" would be "launched in June". — AFP


May 22, 2023

Two European leaders met South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol for a summit in Seoul Monday where they discussed trade agreements, Ukraine, and North Korea's banned weapons programmes.

European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are on their first visit to the East Asian country.

The leaders agreed to increase cooperation in the face of global threats that include the war in Ukraine and North Korea's banned weapons programmes, according to a joint statement after the talks.

They condemned North Korea's "repeated illegal ballistic missile launches as well as its ongoing nuclear development and references to the possible use of nuclear weapons" and expressed support for Seoul's efforts to persuade Pyongyang to give up such weapons. — AFP


April 29, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong warns that a US-South Korean agreement aimed at strengthening deterrence against Pyongyang would only lead to "more serious danger," state media reported Saturday.

The United States and South Korea vowed Wednesday that North Korea would face a nuclear response and the "end" of the leadership there should it use its own arsenal, as the two countries' presidents met in Washington.

In response, Kim Yo Jong said the North was convinced that a nuclear deterrent "should be brought to further perfection." — AFP


April 19, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country has finished building its first military spy satellite and gave the green light for its launch, state media says.

The report of its completion comes about a week after Pyongyang launched what it said was a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, marking a major breakthrough in its banned weapons programmes.

Analysts have said there is significant technological overlap between the development of ICBMs and space launch capabilities.

Kim gave instructions on Tuesday to "make sure that the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 completed as of April will be launched at the planned date," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. — AFP


April 14, 2023

North Korea says it had successfully tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, which state media hailed as a key breakthrough for the country's nuclear counterattack capabilities.

South Korea's military said Thursday that the North had likely tested a new type of ballistic missile, with the launch briefly triggering an evacuation order in parts of Japan.

Photographs released by state media showed leader Kim Jong Un -- accompanied by his young daughter -- watching a black-and-white missile blast off in a cloud of smoke, and smiling in jubilation after the purportedly successful launch. — AFP


April 13, 2023

Seoul's military says North Korea likely fired a "new type" of ballistic missile Thursday that may have used advanced solid fuel, representing a potential technical breakthrough for Pyongyang's banned weapons programs.

"North Korea appears to have fired a new type of ballistic missile, possibly using solid fuel," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff tells AFP.

All of Pyongyang's known intercontinental ballistic missiles are liquid-fuelled, and solid-fuel ICBMs that can be launched from land or submarines have long been on top of leader Kim Jong Un's wish list.


April 13, 2023

North Korea fired a ballistic missile Thursday, Seoul's military said, prompting Japan to briefly issue a seek shelter warning to residents of the northern Hokkaido region.

South Korea's military said it had "detected one ballistic missile with a medium range or longer fired from the Pyongyang area at 0723 (1023 GMT)".

The missile was fired on a lofted trajectory — meaning up rather than out, typically done to avoid overflying neighboring countries — and "flew 1,000 km (621 miles) before landing in the East Sea," the military said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"South Korean and the US intelligence are analysing the specifics," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding they were "maintaining utmost readiness through close coordination with the United States."

Japanese officials earlier confirmed the missile had not fallen within the country's territory and posed no threat to residents. — AFP


April 11, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanding the country's war deterrence capabilities in a "more practical and offensive" way, state media says, to counter what it called "frantic" aggression by the United States and South Korea.

Pyongyang has opened the year with a flurry of weapons tests, including what state media has claimed are nuclear-capable underwater drones and the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles.

On Monday, Kim attended a meeting of the Central Military Commission to discuss ways to "cope with the escalating moves of the US imperialists and the south Korean puppet traitors to unleash a war of aggression," Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim ordered that the country's deterrence capabilities be strengthened with "increasing speed" and in a "more practical and offensive" manner. — AFP


April 8, 2023

North Korea claims Saturday it had tested another underwater nuclear attack drone, in its latest response to South Korean and United States military drills, though analysts have questioned whether Pyongyang has such a weapon.

In recent weeks, North Korea has tested what state media have described as an underwater nuclear-capable drone, and also carried out the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"A national defense science research institute in the DPRK carried out a test of underwater strategic weapon system from April 4 to 7," the official Korean Central News Agency says. — AFP


March 28, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his country to expand production of "weapon-grade nuclear materials" and build more powerful weapons, state media reported Tuesday.

Kim's latest threat, a doubling-down on an earlier promise to "exponentially" ramp up nuke production, came as a US Navy carrier strike group arrived in South Korea on Tuesday.

Kim was briefed by officials from the country's nuclear weapons institute, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, and said North Korea should prepare to use the weapons "anytime and anywhere".

He called on officials to expand "the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials" needed for an "exponential" increase in the country's arsenal.

Kim also "put spurs to continuing to produce powerful nuclear weapons" that he said would strike fear into the country's enemies, KCNA added.— AFP


March 28, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his country to expand production of "weapon-grade nuclear materials" and build more powerful weapons, state media reports.

Kim's latest threat, a doubling-down on an earlier promise to "exponentially" ramp up nuke production, came as a US Navy carrier strike group arrived in South Korea on Tuesday.

Kim was briefed by officials from the country's nuclear weapons institute, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, and said North Korea should prepare to use the weapons "anytime and anywhere".

He called on officials to expand "the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials" needed for an "exponential" increase in the country's arsenal.

Kim also "put spurs to continuing to produce powerful nuclear weapons" that he said would strike fear into the country's enemies, KCNA added. — AFP


March 27, 2023

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Monday, South Korea's military says, the latest in its flurry of weapons tests in recent weeks.

The launch comes as Seoul and Washington are carrying out a joint amphibious landing exercise, and just days after they wrapped up their largest combined military drills in five years.

North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned it would take "overwhelming" action in response.

"Our military detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from around Junghwa area in North Hwanghae province from 07:47 am (2247 GMT) towards the East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) says, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance against additional launches, while maintaining a full readiness posture through close cooperation between South Korea and the United States," it adds. — AFP


March 27, 2023

North Korea fired at least one unidentified ballistic missile Monday, South Korea's military said, the latest in its flurry of weapons tests in recent weeks.

"North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile towards the East Sea," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan's defence ministry also said "a suspected ballistic missile has been fired", with its coast guard saying the weapon was believed to have already fallen.

The launch comes as Seoul and Washington are carrying out a joint amphibious landing exercise, just days after wrapping up their largest combined military drills in five years Thursday.

Pyongyang views all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and on Friday claimed the recent drills, dubbed Freedom Shield, were practice for "occupying" North Korea. — AFP


March 22, 2023

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Wednesday, Seoul's military says, the latest launch which comes as South Korea and the United States stage major joint military drills.

"The South Korean military has detected multiple cruise missiles launched into the East Sea" by North Korea, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"Detailed specifications are being analysed by South Korea-US intelligence authorities," it adds. — AFP


March 20, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led two days of military drills "simulating a nuclear counterattack", including the launch of a ballistic missile, state media reports.

Kim expressed satisfaction over the weekend drills, which were held to "let relevant units get familiar with the procedures and processes for implementing their tactical nuclear attack missions", says the report by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The drills were the fourth show of force from Pyongyang in a week and came during Freedom Shield, the biggest US-South Korea military exercise in five years.

North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned it would take "overwhelming" action in response. — AFP


March 19, 2023

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reports, the latest launch to come as South Korea and the United States stage major military drills.

"North Korea fires ballistic missile towards the East Sea," Yonhap reports, citing Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff and referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

After a record-breaking year of weapons tests and growing nuclear threats from Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington have ramped up security cooperation, and on March 13 kicked off their largest joint military drills in five years.

Known as Freedom Shield, the drills run for 10 days. — AFP


March 18, 2023

State media says more than 800,000 young North Koreans have volunteered to join the army to fight "US imperialists", days after Pyongyang test-fired its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile.

After a record-breaking year of weapons tests and growing nuclear threats from Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington have ramped up security cooperation, and this week kicked off their largest joint military drills in five years.

North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned it would take "overwhelming" action in response. — AFP


March 17, 2023

State media images show that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter, personally oversaw the recent test-firing of the country's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile.

The launch on Thursday -- Pyongyang's second ICBM test this year -- involved a Hwasong-17 missile, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, adding that it was fired in response to "frantic" US-South Korea joint military drills.

Photographs in the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim watching the black-and-white Hwasong-17 -- dubbed a "monster missile" by analysts -- blast off into the sky. — AFP


March 14, 2023

Seoul's military says North Korea fired a ballistic missile Tuesday, Pyongyang's second launch in days, as South Korea and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in five years.

"North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile towards the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. — AFP


March 13, 2023

North Korea test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in a show of force hours before the United States and South Korea were to stage major joint military exercises, state media reports.

A submarine fired the weapons from waters off the eastern coastal city of Sinpo on Sunday morning, the KCNA news agency says.

The South Korean military said it detected the launch of a single unspecified missile, without giving details, the Yonhap news agency says.

KCNA says the drill was successful, as the missiles hit their designated and unspecified targets in waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. — AFP


March 13, 2023

North Korea test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in a show of force hours before the United States and South Korea were to stage major joint military exercises, state media reported early Monday.

A submarine fired the weapons from waters off the eastern coastal city of Sinpo on Sunday morning, the KCNA news agency said.

The South Korean military said it detected the launch of a single unspecified missile, without giving details, the Yonhap news agency said.

KCNA said the drill was successful, as the missiles hit their designated and unspecified targets in waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. 

The launch came hours before South Korea and the United States were set to kick off their largest joint exercises in five years on Monday. Nuclear-armed Pyongyang has warned such drills could be seen as a "declaration of war". -- AFP


March 12, 2023

North Korea has decided to take "important practical" war deterrence measures, state media reports, a day before Seoul and Washington begin their largest joint military drills in five years.

The decision was made at a meeting of the ruling party's military commission presided over by leader Kim Jong Un, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The meeting discussed and adopted the important practical steps for making more effective, powerful and offensive use of the war deterrent," KCNA says.

The report says the move was aimed at "coping with the present situation in which the war provocations of the U.S. and south Korea are reaching the red-line," but did not elaborate on the measures. — AFP


March 5, 2023

North Korea's foreign ministry called on the United Nations to urge a halt to joint military drills by Seoul and Washington, state media reports.

The drills and rhetoric from the allies have pushed tensions to an "extremely dangerous level," vice foreign minister Kim Son Gyong says in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"The UN and the international community will have to strongly urge the U.S. and south Korea to immediately halt their provocative remarks and joint military exercises," he says. 

The statement comes after officials from Seoul and Washington announced on Friday more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises from March 13 to 23. — AFP


February 24, 2023

North Korea says it had fired cruise missiles and claimed that ramped-up US-South Korean military drills "can be regarded as a declaration of war".

It came after the two allies conducted a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon focused on responses to a nuclear attack by Pyongyang.

North Korean forces held a "strategic cruise missile launching drill" in the early hours of Thursday, firing four Hwasal-2s, the official Korean Central News Agency reports. — AFP


February 24, 2023

North Korea says it had fired cruise missiles and claimed that ramped-up US-South Korean military drills "can be regarded as a declaration of war".

It came after the two allies conducted a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon focused on responses to a nuclear attack by Pyongyang.

North Korean forces held a "strategic cruise missile launching drill" in the early hours of Thursday, firing four Hwasal-2s, the official Korean Central News Agency reports.

The exercise demonstrated North Korea's "deadly nuclear counterattack capability against the hostile forces", it says. — AFP


February 22, 2023

North Korea rejects condemnation by the United Nations chief of its recent ballistic missile launches, saying it was "unfair and unbalanced" and ignored Pyongyang's right to self-defence.

The nuclear-armed North has fired three banned missiles in the past five days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile test Pyongyang said showed its capacity for a "fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces". 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded to Saturday's ICBM launch with a statement calling for Pyongyang to "immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions". — AFP


February 20, 2023

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned North Korea's weekend launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and called on Pyongyang to cease "provocative actions", his spokesman says.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the launch of yet another ballistic missile of intercontinental range by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," spokesman Stephane Dujarric says in a statement issued Sunday, referring to North Korea's official name.

He adds that Guterres reiterated a call for Pyongyang "to immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions." — AFP


February 19, 2023

North Korea says it had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as a warning to Washington and Seoul, saying the successful "surprise" drill demonstrated Pyongyang's "capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack".

Leader Kim Jong Un ordered the "sudden launching drill" at 8 am Saturday (2300 GMT) and a Hwasong-15 missile -- a weapon first tested by the North in 2017 -- was fired from Pyongyang airport that afternoon, the official KCNA reports.

South Korea's military said it detected an ICBM launch at 17:22 (0822 GMT) Saturday, which Japan said flew for 66 minutes before splashing down in its Exclusive Economic Zone, with their analysis indicating it was capable of hitting the mainland United States.

North Korea's leadership hailed the test -- the country's first in seven weeks -- saying it showed "the actual war capacity of the ICBM units which are ready for mobile and mighty counterattack," KCNA says. — AFP


February 18, 2023

North Korea fired at least one unspecified ballistic missile on Saturday, South Korea's military said, ahead of upcoming US-South Korea joint drills in Washington next week.

"North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into (the) East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.


February 9, 2023

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversaw a major military parade showcasing a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reports, including what analysts said was possibly a new solid-fueled ICBM.

The parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the country's armed forces featured fireworks, military bands and uniformed soldiers marching in unison to spell out "2.8" -- the day of the celebration -- and "75", the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Wearing the black coat and fedora combination favoured by his grandfather and North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung, Kim attended the February 8 parade with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and daughter Ju Ae, state media photographs showed.

Images showed the top leader standing flanked by his top generals in Pyongyang's central Kim Il Sung Square, saluting as troops and missile units parade past.

The weapons on show included at least 10 of the country's largest Hwasong-17 ICBMs, plus vehicles apparently designed to carry a solid-fueled ICBM, Seoul-based specialist site NK News reported. — AFP


February 7, 2023

North Korea's top army officials have said they will expand and intensify military drills to ensure their readiness for war, state media reports, ahead of a massive parade.

The pledge came at a Monday meeting overseen by leader Kim Jong Un and follows last week's staging of joint air drills by South Korea and the United States.

The agenda was topped by "the issue of constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills of the (Korean People's Army) ... strictly perfecting the preparedness for war", the official Korean Central News Agency says.

The meeting of North Korea's central military commission comes as commercial satellite imagery suggests "extensive parade preparations" are underway in Pyongyang ahead of key state holidays this month. — AFP


January 1, 2023

North Korea's Kim Jong Un has called for a major increase in the country's nuclear arsenal, including mass producing tactical nuclear weapons and developing new missiles for nuclear counterstrikes, state media said Sunday.

In a report at the end of a key party meeting in Pyongyang, Kim called "for an exponential increase of the country's nuclear arsenal", the official KCNA reported.

Citing what it called US and South Korean hostility, the report said the North needed "mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons" and to "develop another ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) system whose main mission is quick nuclear counterstrike".

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula rose sharply in 2022 as the North conducted sanctions-busting weapons tests nearly every month, including firing its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile ever.

It capped its record-breaking year of launches by firing three short range ballistic missiles early Saturday, and conducting another rare late-night launch at 2:50 am (1750 GMT Saturday) on Sunday, Seoul's military said.

The official KCNA reported Sunday that the launches had been "a test-fire of the super-large multiple rocket launchers". — AFP


December 31, 2022

Seoul's military say North Korea fired at least one "unspecified ballistic missile" Saturday morning.

"North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into (the) East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. — AFP


December 29, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday that South Korea must boost its preparedness to respond to airspace intrusions after the military failed to shoot down five North Korean drones that crossed the border.

The Monday intrusion by the drones -- one of which flew close to the capital Seoul -- prompted the South's military to deploy fighter jets and attack helicopters.

But despite a five-hour operation, the military failed to shoot down the North Korean drones, prompting widespread criticism over the response and an apology from the country's defence minister.

Yoon said the incident was "intolerable" and added that the South should ensure that Pyongyang "realise that provocations are always met with harsh consequences".

"In order for us to achieve peace, we need to make overwhelmingly superior war preparations," he said during a visit to the state-run Agency for Defence Development.

"The overall response system against all flying objects invading our airspace, on top of drones, must be re-examined to quickly make up for deficiencies." -- AFP


December 29, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol says Thursday that South Korea must boost its preparedness to respond to airspace intrusions after the military failed to shoot down five North Korean drones that crossed the border.

The Monday intrusion by the drones -- one of which flew close to the capital Seoul -- prompted the South's military to deploy fighter jets and attack helicopters.

But despite a five-hour-long operation, the military failed to shoot down the North Korean drones, prompting widespread criticism over the response and an apology from the country's military. — AFP


December 28, 2022

State media reports Kim Jong Un announced new goals for North Korea's military in a report to party leaders, hinting that sanctions-busting weapons tests will continue next year.

Kim is currently presiding over a major party meeting in capital Pyongyang, during which the top leader and other senior party officials outline their policy goals for 2023 in key areas including diplomacy, security and the economy.

Kim "set forth new key goals for bolstering up the self-reliant defence capability to be pushed ahead with in 2023," the official Korean Central News Agency reports Wednesday, without giving any details. — AFP


December 27, 2022

South Korea's military apologize for failing to shoot down five North Korean drones that crossed their shared border after facing wide criticism over its lack of readiness.

Monday's incursion prompted Seoul to fire warning shots and deploy fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the drones, one of which flew close to the capital.

"Yesterday, five enemy drones invaded South Korean airspace, and our military detected and tracked them, but we apologize for not being able to shoot them down," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) says in a statement. — AFP


December 24, 2022

Seoul's military says North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, the latest in a flurry of sanctions-busting weapons tests.

The launch comes at the end of a year that has seen Pyongyang conduct an unprecedented number of tests, including last month's launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile yet, with a range capable of hitting the US mainland.

Earlier this week, Pyongyang also claimed to have developed new capabilities to take images from space. — AFP


December 19, 2022

North Korea fired two medium-range ballistic missiles Sunday, Seoul's military said, days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel motor for a new weapons system.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen sharply this year as Pyongyang has carried out an unprecedented blitz of weapons tests, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile ever last month.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected two medium-range ballistic missiles that had been fired from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan province.

The missiles were fired from 11:13 am (0213 GMT) to 12:05 pm into the East Sea, it said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. — AFP


December 18, 2022

North Korea fired an "unidentified ballistic missile" Sunday, Seoul's military said, days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel motor for a new weapon system.

"North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Sunday's launch came days after North Korea tested a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor", with state media describing it as an important test "for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system".

Despite heavy international sanctions over its weapons programs, Pyongyang has built up an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). -- AFP


December 2, 2022

The United States, Japan and South Korea impose fresh sanctions on North Korean individuals and entities in response to Pyongyang's recent slew of missile tests.

Washington's action, announced Thursday, blocks any assets of three North Korean officials in the United States, a largely symbolic step against an isolated country that has defied international pressure over its weapons programs.

The US Treasury Department also threatened sanctions against anyone who conducts transactions with Jon Il Ho, Yu Jin and Kim Su Gil, who were identified as directly involved in weapons development. — AFP


November 27, 2022

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country aimed to have the world's most powerful nuclear force as he celebrated the launch of its newest intercontinental ballistic missile at a ceremony with his young daughter, state media reported Sunday.

Kim also handed promotions to more than 100 officials and scientists for their work on the Hwasong-17 -- dubbed the "monster missile" by analysts and believed to be capable of reaching the US mainland -- just days after Pyongyang test-fired it in one of its most powerful launches yet.

Hailing the new ICBM as "the world's strongest strategic weapon", Kim said North Korean scientists had made a "wonderful leap forward in the development of the technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Building the nuclear force to protect the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people "is the greatest and most important revolutionary cause, and its ultimate goal is to possess the world's most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century", Kim was quoted as saying in his order promoting the officials.

The leading officials and scientists had demonstrated to the world Pyongyang's "goal of building the world's strongest army", he added. -- AFP


November 24, 2022

State media reports that the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has described South Korea's president and government as "idiots" and a "faithful dog" of the United States.

Kim Yo Jong's vitriol follows Seoul this week saying it was considering fresh unilateral sanctions on the North over recent missile tests, including an intercontinental ballistic missile launch last week.

"This disgusting act shows more clearly that the south Korean group is a 'faithful dog' and stooge of the US," Kim says in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). — AFP


November 21, 2022

The G7 nations slam North Korea's "reckless" launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile and called on the UN Security Council to take further "significant" action to halt the tests.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations say repeated launching of missiles by North Korea "further destabilizes the region, despite calls from the international community for peace and stability."

The missile North Korea test fired on Friday appeared to be its newest ICBM with the potential range to hit the US mainland.

The G7 statement called for "a united and robust response by the international community, including the need for further significant measures to be taken by the UN Security Council." — AFP


November 18, 2022

North Korea fired an "unidentified ballistic missile" Friday, Seoul's military says, the second launch in two days as Pyongyang continues a record-breaking blitz that has sent fears of a nuclear test soaring.

South Korea's military detected the "launch of an unidentified ballistic missile in an eastward direction", Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says. — AFP


November 17, 2022

Seoul's military say North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile Thursday, the latest in a record blitz of launches as Pyongyang warned of a "fiercer" military response to the United States and its allies.

Washington has been seeking to boost regional security cooperation and ramp up joint military drills in response to increasing provocations from the nuclear-armed North, which views all such moves as evidence of US aggression.

US President Joe Biden discussed North Korea's recent missile tests with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping earlier this week, and also spoke with leaders from Tokyo and Seoul, as fears grow that the reclusive regime will soon carry out its seventh nuclear test. — AFP


November 9, 2022

North Korea fired a ballistic missile Wednesday, Seoul's military said, the latest launch from Pyongyang following a record-breaking testing blitz earlier this month.

The launch comes as the United States counted votes in the midterm elections for the House and Senate, which Seoul's spy agency had previously warned would be a possible moment for Kim Jong Un to conduct a long-expected nuclear test.

Seoul's military said it had "detected a short-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea into the East Sea from Sukchon, South Pyongan Province, at around 15:31 (0631 GMT)", referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"Strengthening surveillance and vigilance, the South Korean military maintains full preparedness while closely cooperating with the United States," it added.

The missile's "flight distance was detected at about 290 kilometres (180 miles), an altitude of about 30 kilometres, and a speed of about Mach 6," according to Seoul's military.

Japan also confirmed the launch, with the government tweeting that Pyongyang "has launched a suspected ballistic missile".  — AFP


November 4, 2022

South Korea's military says it had scrambled stealth jets after detecting the mobilisation of 180 North Korean warplanes, as Seoul and Washington conduct large-scale joint air drills which have infuriated Pyongyang.

"Our military detected around 180 North Korean warplanes" mobilised in Pyongyang's airspace, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says, adding Seoul "scrambled 80 fighter jets including F-35As" while jets involved in military drills with the US were also "maintaining readiness". — AFP


November 4, 2022

Seoul's military says North Korea fired an artillery barrage into a maritime "buffer zone" overnight, after a record-breaking blitz of launches that included a failed intercontinental ballistic missile test.

Seoul and Washington, which have warned Pyongyang's recent launches could culminate in a nuclear test, extended their largest-ever joint air drills through Saturday in response to the flurry of projectiles.

Shortly after that decision was announced Thursday, Pyongyang launched three short-range ballistic missiles, calling the move "a very dangerous and wrong choice". — AFP


November 3, 2022

North Korea unsuccessfully fired an intercontinental ballistic missile during a new salvo of launches Thursday, the South Korean military says, with Washington urging all nations to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang.

People in parts of northern Japan were ordered to seek shelter during the North's latest launches, which included two short-range missiles and followed a blitz of projectiles fired Wednesday.

The largest of Thursday's launches, however, "is presumed to have ended in failure", the South Korean military says.

The United States condemned the ICBM launch despite its apparent failure.

"This action underscores the need for all countries to fully implement DPRK-related UN Security Council resolutions," US State Department spokesman Ned Price said, using the North's official name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. — AFP


November 2, 2022

Seoul's military says North Korea fired an "unidentified ballistic missile" on Wednesday, a test that follows Pyongyang's warnings over large-scale joint air drills conducted by South Korea and the US.

"North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. — AFP 


October 28, 2022

The South's military says North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, the latest in a blitz of launches that Washington and Seoul have warned could culminate in Kim Jong Un conducting another nuclear test.

The launch comes as South Korea and the US conclude 12 days of amphibious naval joint military drills, and just ahead of the Monday start of major combined air drills that will involve more than 200 US and South Korean fighter jets.

Such drills infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly justified its blitz of missile launches as necessary "countermeasures" to what it deems US aggression. — AFP


October 26, 2022

The United States, Japan and South Korea warned that a North Korean nuclear test would warrant an "unprecedentedly strong response", vowing unity after a blitz of missile launches from the hermit state.

Following talks in Tokyo, the three nations' deputy foreign ministers say they would ramp up their deterrence in the region.

"We agreed to further strengthen cooperation ... so that North Korea can immediately stop its illegal activities and return to denuclearisation talks," says South Korea's Cho Hyun-dong.

"The three countries agreed on the need for an unprecedentedly strong response if North Korea proceeds with its seventh nuclear test," he tells reporters. — AFP


October 24, 2022

South Korea's military fired warning shots at a North Korean ship before dawn on Monday, deeming the vessel had crossed the adversaries' disputed maritime border, prompting the North to return warning fire, state and local media reported.

A North Korean merchant vessel crossed what is known as the Northern Limit Line at 3:42 a.m. but retreated northwards after the South's navy fired warning shots, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Pyongyang's Korean People's Army claimed a South Korean military vessel had "invaded" the de facto border by 2.5 to 5 kilometers (1.5 to 3 miles) a few minutes later and that the KPA fired 10 warning rounds from the country's west coast.

KPA "coastal defence units on the western front... took an initial countermeasure to powerfully expel the enemy warship by firing 10 shells of multiple rocket launchers toward the territorial waters, where naval enemy movement was detected, at 5:15," a KPA General Staff spokesman says in a statement. — AFP


October 19, 2022

North Korea on Wednesday fired an artillery barrage into waters off its coast for the second day in a row, targeting a maritime "buffer zone" set up in 2018 to reduce tensions with the South.

Pyongyang has dramatically ramped up missile launches and military exercises in recent weeks, as Seoul and Washington say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is close to conducting what would be his country's seventh nuclear test.

Roughly 100 artillery shells were fired from South Hwanghae province into the West Sea around 12:30 pm (GMT 0330) Wednesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, calling it a "clear violation" of the 2018 agreement.

"The North's continuing provocations not only undermine peace and security on the Korean peninsula but also for the international community. We strongly urge North Korea to immediately halt its actions," the JCS says in a statement. — AFP


October 13, 2022

Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of two long-range cruise missiles, state media said Thursday, adding that the weapons had already been deployed to "tactical nuke" units of the North Korean army.

Kim has overseen a blitz of ballistic missile launches in recent weeks, which Pyongyang has described as tactical nuclear drills that simulated taking out airports and military facilities across South Korea.

The Wednesday test of the two cruise missiles aimed at "enhancing the combat efficiency" of the weapons, which were "deployed at the units of the Korean People's Army for the operation of tactical nukes," KCNA reported.

The cruise missiles -- which travel at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept — flew 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) over the sea before hitting their targets, the Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim expressed "great satisfaction" with the tests, which he said showed the country's nuclear combat forces were at "full preparedness for actual war" and sent a "clear warning to the enemies," KCNA said. — AFP


October 10, 2022

The seven recent North Korean missile launches were all "tactical nuclear" drills, state media said Monday, which were personally overseen by leader Kim Jong Un.

At a key party congress in January 2021, Kim outlined a five-year defence development plan, calling for the development of smaller and lighter nuclear weapons for "more tactical uses."

Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up combined naval exercises in recent weeks, infuriating Pyongyang which sees them as rehearsals for invasion and justifies its blitz of missile launches as necessary "countermeasures".

KCNA said the blitz of recent tests were a response to those countries' joint drills, adding the exercises were "under the simulation of an actual war". — AFP


October 9, 2022

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea early Sunday, Seoul's military said, the seventh such launch in two weeks, just hours after a nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier wrapped up joint drills off the Korean peninsula.

Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up combined naval exercises in recent weeks, infuriating Pyongyang, which sees them as rehearsals for invasion and justifies its blitz of missile launches as necessary "countermeasures".

With talks long stalled, Pyongyang has doubled down on its banned weapons programmes, firing an intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan last week, with officials and analysts warning it has completed preparations for another nuclear test.

South Korea's military said Sunday it had "detected two short-range ballistic missiles between 0148 and 0158 (1648-1658 GMT) fired from the Munchon area in Kangwon province towards the East Sea", referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The missiles "flew approximately 350 kilometres (217 miles) at an altitude of 90 kilometres", Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, calling the launches a "serious provocation".

Tokyo also confirmed the launches, with the coast guard saying the missiles had landed outside the Japan's exclusive economic zone. -- AFP


October 6, 2022

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles Thursday and claimed its recent blitz of sanctions-busting tests were necessary countermeasures against joint military drills by the United States and South Korea.

As the United Nations Security Council met to discuss Pyongyang's Tuesday launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, North Korea blamed Washington for "escalating the military tensions on the Korean peninsula".

The recent launches — six in less than two weeks — were "the just counteraction measures of the Korean People's Army", Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.

Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up joint military drills in recent weeks, including large-scale naval manoeuvres and anti-submarine exercises. — AFP


October 4, 2022

Seoul's military say South Korean and US fighter jets carried out precision bombing drills Tuesday, in response to North Korea firing an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile over Japan.

"With the participation of four South Korean Air Force F-15Ks and four US Air Force F-16 fighters, South Korea's F-15K fired two joint direct attack munition (JDAM) bombs against a virtual target at the Jikdo shooting field in the West Sea," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says, referring to the Yellow Sea.

The drills aimed to demonstrate the allies' "capabilities to conduct a precision strike at the origin of provocations," they add. — AFP


October 1, 2022

South Korea's military say North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early Saturday, the nuclear-armed country's fourth such launch this week, as Seoul, Tokyo and Washington ramp up joint military drills to counter Pyongyang.

South Korea, Japan and the US staged anti-submarine drills Friday -- the first in five years -- just days after Washington and Seoul's navies conducted large-scale exercises in waters off the peninsula.

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also in Seoul Thursday and toured the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone which divides the peninsula, on a trip which aimed to underscore the "ironclad" US commitment to South Korea's defense against the North. — AFP


September 25, 2022

Seoul's military says North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday, just days after a US aircraft carrier arrived for joint drills with the South in a show of force against Pyongyang.

With talks long-stalled, nuclear-armed North Korea has doubled down on its banned weapons programmes, even revamping its laws earlier this month to declare itself an "irreversible" nuclear power.

The Sunday launch is the latest in a record-breaking blitz of weapons tests by Pyongyang so far this year, including firing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile at full range for the first time since 2017. — AFP


August 19, 2022

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rejects Seoul's offer of economic assistance in return for denuclearization steps, calling it the "height of absurdity" and a deal Pyongyang would never accept.

The statement follows South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol this week putting forward an "audacious" aid plan that would include food, energy and infrastructure help in return for the North abandoning its nuclear weapons programme. 

Analysts previously said the chances of Pyongyang accepting such a deal -- first floated during Yoon's inaugural speech -- were vanishingly slim, as the North, which invests an enormous chunk of its GDP into weapons programmes, has long made it clear it will not make that trade. — AFP


August 17, 2022

Seoul's defence ministry says North Korea fired two cruise missiles Wednesday, ending a month-long lull in Pyongyang's record-breaking spate of weapons tests this year.

"Early this morning, we detected that North Korea fired two cruise missiles into the West Sea from Onchon, South Pyongan province," a ministry official tells AFP.

"The US and South Korean military authorities are analysing detailed specifications such as flight distance."


August 12, 2022

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the South of causing a Covid outbreak in the country and warned of "retaliation", as Pyongyang declares "victory" over its outbreak, state media says Thursday.

North Korea has previously said that "alien things" near the border with the South caused the Covid outbreak in the isolated country, a claim that Seoul has rejected.

Despite a ban that took effect in 2021, South Korean activists have for years flown balloons containing propaganda leaflets and US dollars over the border, which Pyongyang has long protested against.

On Thursday, Kim Jong Un's sister, Yo Jong, blamed these activities for the country's Covid outbreak, saying they were a "crime against humanity", the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reports. —  AFP


August 12, 2022

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the South of causing a Covid outbreak in the country and warned of "retaliation", as Pyongyang declares "victory" over its outbreak, state media says Thursday.

North Korea has previously said that "alien things" near the border with the South caused the Covid outbreak in the isolated country, a claim that Seoul has rejected.

Despite a ban that took effect in 2021, South Korean activists have for years flown balloons containing propaganda leaflets and US dollars over the border, which Pyongyang has long protested against.

On Thursday, Kim Jong Un's sister, Yo Jong, blamed these activities for the country's Covid outbreak, saying they were a "crime against humanity", the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reports. —  AFP


July 28, 2022

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country was "ready to mobilize" its nuclear deterrent in any future military clash with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday.

Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned that Pyongyang is preparing to carry out its seventh nuclear test — a move that the United States has warned would provoke a "swift and forceful" response.

In Kim's latest speech to mark the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War — known as "Victory Day" in the North — he says the country's armed forces were "thoroughly prepared" for any crisis. 

"Our country's nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilise its absolute power faithfully, accurately and promptly in accordance with its mission," Kim says in a speech, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency. — AFP


June 6, 2022

South Korea and the United States fired eight ballistic missiles on Monday in response to North Korean weapons tests the previous day, Seoul's military says.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff say the allies launched the ground-to-ground Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile at targets in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, in the early morning.

The 10-minute volley comes a day after North Korea launched eight short-range ballistic missiles following a South Korea-US joint military exercise involving a US aircraft carrier.

"Our military strongly condemns the North's series of ballistic missile provocations and sternly urges it to immediately stop acts that raise military tensions on the peninsula," it adds. — AFP


June 5, 2022

South Korea's military says North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile into waters off its east coast, the latest in a recent series of weapons tests.

Pyongyang has doubled down on upgrading its weapons programme this year despite facing crippling economic sanctions.

"North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile(s) into the East Sea," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says Sunday morning, referring to the Sea of Japan. — AFP


June 3, 2022

North Korea skips the diplomatic niceties for a combative tone when it took the helm of the Conference on Disarmament.

"My country is still at war with the United States," declares Pyongyang's ambassador Han Tae-Song.

Around 50 countries voiced their outrage that unpredictable nuclear-armed North Korea is being tasked with chairing the world's most foremost multilateral disarmament forum for the next three weeks. — AFP 


June 1, 2022

The United States warns that it will try again to toughen UN sanctions if North Korea tests a nuclear weapon, after a bid last week was vetoed by China and Russia.

Asked if the United States would make a new attempt at the Security Council if North Korea goes ahead with a feared nuclear test, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says: "Absolutely we will."

"First of all we need to enforce the sanctions that we have already authority to enforce," she tells reporters. — AFP


May 27, 2022

China and Russia on Thursday vetoed tougher United Nations sanctions against North Korea, rejecting a US effort to punish Pyongyang for testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The resolution enjoyed the support of the 13 other members of the Security Council, although some US allies quietly wondered why Washington went ahead with the vote knowing the unflinching opposition from Beijing and Moscow.

China, the closest ally of North Korea, and Russia, whose relations with the West have sunk over its invasion of Ukraine, both said they would have preferred a non-binding statement rather than a fresh resolution with teeth against Pyongyang.

The United States "should not replace one-sided emphasis on the implementation of sanctions alone. It should also work to promote the political solution," said China's ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun. — AFP


May 25, 2022

North Korea test launched two ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast on Wednesday, just days after a visit to South Korea by US President Joe Biden.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced both launches, the Yonhap news agency said in two back-to-back reports, adding that the type of missile was "unspecified."

The launches mark the latest in a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests by Pyongyang this year, and come after fears that leader Kim Jong Un would carry out a nuclear test while Biden was in the region. — AFP


May 19, 2022

North Korea has completed preparations for a nuclear test and is seeking the best moment to carry it out, a South Korean lawmaker said Thursday, a day before US President Joe Biden is due to arrive in Seoul.

Despite North Korea's recent Covid-19 outbreak, "preparations for a nuclear test have been completed and they are only looking for the right time", lawmaker Ha Tae-keung told reporters after being briefed by Seoul's National Intelligence Service.

The United States said earlier it believes there is a "genuine possibility" that North Korea could conduct a nuclear test while Biden is on his first trip as president to Asia. — AFP


May 12, 2022

The United States and China took opposing stances at the UN Security Council Wednesday on how to reduce tensions with North Korea, with Washington arguing for more sanctions against Pyongyang while Beijing called for their easing.

The emergency meeting of the body charged with global peace and security came amid fears that North Korea will resume nuclear testing in the coming weeks. 

"It is time to stop providing tacit permission and start taking action," US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. "We need to turn quickly to strengthening the... sanctions regime, not considering sanctions relief." — AFP


May 10, 2022

New South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol calls for the "complete denuclearization" of the North, saying the neighbouring country's weapons programs were a threat to global security.

In his inaugural speech, he says that if Pyongyang "genuinely embarks on a process to complete denuclearization", he was prepared to present an "audacious plan" to boost the impoverished country's economy. — AFP


May 7, 2022

The South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the Sea of Japan on Saturday.

The latest launch comes just three days after Pyongyang last fired a missile, as warnings grow that it may conduct a nuclear test. — AFP


May 4, 2022

North Korea has fired an "unidentified projectile", South Korea's military said Wednesday.

"North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without giving further details. 

The Wednesday launch is the latest in a series of military provocations the nuclear-armed state has carried out this year, including its powerful intercontinental missile that can reach the continental United States. — AFP


April 30, 2022

State media reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeated his warning that Pyongyang could "preemptively" use its nuclear weaponry to counter hostile forces.

Kim told top military officers that to "maintain the absolute superiority" of North Korea's armed forces, the country should be able to "preemptively and thoroughly contain and frustrate all dangerous attempts and threatening moves... if necessary," the official KCNA news agency reports. 

Pyongyang should continue to build up its arsenal so that it can have the "overwhelming military muscle that no force in the world can provoke," Kim said, calling it the "lifeline guaranteeing the security of our country".  — AFP


April 26, 2022

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un said he would "strengthen and develop" the country's nuclear weapons during a speech at a high-profile military parade in Pyongyang, state media reports Tuesday.

"We will continue to take steps to strengthen and develop our nation's nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace," Kim says, according to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency. — AFP


April 24, 2022

North Korea's state media boasted Sunday that its armed forces had "gained invincible power" under leader Kim Jong Un as it prepares for a major army holiday that analysts say could be marked with a military parade or major weapons test.

North Korea on Monday celebrates the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army and the nuclear-armed country has staged military parades in the past to mark key holidays.

Pyongyang has carried out more than a dozen weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.

A report by the North's official Korean Central News Agency listed the history of the country's military achievements, from its battles against the United States in the 1950-53 Korean War to smaller conflicts.

"All the people of the country are looking back deeply on the history of the 100 victory of our revolutionary armed forces," it said.

The report added Kim had further propelled the country's military might with his "genius military ideology, excellent military command and unparalleled courage and guts".

"Our revolutionary armed forces have gained invincible power that the world cannot ignore," it said, in an apparent reference to the North's nuclear arsenal. -- AFP


April 14, 2022

After firing its largest-ever missile, North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test, officials and analysts say, reviving a longstanding debate south of the border: should Seoul have nukes too?

Pyongyang has conducted a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests this year, including launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017.

It was a dramatic return to long-range testing after a years-long pause while leader Kim Jong Un embarked on a round of failed diplomacy with then-US president Donald Trump in 2018.

Renewed North Korean sabre-rattling, coupled with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has shifted the public mood in South Korea -- with growing demand for their own deterrent. -- AFP


April 5, 2022

North Korea will use its nuclear weapons to "eliminate" South Korea's army in the event they launch a pre-emptive strike, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un says.

Kim Yo Jong's warning, carried in state media, was her second angry retort in three days to comments made by South Korea's defence chief Suh Wook last week.

They come as North Korea has resumed its sanctions-breaking weapons tests with an unprecedented blitz this year, last month firing its first intercontinental ballistic missile at full range since 2017. — AFP


April 5, 2022

North Korea will use its nuclear weapons to "eliminate" South Korea's army in the event they launch a pre-emptive strike, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong's warning, carried in state media, was her second angry retort in three days to comments made by South Korea's defence chief Suh Wook last week.

"In case South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty," said Kim Yo Jong, who is a key policy advisor in Pyongyang. — AFP


March 30, 2022

North Korea faked the launch of what analysts have dubbed its "monster missile" last week, Seoul's military said Wednesday, adding that the test was, in reality, likely the same intercontinental ballistic missile Pyongyang fired in 2017.

North Korea last Friday claimed to have successfully test-fired a Hwasong-17 missile — a long-range ICBM that analysts say may be capable of carrying multiple warheads — which it first unveiled at a military parade in 2020.

But South Korea's defence ministry told AFP that Seoul and Washington have now concluded that the launch was actually of a Hwasong-15, an ICBM that Pyongyang test-fired in 2017.

"US and South Korean intelligence has determined that what was fired on March 24 was a Hwasong-15," the defence ministry official told AFP. — AFP


March 28, 2022

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to build up "overwhelming" and unstoppable military power, state media reported Monday, days after he presided over the nation's biggest missile launch.

"Only when one is equipped with the formidable striking capabilities, overwhelming military power that cannot be stopped by anyone, one can prevent a war, guarantee the security of the country and contain and put under control all threats and blackmails by the imperialists," Kim told workers involved in the launch, KCNA reported. 

"We will continue to attain the goal of reinforcing national defense capabilities." — AFP


March 24, 2022

South Korea's military says it had fired a barrage of missiles in response to North Korea's Thursday test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

"In response to North Korea's ICBM launch, our military jointly fired missiles from ground, sea, air," from 16:25 (7:25 GMT) in the Sea of Japan, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement. — AFP


March 24, 2022

North Korea fires "unidentified projectile", according to South Korea's military.


March 16, 2022

North Korea fired an "unidentified projectile" Wednesday but the launch appears to have immediately failed, South Korea's military says. 

"North Korea fired an unknown projectile from the Sunan area around 09:30 today, but it is presumed that it failed immediately after launch," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement. — AFP


March 11, 2022

North Korea has been using satellite subterfuge to test parts of a so-called "monster" missile, analysts say, as it gears up for a sanctions-shattering launch ahead of a key domestic anniversary.

Masking these as satellite tests can help them to "buy time" to develop what they need to launch an ICBM, said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean studies scholar, told AFP.

And Pyongyang has a clear deadline: North Korea will mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of founding leader and Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung in April and likes to mark key domestic anniversaries with military parades or launches.

"It's very likely that North Korea is going to test-fire an ICBM on April 15 for Kim Il Sung's birthday," Ahn said. — AFP


March 11, 2022

Recent missile tests conducted by North Korea were of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system, marking a "serious escalation" by Pyongyang that will be punished with fresh sanctions, a senior US official says.

Although the individual February 26 and March 4 tests did not display ICBM range or capability, they were clearly intended "to test elements of this new system before (North Korea) conducts a launch in full range," the official says. — AFP


March 9, 2022

An official tells AFP that South Korea seized an unarmed North Korean boat and seven crew and fired a warning shot at a patrol vessel that tried to intervene.

The North Korean patrol boat crossed the de facto maritime border off the west coast of the peninsula early Tuesday while chasing a vessel that was heading south, a defence ministry official said.

The South Korean navy fired a warning shot at the North Korean patrol boat, which turned around and headed back to the North, the official adds.


March 6, 2022

North Korea carried out "another important test" towards the development of a reconnaissance satellite, state media said Sunday, but analysts warned it was a thinly-veiled ballistic missile launch, just days before South Korea elects a new president.

From hypersonic to medium-range ballistic missiles, Pyongyang test-fired a string of banned weaponry in January and last week launched what it claimed was a component of a "reconnaissance satellite" -- although Seoul described it as another ballistic missile.

North Korea is under biting international sanctions for its nuclear weapons programs, but peaceful satellite launches are not subject to the same level of restrictions -- although they use much of the same technology.

The development of a military reconnaissance satellite -- along with the hypersonic weapons tested in January -- is officially one of Pyongyang's key defence projects, as outlined by leader Kim Jong Un last year. -- AFP


March 5, 2022

South Korea's military say North Korea fired at least one "unidentified projectile" on Saturday, the nuclear-armed country's ninth suspected weapons test this year.

"North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement, without giving further details.

Pyongyang carried out an unprecedented seven weapons tests in January, including of its most powerful missile since 2017, when leader Kim Jong Un baited then-US president Donald Trump with a spate of provocative launches. — AFP


February 27, 2022

North Korea has fired an "unidentified projectile", South Korea's military said Sunday morning, after a seemingly quiet month without launches during the Beijing Olympics.

"North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward," the Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement, without giving further details.

Pyongyang carried out an unprecedented seven weapons tests in January, including of its most powerful missile since 2017, when leader Kim Jong Un baited then-US president Donald Trump with a spate of provocative launches. — AFP


February 13, 2022

The top diplomats of Japan, South Korea and the United States declared their unity against North Korea on Saturday after a series of ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang.

Pyongyang needs "to cease its unlawful activities and instead engage in dialogue," they said.

"The DPRK is in a phase of provocation," Blinken told a press conference alongside his fellow foreign ministers, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 

"We continue to work to find ways to hold the DPRK accountable," he said, citing the most recent sanctions slapped on eight people and entities tied to the North Korean government. — AFP


February 3, 2022

Britain, France and Germany condemn a battery of "provocative" missile tests by North Korea and urged it to comply with UN resolutions ahead of Security Council talks.

"We strongly condemn these provocative actions, which undermine regional as well as international peace and security and are in clear violation of multiple unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions," the European powers say in a joint statement.

"Such activity is a matter of grave concern and will receive a united response," their foreign ministries say.


February 2, 2022

The United States has requested an emergency meeting on Thursday of the UN Security Council on North Korea, which launched its most powerful missile since 2017 last weekend, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. 

The meeting is expected to be held behind closed doors. It is up to Russia, the president of the Security Council for the month of February, to confirm the timing.

"We really do hope that the Council will be able to speak with one voice" with a declaration, a diplomat speaking on the condition of anonymity said. — AFP


January 30, 2022

North Korea fired an "unidentified projectile" Sunday, the South's military said, the latest in a salvo of missile tests by Pyongyang in recent weeks.

It marks the North's seventh weapons test this year, as the regime flexes its military muscles while ignoring US offers of talks.

The last time North Korea tested this many weapons in a month was in 2019, after high-profile negotiations between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump collapsed. — AFP


January 20, 2022

North Korea hints it could resume its nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests, as top officials led by Kim Jong Un said the country was preparing for a "long-term confrontation" with the United States, state-run media reports.

A meeting of the party Central Committee's politburo "gave an instruction to a sector concerned... to promptly examine the issue of restarting" all activities that had been temporarily suspended, state media KCNA reports, in a likely reference to Pyongyang's nuclear and ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) programs.

"The hostile policy and military threat by the US have reached a danger line that can not be overlooked any more," KCNA says. — AFP


January 19, 2022

The United States has called for a fresh meeting of the UN Security Council on North Korea after Pyongyang's fourth sanctions-breaking missile test since the start of the year, diplomats said Tuesday.

The closed-door meeting is expected to take place on Thursday, one diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, saying that Albania, Britain, France, Ireland and Mexico had expressed support for the US initiative.

"We will continue to ramp up the pressure on the North Koreans," the US envoy to the world body, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in an interview with The Washington Post. — AFP


January 18, 2022

North Korea says it had launched two tactical guided missiles, its fourth sanctions-busting test of the year as it seeks to bolster its conventional weaponry while rebuffing offers of talks from the United States.

Since leader Kim Jong Un avowed his commitment to military modernization at a key party speech last month, the nuclear-armed country has conducted a string of weapons tests, including of hypersonic missiles.

Washington hit Pyongyang with fresh sanctions last week and North Korea responded by doubling down on testing, asserting its "legitimate right" to self-defense. — AFP


January 18, 2022

North Korea says Tuesday it test-fired two tactical guided missiles a day earlier to verify the accuracy of that weapon system.

The state news agency KCNA says Tuesday: "The two tactical guided missiles launched in the western area of the DPRK precisely hit an island target in the East Sea of Korea." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The Academy of Defence Science confirmed the accuracy, security and efficiency of the operation of the weapon system under production," KCNA says. — AFP


January 17, 2022

North Korea has fired an "unidentified projectile", South Korea's military said Monday, in what would be the nuclear-armed country's fourth weapons test this month.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said: "North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the East Sea," referring to the Sea of Japan. — AFP


January 15, 2022

State media reports that North Korea fired two railway-borne tactical guided missiles, the country's third weapons test this month despite a volley of new United States sanctions.

South Korea's military said it had detected the launch of two short-range ballistic missiles Friday afternoon, just hours after Pyongyang accused the United States of "provocation" over fresh sanctions.

The tests were held to "check and judge the proficiency in the action procedures of the railway-borne regiment," Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency says. — AFP


January 11, 2022

North Korea fired a "suspected ballistic missile" into the sea, South Korea's military said Tuesday, less than a week after Pyongyang reported testing a hypersonic missile.

The early-morning launch came as the UN Security Council met in New York to discuss last week's test of what Pyongyang called a hypersonic missile.

"Our military detected a suspected ballistic missile fired by North Korea from land towards the East Sea at around 7:27 a.m. today," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The launch was also reported by Japan's coast guard, which said the North had fired a "ballistic missile-like object".

On Monday, six countries, including the United States and Japan, urged North Korea to cease "destabilizing actions" ahead of the UN Security Council closed-door meeting. — AFP


January 7, 2022

The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors Monday to discuss the testing of what North Korea said was a hypersonic missile, according to diplomatic sources.  

The meeting was requested by the United States, France and the United Kingdom — three of the five permanent members on the Security Council — as well as Ireland and Albania, the sources said Thursday.

In 2017, the Security Council unanimously passed three sets of economic sanctions after North Korea carried out nuclear and missile tests — a rare showing of unity for the often gridlocked body. 

No joint declaration is expected after Monday's meeting, one diplomat said, although another added that statements are likely to be issued before or afterwards. — AFP


January 6, 2022

North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic missile, state media reported Thursday, in the first major weapons test by the nuclear-armed nation this year.

This was the second reported test of what Pyongyang claimed were hypersonic gliding missiles, as it pursues the sophisticated technology despite international sanctions and condemnation.

Hypersonic missiles move far faster and are more agile than standard ones, making them much harder for missile defence systems -- on which the United States is spending billions -- to intercept.

The missile fired on Wednesday carried a "hypersonic gliding warhead" that "precisely hit a target 700 km away", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, without identifying the launcher. — AFP


October 24, 2021

The US on Sunday urged North Korea to stop "counterproductive" missile tests, but expressed hope Pyongyang would respond positively to Washington's call for dialogue.

It comes after North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Tuesday, prompting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

US special representative on North Korea Sung Kim met his southern counterpart Noh Kyu-duk after a meeting with their Japanese counterpart in Washington.

He labelled Tuesday's launch a "provocation", and urged Pyongyang to stop "concerning and counterproductive" missile tests.

"We hope the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach," Kim told reporters in Seoul, using the acronyms of North Korea's official same. 

Tuesday's launch was the latest in a series of recent weapons tests by the country, including a long-range cruise missile, a train-launched weapon, and what it said was a hypersonic warhead. — AFP


October 20, 2021

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency closed-door meeting on North Korea on Wednesday, diplomats told AFP after state media said Pyongyang had successfully tested a "new type" of submarine-launched ballistic missile. 

The session, which will be held in the afternoon, was requested by Britain and the United States, the same sources said. — AFP


October 20, 2021

North Korea fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile into the sea on Tuesday, the South's military said, in Pyongyang’s latest advance in weapons technology and one that could give it a second-strike capability.

The test came as both Koreas were building up their weapons capabilities in what could become an arms race on the peninsula, and with Washington-Pyongyang dialogue at a standstill.

The "short-range ballistic missile suspected to be an SLBM" was fired from Sinpo into the sea east of the peninsula, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. — AFP


October 19, 2021

A North Korean weapons test on Tuesday was believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile, the South's military says.

"Our military detected one unidentified short-range ballistic missile presumed to be an SLBM fired by North Korea," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement. — AFP


October 4, 2021

North and South Korea restored their cross-border hotline on Monday, a step that Seoul said could help improve relations after Pyongyang sparked global concern with a string of missile tests in recent weeks.

The two sides resumed communications with officials exchanging their first phone call since August, days after the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting over the North Korean missile tests.

The two Koreas had signalled a surprise thaw in relations in late July by announcing the resumption of cross-border communications — severed more than a year earlier — but the detente was short-lived, as Pyongyang stopped answering calls just two weeks later. — AFP


October 3, 2021

North Korea on Sunday slammed the UN Security Council for holding an emergency meeting over the country's latest missile tests, accusing the member states of toying with a "time-bomb".

Pyongyang said Friday it had successfully fired an anti-aircraft missile, the latest in a series of tension-raising steps by the nuclear-armed state, which had until recently been biding its time since the change in US administrations in January.

In September, it launched what it said was a long-range cruise missile, and earlier this week tested what it described as a hypersonic gliding vehicle, which South Korea's military said appeared to be in the early stages of development.

The tests prompted UN Security Council member states to convene an emergency meeting on North Korea on Friday, called by the United States, Britain and France.

The meeting was originally due to take place on Thursday but was delayed. It lasted just over an hour and ended without a statement. — AFP


September 30, 2021

The UN Security Council will meet Thursday to discuss the situation in North Korea, diplomats said, after Pyongyang said it tested a new hypersonic gliding missile -- the latest apparent advance in the nuclear-armed nation's weapons technology.

The meeting — organized at the request of the United States, Britain and France — is expected to take place Thursday morning behind closed doors, a diplomat told AFP, without saying if the talks were expected to result in the adoption of a joint statement. — AFP


September 29, 2021

North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic gliding missile, state media reported Wednesday, in what would be the nuclear-armed nation's latest advance in weapons technology.

The launch from Jagang province "confirmed the navigational control and stability of the missile", along with its "guiding manoeuverability and the gliding flight characteristics of the detached hypersonic gliding warhead" and the engine, according to KCNA.

"The test results proved that all the technical specifications met the design requirements", it added. — AFP


September 28, 2021

The US State Department says it "condemns" North Korea's apparent missile launch and urged Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.

"The United States condemns the DPRK's missile launch," the department says in a statement. "This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community. We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on them to engage in dialogue." — AFP


September 28, 2021

North Korea's ambassador to the UN told the General Assembly on Monday that "nobody can deny" the nuclear-armed country the right to test weapons.

"Nobody can deny the right to self-defense for the DPRK to develop, test, manufacture and possess the weapon systems equivalent to the ones which are possessed or being developed by them," Kim said, referring to South Korea and the United States.

"We are just building up our national defense in order to defend ourselves and reliably safeguard the security and peace of the country," he added. — AFP


September 16, 2021

The UN Security Council on Wednesday gathered behind closed doors for an emergency meeting about North Korea's latest ballistic missile test which member states consider a "major threat," the French ambassador says.

"We all condemned what happened, the tests," he says. "Everyone is very concerned about this situation," de Riviere told several journalists after the 45-minute meeting. 

"This is a major threat to peace and security, it's a clear violation of the Council's resolutions," he adds, saying that the missiles had fallen "within Japan's exclusive economic zone." — AFP


September 15, 2021

According to the South's military, the North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea as China's foreign minister visited Seoul -- Pyongyang's second launch in less than a week.

Analysts said the timing was an unmistakable signal to Beijing, the North's key diplomatic ally and main partner for trade and aid -- although at times their relationship has been deeply strained.

Pyongyang is under a self-imposed blockade after closing its borders early last year to protect itself against the coronavirus pandemic. — AFP


September 15, 2021

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the sea on Wednesday, according to the South's military, days after Pyongyang said it had successfully tested new long-range cruise missiles.

The nuclear-armed North had "fired an unidentified projectile into the East Sea", Seoul's joint chiefs of staff says in a statement to AFP. — AFP


September 13, 2021

The United States military said Sunday missile tests conducted by North Korea over the weekend posed 'threats' to the country's neighbors and beyond. 

"This activity highlights DPRK's continuing focus on developing its military program and the threats that poses to its neighbors and the international community," the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement, using the North's official name. — AFP


September 13, 2021

North Korea has test-fired what it called a new type of "long-range cruise missile" over the weekend, the country's state Korean Central News Agency reported early Monday, calling the trials a success.

The test launches, which took place on both Saturday and Sunday, were observed by high-level officials, KCNA said, adding that the tests had been carried out "successfully". — AFP


September 9, 2021

North Korea appears to have staged a military parade in Pyongyang in the early hours of Thursday, the South's defence ministry said, in what would be the nuclear-armed nation's third such display in less than a year.

Pyongyang has continued to pursue its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes — for which it is internationally sanctioned — during the diplomatic engagement of recent years and uses the set-pieces to show off its latest developments.

At the last parade in January — a night-time event days before Joe Biden's inauguration as US president — submarine-launched ballistic missiles rolled through Kim Il Sung Square in front of a grinning Kim Jong Un, with the official KCNA news agency describing them as the "world's most powerful weapon". — AFP


August 30, 2021

Nuclear-armed North Korea appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing reprocessing reactor in a "deeply troubling" development, the UN atomic agency has said, a possible sign Pyongyang is expanding its banned weapons programme.

Since early July, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its annual report.

The Yongbyon reactor appeared to have been inactive from December 2018 until then, added the report dated Friday. — AFP


March 31, 2021

The Philippine government expresses deep concern over North Korea's ballistic missile launch last March 25.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says such actions undermine regional peace and stability not only in the Korean Peninsula but also in the entire region.

"We reiterate our call on [North Korea to comply with its international obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and commit to the process of constructive dialogue," the DFA says in a statement released March 31.


March 26, 2021

North Korea has tested a new "tactical guided projectile" with a solid-fuel engine, state media says Friday after the nuclear-armed country carried out its first substantive provocation since US President Joe Biden's inauguration.

The North on Thursday launched two weapons from its east coast, with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga calling them ballistic missiles.

Pyongyang is under multiple international sanctions over its weapons programmes, with UN Security Council resolutions banning it from developing ballistic missiles. —  AFP


March 25, 2021

North Korea fired a device into the sea early Thursday, the South's military says, in what could be its first ballistic missile test during the Biden administration.

Seoul's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that the "unidentified projectile" was launched into the Sea of Japan, known as the East Sea in Korea.

No further details of the device type, or how many were fired in total, were immediately available. —  AFP


March 24, 2021

North Korea test-fired several missiles just days after a visit to the region by the top US defense and diplomatic officials, a US official says Tuesday, in Pyongyang's first overt challenge to the Biden administration.

Two missiles were fired on Sunday, the official confirms, in an echo of past practices of Pyongyang using its missile tests to provoke both Washington and Seoul.

While the official would not describe the missiles, the Washington Post calls them short-range. —  AFP


November 12, 2020

North Korea has accused the UN agency responsible for regulating atomic energy of being a puppet of hostile countries after a new report said the isolated nation's nuclear weapons stockpile was breaking international law.

Pyongyang has gradually built an atomic stockpile after abandoning the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003, and has tested several nuclear bombs in the years since.

Since Kim Jong Un took over from his father as the country's supreme leader, North Korea's military has made rapid strides in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, and has been subjected to increasingly strict international sanctions as a result.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, whose inspectors have not been allowed into the country for more than a decade, said Wednesday that Pyongyang's weapons programme was "deeply regrettable."

North Korea's nuclear activities "remain a cause for serious concern," said agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi in a report to the UN General Assembly. — AFP


June 16, 2020

North Korea blew up a liaison office with the South in the border city of Kaesong on Tuesday, Seoul's Unification ministry says, after days of increasingly virulent rhetoric from Pyongyang.

"North Korea blows up Kaesong Liaison Office at 14:49," the office of the spokesman for the ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations, says in a one-line alert sent to reporters. — AFP


March 2, 2020

North Korea fires an unidentified projectile on Monday, the South's military

says, weeks after Pyongyang declared its moratorium on long-range missile tests over.

The statement from the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff gave no further details. The North carried out a series of weapons tests late last year. — AFP


January 1, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared to skip his set-piece New Year speech Wednesday, with analysts suggesting the move may have been to avoid implicitly admitting mistakes in the last two years of diplomacy with the US.

Kim has been giving the annual speech since 2013, after he revived the tradition started by his grandfather -- North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung.

It has been a key moment in the North Korean political calendar, reviewing the past and setting out goals for the future, and printed in full in the Rodong Sinmun mouthpiece newspaper.

At first he wore a party uniform and stood at a lectern to address troops, but the format has evolved over time as Pyongyang modernises its messaging, and last year he sat in his office in a Western-style suit and tie.

But this year there was no January 1 morning broadcast -- as has been standard recently -- or even at noon, considered the latest likely time. -- AFP


January 1, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an end to moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and threatened a demonstration of a "new strategic weapon" soon.

Analysts said the announcement, reported by state media on Wednesday, amounted to Kim putting a missile "to Donald Trump's head" -- but warned that escalation by Pyongyang would probably backfire.

Washington was swift to respond, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging Kim to "take a different course" and stressing that the US wanted "peace not confrontation" with the North, while Trump played down the development.

Pyongyang has previously fired missiles capable of reaching the entire US mainland, and has carried out six nuclear tests, the last of them 16 times the size of the Hiroshima blast, according to the highest estimates. -- AFP


December 29, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has convened a key meeting of top ruling party officials, state media said Sunday, ahead of a year-end deadline for Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks.

The plenary session, which opened on Saturday, follows widespread speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile -- as a threatened "Christmas gift" for Washington.

Kim presided over the meeting which discussed a new "transparent, anti-imperialist independent stand", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The ruling Workers' Party of Korea will also "discuss important matters arising... in the building of the state and national defence", KCNA added.

Talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula have been largely deadlocked since the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed in Hanoi at the start of this year. — AFP


December 24, 2019

China hosted the leaders of squabbling neighbours South Korea and Japan for their first meeting in over a year on Tuesday, flexing its diplomatic muscle with America's two key military allies in Asia and seeking regional unity on how to deal with a belligerent North Korea.

The gathering in the southwestern city of Chengdu was held with the clock ticking on a threatened "Christmas gift" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that could reignite global tensions over its nuclear program.

The gathering also featured the first bilateral meeting between South Korea's Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 15 months. — AFP


December 24, 2019

Former US national security adviser John Bolton on Monday sharply criticized President Donald Trump's North Korea policy, warning that the Asian country posed an "imminent" threat.

"The risk to US forces & our allies is imminent & more effective policy is required before NK has the technology to threaten the American homeland," tweeted Bolton, who was dismissed in September amid growing disagreements with Trump, particularly regarding his North Korea policy.

The erstwhile advisor, a longtime hawk on North Korea, was openly skeptical of the 2018 summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and encouraged the US president to be cautious.

The denuclearization process has been largely deadlocked since the collapse of a second summit in Hanoi at the start of this year. North Korea promised an ominous "Christmas gift" earlier this month if Washington does not give ground by the end of December. — AFP


December 22, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed strengthening his country's military capability with top military officials, state media reported Sunday, with Pyongyang's end-of-year deadline for the US to offer concessions approaching.

The North promised an ominous "Christmas gift" earlier this month if Washington does not give ground by the end of December. The denuclearization process has been largely deadlocked since the collapse of a summit in Hanoi at the start of the year. 

Pyongyang has carried out a series of static tests at its Sohae rocket facility this month, after a number of weapons launches in recent weeks — some of them described as ballistic missiles by Japan and others. North Korea is banned from carrying out such tests under UN sanctions. — AFP


December 8, 2019

North Korea carries out 'very important test' at Sohae launch site, KCNA reports — Agence France-Presse


October 2, 2019

A North Korean projectile appears to have breached Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone, Tokyo says.

North Korea on Wednesday fires "projectiles" toward the sea, South Korea's military earlier said, a day after Pyongyang signalled a resumption of nuclear talks with the US.

"North Korea fired unidentified projectiles from Wonsan ... towards the East Sea (Sea of Japan) this morning," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said without providing further details.

"Our military is monitoring the situation for additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture," the JCS said in a statement.

The launch came a day after the North's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said that Pyongyang had agreed to hold working-level talks with Washington later this week. -- Agence France-Presse


August 11, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a "new weapon" test, state media reports, the latest in a series of launches that US President Donald Trump has played down as Washington seeks to restart nuclear talks with Pyongyang.

The report carried by the Korean Central News Agency followed Trump's comments that Kim had expressed a willingness to meet once the US-South Korean exercises are over and apologized for the slew of missile tests.

Saturday's launch was the North's fifth test in two weeks as it protests the annual military drills under way between Seoul and Washington which always infuriates Pyongyang. Defense officials in Seoul said Pyongyang fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles Saturday, flying 400 kilometers (250 miles) before splashing down in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan. — Agence France-Presse


August 2, 2019

North Korea carried out its third missile test in eight days Friday, according to the South's military, but US President Donald Trump says he has "no problem" with the spate of launches by Pyongyang.

The nuclear-armed North is barred from ballistic missile tests under UN resolutions and its actions have drawn condemnation from European members of the Security Council but a comparatively sanguine response from Trump, who has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times, generating global headlines on each occasion.

"I have no problem, we'll see what happens but short range (missiles) are very standard," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Ohio. — Agence France-Presse


August 1, 2019

South Korea's military said Wednesday that two ballistic missiles had been fired from the Wonsan area on North Korea's east coast.

Kim "repeatedly expressed satisfaction over the result of the test-fire," and "highly appreciated" the national defense science and munitions industry personnel who have "made another wonderful Korean-style multiple launch rocket system," KCNA said.

While there was little further detail on the weapons, the guided rockets "will play a main role in ground military operations," KCNA said.

The North is banned from ballistic missile launches under UN Security Council resolutions, but Wednesday's firings were the second such in less than a week, despite a meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump last month.

Pyongyang and Washington are engaged in a long-running diplomatic process over the North's nuclear and missile programmes that has seen three high-profile encounters between their leaders in the space of a year. — Agence France-Presse


May 9, 2019

Weapons fired by North Korea Thursday appeared to be two separate missiles, the South's military says, in what was Pyongyang's second launch in less than a week.

The North "fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles" from North Pyongan province, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, adding they flew 270 and 420 kilometers and the South Korean and US militaries were jointly analyzing them. -- Agence France-Presse


May 9, 2019

Weapons fired by North Korea Thursday appeared to be two separate missiles, the South's military says, in what was Pyongyang's second launch in less than a week.

The North "fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles" from North Pyongan province, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, adding they flew 270 and 420 kilometers and the South Korean and US militaries were jointly analyzing them. -- Agence France-Presse


March 9, 2019

US news outlet NPR has reports that North Korea may be preparing for a missile or space launch, based on satellite image analysis of a key facility near Pyongyang.

NPR says the images of Sanumdong, one of the facilities Pyongyang has used to produce inter-continental ballistic missiles and space rockets, were taken days before US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi for their high-stakes summit, which ended in failure. — AFP


January 10, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed "concern" about the deadlock in denuclearisation discussions in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday.

Kim "raised concern about the impasse created in the process of improving US-DPRK ties and in denuclearisation talks", the official KCNA news agency said.

Kim said Pyongyang's "basic position of pursuing a peaceful resolution through dialogue remains unchanged", it added.

China is the North's main diplomatic backer and key trade partner, whose forces were instrumental in fighting for it during the 1950-53 Korean War. 

According to KCNA, Beijing issued a ringing endorsement of the North's position. -- Agence France-Presse


November 23, 2018

The head of the U.N.'s atomic watchdog has called on North Korea to allow inspectors back into the country to monitor its nuclear program.

Speaking at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Director General Yukiya Amano notes that Pyongyang had in September talked about denuclearization measures including the "permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon" — a reactor where it produces plutonium. — AP


August 31, 2018

Russia says it is holding up release of a report by U.N. experts who said North Korea is violating UN sanctions including by not stopping its nuclear and missile programs and by "a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products."

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after a closed Security Council meeting on the report that he was blocking its release "because we disagree on certain elements of the report."

He said Russia also asked for an investigation into regular leaks of reports on North Korea to the media. The Associated Press and other media reported the panel's latest findings in early August. — AP


June 1, 2018

North and South Korea are resuming senior-level peace talks that Seoul sees as an important step in building trust with Pyongyang amid a U.S.-led diplomatic push to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons.

The meeting at an inter-Korean border village Friday follows a meeting in New York between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol. They discussed a potential summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

South Korea plans to use Friday's meeting with the North to set up military talks on reducing tensions across their heavily armed border and Red Cross talks to resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. — AP


May 31, 2018

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Jong Un's right-hand man have begun a dinner meeting Wednesday (Thursday morning, Manila time) amid a scramble to organize next month's historic nuclear summit between the North Korean and US leaders.

An AFP reporter saw Kim Yong Chol, a veteran Pyongyang power player and a member of the young autocrat's inner circle, arrive at a New York apartment near the UN headquarters shortly after America's chief diplomat. — Agence France-Presse


May 30, 2018

 A top North Korean official headed to New York on Wednesday for talks aimed at salvaging a summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump on the future of Kim's nuclear program, in the North's highest-level mission to the United States in 18 years.

Associated Press reporters saw Kim Yong Chol at Beijing's airport just after noon. South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited diplomatic sources as saying that Kim was on an Air China flight to New York that departed later Wednesday afternoon.

Yonhap said Kim, who had arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, was traveling with five other North Korean officials.


May 28, 2018

A US team was in North Korea to plan a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to US President Donald Trump, raising expectations that the on-off-on meeting would indeed take place, the Associated Press reports.

Both the US State Department and South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the American and North Korean officials have been engaged in talks at the Korean village of Panmunjom, which straddles the border inside the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ. One can cross the border simply by stepping across a painted line, but moving beyond several footsteps into the North at Panmunjom would be rare for US officials.


May 24, 2018

Ahead of a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump's focus has been on stagecraft, the will-they-or-won't-they drama and visions of a legacy-defining nuclear deal. The human rights woes of North Koreans have been more of an afterthought, the Associated Press reports

Eager to pull off the historic meeting scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, Trump this week expanded his promised "protections" for Kim should the North Korean leader agree to give up his atomic program. Extending an olive branch, Trump also entertained the idea of opening the spigot of foreign investment to help secure Kim's rule.

"He will be safe. He will be happy. His country will be rich," Trump declared. "His country will be hardworking and very prosperous."


May 23, 2018

A group of foreign journalists departed by train Wednesday to watch the dismantling of North Korea's nuclear test site after eight reporters from South Korea received last-minute permission to join them, the Associated Press reports.

The remote site deep in the mountains of the North's sparsely populated northeast interior is expected to have a formal closing ceremony in the next day or two, depending on the weather. The closing was announced by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of his planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump next month.


May 23, 2018

US President Donald Trump says a historic summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un in June may not happen.


May 22, 2018

 North Korean media stepped up their rhetorical attacks on South Korea and joint military exercises with the United States, warning Tuesday that a budding detente could be in danger, the Associated Press reports.

State media unleashed three strongly worded commentaries slamming Seoul and Washington for the maneuvers and demanding Seoul take action against defectors it claimed were sending anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets across the border.


May 21, 2018

Foreign journalists will be allowed to journey deep into the mountains of North Korea this week to observe the closing of the country's Punggye-ri nuclear test site in a much-touted display of goodwill before leader Kim Jong Un's planned summit with President Donald Trump next month, the Associated Press reports.

Expect good imagery. But not much else.

The public display of the closure of the facility on Mount Mantap will likely be heavy on spectacle and light on substance. And the media will be spending much of their time in an unrelated tourism zone that North Korea hopes will be the next big thing for its economy if Kim's diplomatic overtures pay off in the months ahead.


May 17, 2018

South Korea says it's pushing to reset high-level talks with North Korea and will communicate closely with Washington and Pyongyang to increase the chances of a successful summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on resolving the standoff over the North's nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reports.

The announcement by Seoul's presidential National Security Council came a day after North Korea threatened to scrap next month's historic meeting between Trump and Kim, saying it has no interest in a "one-sided" affair meant to pressure the North to abandon its nukes. 


May 16, 2018

The United States says it is moving ahead with preparations for a much-anticipated summit next month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after Pyongyang appeared to cast doubt over the event.

"We will continue to plan the meeting," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert tells reporters, adding that Washington has received "no notification" of a position change by North Korea.

"We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate we would not continue conducting these exercises or would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month."


May 16, 2018

North Korea cancels high-level talks with South Korea over its Max Thunder joint military exercises with the United States, denouncing the drills as a "rude and wicked provocation."

It also calls into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump set for next month.

"There is a limit in showing goodwill and offering opportunity," the North's official news agency KCNA says. — Agence France-Presse


May 9, 2018

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says that North Korea supports denuclearization in principle, but the actual steps to achieve it will be difficult.

Moon met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday shortly after a three-way meeting in Tokyo with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

A Japanese official says Moon and Abe agreed to work together to figure out the necessary steps for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

They welcomed North Korea's recent announcement that it would close a nuclear test site and agreed that it must lead to further efforts to achieve full denuclearization.

Moon received a small surprise as he was wrapping up his working lunch with Abe: a cake to mark his first anniversary since taking office in May last year. — AP


April 28, 2018

President Donald Trump says he is looking forward to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying it "should be quite something."

Trump spoke at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday. He congratulated the leaders of North and South Korea after a historic summit and said his meeting with Kim will happen in the "coming weeks."

Trump said a "maximum pressure" campaign will continue "until denuclearization occurs."

Trump spoke hours after Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to visit south of the demarcation line between the two Koreas, meeting with President Moon Jae-in. The leaders pledged in a joint statement to seek a formal end to the Korean War by year's end and to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons. — AP


April 23, 2018

South Korea has halted anti-North Korea propaganda broadcasts across their tense border on Monday as officials from the two Koreas met again to work out details of their leaders' upcoming talks, expected to focus on the North's nuclear program, the Associated Press reports.

Seoul had been blasting propaganda messages and K-pop songs from border loudspeakers since the North's fourth nuclear test in early 2016. The North quickly matched the South's action with its own border broadcasts and launches of balloons carrying anti-South Korea leaflets across the border.


April 21, 2018

China, North Korea's main ally, is welcoming Pyongyang's decision to suspend its nuclear and missile tests.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang as saying Beijing wishes for North Korea to continue to achieve results in the development of its economy and improving the living standards of its people.

He says China will support North Korea through dialogue and consultations with "relevant parties" to resolve their concerns and improve relations.

Kim Dong-gil, the director of the Korean Peninsula Center at Peking University, says now that North Korea has nuclear weapons, he believes they will use them as a bargaining chip to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War, make arrangements to guarantee North Korea's safety and ultimately allow North Korea to open up its economy to the rest of the world. — AP


April 21, 2018

President Donald Trump has tweeted Friday night about reassuring signals from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said it was a sign "Progress being made for all."

His tweet said: "A message from Kim Jong Un: 'North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.' Also will 'Shut down a nuclear test site in the country's Northern Side to prove the vow to suspend nuclear tests.'"

Trump, who is at his South Florida resort of Mar a Lago, was referring to North Korea's announcement Saturday that it will suspend nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches ahead of its summits with Seoul and Washington. But the announcement stopped short of suggesting it has any intention of giving up its nuclear weapons or scale back its production of missiles and their related component parts.

The new North Korean policy sets the table for further negotiations when the summits begin. — AP


April 21, 2018

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reacted with caution to North Korea's announcement it has suspended nuclear tests and long-range missile launches.

Abe, a hard-liner on the North, said he welcomed the announcement carried by state media early Saturday as a positive development.

He says: "What is crucial here, however, is how this development is going to lead to the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of nuclear arms, weapons of mass destruction and missiles."

Abe says Tokyo would maintain its policy coordination with Seoul and Washington.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who made the announcement at a party meeting, is to hold summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next Friday and President Donald Trump in late May or June. — AP


April 7, 2018

North and South Korea on Saturday hold talks over establishing a telephone hotline between their leaders and other communication issues ahead of a rare summit between the rivals later this month.

The closed-door talks between working-level officials at a border village were part of preparatory discussions to set up the April 27 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. — AP


March 30, 2018

South Korea says it is trying to find out what President Donald Trump meant when he made remarks linking the recently renegotiated South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement with talks on denuclearizing North Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in's office said Friday that it is working through various channels to find out the President Trump's intentions following his speech in Ohio.

On Thursday Trump said he may hold up the free trade deal until after an agreement is reached with North Korea. — AP


March 29, 2018

High-level talks between North and South Korea have kicked off in a border village in preparation for a summit meant to help resolve issues over the North's nuclear program, the Associated Press reports.

Officials plan to use the talks at the northern side of Panmunjom to determine the date and agenda of the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The results of the closed-door talks weren't immediately clear.


March 28, 2018

Japan's prime minister has reiterated that any talks with North Korea must end its nuclear weapons program, following an unexpected meeting this week between the leaders of North Korea and China.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that Japan has great interest in what happened and hopes to receive an explanation from China.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese President Xi Jinping on a visit to Beijing that caught most of the world by surprise.

Abe said that "what's important is not dialogue for dialogue's sake, but to achieve nuclear and missile dismantling in a completely verifiable and irreversible way."

He added that sanctions on North Korea must be maintained until it takes concrete actions toward that end.


March 28, 2018

Kim Jong Un says North Korea committed to denuclearization

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says Pyongyang is committed to denuclearization during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China's state news agency Xinhua reports.

"It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearization on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il Sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il," Kim says as quoted by Xinhua.

Kim also assures that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is starting to get better, saying that North Korea has taken the initiative to put forward proposals for peace talks.

Xi during the talks says that China sticks to the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula and solving problems through dialogue and consultation.


March 27, 2018

A mysterious armored train that traveled from North Korea to Beijing has spurred speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was aboard, the Associated Press reports.

"Speculation about a visit to Beijing by North Korea's reclusive leader or another high-level Pyongyang official ran high Tuesday amid talk of preparations for a meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump," AP says.


March 19, 2018

Top officials of the US, South Korea and Japan are meeting in Seoul, South Korea on how to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the Associated Press reports.

The meeting comes ahead of inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korean summits to discuss the issue.


March 10, 2018

President Donald Trump says a deal with North Korea, "if completed," will be very good for the world.

Trump appears to be referring to North Korea agreeing to give up its nuclear weapons arsenal. That has been a key demand of the United States and other world powers.

Trump tweets Friday night: "The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined."

The president has agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a historic face-to-face summit.

South Korean officials who recently met with Kim told their White House counterparts Thursday that Kim was eager to meet with Trump.  — Associated Press


March 10, 2018

The White House says President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have discussed North Korea.

The leaders spoke Friday, the day after Trump agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a date and time still to be determined.

The White House says Trump and Xi "welcomed the prospect" of dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea. They also committed to keep pressure and sanctions in place until North Korea takes "tangible steps" toward "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization."

Trump expressed hope that Kim will choose a brighter path for his country.

China is North Korea's main benefactor. Trump has urged his Chinese counterpart to help pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear program. — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

China's foreign ministry says it hopes all parties to the North Korean nuclear dispute will "show their political courage" in restarting negotiations, and pledges its support in working toward that goal.

Spokesman Geng Shuang on Friday said China welcomes and supports the "positive inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea interactions."

Geng told reporters at a regularly scheduled press briefing that China hope that all parties "will continue to strive for the political resolution and lasting peace and stability on the peninsula."

China is North Korea's most important ally and trading partner, although it has agreed to increasingly harsh United Nations economic sanctions in a bid to steer the North back to talks. In the 2000s, Beijing hosted several rounds of six-nation denuclearization talks involving the Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the U.S. — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is welcoming the announcement that North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump have agreed to meet.

Lavrov was quoted by Russian state news agency Tass on Friday saying during a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that Russia considers the move "a step in the right direction."

He went on to express hope that the agreement would be implemented and that it is "necessary for normalizing the situation around the Korean peninsula." — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

South Korea's foreign minister says her government is consulting with the United States on the planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha says South Korea will make sure if the summit does take place, "it's a meaningful meeting with good outcome."

A summit between Kim and South Korea's president in a Korean border village is planned at the end of April, and Trump's meeting with Kim would be anticipated sometime in May at a place still undetermined.

Kang said Friday on an official visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, "the exact timing and the place will need a lot of consideration." — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

Liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who some believe has maneuvered the two leaders to this position, reflected the hope and relief many here feel about the planned summit, when he declared Friday that it will be a "historical milestone" that will put the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula "really on track." — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who has traveled several times to North Korea and is one of the few Americans to have met its leader, is praising President Donald Trump for planning a summit with Kim Jong Un.

Rodman tells The Associated Press he looks forward to returning to the pariah nation for "basketball diplomacy" in the coming months.

He says: "Well done, President Trump. You're on the way to a historical meeting no U.S. president has ever done."

Rodman adds, "Please send my regards to Marshal Kim Jong Un and his family."

Rodman was speaking by phone soon after the planned summit was announced in Washington — a major surprise after a year of rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons.

Rodman met Kim in 2013 and 2014. — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

President Donald Trump says "Great progress" is being made, but sanctions on North Korea will remain in place as he prepares for what would be the first-ever meeting between the two countries' leaders.

Trump is on Twitter after South Koreans broke the news that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wanted to meet with him. Trump says Kim "talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze."

He also says North Korea has agreed to stop testing missiles. The messages were conveyed by a South Korean delegation that visited the White House Thursday.

Trump adds, "Meeting being planned!" 

— Associated Press


March 9, 2018

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay) says he plans to visit the U.S. to hold talks with President Donald Trump in April.

He told reporters in Tokyo on Friday morning that he had spoken with Trump on the phone, and they had agreed to continue putting maximum pressure on North Korea until it takes concrete steps toward giving up its nuclear weapons program.

Abe says there is no change in that position.

His remarks came after Trump agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un by May to negotiate an end to its nuclear weapons program. — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

The White House says President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be held "at a place and time to be determined."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement after a South Korean official broke the stunning news. Sanders says Trump "will accept the invitation to meet with" Kim.

She also says Trump "greatly appreciates the nice words of the South Korean delegation" and President Moon Jae-in

She adds that the U.S. looks "forward to the denuclearization of North Korea," but says all sanctions will remain in place in the meantime. — Associated Press


March 9, 2018

South Korea's national security director says President Donald Trump has decided he will meet with North Korea's Kim Jong Un "by May."

Chung Eui-yong spoke outside the White House after a day of briefings with senior U.S. officials, including Trump, on the recent inter-Korea talks. Chung says Trump said "he would meet Kim Jong Un by May to achieve permanent denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

Chung says Kim told the South Koreans he is "committed to denuclearization" and pledged that "North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests."

The meeting would be the first of its kind between a leader of North Korea and a sitting president of the United States. The two countries have been in a formal state of war since the Korean War in the 1950s. — Associated Press


South Korean officials were briefing the White House Thursday on the outcome of their pathfinding meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Seoul has already publicized that North Korea offered talks with the United States on denuclearization and normalizing ties, a potential diplomatic opening after a year of escalating tensions over the North's nuclear and missile tests. The rival Koreas also agreed to hold a leadership summit in late April.

Top Trump administration officials were getting a chance to hear firsthand from South Korean national security director, Chung Eui-yong, who led the delegation that went to Pyongyang. — Associated Press

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