UN rapporteur for North Korean human rights to visit Seoul next week Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights, is seen in this file photo taken during her last trip to South Korea in September 2022. YonhapThe U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights will visit South Korea next week to meet Seoul officials as well as defectors from the reclusive regime, the foreign ministry said Friday.Elizabeth Salmon is expected to arrive here Monday for a nine-day stay to meet foreign, unification and justice officials, along with North Korean defectors, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is also scheduled to hold a press conference in Seoul, Sept. 12.The rapporteur will submit a report on North Korean human rights issues to the U.N. based on the results from the upcoming visit. (Yonhap)Sep 2, 2023
N. Korea launches several cruise missiles into Yellow Sea: JCS North Korea conducts a missile test attended by leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to a navy unit, in this photo captured from North Korea's Central TV, Aug. 21. YonhapNorth Korea launched several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Saturday, according to the military, days after South Korea and the United States wrapped up their major joint exercise.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the launches took place at around 4 a.m., but did not elaborate further, pending an analysis."While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, Thursday. The North denounced the drills as a rehearsal for invasion.As part of the UFS, South Korea and the U.S. staged combined air drills, involving at least one U.S. B-1B strategic bomber, above the Korean Peninsula.In response, North Korea launched a military command post drill involving the scenario of occupying SouSep 2, 2023
US imposes sanctions on 2 individuals, 1 entity for funding NK's illegal weapons program This photo, provided by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, shows the wreckage of North Korea's "Chollima-1" rocket, which South Korea retrieved from the West Sea on the night of June 14. Joint Press CorpsThe U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions Thursday on two individuals including a North Korean national and one entity in Russia for helping to finance North Korea's illegal weapons development program.The move comes in response to North Korea's failed attempt to launch a reconnaissance satellite last week, according to the office."In coordination with the Republic of Korea and Japan, the United States sanctioned two individuals and one entity ― Jon Jin-yong, Sergey Mikhaylovich Kozlov, and Intellekt LLC ― involved in generating revenue for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) unlawful development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missiles," it said in a press release, referring to South and North Korea by their official names."Today's action by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign ASep 1, 2023
North Korea says it simulated nuclear attacks on South Korea and rehearsed occupation of its rival In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a South Korean army's K1A2 tank fires during a drill as part of South Korea and the United States' joint annual military exercise, the Ulchi Freedom Shield, at a training filed in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. AP-YonhapNorth Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it's also been rehearsing an occupation of its rival's territory in the event of conflict.Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them in potential wars with South Korea and the U.S. But the North's disclosure of detailed war plans reaffirmed its aggressive nuclear doctrine to intimidate its opponents, as it escalates its protest of the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military exercises that it views as a major security threat, observers say.North Korea's military said it fired two tactical ballistic missiles from the capital on Wednesday night to practice “scorched earth strikes” at major command centers and operational Aug 31, 2023
UN rapporteur closely watching signs of China deporting NK defectors This photo released on Aug. 22 by Kyodo shows North Korean women at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. North Korea said, Aug. 27, it will allow its citizens staying abroad to return home as the country slowly eases its draconian pandemic restrictions. YonhapActivists consider increasing pressure ahead of Hangzhou Asian GamesBy Jung Min-hoElizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, said she has been closely monitoring China for any signs of a resumption in the forced repatriations of North Korean escapees as the two countries ease border restrictions.In a statement recently sent to The Korea Times, Salmon recognized the grave risk of human rights violations facing the escapees who have been detained in China during the three-year border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.“I and other mandate holders have repeatedly raised concerns over the forced repatriation of people from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) by other countries including China due to the continuing real risk of serious human rights violationAug 31, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Pyongyang's missile provocation challenges S. Korean military headquarters A news report on a North Korean missile launch is aired on a TV screen at Seoul Station, Thursday. YonhapN. Korea conducts military drills aimed at 'occupying entire territory of the South'By Lee Hyo-jinNorth Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SLBM) toward the East Sea on Wednesday night; hours after the U.S. dispatched strategic bombers to the Korean Peninsula for joint aerial drills with South Korea.Defense analysts viewed the North's late-night provocation, which came amid an annual South Korea-U.S. military exercise, as a warning to show that it is capable of launching an attack at any time, targeting the South's critical military facilities.The two SLBMs were fired between 11:40 p.m. and 11:55 p.m., Wednesday, from Sunan, a district of Pyongyang, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Both missiles flew about 360 kilometers before falling into the waters off the east coast. “The time of the launch and flight distance of the missiles suggest that the North was sending a message that it can launch an attack any time on our critical military faciAug 31, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
N. Korea to hold key parliamentary meeting on Sept. 26 This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Aug. 31, shows a plenary meeting of the standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly in North Korea the previous day. YonhapNorth Korea plans to convene a key parliamentary meeting next month to mainly discuss organizational matters, state media said Thursday, amid speculation that the country might replace its premier over flood damage.The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) decided the previous day to hold the ninth session of the 14th SPA on Sept. 26, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).The upcoming session will discuss organizational matters and the issue of examining and adopting various laws, including those on ensuring the rights of disabled persons and irrigation, the report said.The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the North's constitution, but it actually only rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).The announcement came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un strongly berated the country's premier, KimAug 31, 2023
Russia arms talks with NK 'actively advancing': White House In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the headquarters of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, July 26, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. AP-YonhapRussia is in secret, active talks with North Korea to acquire a range of munitions and supplies for Moscow's fight in Ukraine, the White House said Wednesday."Arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing," White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said, adding that a key focus of the talks was artillery ammunition for Moscow's forces.Kirby noted that despite its denials, North Korea supplied infantry rockets and missiles to Russia last year for use by the privately controlled Wagner military group.He said that recently Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had traveled to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ― North Korea ― seeking to acquire additional munitions for the wAug 31, 2023
NK fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: S. Korean military A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, Thursday, March 16. AP-YonhapNorth Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, South Korea's military said Thursday, in apparent protest against combined South Korea-U.S. military drills.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from an area in or around Sunan in Pyongyang between around 11:40 p.m. and 11:50 p.m. Wednesday.The missiles each flew some 360 kilometers before splashing into the waters, the JCS said, with the allies' intelligence authorities conducting further analysis.The JCS strongly condemned the launches, calling them "acts of significant provocation" that not only undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community.On Wednesday, the allies staged joint air drills, involving at least one U.S. B-1B strategic bomber, over the Yellow Sea in connection with exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), which began on Aug. 21 and is set to end Thursday.Pyongyang has long acAug 31, 2023
NK conducts military command drill aimed at occupying S. Korean territory This photo, carried by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency, Aug. 31, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un, third from right, visiting the training command post of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army the previous day as the country conducted military command drills involving the entire army the previous day. YonhapNorth Korea has launched a military command post drill involving the scenario of occupying South Korean territory, state media reported Thursday, in response to Seoul and Washington's combined military exercise.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the drill during his visit to a training command post of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).North Korea also said it conducted a tactical nuclear strike drill simulating "scorched-earth" strikes against major command centers and airfields in South Korea on Wednesday night, referring to the firing of two short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its east coast.North Korea slammed Seoul and Washington for staging "provocative and Aug 31, 2023
