N. Korea remains unresponsive to inquiries about US service member in custody: state dept. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions about a American solider detained in North Korea after he willfully crossed the border from South Korea during a news briefing at the State Department, July 18, in Washington. AP-YonhapThe United States has not had any substantive response from North Korea about the safety of a U.S. service member who crossed the inter-Korean border into the reclusive state last week, a state department spokesperson said Monday.Matthew Miller also said the North has not responded to any requests, including those from United Nations Command (UNC), to confirm the whereabouts or well-being of the U.S. soldier."It is my understanding that there have been no new communication since last week. communications that happened in the early days," the department spokesperson told a daily press briefing when asked if there has been any communication with North Korea.The U.S. service member, identified as Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, crossed the military demarcation line at the Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone on Tuesday.The deputy commandeJul 25, 2023
N. Korea fires two ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS North Korea fires a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), July 12, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea late Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said."Our military detected two ballistic missiles North Korea fired from areas near Pyongyang into the East Sea at 11:55 p.m. on the 24th and at midnight of the 25th," it said.Both missiles flew about 400 kilometers before falling into the sea, it added.The military is still analyzing the North's latest missile launch to determine the exact type of the missiles fired, according to the JCS.The North's latest missile launch comes as a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine, USS Annapolis, arrived at a naval base in South Korea's southern island of Jeju as part of efforts to bolster joint deterrence against North Korea's evolving threats.North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, followed by multiple cruise missile launches on Saturday. (Yonhap)Jul 25, 2023
North Korea invites Chinese delegation as 1st known foreign guests since pandemic A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, speaking at a meeting of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, May 17. EPA-YonhapNorth Korea said Monday it has invited a Chinese party and government delegation as part of commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, marking the first known invitation of official foreign guests since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the Chinese delegation led by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, will visit the country to take part in celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the "victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War," a reference to the day the Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.The visit will come at the invitation of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party and its government, the KCNA said.This is the first known case of North Jul 24, 2023
UN Command talking to North Korea about US soldier Travis King A TV screen shows a file image of American soldier Travis King during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, July 24. AP-YonhapThe United Nations Command and North Korea have begun discussing the case of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into the North last week, the deputy commander of the U.S.-led command that oversees the Korean War truce said on Monday.King, a U.S. Army private serving in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the inter-Korean border, landing Washington in a fresh diplomatic quandary with the nuclear-armed North.Conversations between the UNC and North Korea's military were initiated and conducted through a mechanism established under the Korean War armistice, according to Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison, a British Army officer serving as deputy commander of the multinational force."The primary concern for us is Private King's welfare," Harrison told a media briefing, declining to go into detail about the contact with the North."The conversation has commenced with the KPJul 24, 2023
N. Korea says 'no end' to bolstering military power ahead of key anniversary North's firing of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, July 12, is seen in this photo carried by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korea said Monday that there is "no end" to strengthening its military power in an apparent attempt to justify the development of its nuclear and missile programs ahead of a key anniversary this week.The recalcitrant regime has been ramping up sharp-tongued rhetoric and launching missiles ahead of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War on July 27, celebrated as Victory Day in North Korea."There can be no end to strengthening military power," Rodong Sinmun, the country's main newspaper, said in its editorial, stressing that such a goal should be carried out more swiftly and in a ceaseless manner "at any cost.""Eternal peace lies atop of self-defense power that can overwhelmingly prevail against any enemy," it said, claiming that such power is a prerequisite to remove any risk of war on the Korean Peninsula.In what appears to be an attempt to justify its faltering ecoJul 24, 2023
China told to stop tankers in its waters reaching N. Korea North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song leaves a Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation/North Korea, July 13, at the United Nations headquarters. AP-YonhapThe Group of Seven nations, the European Union and three other countries are urging China to expel oil tankers from its waters that appear to be taking fuel to North Korea in defiance of U.N. sanctions, according to a letter seen by AFP, Friday."We have concerns regarding the continuing presence of multiple oil tankers... that use your territorial waters in Sansha Bay as refuge to facilitate their trade of sanctioned petroleum products to the DPRK," the letter said, using initials for the formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Ambassadors from the G7 nations ― Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States ― signed the letter addressed to China's U.N. envoy Zhang Jun.Also signing were envoys from the European Union, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.In the letter, the ambassadors told Zhang they "would like to provide your government with additional information and saJul 22, 2023
N. Korean missile launches only solidify US alliances with S. Korea, Japan: Blinken U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, not pictured, at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., July 20. AFP-Yonhap North Korea's unprecedented missile provocations have done little but solidify the United States' cooperation with South Korea and Japan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, insisting that the U.S. alliances have only grown stronger over the years.The top U.S. diplomat also called on China to help bring North Korea back to talks, insisting that failure to do so will not benefit anyone, including China."We have channels of communication. We have used them, and we made clear going back to early in this administration that we were prepared to have negotiations with North Korea on the nuclear program with no preconditions," Blinken said while speaking at an annual security forum hosted by the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington."We sent that messJul 22, 2023
N. Korea fires several cruise missiles into Yellow Sea: JCS A file image of a North Korean missile launch is shown during a news program being watched on a TV screen at Seoul Station, July 19. AP-YonhapNorth Korea fired several cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea on Saturday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).South Korean and U.S intelligence authorities were analyzing the launches, which took place at about 4:00 a.m., to learn more about the type of missiles fired and other details, according to the JCS."Our military has bolstered surveillance and vigilance while closely cooperating with the United States and maintaining a firm readiness posture," the JCS said, adding it is closely monitoring additional activities by the North.The launches came three days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea. It also came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the first port visit of a nuclear-capable U.S. submarine in more than 40 years and the inaugural session of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group earlier this week.The USS Kentucky (SSBN 737), an 18,750-ton Ohio-class nuclJul 22, 2023
Inter-Korean tensions rise further as NK threatens nuclear attack President Yoon Suk Yeol uses the periscope of the USS Kentucky nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine while touring the vessel on July 19, a day after it anchored at Busan Naval Base. Courtesy of U.S. NavySeoul threatens end of Kim Jong-un regime if Pyongyang launches nukesBy Nam Hyun-wooTensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising further, as the two Koreas traded barbs over North Korea's threat to use nuclear weapons in protest of the recent visit of a United States nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) to South Korea's Busan.South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, Friday, that any nuclear attack by the North on the Seoul-Washington alliance will face “simultaneous, overwhelming and decisive responses” which will put “an end to the North's regime.”“The South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting and the deployment of the SSBN were just defensive countermeasures against the North's nuclear and missile threats,” the ministry said. The NCG's first meeting took place at Seoul's presidential office onJul 21, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
Defectors fear impact of mounting skepticism of accounts told by celebrated N. Korean escapee North Korean defector and U.S. celebrity Park Yeon-mi / Korea Times file By Kang Hyun-kyungSome North Korean defectors are growing concerned about the possible impact on their community from media reports focusing on Park Yeon-mi, another escapee from the North who became a celebrity in the U.S. for her outspoken criticism of the repressive regime. Park, 29, is accused of making inconsistent remarks about her upbringing and experiences, as well as questionable descriptions of her country of birth.“She has gone too far,” Kim Byeong-uk, a North Korean defector and the founder and president of the small think tank North Korea Development Institute in Seoul told The Korea Times, referring to Korean media reports that quoted a recent article about her in the Washington Post. “I think she exaggerated her past experiences and the way of the North, probably because she wanted to be at the center of attention.”Park arrived in Seoul in 2009, two years after escaping from the Jul 21, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
