US imposes sanctions on two individuals for aiding N. Korea's weapons program A missile that analysts believe could be the North Korean Hwasong-12 is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. AP-YonhapThe U.S. treasury department on Tuesday designated two individuals for transporting prohibited goods to North Korea to be used in the country's missile development program."This action is part of the United States' ongoing efforts to limit the DPRK's ability to advance its unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs that threaten regional stability and follows numerous recent DPRK ballistic missile launches, which are in clear violation of multiple United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions," the department said in a press release.DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.The two individuals ― Ri Sok and Yan Zhiyong ― are both affiliated with Air Koryo, North Korea's national flag carrier, which the treasury department said is "controlled by and integrated into the DPRK military."The treasury department said Air Koryo previously transported parts used in Scud-B missile systems, aNov 9, 2022
S. Korea mulling ways to block NK nuke, missile financing via cyber activities: official GettyimagesbankSouth Korea is considering ways to block North Korea from financing its nuclear weapons and missile program through cyberspace activities, a senior foreign ministry official said Tuesday.The North is widely believed to have engaged in cryptocurrency theft to finance its evolving nuclear and missile programs. According to a U.N. Security Council report released in April, the North is suspected of having stolen as much as $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021. "We plan to review and seek implementations of various measures in order to block North Korea's securing of funds for nuclear and missile development through activities in cyberspace," the official said on the customary condition of anonymity.The official added Seoul was closely monitoring trends on North Korea's cryptocurrency theft activities through close cooperation with the United States. (Yonhap)Nov 8, 2022
North Korea quiet during US midterm elections North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site / YonhapNuclear test would have no immediate benefits at this time: expert By Kang Seung-wooA much-hyped North Korean nuclear test did not happen ahead of the U.S. midterm elections although all preparations for a seventh nuclear test are reported to be complete.Diplomatic observers view there is no urgent need at this point for the Kim Jong-un regime to push ahead with another nuclear test that could backfire. According to Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, Monday (local time), a day before the U.S. midterm elections, there was no new activity of significance observed at Tunnel No. 3 at the Punggye-ri nuclear test facility. “This is expected because both the United States and South Korea assess North Korea as having finished all preparations for conducting a nuclear test using this tunnel,” it said, citing the latest satellite image.The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities believe that North Korea has been ready to go with a nuclear test since MNov 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
PM orders checks on emergency response system over N. Korea's provocations Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Nov. 8. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duck-soo ordered the interior ministry Tuesday to double-check the country's anti-missile evacuation and other emergency response systems amid heightened tension in the wake of a series of North Korean missile launches.Han issued the order during a Cabinet meeting, saying there has been criticism of the government's air raid alert system when a North Korean missile flew across the inter-Korean sea border toward Ulleung Island last week before crashing near South Korean waters.The missile launch prompted the central government to issue an air raid siren, but the island's residents were belatedly informed about what the situation was and how they responded. Han ordered the interior ministry to "work closely with local governments to review measures on public action and response systems for emergency situations." "The relevant ministries should prepare first to prevent damage caused by North Korea's provocations, safety accidents, and fires," Han said. With caNov 8, 2022
US urges Russia, China to hold N. Korea accountable for recent provocations State Department Press Secretary Ned Price is seen answering a question during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington in this image captured from the department's website, Nov. 7. YonhapA state department spokesperson called on China and Russia on Monday to hold North Korea accountable for its missile launches in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, insisting failure to do so will not be in their interest.The call from state department press secretary Ned Price came after Moscow and Beijing blocked U.S.-led efforts to punish North Korea for its recent provocations that included the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, along with more than a dozen short and intermediate range ballistic missiles."The fact is that we have a slew of sanctions imposed against the DPRK," Price told a daily press briefing, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "There are a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions, with costs associated with them and measures associated with them, and we call on all U.N. memberNov 8, 2022
N. Korea's military denies exporting weapons to Russia North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, holds hands with Russian leader Vladimir Putin before they hold a summit in Vladivostok, Russia, in this April 25, 2019 file photo. Korea Times fileNorth Korea's military said Tuesday it has never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia and has no plans to do so, accusing the United States of spreading "groundless" rumors.In a statement issued by the vice director of the Military Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of National Defence the previous day, Pyongyang warned Washington against spreading such a "plot-breeding story.""We regard such moves of the U.S. as part of its hostile attempt to tarnish the image of the DPRK in the international arena by invoking the illegal 'sanctions resolution' of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) against the DPRK," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."We once again make clear that we have never had 'arms dealings' with Russia and that we have no plan to do so in the future," he added in the English-language statement carried by the official Korean Central Nov 8, 2022
N. Korea voices 'strong regret' over UN chief's criticism of recent missile launches: state media United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres / EPANorth Korea on Tuesday voiced "strong regret" that the head of the United Nations has denounced Pyongyang's recent barrage of missiles, according to its state media.Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement "strongly" condemning the North's missile launches, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and urged the reclusive country to immediately cease provocations. "I express strong regret at the fact that the UN secretary general issued a statement on Nov. 4 groundlessly pulling up the DPRK over its just counteraction for self-defence to cope with the U.S. military provocations, and categorically reject it," Kim Son-gyong, vice minister for International Organizations of Foreign Affairs, said in an English-language statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Kim defended the North's recent "military drills" as a "due reaction to the largest-ever combined air drill staged by the U.Nov 8, 2022
ANALYSIS North Korea expected to launch another ICBM before Nov. 29 This combined photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Monday, shows the North Korean military firing missiles into the East Sea and the West Sea from Nov. 2 to Nov. 5 corresponding to a South Korea-U.S. joint air exercise. YonhapNuclear test could be postponed: ex- and current government officials By Kang Seung-wooUndeterred by the failed test of what is suspected to have been a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week, North Korea is expected to push ahead with another launch of its largest and most powerful missile ahead of a holiday marking its successful nuclear-capable missile test, according to diplomatic observers, Monday.North Korea designated Nov. 29 as “Rocket Industry Day” commemorating the anniversary of test-firing a Hwasong-15 nuclear-capable ICBM on Nov. 29, 2017. The missile is believed to be theoretically capable of hitting targets anywhere in the U.S. mainland. Afterwards, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared the completion of “the state nuclear force.”On Thursday, the totalitarian stateNov 7, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
S. Korea's Navy retrieves debris of NK missile that flew over NLL last week This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows the North Korean military conducting "military operations" with missile tests between Nov. 2 and 5 in response to large-scale joint aerial drills of South Korea and the United States, Nov. 7. YonhapSouth Korea's Navy said Monday it has retrieved a piece of the debris of a ballistic missile that North Korea fired southward last week past its de facto maritime border with the South in the East Sea."The South's Navy on Sunday collected what is presumed to be the debris of the North's short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) in waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL)," Col. Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said at a regular press briefing.North Korea fired three SRBMs from its eastern coastal city of Wonsan on Wednesday, including one that landed near South Korea's territorial waters after flying over the NLL for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.The Navy's Gwangyang salvage and rescue ship was dispatched to areas south of the NLL from Friday through SundayNov 7, 2022
Senior diplomats of S. Korea, US, Japan hold phone talks over NK missile provocations South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, left, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, center, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman attend a joint press conference at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Oct. 26. YonhapSenior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile launches in their phone talks Monday, calling them a "serious threat" to the security of the Korean Peninsula and beyond, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.Last week, the North launched a barrage of ballistic missiles into the East Sea and the Yellow Sea, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, apparently in protest against a South Korea-U.S. joint air force drill called "Vigilant Storm." In their consultations, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and his American and Japanese counterparts ― Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori, respectively ― pointed out the North's recent ballistic missile launches were in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, and posed a serious threat to the peace and stabilitNov 7, 2022
