US, other UNSC members except Russia, China, condemn North Korean missile launch U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks to South Korea's Ambassador to the U.N. Cho Hyun before a security council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, May 11. Reuters-Yonhap The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) convened an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss North Korea's recent missile provocations but failed to produce a tangible outcome due to opposition from China and Russia.The special session of the 15-member council came at the request of the U.S., which condemned North Korea's recent missile tests as "a blatant violation of multiple Security Council resolutions.""Let's be clear. The DPRK is not undertaking its activities defensively in response to threatening behavior. This is self-initiated, unprovoked campaign of ballistic missile launches that threatens its neighbors and attempts to undermine this council," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in the session, also attended by the represenMay 12, 2022
Yoon says security situation is tough amid talk of possible North Korean nuclear test President Yoon Suk-yeol / YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol acknowledged Wednesday that Korea is facing a tough security situation amid reports North Korea could undertake a nuclear weapons test, and instructed his aides to monitor the situation closely.Yoon made the remark while presiding over his first meeting with senior presidential secretaries, a day after he took office amid heightened tensions in the wake of a series of North Korean missile launches in recent weeks."The security situation is tough," he said. "Other countries are worried, and there's talk of a resumption of nuclear tests, so I think you will have to closely monitor the effects not only on security but also on other areas of state affairs in case such a situation arises, and make appropriate preparations."North Korea showed signs of preparing for a seventh nuclear test as early as this month, as U.S. President Joe Biden is set to visit Seoul next week for his first summit with Yoon.Yoon also outlined other challenges facing the country, such as rising inflation and raw material prices, and fiscal health. He describeMay 11, 2022
North Korea likely to continue nuclear, missile development in 2022: US military DIA Director Lt. General Scott Berrier testifies during a Senate Armed Services hearing to examine worldwide threats on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 10. AP-YonhapNorth Korea is expected to continue advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities this year to increase its leverage in any potential negotiations with the United States, the top U.S. military intelligence official said Tuesday.The remarks by Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, come amid speculation that Pyongyang may conduct a nuclear test as early as this month."We expect North Korea to continue its nuclear, missile, and military modernization efforts in 2022 as it emphasizes bolstering its strategic deterrence and countering the military capabilities of the U.S.―South Korean alliance," Berrier said in a global threat assessment report submitted to the Senate armed services committee before a budget hearing."Kim Jong-un will likely use these developments to try to increase his leverage in any potential negotiations with the United States," he added, referring to the North Korean leMay 11, 2022
South Korea remains open to another summit with North Korea: minister nominee Unification Minister nominee Kwon Young-se / Korea Times fileThe new administration remains open to inter-Korean dialogue with a plan to potentially hold bilateral summit talks after sufficient discussion, the nominee to serve as Seoul's new point man on Pyongyang said Tuesday.In a written report to lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearing, Kwon Young-se stressed that another inter-Korean summit needs to be held "in a way that can contribute to achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula" and substantive progress in cross-border relations, including the denuclearization of the North."The time will come for us to consider a concrete plan when the current situation of uncertainty and grave provocations comes to a lull," he said, pointing out that the two Koreas should first build mutual trust and engage in sufficient discussions.He emphasized that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration would not seek a hardline stance on the North and will strive to achieve "flexible harmony" between principle and practicality.On humanitarian assistance, the new government will seek the continued provision ofMay 10, 2022
North Korean leader sends 'Victory Day' message to Putin North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his country's "firm solidarity" with Russia in a congratulatory message sent to President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's celebration of its "Victory Day" holiday, the North's state media reported Tuesday.In the message sent the previous day, Kim congratulated Putin on the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, according to the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party, and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Russia celebrated the 77th anniversary of the holiday Monday.Kim's message "extended firm solidarity to the cause of the Russian people to root out the political and military threat and blackmail by the hostile forces and safeguard the country's dignity, peace and security," the KCNA said in an English-language article."It expressed belief that the strategic and traditional relations of friendship between the two countries would steMay 10, 2022
Why is North Korea's state media silent on recent missile launches? This photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Oct. 20, shows a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) being fired in waters off the east coast the previous day. Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooDespite launching two ballistic missiles within less than a week, North Korea has remained quiet on the launches, raising questions over the silence. Diplomatic observers say the absence of reporting on the launches in the North Korean media was due to the Kim Jong-un regime's plan to promote the provocations as a routine military action, as well as China's desire to prevent tensions from growing on the Korean Peninsula, rather than speculation that the launches ended in failure.According to the South Korean military, North Korea fired what was believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Sunan area in Pyongyang, Wednesday, followed by the launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the waters off the North's eastern coastal city of Sinpo, the North's main submarine shipyard, Saturday.However, the reclusive state's official newsMay 9, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Signs of movement detected at Kaesong Industrial Complex: ministry This photo, taken from the South Korean border city of Paju, Nov. 24, 2021, shows North Korea's Kaesong city across the border. YonhapSouth Korea has asked North Korea to provide an explanation over signs of movement detected at the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex but has received no response yet, the unification ministry said Monday.Earlier, a local newspaper, citing multiple sources, reported that the North has unilaterally resumed operations at some of the facilities in the North's border city of Kaesong, saying that such movement is what appears to have caused a fire there last month."We have recently detected signs of movement of an unidentified vehicle within the Kaesong Industrial Complex," Cha Deok-cheol, the ministry's acting spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.The ministry has requested the North's explanation regarding the latest movement but has not received any response, he added.He stressed that all issues related to the Kaesong complex must be solved in consensus with the South.The latest signs come after the fire was detected on April 21 at the industMay 9, 2022
North Korea urges tighter steps against COVID-19 amid speculation of possible outbreak An official takes a student's temperature at a college in Pyongyang as part of preventative measures against COVID-19 in this Aug. 11 file photo. North Korea reiterated a call Monday for stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid growing cases of patients there suffering from “fever.” AFP-Yonhap North Korea reiterated a call Monday for stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid growing cases of patients there suffering from “fever,” while the secretive nation has claimed to be coronavirus free.South Korea's spy agency said earlier that a temporary lockdown imposed in the North last Wednesday is suspected to have been related to the coronavirus, though it also raised the possibility of an outbreak of waterborne diseases, such as typhoid.The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party, urged people not to let their guard down and stressed that even a single violation of antivirus measures could bring down the whole quarantine sysMay 9, 2022
Two Koreas go tit-for-tat ahead of South's change in administration By Kang Seung-wooSouth and North Korea have been going tit-for-tat as the South is scheduled to inaugurate its new president, Tuesday. Kim Sung-han, the incoming Yoon administration's nominee for Korea's national security adviser / YonhapIn response to Pyongyang's submarine-launched ballistic missile, Saturday, Kim Sung-han, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's pick for national security adviser, said that the incoming administration will bolster measures to handle its provocations effectively. “The new administration will reassess the overall threat of North Korea's nuclear missiles at the same time that it takes office and combine the government's capabilities at an early date to come up with fundamental measures against North Korea's provocations and actual deterrence capabilities against its nuclear missile threats,” Kim said in a media statement following the missile launch, the first of its kind since last October. Kim's reference to “fundamental measures” may indicate the deployment of the homegrown “three-axis” defense system against North KoreaMay 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea state media outlets remain silent about SLBM launch A news report on a North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch is aired on a TV screen at Seoul Station, May 7. YonhapNorth Korea's official news agency and other state media outlets remained silent Sunday about a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that the country fired the previous day in its latest saber-rattling ahead of the inauguration of South Korea's incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, usually begins its morning news cycle with reports on major events that happened the previous day, such as leader Kim Jong-un's activities or major weapons testing.But on Sunday, the KCNA made no mention of the SLBM launch, which, according to South Korea's military, was carried out Saturday afternoon in waters off the North's eastern coastal city of Sinpo, the North's main submarine shipyard.The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, and other media outlets also remained silent on the launch.The missile test, which marked the North's 15th show of force this year, came just three days before Yoon takes officMay 8, 2022
