UN aviation agency voices concern over recent North Korean missile launches People watch a TV report at a train station in Seoul, March 16, about North Korea's launching of an unidentified projectile. Yonhap The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expressed concern Wednesday about North Korea's continued missile launches, stressing the moves posed a "serious risk" to international civil aviation.The Montreal-based U.N. agency's governing body reiterated its concern over the North's recent "unannounced missile launches which pose a serious risk to international civil aviation," according to a statement posted on its website."As an ICAO Member State, the DPRK is expected to notify adjacent countries of any activity or incident arising from its territory which may pose risks to nearby civil aviation routes or operations," it added, using the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Earlier in the day, the North fired an unidentified projectile, but the launch seems to have ended in a failureMar 16, 2022
North Korean projectile launch deemed a failure: South Korean military North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Yonhap North Korea fired off an unidentified projectile Wednesday, but the launch appears to have failed soon after liftoff, South Korea's military said.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North launched the projectile from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 9:30 a.m. Other details were not immediately available."The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. are conducting an additional analysis," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.Speculation has been widespread that Pyongyang could conduct an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system test under the disguise of a satellite development project.Last Friday, the allies accused the North of having tested a new ICBM system, Feb. 27 and March 5, ahead of a full-range launch, rejecting the North's claim that the tests were meant to develop a "reconnaissance satellite." (Yonhap)Mar 16, 2022
President-elect Yoon faces limited choices over North Korea President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a media conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, March 10. After winning a bitterly contested presidential election, Yoon will enter office facing a quickly growing North Korean nuclear threat ― and with few easy choices ahead to deal with it. AP-Yonhap After winning a bitterly contested presidential election, South Korean conservative Yoon Suk-yeol will enter office facing a quickly growing North Korean nuclear threat ― and with few easy choices ahead to deal with it.A former prosecutor with no foreign policy experience who kickstarted his political career nine months ago, Yoon will face a turbulent moment in global affairs and the decades-old standoff with the North, over which many experts see Seoul as having lost leverage under the policies of outgoing President Moon Jae-in.It appears Yoon will be tested quickly, possibly even before he starts his presidency in May. North Korea often attempts to rattle new adminisMar 15, 2022
US gov't raises alarm for financial institutions against business with North Korea A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva, Oct., 2014. The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday advised its financial institutions to be cautious about doing business involving North Korea. Reuters-YonhapThe U.S. Treasury Department has advised the country's financial institutions to be cautious about doing business involving North Korea, citing a recent decision of an intergovernmental body tasked with combating money laundering and terrorism financing, the department's website showed Tuesday.The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept North Korea and Iran on the list of "high-risk jurisdictions" in the March 4 move, according to the department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network."With respect to the FATF-identified High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action, specifically, counter-measures, financial institutions must comply with the extensive U.S. restrictions and prohibitions against opening or maintaining any correspondent accounts, directly or indirectly, for North Korean or Iranian financial institutions," it sMar 15, 2022
Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan hold phone talks over N. Korea People watch a TV screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korea's missile launch at Seoul Station in this Jan. 30, 2022, photo. YonhapThe top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan talked over phone Monday to denounce North Korea's recent missile tests and call on Pyongyang to cease acts that could escalate tensions, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, his U.S. counterpart Sung Kim and Japan's Takehiro Funakoshi held the phone conversation amid rising tension on the Korean Peninsula over the possibility of Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system test.The trio denounced the North's recent spate of ballistic missile launches as violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and urged it to return to dialogue at an early date, the ministry said in a release.They also agreed to closely monitor Pyongyang's moves and remain in close cooperation to respond to its acts, it added.South Korea and the U.S. accused Pyongyang on Friday of having tested a neMar 14, 2022
North Korea seen preparing for another imminent ICBM system test North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea in this undated photo provided by the North Korean government, March 11. AP-Yonhap South Korea and the United States have detected signs that North Korea is preparing to conduct another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system test as early as this week, informed sources here said Monday.Such indications emerged after Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang, Friday, of having tested a new ICBM system Feb. 27 and March 5 ahead of a full-range ICBM test.The North has characterized the two launches as "reconnaissance satellite" development tests. South Korean and U.S. officials believe they involved the Hwasong-17 ICBM unveiled during a military parade in October 2020."Though we can't say definitively when a missile will be launched, we have been keeping close tabs on the possibility," a government source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. WeaMar 14, 2022
UN recruiting new special rapporteur for North Korea human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, speaks at a Korea Press Club in Seoul on Feb. 23. Korea Times fileThe human rights body of the United Nations is recruiting a new special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights and plans to name the successor in June, its website said Sunday. The successful candidate will be announced at the 50th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council slated to kick off on June 13, according to the website. The new candidate, if selected, will replace Tomas Ojea Quintana, who has served in the position since 2016, and formally assume the post from August. The special rapporteur position was first created in 2004 to investigate and report to the U.N. Human Rights Council and General Assembly on the human rights situation in the reclusive regime in light of international human rights law. The rapporteur can serve up to six years based on renewal on an annual basis. Quintana, an Argentine lawyer and human rights expert, succeeded Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia as the special rapporteur for North Korea in 2016. (Yonhap)Mar 13, 2022
NK outlet slams South Korea for denouncing satellite project as ICBM development North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, in this undated photo released, March 11, by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. YonhapA North Korean propaganda machine slammed South Korea on Sunday for denouncing what Pyongyang claims were recent satellite launch tests as efforts to develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile, arguing it is a double standard to take issue with space projects that all countries are entitled to undertake.South Korea and the United States have recently announced their assessment that Pyongyang's purported satellite tests on Feb. 27 and March 5 were part of efforts to develop a new ICBM system ahead of a possible full-range rocket launch.The North has claimed the launches were for "reconnaissance satellite" development."Many countries launch military satellites," Uriminjokkiri, one of the North's propaganda websites, said in a commentary. "It is a shameless and brigandish act to maliciously defame only our reconnaissance satellite launch preparations and talk even about saMar 13, 2022
US imposes sanctions on 5 Russian entities related to North Korean missile program A man watches a TV screen at a train station in Seoul, showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile program with file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, March 11. AP-Yonhap The United States imposed sanctions on five Russian entities, including two Russian nationals, Friday, for aiding North Korea's ballistic missile programs."The DPRK continues to launch ballistic missiles in blatant violation of international law, posing a grave threat to global security," Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, was quoted as saying, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."Today's actions respond to this threat by targeting a network of Russia-based individuals and entities complicit in helping the DPRK procure components for its unlawful ballistic missile systems," he added, according to the Treasury Department.The department said the two Russian individuals aMar 12, 2022
North Korean leader visits satellite launch site capable of ICBM tests North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently visited the country's satellite test site on the country's west coast, according to Pyongyang's state media, March 11. Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the country's satellite test site on the west coast and called for its modernization, Pyongyang's state media said Friday.The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced his visit to the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, as Seoul and Washington jointly concluded Pyongyang's recent purported "reconnaissance satellite" development tests were those of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.Kim's inspection came amid concerns that the North could engage in further provocative acts namely an ICBM test under the disguise of a satellite launch following its veiled threat in January to lift its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons and ICBM tests."He learned about and evaluated the present state of the ground, and advanced the task to modernMar 11, 2022
