North Korea launches apparent ballistic missile toward East Sea: JCS A missile launch is seen in this undated file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward the East Sea, Tuesday, according to the South Korean military, less than a week after it tested what it claimed to be a hypersonic missile.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from an inland area at 7:27 a.m., without elaborating further."For additional information, the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are in the process of conducting a detailed analysis," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.The South Korean military in cooperation with the U.S. is closely monitoring North Korean military movements and maintaining a firm readiness posture, it added.The latest launch came as the U.N. Security Council convened a closed-door session on Pyongyang's test of the self-proclaimed hypersonic missile last Wednesday.Shortly before the session, the U.S. and five other countries issued a joint statement calling on the North to refrain from "destabilizing" aJan 11, 2022
Seoul monitoring possible change in North Korea's COVID-19 policy, lockdown The North Korean town of Kaepung on the western border with South Korea, in this photo taken from an observatory in the South Korean border city of Paju, Jan. 7. YonhapThe Ministry of Unification said Monday it was closely watching a possible change in North Korea's anti-COVID-19 policy, such as the lifting of its strict border closure, after Pyongyang's main newspaper said the country will shift to more "advanced" antivirus measures from the current control-focused approach."We need to move to a better advanced, people-oriented epidemic work from one that focused on control measures," the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said. It did not elaborate on the new measures.Lee Jong-joo, the spokesperson for the unification ministry, said the government will keep tabs on the North's border situation following the suggested policy change. "The government will continue monitoring how the North's newly proposed advanced, people-oriented antivirus measures will materialize, especially if they will lead to a change in its current control-focused policy, including a border lockdown," Lee told a regular pJan 10, 2022
'Favorable environment set for end-of-war declaration' Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulUnification minister urges North Korea not to miss out on 'golden time'By Kang Seung-wooIt is the right time to declare an end to the Korean War, as an unprecedentedly favorable environment for the implementation of the declaration has been set up among relevant countries, according to Unification Minister Lee In-young.In this regard, he also believes the first half of the year could be a “golden time” to make strides in frayed inter-Korean ties and stalled nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States, citing a heap of political events in the second half of the year that could disrupt efforts toward Pyongyang-related issues. Strongly believing such an agreement could serve as a catalyst for negotiations on the denuclearization of North Korea, President Moon Jae-in resurrected his proposal of declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 conflict in a speech at the United Nations last September. Since then, South KJan 9, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea calls North Korea's claim of hypersonic missile launch 'exaggerated' In this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Jan. 6, what the North claims to be a new hypersonic missile is launched the previous day. YonhapSouth Korea's defense ministry said Friday that North Korea's claim that it has successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile this week appears to be "exaggerated," assessing Pyongyang has yet to secure technologies for such an advanced flight vehicle.Its initial analysis has found that the missile, launched Wednesday, traveled less than 700 kilometers at a top speed of Mach 6 ― six times the speed of sound ― at an altitude of below 50 km, the ministry said. Its assessment is different from Thursday's report by the North's official Korean Central News Agency that the missile "precisely hit a set target 700 km away" and made a "120 km lateral movement.""The North's claim about the missile's capabilities, such as its operational range and lateral movement, appears to be exaggerated," the ministry said in a statement. "Especially, we assess the North has yet to reach the technologies for a hypersonic flight vehicle,"Jan 7, 2022
US experts see little or no chance of US-North Korea dialogue in 2022 This combination of file photos shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Joe Biden. AFP-Yonhap There is little or no chance of talks between the United States and North Korea this year with both sides refusing to make any significant concessions for dialogue, U.S. experts said Thursday.They also argued that Washington will likely be happy to keep the status quo with Pyongyang despite its recent self-claimed hypersonic missile test, as long as the North does not pose or demonstrate an immediate threat to the U.S."The chances of talks with North Korea, sadly, are less than zero," said Harry Kazianis, senior director at the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington."The challenge is that the Biden Administration has no political bandwidth to offer any concessions and North Korea won't want to deal from such a weakened position," he told Yonhap News Agency.Partly weakening the prospects for the resumption of dialoguJan 7, 2022
North Korea's nuclear, missile programs pose 'ongoing' threat: Blinken U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 5. AP-YonhapNorth Korea's nuclear and missile programs pose an ongoing threat to the region and the international community, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.The top U.S. diplomat also highlighted the need to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance to meet such threats."Meanwhile, the DPRK's unlawful nuclear, missile programs pose an ongoing threat. And we saw that again this week with the most recent launch," Blinken said, referring to North Korea's test launch of a self-claimed hypersonic missile Wednesday (KST).Blinken made the remarks at the start of annual security consultative talks with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, which also involved U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.Blinken noted that threats facing the allies included what he called China's "provocative acJan 7, 2022
North Korea says it's not attending Beijing Olympics due to 'hostile forces,' pandemic A woman walks past a fence surrounding a closed loop area designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 near venues of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Jan. 6. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea has told China that it fully supports the upcoming Beijing Olympics though it cannot participate in the event, criticizing the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games, state media reported Friday.The North's Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports delivered the message in a letter to China's Olympic Committee and other organizations the previous day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)."We could not take part in the Olympics due to the hostile forces' moves and the worldwide pandemic, but we would fully support the Chinese comrades in all their work to hold splendid and wonderful Olympic festival," the KCNA reported the letter as reading.The International Olympic Committee earlier decided to suspend the North from the Beijing Olympics set for next month as punishment for refusing to participate in last year's Tokyo Games oveJan 7, 2022
NSC to continue efforts to resume dialogue with N. Korea National security adviser Suh Hoon presides over a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in this July 2021 file photo. Courtesy of Cheong Wa DaeSouth Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) held a regular meeting on Thursday and reaffirmed the commitment to continue efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said.National security adviser Suh Hoon presided over the NSC meeting, but a post-meeting statement released by Cheong Wa Dae made no mention of North Korea's claims that it test-fired a hypersonic missile the previous day.“The members emphasized that stability on the Korean Peninsula and institutionalization of peace are more important than ever and decided to continue efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea by closely cooperating with relevant nations, including the United States,” the statement said. Earlier in the day, North Korean state media reported Pyongyang successfully tested a hypersonic gliding missile on Wednesday. It was the North's second reported test of the advanced weapon following its first known test in September last year. On WJan 6, 2022
North Korea expected to continue missile tests after South's presidential election: experts North Korea test-fired a hypersonic missile, Wednesday, in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the day after. KCNA report said the latest test was a success. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the launch. YonhapBy Jung Da-min North Korea is expected to continue its missile tests this year, regardless of who is elected to be the next president of South Korea in the election set for March 9, according to North Korea watchers, Thursday.This forecast came a day after the North's state-run Academy of Defense Science test-fired a hypersonic missile the day before, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Thursday. It said the missile launch was part of efforts to fulfill the country's national task of modernizing strategic armed force capabilities under its five-year plan for the strategic arms sector, first presented at the eighth congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in January of last year.Pyongyang's latest missile launch was the second test of the country's hypersonic missilJan 6, 2022
Blinken condemns North Korean missile test in phone talks with Japanese FM U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 5. AP-Yonhap U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned North Korea's latest missile test in a telephone conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Wednesday.The two also discussed ways to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department."Secretary Blinken condemned the DPRK's ballistic missile launch and stressed the U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan remains ironclad," department spokesman Ned Price said of the call in a statement, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."They also discussed cooperation to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," the statement added.North Korea announced Thursday (KST) that it had successfully test-fired a newly dJan 6, 2022
