Kim, Putin exchange messages on anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan In this 2019 April file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands before summit in Vladivostok, Russia. AP-YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the friendly ties of their countries and vowed further bilateral cooperation as they exchanged messages to mark the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japan's colonial rule, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday.In a message sent to Putin on Sunday, Kim emphasized that the friendly ties "forged in blood in the struggle against the common enemy" have been carried forward for generations and hoped that the relations would grow stronger onto a "new strategic level," according to the Korean Central News Agency.Putin sent a message to Kim on the same day, in which he stressed that the two countries "cherish the memory of the service personnel of the Red Army and Korean patriots who dedicated their lives to the freedom of Korea," the KCNA said.Putin expressed "the belief that the bilateral cooperation of mutual benefits would Aug 15, 2021
North Korean media demands South Korea, US to stop joint military drills, withdraw American troops U.S. tanks at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul / YonhapA North Korean propaganda outlet issued demands Saturday for South Korea and the United States to stop their joint military exercise and for Washington to pull American troops out of the South if Seoul wants peace on the peninsula.The Tongil Sinbo, a North Korean weekly, renewed the calls in a commentary, denouncing the military drill as "an exercise taking place under the collusion with foreign forces." "It's an operation aimed at preemptively striking our republic and a preliminary training for the complete execution of a nuclear war," the commentary read. "It is the sentiment of the South Korean public believing that peace is guaranteed with the cessation of various practices of wars of aggression in the South, and the removal of the hostile policy by withdrawing America's aggression and its armed forces," it said. The commentary came as the North has ramped up criticism over the allies' annual military exercises and renewed its demand for the withdrawal of the 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea stationed in the South in recentAug 14, 2021
North Korea accuses US of involvement in anti-gov't protests in Cuba North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon / YonhapNorth Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon on Friday accused the United States of meddling in Cuba's internal affairs and instigating anti-government demonstrations to bring down the Caribbean country.Ri made the remarks in a rare statement released on the ministry's website in celebration of the 95th birth anniversary of the late former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. "We resolutely condemn and reject the latest anti-government protest that occurred in Cuba, as it is an anti-revolutionary move taken by reactionaries at the urging and backing of the United States in an attempt to obliterate the cause of Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz and to bring down socialist Cuba," Ri said.Ri also expressed support and solidarity to the Cuban people in their fight against the current challenges, as well as "high respect" for making "vigorous efforts for socialist construction."This marks the first time Ri has released a statement on the Cuban situation, though the ministry has published several articles blaming the U.S. for causing the recent instability.EarliAug 13, 2021
North Korea unresponsive to South Korea's hotline calls for 3rd day North Korean residents in Gaepung County, North Hwanghae Province are seen from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Aug. 10. YonhapNorth Korea did not answer South Korea's phone calls via cross-border communication lines for the third straight day Thursday, officials said, in apparent protest against the summertime military exercise between the South and the United States.The morning calls via the inter-Korean liaison office and military communication channels in the eastern and western border regions went unanswered earlier in the day, according to the officials.North Korea began to shun picking up regular calls late Tuesday as South Korea and the U.S. kicked off a four-day preliminary training in the runup to the main combined exercise next week despite the North's warning it will cloud inter-Korean relations. Since the inter-Korean hotlines were restored late last month following a yearlong severance, calls were made once in the morning and again in the afternoon on a daily basis. On Wednesday, Kim Yong-chol, a senior North Korean ofAug 12, 2021
US says joint military exercise is defensive, holds no hostility toward DPRK U.S. Forces Korea vehicles are parked in Camp Casey in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 5. YonhapThe United States on Wednesday reiterated the defensive nature of its joint military exercise with South Korea, one day after North Korea called it a "hostile act."A State Department spokesperson also said the U.S. holds no hostility toward the North."The joint military exercises are purely defensive in nature. As we have long maintained, the United States harbors no hostile intent towards the DPRK," the department official told Yonhap News Agency in an email. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.The remarks come after Kim Yong-chol, head of the North's United Front Department handling inter-Korean affairs, vowed to make South Korea and the U.S. pay dearly for staging their annual summertime joint military exercise.State Department spokesman Ned Price earlier stressed the defensive nature of the joint drill."First, let me reiterate that the joint military exercises are purely defensive in nature. We have made that point repeatedly and itAug 12, 2021
'North Korea likely to ditch inter-Korean military agreement' Barricades set up in front of a bridge in the border town of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which leads to the truce village of Panmunjeom inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, are seen in this photo taken Aug. 11 shows. Yonhap Pyongyang may opt for military action without US concessions By Kang Seung-wooA series of threats by North Korea regarding combined military exercises run by South Korea and the United States could lead to Pyongyang scrapping an inter-Korean military pact and demolishing South Korean facilities at the Mount Geumgang tourist resort, as a means to extract more concessions from Washington, according to diplomatic observers here. On Wednesday, Kim Yong-chol, head of the United Front Department handling inter-Korean affairs, issued a statement warning that the North will make the South and the U.S. regret their decision to hold the joint drills and they will face a “serious security crisis” due to the “wrong choice.” Kim Yong-chol, head of North Korea's United Front Department / YonhapSouth Korea and the U.S. began a four-day prAug 11, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Heavy rain pummels northern region of North Korea: state media In this frame grab from video released by North Korea's Korean Central Television, the state-run broadcaster reports that North Hamgyong Province received more than 50 millimeters of rain an hour. YonhapHeavy rain battered northern parts of North Korea on Wednesday, the North's state-run broadcaster said, after the country's eastern province was hit with torrential rain earlier this month.The northeastern province of North Hamgyong received more than 100 millimeters of rain from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., with some cities and counties recording up to 50 mm of rainfall per hour, the Korean Central Television reported.Hwadae County in the province received 209 mm of rain from midnight to 8 a.m., with 123 mm pounding the region within just three hours from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m."It is difficult to see through the rain and secure clear vision even under 30 millimeters of rainfall ... we are in a very dangerous situation as such heavy rain has pounded the area for three straight hours," it said.The North has issued a warning in the area as heavy rain is expected to continue until Thursday, according to Aug 11, 2021
North Korea refuses to answer South Korea's hotline calls for 2nd day In this July 27 photo, a South Korean service member uses the inter-Korean western military communication line. Courtesy of Ministry of National DefenseNorth Korea did not answer South Korea's phone calls via liaison and military hotlines for the second consecutive day Wednesday, officials said, as Pyongyang is ramping up criticism against South Korea for going ahead with its summertime exercise with the United States. The calls via the inter-Korean liaison office and military communication channels in the eastern and western border regions went unanswered at 9 a.m., after the North began to shun their regular calls from Tuesday afternoon, according to the officials. "We are closely monitoring the situation," a military official said. The disconnection followed a series of angry statements from Pyongyang after South Korea and the U.S. began a four-day preliminary training in the run-up to the main combined exercise set to kick off next week, despite the North's warning it will cloud inter-Korean relations.Kim Yong-chol, a senior North Korean official, issued a statement earlier in thAug 11, 2021
North Korea says it will make South Korea, US feel serious security crisis every minute North Korean farmers in Gaepung County, North Hwanghae Province are seen from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Aug. 10. YonhapNorth Korea on Wednesday slammed South Korea and the United States again for going ahead with joint military exercises, warning it will make the allies feel a serious security crisis every minute.Kim Yong-chol, head of the North's United Front Department handling inter-Korean affairs, made the remarks in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, saying the South Korean authorities have defied the opportunity to make a turn in relations.The denouncement comes just a day after the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticized Seoul and Washington as they kicked off a preliminary training Tuesday ahead of next week's main exercise. "We will make them realize by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice," he said."They must be made to clearly understand how dearly they have to pay for answering our good Aug 11, 2021
North Korea refuses to answer calls from S. Korea in apparent protest against military exercise This photo shows a South Korean service member using the inter-Korean western military communication line, July 27, 2021. Courtesy of Ministry of National DefenseNorth Korea did not answer daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un blasted Seoul and Washington for going ahead with combined military exercises.The inter-Korean communication lines ― the liaison hotline and the military channels in the eastern and western border regions ― were in normal operation until in the morning but the afternoon calls went unanswered, officials at the unification and defense ministries said.The disconnection, just two weeks after the lines were restored following a yearlong severance, came after Kim Yo-jong issued a statement expressing "deep regret" to South Korea for going ahead with the exercise with the U.S. despite her earlier warning the maneuvers will cloud inter-Korean relations.The phone lines were restored late last month after President Moon Jae-in and the North's Kim Jong-un agreed Aug 10, 2021
