Biden warns North Korea against escalation U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 25. APU.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the United States will respond appropriately should North Korea continue to escalate tension, but that it is also prepared for diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime.Biden noted the launch of the missiles on Thursday (Seoul time) was in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions."Let me say that, number one, U.N. resolution 1718 was violated by those particular missiles that were tested," Biden said in his first formal press conference since taking office on Jan. 20."We are consulting with our allies and partners, and there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly," he added.North Korea launched what appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, U.S. and South Korean military officials said earlier.Pyongyang is prohibited from testing any type of ballistic missiles under the U.N. Security Council resolution.Biden's remarks marked the fMar 26, 2021
North Korea says it test-fired new tactical guided missiles A missile is launched by the North Korean military, Thursday. North Korea said Friday that it test-fired new tactical guided missiles. YonhapNorth Korea said Friday it test-fired new tactical guided missiles a day earlier, confirming the launch of ballistic missiles for the first time in about a year.On Thursday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, raising concerns that the missiles banned under the U.N. Security Council resolutions could sharply escalate tensions.The latest launch came as the Joe Biden administration prepares to announce a new policy on the North."The newly developed new-type tactical guided projectile is a weapon system whose warhead weight has been improved to be 2.5 tons with the use of the core technology of tactical guided projectile that was already developed," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.North Korea's military officials smile as they watch the missile test, Thursday. YonhapThe Academy of Defence Science conducted the launch and was "very successful just aMar 26, 2021
North Korea may return to fire-and-fury mode Citizens watch a television news program on North Korea's missile launch, Thursday morning at Suseo Station in Seoul. The North launched two short-range missiles which were assumed to be ballistic missiles at around 7 a.m. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooNorth Korea is ratcheting up tension to test U.S. President Joe Biden's policy toward Pyongyang, firing two more projectiles assumed to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea, Thursday, just four days after the regime launched cruise missiles. Diplomatic observers say the totalitarian state may opt for a more serious provocation such as an intercontinental ballistic missile or even a nuclear test unless the United States ditches its hostile policies. The new U.S. government is in the final stages of deciding on its new North Korea policy and plans to host national security advisers of South Korea and Japan next week to discuss it. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the two short-range missiles were fired from South Hamgyong Province in North Korea at 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m., respectively. The missiles flew about 450 kilometers into Mar 25, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
UN human rights resolution on North Korea tests Moon's diplomacy A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur in this March 9, 2017, file photo. Reuters-YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooThe United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution for the 19th-consecutive year condemning North Korea's human rights violations. This year's resolution carries extra significance with the U.S. joining as a co-sponsor.Diplomatic observers said this comes as a test for the foreign policy of the Moon Jae-in administration, which has been trying hard to resume dialogue with the North. To revive an atmosphere of inter-Korean rapprochement, while not hurting South Korea-U.S. relations, Moon needs to convince U.S. President Joe Biden that the North Korea issue needs to be addressed through exceptional means, diplomatic observers added. The United Nations Human Rights Council held its 46th session in Geneva on Tuesday (local time) and adopted the resolution by consensus.The UNHRC's resolution “condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations anMar 25, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
South Korea holds emergency National Security Council meeting on North Korea's projectile launch South Korean President Moon Jae-in holds a cabinet council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. Korea Times fileCheong Wa Dae said Thursday that it has convened an urgent National Security Council (NSC) meeting on North Korea's latest projectile launch.Members of the NSC's standing committee opened the "emergency" session at 9 a.m., according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. It came after the South Korean military announced that the North lobbed at least two "unidentified projectiles" into the East Sea earlier in the day. Those are suspected to be ballistic missiles.If confirmed, it would mark the North's first ballistic missile launch spotted by the South in about a year. The North is prohibited from engaging in launches using ballistic missile technology under U.N. Security Council resolutions.The NSC's weekly standing committee meeting is usually held on Thursday afternoon, presided over by Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae. Cheong Wa Dae, however, advanced the opening of the meeting for the day in response to the North's move, calling it an emergency occasionMar 25, 2021
Japan says North Korea may have fired ballistic missile North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / YonhapNorth Korea may have launched a ballistic missile, Japan's defence ministry said on Thursday, while South Korea's military reported an "unidentified projectile" was fired off the peninsula's east coast into the sea.North Korea's ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council Resolutions, and if the launch is confirmed, it would represent the first ballistic-missile test launch under new U.S. President Joe Biden.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not identify or elaborate on what the projectile was or when it was launched.It may have been a ballistic missile, a spokesman for Japan's defence ministry said."It has not fallen within Japanese territory and is not believed to have come down within Japan's exclusive economic zone," he said.Earlier the Japanese coast guard warned ships against coming close to any fallen objects and instead asked them to provide information to the coast guard.North Korea fired two short-range missiles at the weekend, U.S. and South Korean officials said, but Washington played down the first sucMar 25, 2021
North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS This file photo shows a short-range missile launched by the North Korean military. North Korea on Thursday fired at least one unidentified projectile into the East Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. YonhapNorth Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, an apparent move pressing the United States as Washington prepares to announce a new policy on the North.The missiles were fired from the North's eastern town of Hamju, South Hamgyong Province, at 7:06 a.m and 7:25 a.m. and flew around 450 kilometers with an altitude of 60 km, the JCS said."South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing the projectiles in detail, weighing the possibility that they could be short-range ballistic missiles," a JCS officer said. North Korea last fired a ballistic missile in March 2020.It was not immediately known whether the North's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the firings."Our military is maintaining a thorough readiness posture in preparation for additional provocations while closely monitoring relMar 25, 2021
Is North Korea returning to brinkmanship? North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Joe Biden / Korea Times filePyongyang's missile test aims to gain edge over US in nuke talksBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea's launch of short-range missiles over the weekend is set to pressure the new U.S. administration to come up with a policy review favorable to the totalitarian state, according to diplomatic observers. However, they added that Pyongyang staged a toned-down provocation without defying international sanctions or shutting the door to diplomacy with the U.S., although it also means the country can go further should the U.S. mount its pressure on the regime. According to the South Korean and U.S. military authorities, Wednesday, the Kim Jong-un regime fired two cruise missiles off the west coast, Sunday, the first such launches since the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration in January.“We detected two projectiles presumed to be cruise missiles fired from the North's western port county of Onchon early Sunday,” a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official told reporters without elaborating on other details, Mar 24, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Kim calls for stronger relations in messages to Cuba, Vietnam, Laos North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent verbal messages to the leaders of Cuba, Vietnam and Laos and called for stronger relations, state media reported Wednesday, in a move apparently intended to strengthen ties with socialist countries amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States.Kim sent the messages to "notify the accounts of the 8th Congress of the WPK" to Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, and Raul Castro, the first secretary of Cuba's communist party, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). WPK is the Workers' Party of Korea.In his message, Kim also discussed and decided on the North's policy stand on the bolstering of defense capabilities, as well as on inter-Korean relations and North Korea-U.S. relations, KCNA said."He clarified again the will of the WPK to develop the ties of strategic and comradely unity and cooperation with Cuba on the road of struggle for the victory of the socialist cause and launch a dynamic joint struggle against imperialism," it said.During the eight conMar 24, 2021
Latest North Korean missile launches not covered by UN resolutions: US officials A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 9, 2017. North Korea's recent launch of short-range missiles is not in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday, calling them part of "normal testing." ReutersNorth Korea's recent launch of short-range missiles is not in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday, calling them part of "normal testing.""We're also aware of military activity last weekend by DPRK that is not sanctioned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, restricting the ballistic missile program," a senior administration official said in a telephonic press briefing.Earlier reports said the North launched multiple short-range missiles over the weekend."We do not publicly respond to every kind of test. What I think (we) are trying to underscore for you is that this is a system that is not covered by U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions," a second administration official told reporters, while speaking on condition of anonymiMar 24, 2021
