Seoul urged to tighten vigilance against North Korean hackers 'NK cyber warfare has potential to cause greater damage than nuclear weapons'By Lee Kyung-min South Korea should raise its guard against cyberattacks from North Korea, as it has been increasingly vulnerable to Pyongyang's tech-driven cyberwarfare, experts said Tuesday. They added that the international community should take North Korea's fast-advancing, cyber manipulation tactics more seriously, as cyberattacks are becoming an easier, more cost-effective alternative to nuclear and missile threats.Contrary to common misunderstanding that the North is an isolated, poor and undeveloped country with no modernization or technological capabilities, Balbina Hwang, a visiting professor at Georgetown University, said the country's activities in online crime was alarming. “The notion dangerously underestimates North Korea's growing sophistication and participation in so-called hybrid warfare utilizing asymmetric capabilities, especially in the cyber-realm. It has the potential to cause greater global damage or chaos than its nuclear weapons program,” the former U.S. State DepartmenAug 27, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
North Korea's propaganda outlet mentions Seoul's GSOMIA termination for first time Participants from a North Korea military band perform during the Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. APA North Korean propaganda outlet mentioned South Korea's recent decision to end a military information-sharing deal with Japan for the first time Tuesday, citing a South Korean media report that strongly supports the move.South Korea decided not to extend the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) last week, citing a "grave change" in security cooperation conditions and Tokyo's refusal to accept Seoul's dialogue proposals.Seoul and Tokyo signed GSOMIA in 2016, which was aimed at exchanging sensitive intelligence in the face of growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. The decision to terminate the pact was made amid an intensifying feud over wartime history and trade with Japan.North Korean media outlets have called for an end to GSOMIA, calling it a stepping stone for Japan toward reinvading the Korean Peninsula, but they have not directly mentioned the latest decision to termAug 27, 2019
Trump again touts North Korea's economic potential U.S President Donald Trump speaks during the final press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron during the G7 summit Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, in Biarritz, southwestern France. APU.S. President Donald Trump again touted North Korea's "tremendous" economic potential on Monday, seemingly urging the regime to return to denuclearization talks.The negotiations have yet to resume despite Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's agreement to do so within several weeks after their impromptu meeting on the inter-Korean border on June 30."I think that North Korea has tremendous economic potential, and I think that Kim Jong-un sees that," Trump said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the conclusion of a Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.Trump especially noted North Korea's geographical location between China, Russia and South Korea, saying that barring flying the only way to reach the South is through the North."So, railroads and everything else, so many things want to happen there," he said.Trump was likely alluding to the sanctions relief anAug 27, 2019
North Korea unveils new 'super-large' multiple rocket launcher North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un oversees the test of what Pyongyang has described to be a “newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher” (MRL), Saturday in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the following day. North Korea fired two rockets from the new MRL. KCNA-YonhapPyongyang continues weapons test amid many other layers of conflict among surrounding countries By Jung Da-min North Korea has successfully developed a new “super-large” multiple rocket launcher, according to the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Sunday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed a test-firing of two rockets the day before, which “proved that all the tactical and technological specifications of the system correctly reached the preset indexes,” it said. According to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the rockets were fired from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea at around 6:45 a.m. and 7:02 a.m. They flew around 380 kilometers at an apogee of about 97 kilometers wAug 25, 2019
North Korea's Kim oversaw test of multiple rocket launcher: KCNA North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised the test-firing of a "newly developed" weapon Saturday, state media reported Sunday. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un again supervised the test-firing of a "newly developed" weapon, state media reported Sunday ― further muddying the waters for any resumption of denuclearisation talks.South Korea's military had said the North launched what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, but the North's state media said a "super-large multiple rocket launcher" had been tested.It was the latest in a series of launches the nuclear-armed North has conducted in recent weeks in protest at US-South Korean joint military exercises, which wrapped up nearly a week ago.Kim said the "newly developed" system was a "great weapon," and expressed "high appreciation" for the scientists who had designed and built it, the country's official Korean Central News Agency said."The test-fire proved that all the tactical and technological specifications of the system correctly reached the preset indexes," the report said.Kim also said the country Aug 25, 2019
Why doesn't Trump stop courting Kim Jong-un despite repeated missile tests? U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks to the press while departing the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 23, 2019, for the G7 Summit in France. (Photo by Alastair Pike / AFP)U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States has a really good relationship with North Korea and that the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has been "pretty straight" with him. "Kim Jong-un has been ... pretty straight with me," Trump told reporters at the White House after North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, according to the South Korean military. (Reuters) Earlier North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast Saturday in the seventh weapons launch in a month, South Korea's military said, a day after it threatened to remain America's biggest threat in protest of U.S.-led sanctions on the country. The North had been expected to halt weapons tests because the 10-day U.S.-South Korean drills, which it views as an invasion rehearsal, ended earlier this week. Saturday's launches Aug 24, 2019
N. Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS North Korea fired two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's military said, ratcheting up tensions even after the end of a joint military exercise between the South and the United States.The projectiles were fired at 6:45 a.m. and 7:02 a.m. from the eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea, and both flew around 380 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 97 km and a top speed of around Mach 6.5, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). "Our military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture," the JCS said in a release, adding the South Korean and the U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing their exact type.Saturday's firings marked the seventh round of such launches since July 25 when the North broke a 17-month hiatus and started firing missiles and projectiles to test new weapons and protest the South-U.S. joint military exercise that it has long denounced as a rehearsal for invasion.The exercise concluded earlier this week, raising hopAug 24, 2019
South Korea: 'US, North Korea to resume dialogue soon' Deputy national security adviser Kim Hyun-chong speaks to reporters after a closed-door meeting with his U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun at the government complex in downtown Seoul, Thursday. YonhapThe United States and North Korea are expected to reopen denuclearization talks soon and it would “go well,” a senior South Korean official said on Thursday, boosting hopes for progress in negotiations after a prolonged stalemate.South Korea's deputy national security adviser Kim Hyun-chong gave his upbeat assessment after meeting with U.S. envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun in Seoul.“My impression was that North Korea and the United States would carry out dialogue soon, and it would go well,” Kim told reporters after the one-hour meeting, without elaborating.Working-level talks between the United States and North Korea have yet to restart since they were stalled by the failed second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi in February. Trump and Kim met again in June at the inter-Korean border and agreed to reopen neAug 22, 2019
N. Korea says 'no interest in denuke talks' as long as South-US military drills in place ReutersNorth Korea said Thursday it has no interest in dialogue as long as South Korea and the United States keep up military threats against it, a day after two F-35 stealth fighters arrived in the South.A spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry issued the warning in a statement, also denouncing South Korea for violating inter-Korean agreements to reduce cross-border tensions by introducing high-tech weapons from the U.S, calling such an act a "grave provocation."The statement came a day after two additional F-35A fighter jets arrived in South Korea, bringing the total number of the stealth fighters in the country's Air Force to six, and the top U.S. nuclear envoy, Stephen Biegun, said in Seoul that Washington is ready to resume talks with Pyongyang."We remain unchanged in our position to resolve all issues in a peaceful manner through dialogue and negotiation. However, dialogue accompanied by military threats is of no interest to us," the statement said."This act of continuously introducing the cutting-edge lethal equipment is a grave provocation that has openly denied the joAug 22, 2019
Biegun says will not take up ambassadorship in Russia U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun, left, talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon, second from right, during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. AP-YonhapU.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun on Wednesday rejected media speculation about his possible ambassadorship in Russia, pledging to "remain focused" on making progress in nuclear talks with North Korea.Biegun made the remarks after his talks with South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon in Seoul, amid growing expectations that Washington and Pyongyang would resume their working-level negotiations on the North's nuclear disarmament."First regarding our negotiating team, I wanted to dispel any rumors that I will be leaving this portfolio to take up an ambassadorship abroad," he said."I will not be taking up a diplomatic posting in the Russia federation and I will remain focused on making progress on North Korea," he added.The U.S. envoy also stressed that "as agreed by" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, President Donald Trump gave his teamAug 21, 2019
