North Korea to restore ‘all military measures’ on South Korea border

As Seoul claims Russia helped Pyongyang carry out spy satellite launch, North Korea warns of stronger armed forces on border

North Korea has warned it will deploy new weapons and stronger armed forces along its heavily armed border with South Korea, as officials in Seoul claimed that Russia had helped Pyongyang carry out a satellite launch.

In a sign of rising tensions on the peninsula, North Korea said on Tuesday it would restore “all military measures” it had halted under a 2018 confidence-building agreement with South Korea.

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North Korea’s spy satellite is a big deal, regardless of how advanced its technology is

Rocket launch underlines Kim Jong-un’s ability to sidestep UN sanctions and suggests ballistic missile building abilities have reached a higher level

North Korea is already believed to be capable of striking the US mainland with a nuclear weapon; now it claims that it can spy on enemy troops, after state media reported the regime’s first successful launch of a surveillance satellite, drawing an immediate response from South Korea.

While Japan, South Korea and the US could not immediately confirm if the satellite’s payload had entered orbit late on Tuesday, a North Korean presence in space would add to military tensions on the peninsula and highlight the ineffectiveness of international sanctions.

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Kim Jong-un closes slate of North Korea’s embassies as sanctions bite

Regime can no longer afford all its diplomatic missions, including some to longtime allies such as Angola where it has maintained ties since 1975

While Kim Jong-un basks in the afterglow of his recent visit to Russia, North Korea is scaling back its presence overseas, with reported plans to close almost a quarter of its diplomatic missions blamed on its sanctions-hit economy.

While the regime moves closer to China and Russia amid new tensions on the Korean peninsula, years of UN-led sanctions have forced it to close embassies and consulates in as many as a dozen locations, including those in countries Pyongyang views as longtime allies.

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Russia’s foreign minister hails ‘new level’ of ties during North Korea trip

Sergei Lavrov praises Kim Jong-un for ‘unambiguous support’ for Ukraine war on visit that could pave way for summit with Vladimir Putin

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Moscow’s relations with North Korea have reached a “new level”, as concern grows over deepening military ties between the two countries amid the war in Ukraine.

Speaking on Thursday in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, Lavrov hailed last month’s summit in Russia’s far east between Vladimir Putin and the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, as evidence that bilateral ties were at a “qualitatively new, strategic level”.

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North Korea’s halt of nuclear reactor suggests bid to obtain weapons-grade plutonium – report

Suspension of operations at Yongbyon complex points to reprocessing work for nuclear arms, South Korean government source quoted as saying

North Korea has halted the nuclear reactor at its main atomic complex, probably to extract plutonium that could be used for weapons by reprocessing spent fuel rods, a South Korean news report has said, citing a government source.

The operation of the five-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has been suspended since late September, according to intelligence assessments by US and South Korean authorities, the report said.

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Kim Jong-un inspects nuclear-capable aircraft on Russia visit

Moscow’s defence minister shows North Korean leader weapons including hypersonic missiles at airfield near Vladivostok

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, inspected Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers, hypersonic missiles and warships on Saturday, accompanied by Vladimir Putin’s defence minister.

Sergei Shoigu greeted Kim at Russia’s Knevichi airfield, about 50km (30 miles) from the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. The North Korean leader then inspected a guard of honour.

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Belarus leader proposes three-way partnership with Russia and North Korea

Alexander Lukashenko put forward axis plan during summit with Vladimir Putin in Sochi as rumours of arms deal persist

Alexander Lukashenko has expressed interest in creating a trilateral partnership with Russia and North Korea amid rumours that Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un were negotiating an arms deal to sustain Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Belarusian leader made the remarks during a summit with Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where the two held their seventh face-to-face meeting this year.

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Belarus’s Lukashenko proposes ‘three-way cooperation’ with Putin and Kim Jong-un – as it happened

Belarusian president’s suggestion comes during a meeting with his Russian counterpart. This live blog is closed.

In its daily public intelligence briefing on the war in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence appears convinced of Ukrainian claims to have inflicted significant damage on the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. Citing satellite imagery, it writes:

Despite the Russian ministry of defence downplaying the damage to the vessels, open-source evidence indicates the Minsk [landing ship] has almost certainly been functionally destroyed, while the Rostov [submarine] has likely suffered catastrophic damage.

Any effort to return the submarine to service is likely to take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There is a realistic possibility that the complex task of removing the wreckage from the dry docks will place them out of use for many months. This would present the Black Sea fleet with a significant challenge in sustaining fleet maintenance.

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Putin and Kim Jong-un exchange rifles as North Korean leader continues Russia tour

Russian president also gave Kim at meeting the gift of a ‘glove from a space suit that has been to space’ amid warnings from US and South Korea about any weapons deal

Kim Jong-un has visited a factory that builds advanced fighter jets, as his tour of Russia moves into its third day and the Kremlin revealed he and Vladimir Putin had exchanged gifts of rifles during their summit this week.

Two days after meeting Putin at a space base in Russia’s far east, where they discussed satellite technology and – possibly – a deal to provide North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine, Kim’s armoured train arrived in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he visited a factory that makes Russia’s most modern fighter jets, Russian news agencies reported.

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Kim Jong-un invites Putin to North Korea after summit brings ties to ‘a new level’

North Korean media report that Kim was briefed on space vehicles during his meetings in Russia, though no specific detail of any deal has emerged

Kim Jong-un invited President Vladimir Putin to visit North Korea during their meeting in Russia on Wednesday, Pyongyang’s state media reported, amid warnings that Kim was poised to offer the Kremlin artillery shells and other munitions for the war in Ukraine.

Kim told Putin that their closely watched meeting had brought bilateral ties to a new level, and expressed his willingness to foster stable, future-oriented relations for the next 100 years, news agency KCNA said.

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‘Nothing left to lose’: Putin embraces role of spoiler with Kim Jong-un summit

Russia’s propagandists trumpeted the president’s North Korean connection as, in isolation, he threatened to cross a serious line

The situation is dire when you’re boasting of closer ties with North Korea, but Vladimir Putin in 2023 finds himself in just that situation with nothing left to lose.

The Russian fanfare before the summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has rivalled the anticipation for his meetings with western leaders, where he would attempt to woo or spar with opponents such as Barack Obama or Angela Merkel.

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Kim Jong-un offers Putin ‘full support’ in Russia’s ‘sacred fight’ with west

North Korean leader backs Moscow in ‘protecting its sovereignty and security against the hegemonic forces’ that oppose it

Kim Jong-un has offered Vladimir Putin his support for Russia’s “sacred fight” against the west during talks that also touched on possible Russian help with North Korea’s space programme.

The North Korean and Russian leaders met on Wednesday at a space base in the far east of Russia amid warnings that Kim was poised to offer the Kremlin artillery shells and other munitions for the war in Ukraine.

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Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia to meet Putin as US threatens sanctions

North Korean leader travels on armoured train for talks amid concerns Putin is seeking arms deal for Ukraine war

Kim Jong-un has arrived in Russia on his armoured train for a rare summit with Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible deal to supply North Korean arms for the war in Ukraine.

The train arrived at Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s far east from North Korea, where Kim was filmed alighting and meeting the Russian environment minister, before continuing to travel north.

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Russia-Ukraine war: G7 condemns ‘sham elections’ held by Russia on Ukrainian territory – as it happened

Foreign ministers condemn ‘elections’ held in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Crimea, where electoral competition was limited

Russia has “recalibrated” its missile defences around Moscow as it faces near daily drone attacks, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update.

As well as being aimed at improving its defences, the changes are likely also meant as a “high-profile reassurance” to the public, the MoD said.

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Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 566 of the invasion

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un set to meet Vladimir Putin; Ukraine recaptures gas and oil rigs in Black Sea

Vladimir Putin has declared that Ukraine’s counter-offensive has delivered no results. The Russian president gave a lengthy speech and participated in a Q&A session at an economic forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

Putin appeared to rule out any further conscritpion or mobilisation to help the war effort, claiming that 1,000-1,500 Russians were signing voluntary contracts to join the military every day. He also said that over the past six or seven months, 270,000 people have signed voluntary contracts. That is a figure slightly lower than the 280,000 that former president Dmitry Medvedev stated earlier this month.

The Russian leader accused Ukraine and the west of a crime in deploying cluster munitions and utilising depleted uranium in armaments as it seeks to repel the invasion of Ukraine which Putin ordered in February of last year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived to Russia by armoured train to meet President Vladimir Putin, Pyongyang said, with face-to-face talks potentially focused on weapon sales. Experts suggest Putin is seeking artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea, while Kim is reportedly in search of advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid for his impoverished nation.

A US spokesman said the meeting indicated Putin was desperate over the Ukraine conflict and renewed warnings that any arms deal could trigger US sanctions. “Having to travel across the length of his own country to meet with an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterise it as him begging for assistance,” state department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Tuesday he had vetoed a parliamentary bill that sought to retain closed asset declarations for officials. Parliament voted last Tuesday to restore a declaration rule that was suspended after Russia’s 2022 invasion as a security precaution but, in an important loophole, to keep the disclosures closed to the public for another year.

The Ukrainian military said it had recaptured strategic Black Sea gas and oil drilling platforms, the so-called Boyko Towers, that were seized by Russia in 2015. “Russia has been deprived of the ability to fully control the waters of the Black Sea, and this makes Ukraine many steps closer to regaining Crimea,” the Main Intelligence Directorate said.

Ukraine said its troops had regained more territory on the eastern and southern fronts in the past week of its counteroffensive. Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said in televised comments that Ukraine had retaken nearly 2 square km (0.77 square mile) of land around the eastern city of Bakhmut, captured by Russia in May. She later added on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian army had in the past week also recaptured 4.8 square km in the southern Tavria sector.

The Biden administration is close to approving the shipment of longer-range missiles packed with cluster bombs to Ukraine, giving Kyiv the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory, Reuters reported citing four US officials.

The “decision-making process in Germany is moving forward” regarding the supply of Taurus missiles to Kyiv, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after a meeting with the country’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock. Earlier on Monday, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, had urged Berlin to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine as soon as possible.

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Kremlin confirms Putin meeting as Kim reportedly boards armoured train

West fears North Korea plans to supply Moscow with weapons to use in war against Ukraine

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will visit Russia in the coming days at the invitation of Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has confirmed, amid concerns in the west that Pyongyang plans to provide weapons to Moscow to use in the war against Ukraine.

An armoured train carrying Kim was reported by South Korean media to have departed Pyongyang for Russia via North Korea’s north-eastern border, with a meeting expected to be held in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, where Putin has already arrived, as early as Tuesday.

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North Korea launches new ‘tactical nuclear attack submarine’

Kim Jong-un heralds new chapter for navy but South Korea says vessel seems not to be operational

North Korea has launched its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine”, state media reported, although the South Korean military said the vessel might not be operational.

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, presided over the unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, saying the sub was part of a “push forward with the nuclear weaponisation of the navy”, according to the state news agency KCNA.

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Kim Jong-un to meet Putin in Russia for talks over supplying weapons

North Korean and Russian leaders expected to discuss military cooperation in Vladivostok

Kim Jong-un will reportedly travel to Russia this month to meet Vladimir Putin and discuss the possibility of supplying weapons to the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said details of the expected meeting were still unclear, but added that it was likely to take place in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, given its proximity to North Korea.

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Russia ally Kim Jong-un demands more North Korean weapons output

Dictator tours factories making drone engines and rocket launchers and calls for ‘rapidly expanding production capacity’

Kim Jong-un visited several major North Korean arms factories this week, including facilities making engines for strategic cruise missiles, and called for increased weapons production, state media has reported.

The three-day inspection of the factories comes less than two weeks after the dictator attended a major military parade with Russian and Chinese officials, showcasing North Korea’s newest weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and spy drones.

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