Category Archives: North Korea

Japan and North Korea sound warning as deadly cold snap sweeps across Asia

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Extreme weather kills at least one person in Japan and more than 100 in Afghanistan while parts of China hit record low temperatures

Weather authorities in Japan and the Korean peninsula have issued warnings over freezing temperatures and gales that have killed at least one person, and stranded thousands.

Severe cold weather has already caused fatalities, havoc and record low temperatures across the region in the last fortnight, with at least 124 people dead in Afghanistan and record lows of -53C in northeastern China.

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North Korea locks down capital Pyongyang over respiratory illness

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Residents told that rising cases mean they must stay home for five days and do frequent temperature checks

Authorities in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice.

The notice did not mention Covid-19, but said that residents in the city were required to stay in their homes until the end of Sunday and submit to temperature checks multiple times each day, according to NK News, which monitors North Korea.

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Kim Jong-un vows to ‘exponentially’ increase nuclear warhead production

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North Korean leader marks New Year with fresh ballistic missile launch just hours into 2023

Kim Jong-un has vowed to ramp up the production of nuclear warheads and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), while singling out South Korea as his country’s “undoubted enemy”, North Korean state media reported on Sunday.

In a sign of deepening animosity towards the US, South Korea and Japan, Kim called for an “exponential increase” in the regime’s nuclear arsenal during an address at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ party that ended on Saturday.

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North Korea fires three ballistic missiles in latest tests

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Launches come five days after country reportedly flew drones into South Korea’s airspace

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles towards the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, the South Korean military said.

The launches were the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea this year, as Pyongyang presses on with weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time.

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South Korea scrambles jets as North Korean drones ‘violate airspace’

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Warning shots fired after drones crossed military demarcation line from north, South Korea military says

South Korea scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters and fired warning shots on Monday after North Korean drones violated its airspace, the South Korean military said.

South Korea tracked the drones crossing from North Korea over what is known as the military demarcation line between the two countries after detecting them in the skies of the western city of Gimpo at about 10.25am (0125 GMT), the military said.

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Tensions simmer on Korean peninsula as North fires two ballistic missiles

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Launches come days after Pyongyang said it tested a new ‘high-thrust’ motor as it seeks to advance its nuclear and missile programmes

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles, Seoul’s military said, days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel motor for a new weapons system.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen sharply this year as Pyongyang has carried out an unprecedented blitz of weapons tests, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile ever last month.

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Japan approves biggest military buildup since second world war amid China fears

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US welcomes doubling of military spending but critics express unease over abandoning seven decades of pacifism

Japan has approved its biggest military buildup since the second world war, warning that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge ever” and outlining plans to develop a counterstrike capability funded by record defence spending.

The plans, announced by the government on Friday, reflect growing alarm over a more assertive Chinese military and a North Korean regime that continues to improve its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

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K-pop star Jin of BTS starts his military service in South Korea

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The 30-year-old begins five weeks of training amid questions over future of the global phenomenon band

Jin, the oldest member of the K-pop phenomenon BTS, was due to begin his mandatory military service on Tuesday at a base close to the border with North Korea, amid growing speculation about the band’s future.

The 30-year-old, now sporting a buzzcut, will be followed into the military by younger members of the band in the coming years, after their impending enlistment sparked a debate among South Koreans over whether the band, and other successful entertainers, should be granted exemptions.

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Kim Jong-un dogs end up at South Korean zoo after care costs row

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Moon Jae-in gave up hunting dogs claiming government refused to cover food and veterinary bills

A pair of dogs gifted four years ago by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have ended up at a zoo in South Korea after a dispute over who should pay for the animals’ care.

Kim had given the two white Pungsan hunting dogs – a breed indigenous to North Korea – to the then South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, as a gift after their summit talks in Pyongyang in 2018.

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Kim Jong-un daughter inspects another ICBM as leader hails North Korea’s nuclear power

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Kim is joined by young daughter on inspection of his forces, increasing speculation that he is paving way for next generation of Kim dynasty

Kim Jong-un has said North Korea intends to have the world’s most powerful nuclear force as the leader was again pictured with his daughter while inspecting troops and an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea’s “ultimate goal is to possess the world’s most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century”, Kim said in an order promoting dozens of military officers involved in the launch last weekend of a new ballistic missile, state media reported on Sunday.

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Symbolism or succession clues? Debut of Kim Jong-un’s daughter sparks speculation over North Korea’s future

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Reveal of Ju Ae raises questions over whether Kim, who is in his 30s and has battled poor health, is starting to think about his successor

Kim Jong-un’s carefully crafted image as a man of the people, armed with nuclear weapons, came full circle at the weekend with his daughter’s surprise appearance at the launch of a long-range missile.

Images showing Kim holding the hand of the young girl eclipsed the test-firing of a Hwasong-17, the regime’s biggest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to date, and sparked speculation about the future of the dynasty that has ruled North Korea for more than seven decades.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reveals daughter at ballistic missile test

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Pictures show dictator viewing an ICBM launch site with girl whose existence has never been confirmed before

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been pictured with his daughter for the first time in photographs showing the pair hand in hand inspecting the launch of the country’s largest ballistic missile.

North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday, state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday.

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Anthony Albanese calls for emergency UN meeting to condemn North Korean missile launch

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Australia’s prime minister joined forces with Kamala Harris, Fumio Kishida, Jacinda Ardern, Han Duck-soo, and Justin Trudeau, on issue at Apec summit

Anthony Albanese has called for an emergency session of the UN security council to condemn North Korea’s provocative launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone on Friday.

Australia’s prime minister joined the vice-president of the United States, Kamala Harris, the prime minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, South Korea’s prime minister, Han Duck-soo, and the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, in a huddle on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Bangkok on Friday.

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North Korean ICBM had potential range to reach US mainland, Japanese officials say

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The intercontinental ballistic missile landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone

A North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone on Friday had the potential range to strike the US mainland, Japanese officials say.

The US, Japan and South Korea condemned North Korea for launching the missile, which landed about 200 km (124 miles) west of Oshima-Oshima island in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. There were no reports of damage to ships or aircraft.

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North Korea launches ballistic missile, threatens ‘fiercer’ military response

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The latest missile test comes on the back of expanded military exercises between the US and South Korea

North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile Thursday toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North threatened to launch “fiercer” military responses to the US bolstering its security commitment to its allies South Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s military detected the launch from the North’s eastern coastal Wonsan area at 10:48am local time, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance of North Korea while maintaining a military readiness and a close coordination with the United States.

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Biden says unclear if China can stop another North Korea nuclear test

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US president says he told Xi Jinping that Beijing had an ‘obligation’ to tell Kim Jong-un to avoid a seventh test

Joe Biden has said he told Xi Jinping that China has an obligation to try to talk North Korea out of conducting a seventh nuclear test, although the US president said it was unclear whether Beijing had the ability to do so.

Biden met Xi for more than three hours on Monday, ahead of the G20 summit in Bali, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took power. At a press conference after the meeting, Biden said he told Xi “that I thought they had an obligation to attempt to make it clear” to North Korea that it should not go ahead with a test.

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Dogs given to South Korea by Kim Jong-un at centre of political row

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Former president Moon Jae-in says he will give up gift of Pungsan dogs if no support from Yoon Suk-yeol

South Korea’s former president Moon Jae-in has said he plans to give up a pair of dogs sent by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, as a gift after their 2018 summit, citing a lack of support from his successor.

Moon has raised the white Pungsan dogs, named Gomi and Songgang, since their arrival and took them to his personal residence after his term ended in May.

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The Ukraine war is deepening Russia’s ties with North Korea as well as Iran

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Moscow’s growing need for armaments from Pyongyang is likely to lead to greater alignment of diplomatic and military interests

Russian arms procurement from Iran and North Korea heralds an increasing convergence of military and diplomatic interests between Moscow and two countries regarded as international pariahs.

Amid renewed accusations from Washington that Russia is attempting to procure large amounts of artillery ammunition from Pyongyang, on top of the missiles and kamikaze and other drones it has already bought from Iran, Moscow’s arms procurement blitz has flagged up the mounting logistical problems in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.

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US accuses Russia and China of protecting North Korea from UN

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China and Russia, meanwhile, accuse US of inflaming tensions with large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea

The United States has accused Russia and China of providing “blanket protection” to North Korea from further UN Security Council action and said the pair had “bent over backwards” to justify Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches.

The US, Britain, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway requested that the Security Council meet on Friday after North Korea, formally known as the DPRK, fired multiple missiles, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile.

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Nuclear attack on US or allies would end Kim regime, says defense secretary

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Lloyd Austin makes remark while Kim Jong-un’s government in Pyongyang has in recent days mounted a number of missile tests

The US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Thursday any nuclear attack on the US or its allies by North Korea would “result in the end of the Kim regime”.

Kim Jong-un’s government in Pyongyang has in recent days mounted a number of missile tests. The South Korean military said a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday may have ended in failure. Japan called the launch “outrageous and absolutely intolerable”.

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