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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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”.
Continue reading...Intercontinental ballistic missile is believed to have suffered in-flight malfunction, says Seoul, as Japan PM criticises ‘outrageous’ launch
North Korea’s launch of a suspected new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) may have been a failure, military chiefs in South Korea have said. The missile was one of three fired on Thursday morning.
The ICBM was fired from the suburbs of Pyongyang but then appeared to have failed during normal flight after the separation of the propellant and warhead sections, defence sources told multiple South Korean media outlets.
Continue reading...One missile landed close to South Korean territorial waters, south of the Northern Limit Line, military chiefs in Seoul say
North Korea fired at least 10 missiles off its eastern and western coasts on Wednesday morning, with one landing in waters further south than ever before, according to the South Korean military, which shortly after responded by firing missiles over a maritime border.
The unprecedented number of launches was confirmed after earlier reports of three short-range ballistic missiles fired off North Korea’s eastern coast, leading to a rare air raid warning being issued on a remote South Korean island.
Continue reading...Purchase likely to prove controversial, as Tokyo seeks to counter growing regional threats
Japan is looking into buying US-developed Tomahawk cruise missiles as it seeks to counter growing regional threats, including from North Korea, the government has said.
Any purchase would probably prove to be controversial, in a nation whose military is not officially recognised under its post-second world war constitution.
Continue reading...Latest in spate of ballistic missile launches further raises animosities between the two countries
North Korea has launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters and flew warplanes near the border with South Korea, the South’s military said, further raising animosities triggered by the North’s recent barrage of weapons tests.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the launch happened early on Friday local time but gave no further details including how far the weapon flew.
Continue reading...Kim Jong-un says tests are a warning to Pyongyang’s enemies and its nuclear combat forces were at ‘full preparedness for actual war’
Kim Jong-un supervised the launch of two long-range cruise missiles, North Korean state media said, adding that the weapons were equipped to carry tactical nukes and had already been deployed to some army units.
Pyongyang has conducted a blitz of ballistic missile tests recently, which it described as tactical nuclear drills that simulated taking out airports and military facilities across South Korea.
Continue reading...Kim Jong-un said his forces were “completely ready to hit and destroy targets at any time from any location”
North Korea’s recent flurry of missile tests demonstrated its ability to carry out strikes with tactical nuclear weapons, its leader, Kim Jong-un, has said, adding that his forces were “completely ready to hit and destroy targets at any time from any location”.
Kim, who last month said the North’s transformation into a nuclear power was “irreversible,” said the drills were “an obvious warning and clear demonstration” to the country’s enemies.
Continue reading...Tokyo says North Korea’s seventh round of weapons tests in two weeks may have been launched from submarine
North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, the latest of its recent barrage of weapons tests, a day after Pyongyang warned the redeployment of a US aircraft carrier near the Korean peninsula was inflaming regional tensions.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that it detected two missile launches between 1.48am and 1.58am on Sunday local time from the North’s eastern coastal city of Munchon. It added that South Korea’s military has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the US.
Continue reading...With six launches in 12 days, North Korea is flexing its muscles and taking advantage of geopolitical turmoil across the world
Millions of residents of northern Japan will have felt a sense of deja vu on Tuesday morning when they were alerted to a North Korean missile flying overhead. Five years earlier, they had twice been shaken from their slumber by Japanese government warnings to seek shelter after missile launches by Pyongyang.
The intermediate-range missile involved in this week’s test was far from buzzing the rooftops of Hokkaido farmhouses – it flew at an altitude of 1,000km as it made its way to the Pacific Ocean, where it splashed down, without incident, more than 3,000km east of Japan.
Continue reading...Launch was the sixth in 12 days and the first since an intermediate-range missile was fired over Japan on Tuesday
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missile toward its east coast in the direction of Japan, after joint South Korean and US missile drills and the return of a US aircraft carrier to the region in response to the North’s recent missile tests.
The missile launch was the sixth in 12 days and the first since North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile (IRBM) over Japan on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Live-fire drill with the US supposed to be a show of strength, but ended in embarrassment and caused alarm among nearby residents
South Korea’s military has apologised after a missile it launched during a drill on Tuesday malfunctioned and crashed to the ground, causing alarm among nearby residents who thought they were under attack from North Korea, which had test launched a missile earlier in the day.
The live-fire drill, involving South Korea and the US, was supposed to be a show of strength by the allies, hours after the North sent an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan.
Continue reading...Launch is the first time the North has apparently sent a missile over Japanese territory since 2017
North Korea has launched a intermediate-range ballistic missile over northern Japan for the first time in five years, prompting the government to urge people to shelter from falling debris, in an apparent escalation of recent weapons tests by Kim Jong-un’s regime.
Japan’s government had activated its J-Alert system on Tuesday morning for residents in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido and the country’s north-eastern Aomori prefecture. Train services were temporarily halted in the region.
Continue reading...Launch follows joint military drills by South Korea, Japan and the US and visit by Kamala Harris
North Korea has fired two more ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said, its fourth such launch this week as Seoul, Tokyo and Washington ramp up joint military drills.
The launch early on Saturday came after the navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan staged trilateral anti-submarine exercises on Friday for the first time in five years, and the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, made a visit to the region this week.
Continue reading...Pyongyang fired ballistic missiles into the sea just hours before US vice-president arrived in Seoul
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, has condemned North Korea’s “provocative nuclear rhetoric” during a trip to South Korea that included a visit to the heavily armed border dividing the peninsula.
Harris arrived in Seoul on Thursday, hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, in a move that underlines Washington’s struggle to rein in the regime’s weapons programme.
Continue reading...DMZ trip comes days after North Korea warned that the South and the US risked ‘triggering conflict’ with joint naval drills
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, is to visit the heavily armed border separating North and South Korea on Thursday, amid rising tensions on the peninsula.
Harris will arrive at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) on the southern side of the border, days after the regime in Pyongyang warned that South Korea and the US risked “triggering a conflict” following the launch of large-scale naval exercises for the first time in five years.
Continue reading...Launch of an unidentified missile is the latest in a record-breaking blitz of weapons tests by nuclear-armed Pyongyang this year
North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday towards its eastern seas, extending a provocative streak in weapons testing as a US aircraft carrier visits South Korea for joint military exercises in response to the North’s growing nuclear threat.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the missile launched from the western inland town of Taechon flew 600km (370 miles) cross-country on a maximum altitude of 60km (37 miles) before landing in waters off North Korea’s eastern coast.
Continue reading...Woman has been pictured at North Korean leader’s side in recent months, often carrying a handbag
Often spotted in an understated suit dress, glasses, and carrying a black handbag, there’s a new character in the inner circle of Kim Jong-un in nuclear-armed North Korea. But her identity, for now, remains a mystery.
She was at Kim’s side last week during a massive outdoor concert and was also seen carrying folders at a speech to the country’s parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, in which Kim vowed never to give up nuclear weapons.
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