Category Archives: North Korea

Japan ministers visit war shrine as South Korea calls for end to historical tensions

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Japan PM Fumio Kishida sends offering but stays away from Yasukuni, which honours dead including class-A war criminals

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, sent a ritual offering to a controversial war shrine on Monday – the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in the second world war – as one of its wartime victims, South Korea, called for an end to historical tensions.

Kishida apparently decided to stay away from the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo to avoid antagonising South Korea and China, but three of his ministers have made the pilgrimage in recent days.

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Kim Jong-un fell ‘seriously ill’ during North Korea Covid crisis, his sister says

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Kim Yo-jong says regime leader had a ‘high fever’, a byword for coronavirus in the country, as it claims victory over the virus

North Korea has declared a “shining victory” in its battle with Covid-19, amid suggestions from Kim Jong-un’s sister that he was among those who contracted the virus.

Speaking at a meeting of health workers and scientists in Pyongyang, Kim called for preventive measures to be eased and described the official death toll of 74 as an “unprecedented miracle in the history of the world health community”, state-run media said on Thursday.

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US sanctions Tornado Cash over fears of aiding North Korean hackers

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US treasury says popular cryptocurrency service reportedly laundered more than $7bn worth of virtual currency

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, a popular cryptocurrency service that allows users to mask their transactions, accusing it of helping hackers, including from North Korea, to launder proceeds from their cybercrimes.

A senior treasury department official said Tornado Cash, one of the largest virtual currency “mixers” identified as problematic by the treasury, has reportedly laundered more than $7bn worth of virtual currency since it was created in 2019.

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Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan: calls for calm in Asia as US-China tensions rise

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South Korea calls for dialogue and Japan conveys concerns over drills, while North Korea praises China

The historic visit to Taiwan of the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has provoked a furious response from China, and heightened fears of a crisis in the Taiwan strait. In Asia and beyond, the visit has put governments on edge.

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Japan sees increasing threat to Taiwan amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

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Defence ministry also sounds alarm at prospect of Beijing-Moscow ties deepening amid expectations Tokyo will boost defence spending

Japan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending.

The document includes a chapter on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it says risks sending the message “that an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force is acceptable”.

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North Korean labour could be sent to rebuild Donbas, Russian ambassador says

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Alexander Matsegora tells Russian newspaper there are ‘a lot of opportunities’ for economic cooperation, despite UN sanctions

North Korea could send workers to two Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine, according to Russia’s ambassador in Pyongyang – a move that would pose a challenge to international sanctions against the North’s nuclear weapons programme.

According to NK News, a Seoul-based website, ambassador Alexander Matsegora said North Korean workers could help rebuild the war-shattered infrastructure in the self-proclaimed people’s republics in Donetsk and Luhansk.

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North Korea dam water release forces South Koreans near border to evacuate

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Rising water levels on the Imjin River caused by suspected release prompts holidaymakers and residents to leave

North Korea appears to have released water from a dam near its border with South Korea, prompting vacationers in the neighbouring country to evacuate over rising water levels on the Imjin River.

The water level at a bridge across the river in the South’s border county of Yeoncheon surpassed 1 metre on Monday afternoon, requiring visitors on the riverbank to evacuate.

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North Korea says it may boost military to counter US, South Korea and Japan pact

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Pyongyang accuses US of seeking ‘military supremacy’ over Asia-Pacific amid reports North ready for first nuclear test in five years

North Korea has denounced the United States, South Korea and Japan for pushing to boost their trilateral military cooperation targeting the North, warning that Pyongyang may need to consider reinforcing its own military capability.

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday: “The reality clearly shows that the real purpose of the US spreading the rumour about ‘threat from North Korea’ is to provide an excuse for attaining military supremacy over the Asia-Pacific region.”

North Korea has long cited what it calls hostility by the US and its allies as a reason to pursue a nuclear program. Sunday’s comments, reported by state news agency KCNA, come as North Korea’s neighbours say the country is ready for its first nuclear test in five years as part of its provocative run of weapons tests this year.

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North Korea blames Covid-laden balloons sent from South for virus outbreak

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Experts sceptical of claim, as state media urge citizens to watch out for ‘alien things coming by wind’

North Korea has blamed its Covid-19 outbreak on balloons sent over its border with the South by groups of defectors, in an apparent attempt to shift the blame onto its neighbour.

After two years of insisting that it had not recorded a single case of the virus, the North admitted its first infections on 12 May, sparking fears of a public health disaster in the impoverished country.

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North Korean hackers thought to be behind $100m cryptocurrency heist

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If confirmed, last week’s attack would be the eighth this year – involving $1bn in stolen funds – that could be confidently attributed to North Korea

North Korean hackers are thought to be behind last week’s theft of as much as $100m in cryptocurrency from a US company, as the regime steps up attempts to secure funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

The assets were stolen on 23 June from Horizon Bridge, a service operated by the Harmony blockchain that allows assets to be transferred to other blockchains, three digital investigative firms have concluded.

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North Korea accuses US of building an ‘Asian Nato’ ahead of security talks

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Biden due to meet Japanese PM Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon for talks amid escalating missile tests by Pyongyang

North Korea has accused the US and its allies of launching a “sinister” attempt to form an “Asian Nato” to contain the regime, hours before Joe Biden and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts meet for security talks.

“The US is hellbent on the military cooperation with its stooges in disregard of the primary security demand and concern by Asia-Pacific countries,” North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA said, on Wednesday.

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China says anti-missile test not ‘aimed at any country’ despite rising tensions

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Ballistic missile interception system trial follows North Korean tests and deployment of US THAAD system in South Korea

China has claimed a successful test of a land-based ballistic missile interception system amid heightened tensions in Asia, in a move its defence ministry described as “defensive and not aimed at any country”.

Beijing has in recent years been ramping up research into all sorts of missiles, from those that can destroy satellites in space to advanced nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, as part of a modernisation overseen by President Xi Jinping. It came after North Korea conducted a series of missile tests, which prompted South Korea and the US to warn that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test at any time.

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South Korea and US fire eight missiles into sea in show of force to North Korea

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Monday morning launches demonstrate ‘capability and readiness to carry out precision strikes’ on regime, a day after it carried out its own launches

South Korea and the US have fired eight surface-to-surface missiles into the sea in response to North Korea’s launch of a similar number of ballistic missiles the previous day, a South Korea defence ministry official said.

South Korea said Monday’s tit-for-tat launch off its east coast was a demonstration of Seoul’s “capability and readiness to carry out precision strikes” against the source of North Korea’s missile launches or the command and support centres, the Yonhap news agency cited the South Korean military as saying.

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North Korea fires ballistic missiles a day after US-South Korean naval drills

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Pyongyang’s 18th round of missile tests this year comes after US aircraft carrier leads exercises in the Philippine Sea

North Korea has fired eight short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, a day after South Korea and the US wrapped up military exercises involving an American aircraft carrier.

Possibly setting a single-day record for North Korean ballistic launches, the missiles were fired in succession over 35 minutes on Sunday from at least four different locations, including from western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas north of and near the capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.

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North Korea’s Covid outbreak likely ‘getting worse’, WHO says

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Experts doubt state media claims that the worst is over, as WHO warns of global dangers of letting the virus spread unchecked

The World Health Organization has cast doubts on North Korea’s claims of progress in the fight against a Covid-19 outbreak, saying it believes the situation is getting worse, not better, amid an absence of independent data.

North Korean state media has claimed the Covid wave has abated, after daily numbers of people with fever topped 390,000 about two weeks ago.

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North Korea fires suspected ICBM amid signs of preparation for nuclear test

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South Korea calls launches ‘grave provocation’ and detects experiment that suggests forthcoming nuclear test

North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, including one believed to have long-range capabilities, the South Korean military has said, a day after Joe Biden ended his first presidential visit to Asia.

Hours after the missile tests, South Korea said it had detected signs North Korea had conducted an experiment with a detonation device in preparation for a possible nuclear test, according to Yonhap news agency.

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FBI seeks arrest of man claiming to be North Korea ‘special delegate’

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Spaniard alleged to have conspired with cryptocurrency expert to help Pyongyang evade US sanctions

The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for a Spanish man who claims to be a “special delegate” working for the government of North Korea, accusing him of recruiting a cryptocurrency expert in an attempt to help Pyongyang circumvent US sanctions.

Alejandro Cao de Benós, a 47-year-old Spanish national who describes himself as Pyongyang’s special delegate for the committee for cultural relations with foreign countries, is alleged to have conspired with Virgil Griffith, a US cryptocurrency expert, to “illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain services to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)”.

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Kim Jong-un buries mentor amid North Korea Covid crisis

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State media photos show Kim carrying Hyon Chol-hae’s coffin and throwing earth into his grave as country battles ‘fever’ cases amid Covid outbreak

Kim Jong-un attended the funeral for a top North Korean official, state media reported on Monday, helping carry his coffin, as the country maintained the much-disputed claim that its coronavirus outbreak is subsiding.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim attended the funeral on Sunday of Hyon Chol-hae, a Korean People’s Army marshal who reportedly played a key role in grooming him as the country’s next leader before Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011.

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Biden and South Korean president mull expanding joint military exercises

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US president willing to meet Kim Jong-un, while Seoul says deployment of US ‘strategic assets’ was discussed

Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, have said they are considering expanding joint military exercises in response to the “threat” posed by North Korea, a move that is expected to enrage the regime as speculation builds that it could conduct a nuclear test.

Speaking in Seoul on the second day of his visit to South Korea, Biden said he was willing to meet North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, but only if he was “sincere and serious” about dismantling his nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

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North Korea’s Covid caseload passes 2 million amid global concern about regime’s pandemic plan

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Experts believe North Korean authorities are underreporting deaths to prove that their response has been effective

Experts have questioned North Korea’s claim that it is achieving “good results” in its battle against a Covid-19 outbreak, as the number of people with symptoms of the virus surpassed 2 million.

The regime reported 263,370 new fever cases on Friday and two deaths, taking the total caseload to 2.24 million, including 65 deaths, according to state news agency KCNA.

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