N. Korea, China, Russia expanding nuclear arsenals at 'breakneck' pace: White House official

  WASHINGTON -- North Korea, China and Russia are expanding and diversifying their nuclear weapons stockpiles at a "breakneck" speed, a White House official said Friday, warning that absent a change in the trajectory of their arsenals, the United States may have to increase its own. Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, made the remarks at a forum, noting that the three countries are driving the US and it

June 8, 2024

UN Security Council to hold meeting on NK human rights next week

WASHINGTON -- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will have an official meeting on North Korean human rights issues next week for the first time in less than a year, its work schedule showed Friday, as South Korea as this month's UNSC president seeks to highlight the link between the North's security challenge and its repressive political climate. The council is set to hold a briefing on the North's human rights situation on Wednesday. It last held a meeting on the same i

June 8, 2024

Will North Korea fly trash balloons into South Korea again? A look at rising tensions between them

South Koreans were alert Friday for possible new launches by North Korea of balloons carrying rubbish into the South, a day after Seoul activists flew their own balloons to scatter political leaflets in the North. Any resumption of trash balloon launches by North Korea would likely prompt South Korea to respond, possibly with anti-North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts or live-fire exercises along their heavily fortified border. North Korea would probably retaliate with its own measures, further es

June 7, 2024

Signs detected of N. Korea demolishing part of Donghae inter-Korean railway: NIS

South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday it has detected signs that North Korea has recently been demolishing some sections on the northern side of the inter-Korean railway on the east coast in an apparent move to erase the legacy of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. South and North Korea agreed to restore two railways -- the Gyeongui and Donghae -- in 2000, when the divided countries held the first summit of their leaders. The Donghae railway linked eastern coastal cities across the he

June 5, 2024

Military ready to turn on loudspeakers near border with N. Korea after suspension of 2018 inter-Korean pact

South Korea's military said Tuesday it remains ready to immediately operate mobile loudspeakers near the border with North Korea as Seoul took steps to fully suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military pact. Earlier in the day, the Cabinet endorsed the suspension of the Comprehensive Military Agreement in response to the North's trash-carrying balloon campaign and jamming of GPS signals in recent days. The motion will be sent to President Yoon Suk Yeol for signing, and the suspension will all

June 4, 2024

S. Korea to fully suspend inter-Korean military pact after NK balloon barrage

The South Korean presidential office on Monday decided to propose completely suspending the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, following North Korea floating around 1,000 trash-filled balloons toward South Korea. The National Security Office made this decision after Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo convened a meeting at 11 a.m. Monday to discuss follow-up measures to decisions made at the emergency meeting of the National Securit

June 3, 2024

Defectors to send leaflets, pop music to NK

A Seoul-based North Korean defectors' group on Monday said it would send more leaflets and digital copies of popular South Korean songs across the border in a growing cross-border tit-for-tat that most recently saw Pyongyang send balloons loaded with waste to the South. North Korea sent hundreds of balloons last week, threatening to send more if balloons carrying South Korean leaflets entered its territory again. The civic group Fighters for a Free North Korea revealed its plans to respon

June 3, 2024

N. Korea says it will stop sending trash-filled balloons, will resume if S. Korea sends leaflets

North Korea said Sunday it will temporarily stop sending trash-filled balloons across the border to South Korea, though it also threatened to resume such operations if Seoul sends more anti-Pyongyang leaflets. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il claimed Pyongyang had sent 3,500 balloons, carrying 15 tons worth of debris, toward South Korea between Tuesday night and Sunday morning. Kim offered to temporarily halt

June 2, 2024

N. Korea sends some 720 more trash-carrying balloons to S. Korea, continues GPS jamming for 5 days

North Korea has sent around 720 more balloons carrying trash to South Korea and continued jamming GPS signals for five straight days against the South, Seoul's military said Sunday, as South Korea's presidential office was considering taking countermeasures. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it has detected some 720 balloons that floated across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas and fell in different parts of the country between 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The

June 2, 2024

Seoul envoy lambasts N.Korea satellite launch as 'one of the most expensive fireworks'

South Korea's top envoy to the UN denounced North Korea's failed satellite launch this week as "one of the most expensive fireworks" on Friday, stressing that it has used its scarce resources for the launch despite persistent food shortages. Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook made the remarks as the UN Security Council (UNSC) held an open meeting to discuss the North's launch of the satellite on Monday, which Seoul, Washington and others criticized as a violation of UNSC resolut

June 1, 2024

N. Korea continues GPS jamming attack for 4th day

North Korea attempted to jam GPS signals near the western sea border for the fourth consecutive day Saturday, the South's military said. The military detected the jamming signals directed toward the islands near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, the de facto western maritime boundary between the two Koreas, starting at about 6 a.m., according to a South Korean military official. The latest attempt has not hindered any military operations, the official said, although similar recent

June 1, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan condemn N.Korea launches, reaffirm peninsula denuclearization goal

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan "strongly" condemned North Korea's recent satellite and missile launches, and reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as they held trilateral talks in Virginia on Friday. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano issued a joint statement after the meeting at Campbell's p

June 1, 2024

S. Korea warns of 'unendurable' actions against N. Korea unless it stops provocations

The unification ministry warned Friday that "unendurably" painful measures would be taken against North Korea if it continues to stage "irrational" provocative acts, such as this week's sending of balloons carrying trash to South Korea. Earlier this week, North Korea flew hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and manure into South Korea and staged GPS jamming attacks in waters near South Korea's northwestern border islands for a third straight day until Friday.

May 31, 2024

N. Korea conducts GPS jamming attack for 3rd day

North Korea staged GPS jamming attacks in waters near South Korea's northwestern border islands for a third straight day on Friday, the South's military said, in the latest in a series of provocative acts this week. The military detected the jamming signals from about 8 a.m. directed toward the islands near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, the de facto western maritime boundary between the two Koreas, according to a South Korean military official. The latest attempt has not h

May 31, 2024

US military condemns NK missile launches, calls for return to dialogue

The US military on Wednesday condemned North Korea's latest round of ballistic missile launches and called on the recalcitrant regime to refrain from "unlawful" and "destabilizing" acts. US Indo-Pacific Command issued a statement after Pyongyang fired some 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday morning (Korea time), a day after sending hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and manure into the South. "The United States condemns these acti

May 30, 2024

UN Security Council to convene this week over NK satellite launch: Seoul official

The UN Security Council will convene an open meeting this week to discuss North Korea's recent launch of a military reconnaissance satellite that ended in failure, a Seoul official said Wednesday. The official at South Korea's Permanent Mission to the UN said that the meeting is slated to take place on Friday after Pyongyang's attempt to launch a satellite-carrying rocket failed due to the midair explosion of the rocket on Monday. The recalcitrant regime pressed ahead with the lau

May 30, 2024

N. Korea fires 10 projectiles into East Sea, conducts GPS jamming

North Korea on Thursday fired at least 10 projectiles believed by South Korea to be short-range ballistic missiles, as Pyongyang continued military provocations following the three-way talks between the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China earlier on Monday. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea's military, the projectiles, fired at around 6:14 a.m., flew 350 kilometers from the Sunan district in northwestern Pyongyang, before falling into the East Sea. Seoul and other po

May 30, 2024

N. Korea appears to be struggling to secure parts for spy satellite: presidential office

North Korea's botched attempt to launch a military spy satellite was likely due to its difficulties in procuring related parts and developing technology because of ongoing sanctions, a presidential official said Wednesday. North Korea made a failed attempt to launch a space rocket carrying a reconnaissance satellite hours after leaders of South Korea, Japan and China met in Seoul on Monday for a summit, the first since December 2019. The North denounced Seoul's reaffirming a commitment

May 29, 2024

Kim Jong-un says South's use of force as 'very dangerous provocation'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slammed South Korea's show of force against Pyongyang's attempted spy satellite launch as a "very dangerous provocation" that cannot be overlooked, the Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday. Kim also said that a spy satellite is needed to safeguard the country's sovereignty, adding that South Korea had "shown hysterical madness" over its satellite launch attempt despite having complied with international regulations by no

May 29, 2024

Garbage, dung cross DMZ as NK responds with balloons of its own

More than 150 balloons distributed by North Korea carrying apparent propaganda leaflets as well as trash and excrement were detected across South Korea, Seoul's military said Wednesday. Earlier this week, North Korea vowed "tit for tat action" after human rights activists launched balloons carrying anti-Pyongang pamphlets and USB flash drives filled with South Korean pop culture content into the North. The balloons crossed the border since Tuesday night, landing in locations acros

May 29, 2024