SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Tuesday, Seoul said, Pyongyang’s second launch in three days and the first since South Korea and the United States began their largest joint military drills in five years. Washington and Seoul have ramped up defense cooperation in the face of growing military and nuclear threats from the North, which has conducted a series of increasingly provocative banned weapons tests in recent months. South […]
Tag: North Korea
North Korea launches missiles as US, S. Korea kick off major drills
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Press SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said Monday it had test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine, as South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest joint military exercises in five years. Nuclear-armed Pyongyang said the test verified its “nuclear war deterrence means in different spaces” as it slammed the drills — known as Freedom Shield — which will run for 10 days from Monday as […]
North Korea warns US against intercepting missiles during tests
by Claire LEE Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea warned Tuesday that it would be a “clear declaration of war” if its missiles were shot down during their test launches over the Pacific Ocean. The United States and South Korea have ramped up defense cooperation, including joint drills, in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed Pyongyang, which has conducted a wave of banned weapons tests in recent months. North Korea has […]
North Korea accuses US of ‘intentionally’ aggravating relations
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s foreign ministry accused the United States of “intentionally” ramping up tensions by flying in joint military drills with South Korea, state news agency KCNA said Tuesday. The allegation comes after Seoul and Washington announced on Friday more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises from March 13 to 23. South Korea’s defence ministry also posted video online Monday they said showed war planes from both countries training together […]
High-level defection: why N. Korean diplomatic family chose freedom
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Born into an elite North Korean family with ties to the ruling dynasty, Oh Hye Son grew up believing she was “special” — but then she tasted freedom overseas and decided to defect. Most of the tens of thousands of North Koreans who have escaped repression and poverty at home make an arduous, high-risk journey across the country’s land border with China, where they face […]
North Korea’s Kim opens key meeting on agriculture
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has opened a key party meeting to discuss agricultural development, state media said Monday, following a report of “grave” food shortages in the isolated country. Normally such meetings are convened only once or twice a year, but the plenary comes just two months after a previous one, which also focused on agricultural issues. The unusual frequency of the meetings focused on agriculture has fuelled […]
North Korea fires more missiles after US-South Korea nuclear drill
by Claire LEE Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said Friday it had fired cruise missiles and claimed that ramped-up US-South Korean military drills “can be regarded as a declaration of war”. It came after the two allies conducted a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon focused on responses to a nuclear attack by Pyongyang. North Korean forces held a “strategic cruise missile launching drill” in the early hours of Thursday, firing […]
UN Security Council ‘silence’ on N. Korea missiles ‘dangerous’, US says
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday denounced a “dangerous” lack of action by the UN Security Council on North Korea’s missile launches, accusing — but not naming — China and Russia of having “forced” the body “into silence.” The reclusive North Korean state test-fired dozens of missiles in 2022, setting security postures in East Asia on edge. It fired two ballistic missiles Monday, 48 hours after it test-launched an intercontinental […]
North Korea unveils ‘record’ number of ICBMs at military parade
by Cat Barton and Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un oversaw a major military parade showcasing a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported Thursday, including what analysts said was possibly a new solid-fueled ICBM. The parade on Wednesday to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea’s armed forces featured fireworks, military bands and uniformed soldiers marching in unison to spell out […]
North Korea pledges ‘expanded, intensified’ military drills
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s top army officials have said they will expand and intensify military drills to ensure their readiness for war, state media reported Tuesday, ahead of a massive parade. The pledge came at a Monday meeting overseen by leader Kim Jong Un and follows last week’s staging of joint air drills by South Korea and the United States. The agenda was topped by “the issue of constantly expanding and intensifying […]
After six-year break, Biden names envoy to press North Korea rights
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden on Monday named an envoy to press North Korea on human rights, ending a six-year gap that included the entire presidency of Donald Trump, who pursued high-profile talks with Pyongyang. Biden nominated for the position Julie Turner, a Korean-speaking career diplomat who now heads the Asia section of the State Department’s human rights bureau. She needs confirmation from the Senate, where little opposition is expected. The ambassador-level […]
Seoul says talks underway over joint nuclear exercises
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seoul and Washington are discussing joint planning and exercises involving US nuclear assets to counter growing threats from the North, South Korea’s presidential office said Tuesday, after US President Joe Biden said there would be no such joint drills. The statement was released after Biden said the United States was not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, seemingly contradicting comments by Seoul’s President Yoon Suk-yeol earlier this week. The […]





