Page 4 - North Korea

South Korea's leader calls for stealth drones to monitor North Korea

South Korea's president on Tuesday called for a stronger air defence and high-tech stealth drones to better monitor North Korea, a day after Seoul accused North Korea of flying five drones across the rivals' tense border for the first time in five years. South Korea's military fired warning shots and scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters in response Monday, but there has been no confirmation that any of the North Korean drones were shot down. That has raised a serious question about South Korea's air defence network at a time when tensions remain high over North Korea's torrid run of missile tests this year. We have a plan to create a military drone unit tasked with monitoring key military facilities in North Korea. But we'll advance the establishment of the drone unit as soon as possible because of yesterday's incident, President Yoon Suk Yeol said during a regular Cabinet Council meeting. We'll also introduce state-of-the art stealth drones and bolster our surveillance ...

Kim Jong Un claims North Korean successes, says it faces challenges

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger effort to overcome hardships and challenges facing his country as he opened a key political meeting after carrying out a record number of missile tests this year. A plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party was convened in Pyongyang on Monday to review past projects and discuss next year's work plans, the official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday. Kim will likely use the meeting to reaffirm his resolve to expand his nuclear arsenal and introduce high-tech weapons targeting the US and South Korea while laying out projects to revive pandemic-battered public livelihoods, some experts say. In his opening comments, Kim compared hardships and challenges since a bigger party meeting in early 2021 to the ten-year struggle of the revolution. But he claimed North Korea has reported some successes in the arduous course and that his country's power has remarkably increased in political, military, economic and cultural areas. He ...

South Korea fires warning shots after drones from North cross border

South Korea says it fired warning shots after North Korean drones violated the South's airspace. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said several unmanned North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border and were detected in the South's territory on Monday. It's the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017. Monday's incident came three days after South Korea said North Korea test-launched two short-range ballistic missiles in its latest weapons tests.

N Korean hackers steal NFTs using nearly 500 phishing domains: Report

The use of "malicious Mints" which tricked the victims into thinking they are minting a real NFT by connecting their wallet to the website, was one of the strategies implemented

North Korean economy down 0.1% in 2021 amid prolonged Covid, sanctions

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the second consecutive year, following a 4.5-per cent on-year drop tallied in 2020, according to the data from Statistics Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles, says Seoul military

It added the two missiles were launched into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan

North Korea fires ballistic missiles after drills by US-South Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Friday, its latest weapons demonstration that came days after US and South Korean warplanes conducted joint drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year in what some experts call an attempt to bolster its weapons capability and pressure its rivals to make concessions such as sanctions relief in future negotiations. Recently, the North also claimed to have performed major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US mainland. South Korea's military detected the two missile launches from North Korea's capital region at around 4:32 pm on Friday. Japan said it also confirmed at least one missile launch by North Korea. It wasn't immediately clear exactly what kinds of missiles North Korea fired. South Korea's military said the missiles ...

North Korea fires ballistic missile days after US-South Korea joint drills

South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch was made on Friday but gave no further details like what type of weapon North Korea fired and how far it flew. The launch was three days after the US flew nuclear-capable bombers and advanced stealth jets near the Korean Peninsula for joint training with South Korean warplanes. North Korea typically views such military exercises by the US and South Korea as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea threatens to take strong military action against Japan

North Korea threatened Tuesday to take bold and decisive military steps against Japan as it slammed Tokyo's adoption of a national security strategy as an attempt to turn the country into an aggressive military power. The North's statement came four days after Japan announced a security strategy that reflects its determination to possess counterstrike capability and double its military spending to gain a more offensive footing against threats from China and North Korea. The North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Japan's push to acquire counterstrike capability has nothing to do with self-defense but is a clear attempt to acquire pre-emptive attack capability meant to launch strikes on other countries' territories. Japan's foolish attempt to satiate its black-hearted greed -- the building up of its military invasion capability with the pretext of a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights -- cannot be justified and tolerated, an unidentified ministry spokesperson said in

N Korea conducts 'important' test for developing reconnaissance satellite

North Korea will "finish the preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023"

North Korea launches two medium-range missiles into East Sea: South Korea

North Korea launched two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, Yonhap news agency said citing South Korean military

North Korea launches ballistic missile off east coast, says Seoul official

North Korea launched a ballistic missile Sunday off its east coast, South Korea said. South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said the launch was made on Sunday morning but gave no further details. The launch came three days after North Korea said it tested a high-thrust solid-fuel motor for a new strategic weapon, a development that could allow it to possess a more mobile, harder-to-detect arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. In recent months, North Korea has test-fired a barrage of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles including last month's launch of its developmental, longest-range, liquid-fueled Hwasong-17 ICBM designed to carry multiple warheads. Some experts say North Korea would eventually use an expanded arsenal to seek sanctions relief and other concessions from the United States.

North Korea performs key test to build more agile strategic weapons system

North Korea has tested a high-thrust solid-fuel motor as a key step toward building a new strategic weapons system, state media reported Friday, as the country pushes to develop more agile and powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the US mainland. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the successful static firing test at the country's northwest rocket launch facility on Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency said. KCNA said the test, the first of its kind in North Korea, carried strategic significance as it provided a sure sci-tech guarantee for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system. It said Kim expected the new weapon would be built in the shortest span of time. North Korea is likely referring to a solid-fuelled ICBM, which is among an array of high-tech weapons systems that Kim vowed to introduce during a major ruling Workers' Party conference early last year. Other weapons systems Kim promised to manufacture include

S Korea to hold international forum on N Korea's human rights situation

South Korea's new envoy for the North's human rights, Lee Shin-hwa, plans to serve as a moderator for the seminar

N Korea hails its Covid response as greatest achievement this year

The paper also carried an article the previous day highlighting the North's anti-virus efforts in an apparent call for loyalty to the leader

Trump did not disclose $19.8 mn loan he got as prez from Daewoo: Report

Former US President Donald Trump did not disclose publicly he got a loan of $19.8 million from Daewoo, a company with ties to North Korea, which he should have reported in public financial disclosures

North Korea once again fires artillery rounds over South Korea's drills

North Korea on Tuesday fired a barrage of artillery rounds into waters near rival South Korea for the second consecutive day in a tit-for-tat response for the South's live-fire drills in an inland border region. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected North Korea firing around 90 artillery rounds from a front-line area along its eastern coast around 10 a.m. It said the shells, which were likely from multiple rocket launchers, landed in the northern side of a maritime buffer zone the Koreas established in 2018 to reduce border tensions. The firings came shortly after the North Korean People's Army's General Staff said it instructed front-line units to launch artillery into the sea as a warning following South Korean artillery exercises in a region near their land border. North Korea also on Monday fired around 130 artillery rounds into waters near the buffer zones with South Korea, while accusing the South of raising unnecessary tension in front-line areas. The latest .

North Korea military orders new artillery firing over South Korea drills

North Korea's military says it has ordered frontline units to conduct artillery firings into the sea for the second consecutive day in a tit-for-tat response to South Korean live-fire drills in an inland border region. The statement by the North Korean People's Army's General Staff came a day after the North fired about 130 artillery rounds into waters near its western and eastern sea boundaries with South Korea in the latest military action raising tensions between the rivals. An unidentified North Korean military spokesperson said the planned artillery firings Tuesday were meant as a warning to the South after the North detected signs of South Korean artillery exercises in the border region. The South Korean army is conducting live-fire exercises involving multiple rocket launching systems and howitzers in two separate testing grounds in the Cheorwon region, which began on Monday and continues through Wednesday. North Korea's military said Monday that it instructed its western an

US designates N Korea as state violator of religious freedom for 21st year

According to the State Department, North Korea has been designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) since 2001 under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998

Seoul announces additional sanctions on Pyongyang for missile tests

South Korea announced additional sanctions on North Korea in response to growing security threats from Pyongyang, highlighted by its long-range missile launch last month