North Korea launched at least three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, one of which flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea, according to the South's military. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile firing from a site in or around the North's eastern coastal city of Wonsan was detected at around 8:51 a.m. The North's latest provocation came in a...

North Korea warned Tuesday that it could stage "more powerful follow-up measures" if the United States continues "military provocations," citing its large-scale combined air exercise with South Korea. A spokesman at the North's foreign ministry denounced the ongoing combined air drills by the allies, called Vigilant Storm, as "ceaseless and reckless" military provocations. The exercise is "a wa...

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off the east coast on Friday, hours after the Biden administration warned of toppling the Kim Jong-un regime should it launch nuclear attacks against the United States and its allies in its unveiled nuclear strategy. The South Korean military “detected two short-range ballistic missiles being fired from the area of Tongchon County in Kangwon Province towa...

US defense report says China, Russia and North Korea pose major security challenges, vows to strengthen deterrence measures with allies

WASHINGTON -- A nuclear attack by North Korea against the US or its allies will result in the end of the country's regime, the US Department of Defense said Thursday. In its National Defense Strategy, the department said the US will also hold North Korea responsible for any transfer of nuclear weapons or related materials and technology to other actors. "Any nuclear attack by North Korea agains...

The ex-directors of the National Intelligence Service, Park Jie-won and Suh Hoon, claimed on Thursday that they were being “wrongfully accused” in the investigations of North Korea controversies from the Moon Jae-in era. In July, the spy agency filed charges against its two former chiefs in a rare move, alleging that Park destroyed the intelligence reports on North Korea’s killing of the fisheri...

S.Korea says UN Security Council should resume open debate on N.Korean human rights

North Korea has completed building an ice cream factory in Pyongyang as instructed by leader Kim Jong-un, its state media reported Thursday, amid an economy faltering under global sanctions. A ceremony was held the previous day to celebrate the construction of a "modern" ice cream production base in the center of Taesongsan, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Jon Hyon-chol, t...

Former S. Korean commanders say South Korea should develop latent capacity to produce nuclear weapons

WASHINGTON -- The United States is very much focused on improving human rights conditions in North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling it a serious challenge. Ned Price, however, said he had no announcements to make when asked if the US would appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights, a position that has remained vacant for nearly six years. "When it comes t...

South Korean lawyers said Thursday the human rights situation in North Korea under Kim Jong-un remains dire, and called for more action from the South Korean government. Speaking at a seminar hosted by the Korean Bar Association, Joo Sung-ha, who left North Korea in 2002, said attempts to flee the country have been more severely punished over the past five years there. “During the Kim Jong-il e...

Border intrusion comes hours before S. Korea, US forces kick off large-scale exercises in western seas

North Korea could carry out consecutive nuclear weapons tests, experts say, as intelligence authorities warn of the rising possibility of Pyongyang conducting the first test of its kind in five years. “It is likely that they need several tests to meet the requirements of their ambitious nuclear weapons program, which has tactical nuclear weapons, intermediate range and intercontinental ballistic...

Former Defense Minister Suh Wook and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee were arrested Saturday over their alleged mishandling of the death of a fisheries official in September 2020 at the hands of North Korea. The Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrants for them, citing the risk of them fleeing or destroying evidence, after hearings held Friday. The prosecution...

A Seoul court summoned former chiefs of national defense and maritime police for questioning on Friday, after prosecutors filed for a warrant to arrest them in an investigation into North Korea’s killing of South Korean fisheries official Lee Dae-jun two years ago. Appearing at the Seoul central district court at around 9:40 a.m., Seo Wook, who was minister of national defense at the time, decli...