Rep. Song Young-gil, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, blamed a flare-up in inter-Korean tensions on the uncertainty of US policy on North Korea, in comments delivered Sunday US time. Song, who is visiting the US to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization with key White House officials and members of Congress, was referring to Pyongyang’s recent missile tests. The North revealed a new railway-borne missile system and launched ballistic missiles from a train in violation of UN re

North Korea said Monday that the submarine-launched ballistic missile South Korea test-fired last week was primitive and not a threat. Pyongyang is seen as trying to discredit Seoul’s missile capabilities because South Korea is the first non-nuclear state to have tested an SLBM. Previously, SLBMs had been developed by only six countries: China, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US. “South Korea’s SLBM will not be effective in war. No strategic or tactical value there,&rdq

North Korea said Thursday that its ballistic missile test the previous day was carried out by its new railway-borne missile system, stoking concerns over stalled talks on inter-Korean peace. “For the first time, we tested the viability of our railway-borne missile system to check on the combat readiness and strike capability,” the official Korean Central News Agency said. According to the KCNA, the missiles hit targets 800 kilometers away in the East Sea after being fired from a tra

North Korea said Thursday that a railway-borne missile regiment held a firing drill a day earlier, confirming the launches, apparently from a train, of two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea. "The railway-borne missile regiment took part in the drill with a mission to strike the target area 800 kilometers away from its location after moving to the central mountainous area at dawn on September 15," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA said the Nort

The United States condemns North Korea's ballistic missiles but continues to stand ready to engage with the North in dialogue, a State Department spokesman said Wednesday. North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday (Seoul time). Ned Price noted the missile launches violated a "multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions." "We do condemn the DPRK's missile launches. These missile launches are in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday accused South Korean President Moon Jae-in of being "foolish" and warned of "complete destruction" of inter-Korean relations for branding Pyongyang's weapons tests a "provocation."    The statement from Kim Yo-jong came shortly after Moon said that South Korea's upgrading of its missile capabilities can help deter North Korean provocation following the successful underwater test-launch of an indi

The US State Department on Wednesday condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches, calling the act a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that poses a threat to its neighbors and the international community.    A department official, however, said the US remains committed to dialogue with the North.    "The United States condemns the DPRK's missile launch," the department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency while speaking on condition of anonymity.

South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk, held separate phone talks Wednesday with his counterparts of the United States and Japan to discuss North Korea's latest missile launches, the foreign ministry said.    In the phone talks, Noh and U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim exchanged assessments on the North's firing of two short-range ballistic missiles, which took place earlier in the day, and discussed joint responses in the future, the ministry said. &

South Korea's top national security officials expressed "deep concern" Wednesday about a series of missile launches by North Korea.    They pointed out that the North's provocations came at a time when stabilizing the security conditions is very important, as they held an emergency session of the National Security Council (NSC), according to Cheong Wa Dae.    The NSC's standing committee meeting was chaired by Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong W

North Korea could be trying to gain the upper hand in its relations with the US and China amid their intensifying rivalry, analysts say in reference to the ballistic missile tests that took place in the North on the same day that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with South Korean leaders in Seoul.  South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang launched two ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday afternoon, just days after testing a new long-range cruise missile.

Washington, Tokyo condemn launches; Seoul succeeds in testing its first SLBM

North Korea has launched unidentified projectiles into the East Sea, South Korea‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The JCS said that the North fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea from an inland location Wednesday afternoon.  Seoul's military said that the type of missiles fired has not been identified, and that South Korea and the US intelligence agencies are analysing the launch. The JCS also said that the military has been put on raised alert, and maintaining read

The elimination of North Korea's chemical weapons could serve as a confidence-building step to convince the communist nation to eventually give up its nuclear power, an American expert said Wednesday. Siegfried Hecker, a Stanford University professor known for his direct experience with Pyongyang's nuclear program, made the remarks during a Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) workshop, stressing that the North will be more likely to agree to remove its chemical weapons before agreeing

A North Korean state media outlet on Wednesday denounced the United States for meddling in Taiwan issues and voiced its support for Beijing's "One China policy" amid the deepening Sino-US rivalry. The Korean Central News Agency issued the criticism in an opinion piece attributed to an individual writer as South Korea's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, were set to hold talks in Seoul on Wednesday. "Recently the US has openly intervened in the

Top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the US and Japan held a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss how best to restart stalled talks and rid the North of its nuclear weapons, amid fresh tension after the regime’s latest missile tests.  The three-way session involved South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively. A day earlier, the North announced it had successfully test-fired a n