N. Korea views negotiation as a sideshow, while US is unwilling to expend more political capital

North Korea said Saturday its railway-based missile regiment conducted a firing drill a day earlier, with two tactical guided missiles hitting a set target in the East Sea. The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the drill was aimed at "checking and judging the proficiency in the action procedures" of the unit. It marks the North's second known launches using a railway platform since the last one in September. On Friday, the South Korean military announc

North Korea test-fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles from an inland area toward the East Sea on Friday in its third weapons launch this month, just hours after it warned of “stronger and certain reaction” toward Washington for imposing new sanctions against the regime’s recent back-to-back missile tests. 　 The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired two projectiles, believed to be short-range ballistic missiles, from a site in North Pyongan Province toward i

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward Friday, South Korea's military said, hours after it warned of a "stronger and certain" response following the United States' imposition of new sanctions. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the launch, the third in a little over a week, without elaborating further. Earlier in the day, Pyongyang issued the warning after Washington slapped the sanctions on six North Koreans involved in the regime's weapons of mass destruction

South Korea's unification ministry on Friday vowed to continue efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea after the United States imposed new sanctions over the reclusive regime's recent missile launches. On Wednesday, the Biden administration slapped sanctions on six North Koreans, a Russian national and a Russian company involved in Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. Asked to comment on the move, Cha Duck-chul, deputy spokesman for the unif

The United States on Thursday urged North Korea to refrain from further provocations and instead engage in dialogue. A spokesperson for the Department of State also renewed the US condemnation of North Korea's recent missile tests. "We condemn the DPRK's ballistic missile launches. These launches are in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and pose a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email,

North Korea warned Friday it will have to take a "stronger and certain reaction" after the United States implemented new sanctions over the North's recent missile launches. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, a spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry said the recent launch of what it claims to be a hypersonic missile was an "exercise of right to self-defense." "If the US adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced

Sanctions imposition could indicate Washington’s policy adjustment, analysts say

South Korea's military is capable of both detecting and intercepting what North Korea claims to be a hypersonic missile, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday. Boo Seung-chan, the ministry's spokesperson, highlighted the military's readiness posture amid concerns the North's latest missile could dodge the combined missile defense system of South Korea and the United States. The North has claimed to have successfully conducted hypersonic missiles on Wednesday last week and Tuesday in an indica

The United States said Wednesday that it is designating six North Korean individuals related to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. The Department of Treasury said it is designating five North Korean individuals -- one based in Russia and four in China -- for illegally procuring materials for the North's WMD and ballistic missile programs. The Department of State also designated an additional North Korean individual based in Russia for a similar reas

Kim Jong-un attends a new weapon test after around two-year hiatus

The World Food Programme (WFP) has not provided North Korea with any food assistance for nearly a year, its monthly report showed Wednesday, amid the country's strict border controls against COVID-19. The UN food agency last delivered 891.5 tons of fortified food and 4,970 tons of raw food commodities to North Korea from January to March last year, assisting 566,886 people, according to its December brief on activities for the impoverished nation. "After the introduction of COVID-19 prev

North Korea said Wednesday it has successfully conducted the final test-firing of a new hypersonic missile a day earlier, as it continues to develop new weapons systems amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States. On Tuesday, South Korea's defense ministry said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into the East Sea which flew over 700 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 60 km and a top speed of Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound. "The test-fire was aim

Key candidates are not vocal about the repeated missile tests

Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held phone talks Tuesday over North Korea's latest launch of a ballistic missile and stressed the importance of maintaining the allies' combined defense posture, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his American counterpart, Sung Kim, discussed the matter, hours after the North test-fired the missile toward the East Sea in its second show of force th