South Korea’s Air Force said Thursday it had expanded its space operations unit to enhance interoperability between the South Korean and US space forces against air and missile threats from North Korea. The launch of the “Space Operations Squadron” aims to strengthen the South Korean Air Force’s “capabilities to conduct space operations in practice," it said. The squadron will surveil space obje...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to make the country’s military strength “more absolute and irreversible” and push for nuclear buildup at an “exceptionally rapid speed” at a pseudo-event celebrating the successful launch of the new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile where he brought his second daughter Kim Ju-ae again. “It is the truth taught by history that only when we become...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un brought his “beloved” second child, styled just like her mother this time, into the public eye for the second time in about a week through a photo published in state media on Sunday. Photos showing a very intimate father-daughter moment at a large-scale event celebrating the successful launch of the new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, suggest that J...

Economic dialogue Tokola said the US could entice North Korea with a renewed economic approach, given that the framework of exchanging denuclearization measures in return for sanctions relaxations “has failed.” “The economic offers to North Korea are generally good, but we could be more specific,” he said. “We could talk about trying to help them join the World Bank or the IMF (International Mo...

The South Korean military on Friday conducted strike drills attacking a mock North Korean missile launcher with aerial laser-guided bombs, in response to North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea. The live-fire drills were staged at Pilsung Range in Kangwon Province in the afternoon, about six hours after the North Korean missile was launched to waters off...

South Korea and the United States on Friday launched a new working group tailored to step up their policy coordination and communication to strengthen the alliance’s counter-missile capability and posture in light of escalating North Korean missile threats. The first meeting of the Counter-Missile Working Group was held in Seoul around two weeks after the South Korean and US defense chiefs discu...

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday called for a strengthened defense posture and tough economic sanctions on North Korea after the country launched another intercontinental ballistic missile. “President Yoon instructed to strengthen the South Korea-US combined defense posture, actively implement the measures agreed between South Korea and the US to enhance the viability of US extende...

North Korea on Friday fired another intercontinental ballistic missile in two weeks, which Japan said appeared to have fallen into waters within the neighboring country’s exclusive economic zone. North Korea fired the ICBM from Sunan District, Pyongyang, toward the East Sea at around 10:15 a.m. local, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The ICBM traveled about 1,000 kilomet...

North Korea on Thursday fired a ballistic missile off its east coast, after the country warned it would take “fierce” military action against US efforts to strengthen its extended deterrence posture against Pyongyang. A short-range ballistic missile was fired from an area around the coastal city of Wonsan in Kangwon Province toward the East Sea at around 10:48 a.m. local time, South Korea’s Join...

Brinkmanship, diplomacy South Korea has faced existential and escalating threats from North Korea. In early November, a North Korean missile flew across the de facto inter-Korean maritime border for the first time since the Korean War. Since mid-October, North Korea has fired more than 1,000 artillery shells into inter-Korean maritime buffer zones, which the two Koreas agreed on under the Sept....

Don’t let N. Korea define objectives But Cronin pointed out that China will try to exploit a gap between the political will and capability of South Korea and the US to deter China, when asked about how the allies can bridge the difference in their strategic objective in terms of deterrence posture. “I don’t intend to encourage a gap between the two. So, I don’t think we can afford to ask Korea ...

Don’t give upon China Apart from North Korea’s stubborn adherence to nuclear weapons, geopolitical dynamics in Northeast Asia have created unfavorable conditions for the US and South Korea to jump-start talks with North Korea. “We have a new Cold War atmosphere that is growing between the United States and China. And, for sure, that has emboldened North Korea because they believe that they can ...

First step: Alienating N. Korea, China But among the key factors, Wit underscored that the US and South Korea should put the priority on coming up with ways to alienate North Korea and China and to mend their current souring relations with North Korea. “In the past, we have made the most progress with North Korea when it wants to distance itself from China. Right now, it’s closer to China than ...

KH: What can South Korea do to support the US initiative to manage the China challenge? What would South Korea’s ideal role be as a US ally in managing the China challenge? Schriver: The first part of your question was, “How can South Korea help the US with the China challenge?” We need to change the way we think about that. The question should be, “How can South Korea help itself with the Chi...

North Korea on Wednesday fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast, as the United States counts the ballots for the midterm elections it held Tuesday. The South Korean military detected one short-range ballistic missile being fired from the area of Sukchon County in South Pyongan Province toward the East Sea at 3:31 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to the Joint Chiefs of St...