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Confrontation With North Korea

North Korea Announces Test of Undersea Drone

  • Pyongyang tested an undersea drone capable of creating a “radioactive tsunami,” North Korean state media said; South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to counter the threat (Bloomberg)

DIA: No Sign of Imminent North Korea Nuclear Test

  • According to the director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), North Korea does not appear prepared to conduct a nuclear test during upcoming military exercises between the United States and South Korea (Reuters)

U.S. Alleges that China and Russia Shield North Korea at the UN

  • The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations accused China and Russia of “obstructionism” by shielding North Korea from action by the UN Security Council in response to Pyongyang’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile launches (AP)

North Korea Simulates Nuclear Counterattack

  • Pyongyang said it held drills over the weekend that simulated a nuclear counterattack against its adversaries; the simulation coincided with joint U.S.-South Korea military drills (Yonhap)

Leaders of Japan, South Korea Repair Relations at First Summit in Twelve Years

  • Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sought to put tensions behind them at today’s summit in Tokyo, where they announced new cooperation on intelligence sharing and trade; the leaders also pledged to cooperate against the threat posed by North Korea, which test-fired what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile ahead of the talks (Nikkei)

North Korea Responds to U.S.-South Korea Drill With Missile Launch

  • Pyongyang said it launched two cruise missiles from a submarine as the United States and South Korea prepared to begin large-scale military drills today; South Korea’s military said it had detected a missile launch (Japan Times)

Food Shortage Struggles Continue

  • According to state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered infrastructure upgrades and farmland expansion to increase food production (Reuters)
  • New sanctions were put in place by the U.S. Treasury Department against individuals and companies that it accused of Illicitly raising money for the North Korean government (Reuters)

North Korea Convenes Party Meeting Amid Food Shortages

  • Leader Kim Jong-un convened a rare party meeting to discuss agricultural issues amid reports of food shortages (Yonhap)

North Korea Claims It Fired More Missiles Following U.S.-South Korea Drills

  • Seoul said its defense ministry is analyzing U.S. and South Korean surveillance data after North Korea claimed to have test-fired four cruise missiles yesterday; Seoul said its systems had detected something different (AFP)

South Korean FM: North Korea is a Danger

  • South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin said that North Korea is a “clear and present danger,” and that U.S. deterrence is necessary to counter the aggression (CNN)
  • On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA claimed that the United States and its allies were to blame (Reuters)

North Korea Test-Fires Two Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

  • The missiles flew toward the waters off the country’s eastern coast, South Korea’s military said; the launches came a day after the United States and South Korea held joint air drills (Yonhap)
  • At an emergency meeting, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged U.N. Security Council members to condemn North Korea’s unlawful ballistic missile launches; China and Russia countered, saying the U.S. needed dialogue to de-escalate tensions with North Korea and for sanctions to be eased (AP)

North Korea Threatens Unprecedented Retaliation Against Joint Military Drills

  • North Korea’s foreign ministry said the country would take “unprecedentedly constant, strong responses” if the United States and South Korea proceeded with planned military drills (Reuters)

Public Appearance of Kim Jong-un’s Daughter Raises Succession Speculation

  • North Korea held a nighttime military parade to showcase the country’s latest weapons and mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of its army’s founding; the parade included more intercontinental ballistic missiles than ever before and hinted at a new solid-fuel weapon (Reuters)
  • Kim Jong-un’s young daughter accompanied the leader at the military parade, her fifth public appearance in less than three months; some observers think the girl, ten-year-old Kim Ju-ae, could be his potential successor (BBC)

UN: North Korea Stole Record Amount of Crypto in 2022

  • North Korea targeted the networks of foreign aerospace and defense companies and stole more cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any other year, according to a United Nations report (Reuters)
  • Additionally, Kim Jong-un ordered his military to expand its combat exercises and strengthen war preparedness; in a meeting during the Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission, he called on the military to perform “ever-victorious feats” and display “matchless military strength” (AP)

North Korea Says US Military Drills are Hostile

  • A North Korean Foreign Ministry statement, carried by state news agency KCNA, said that military drills by the United States have “reached an extreme red line” (Reuters)
  • In response to the statement, the White House denied that the joint military exercises were provocative and said the United States has no hostile intent (Reuters)

White House Nominates First North Korea Human Rights Envoy in Six Years

  • The U.S. Senate would still need to confirm Julie Turner, a State Department official; in July, South Korea named its own human rights ambassador to North Korea for the first time since 2017 (WaPo)

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Police Raid Labor Union

  • Police raided the headquarters of a major labor union in Seoul over suspicions that it provided illegal aid to North Korea (Korea Herald)

South Korean President Says He Would Consider Building Nuclear Weapons

  • President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would consider the option if the nuclear threat from North Korea grew; it was the first such comment from a South Korean president since the United States withdrew its own nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991 (NYT)

North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

  • The ballistic missiles landed off of the country’s east coast and follow North Korea’s launch of two medium-sized missiles earlier in the week (Reuters)
  • North Korea launched more than ninety ballistic and other missiles in 2022—an unprecedented escalation (NYT)

North Korea Says Latest Missile Test Was Prep for Spy Satellite

  • North Korea launched two medium-sized ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast; state media said Pyongyang had conducted a “final-stage test” in its effort to put a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit next year (Yonhap)

U.S. Launches New Space Force in South Korea

  • The establishment of U.S. Space Forces Korea is another effort by the U.S. and South Korea to strengthen their security cooperation amid North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats; it is the second overseas space component of the U.S. Space Force and is focused on monitoring, detecting, and tracking incoming missiles (Reuters)

South Korea Calls On China To Support Dialogue With North Korea

  • In a bilateral meeting, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Chin told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi he expects China to actively support South Korea’s efforts at dialogue with North Korea; Wang Yi said China will play a constructive role (Reuters)

U.S., Japan, South Korea Unveil New Sanctions on North Korea

  • The countries announced new sanctions on individuals linked to North Korea’s nuclear program in the wake of Pyongyang’s test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last month; the United States extended sanctions to three people that the European Union put on a sanctions list in April, while South Korea announced sanctions on others already on a U.S. sanctions list (Reuters)
  • Japan’s new sanctions included the Lazarus Group, which is suspected of carrying out cyberattacks (Al Jazeera)
  • The three countries have said they will increase cooperation to respond to Pyongyang’s nuclear threat (Bloomberg)
  • While North Korea has launched a record number of missile tests this year, China and Russia have repeatedly blocked the possibility of new UN sanctions against it (Foreign Policy)

North Korean Missile Lands in Sea Off of Japan

  • Officials from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea condemned the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which came as they gathered for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Thailand (CNN)

South Korean Unification Minister Urges Further Efforts for Talks With North Korea

  • Unification Minister Kwon Youngse told Yonhap that “denuclearizing North Korea is not unattainable,” and that Seoul should continue to use “extended deterrence, sanctions, and pressure” to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table (Yonhap)