Chinese, South Korean Leaders Talk North Korea’s Nuclear Program
At the first China-South Korea summit since 2019, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to take a stronger response to Pyongyang’s missile testing; the Chinese readout of the meeting stressed that Xi was most concerned with economic cooperation with South Korea (Korea Herald)
North Korea Test-Fires Another Ballistic Missile
South Korea and the United States condemned the launch, which comes as they carry out joint military exercises; Pyongyang has launched a record number of ballistic missiles this year (Yonhap)
North Korea Denies Sending Arms to Russia
A defense ministry official refuted U.S. allegations that North Korea is providing arms for Russia to use in Ukraine (Bloomberg)
North Korea: Recent Launches Were Simulated Attack
North Korea claimed its recent missile launches, the most ever launched in a single day, were simulated strikes on South Korea and the United States in response to the countries’ “dangerous war drill;” South Korea discovered a part of a North Korean missile near its coast (Reuters)
U.S. Says North Korea Is Sending Artillery Shells to Russia
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the shipments are disguised to appear bound for the Middle East or North Africa; declassified intelligence seen by CNN said the shipments show Russia’s conventional arsenals are dwindling amid the war in Ukraine (CNN)
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from Group of Seven (G7) countries are meeting in Germany to discuss food and energy strains related to the war in Ukraine (WaPo)
They will discuss the details of price caps on Russian oil that the G7 and European Union will implement on December 5 (Reuters)
U.S., South Korea Conduct Joint Air Drills
The countries began their first large-scale joint air drills in almost five years today; the training follows a series of missile tests by North Korea (Yonhap)
North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles Off Coast
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast, South Korea’s military said (Yonhap)
U.S., Japan, and South Korea Issue Warning if North Korea Conducts Another Nuclear Bomb Test
The U.S. and its allies stated that “an unparalleled scale of response” would be justified should North Korea conduct a seventh nuclear bomb test (NBC)
North and South Korea Exchange Warning Shots Near Sea Border
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it fired warning shots at a North Korean merchant vessel that crossed the Northern Limit Line; while the North Korean military said it fired ten rocket artillery rounds after a South Korean navy ship did the same (Reuters)
North Korea Responds to South Korean Drill With Another Round of Artillery Fire
The country fired more than three hundred artillery shells into waters off its west coast; the move comes during a week of live-fire South Korean military drills (Yonhap)
South Korea Launches Annual Military Drills
Amid increasing tensions with North Korea, the South Korean military commenced their Hoguk defense drills designed to strengthen the country’s response capabilities to nuclear and missile threats (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Japan announced new sanctions targeting groups associated with North Korea’s missile development (Reuters)
North Korea Flies Warplanes Near Border With South Korea, Fires Artillery Shots Into Buffer Zone
South Korea’s military said more than ten North Korean warplanes flew close to the countries’ border, while hundreds of artillery shots landed in a maritime buffer zone set under a de-escalation accord Pyongyang and Seoul signed in 2018; North Korea also test-fired a missile toward the Korean Peninsula’s eastern waters (Yonhap)
North Korea Claims Development of Underwater Nuclear Weapons Silos
North Korean state media reported that Kim Jong-Un has overseen the testing of nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles, one of which was fired from an underwater silo (NYT)
In the seventh launch in recent days, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles landing outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone following U.S.-Japan military drills (Reuters)
U.S.-Japan Conduct Joint Naval Drills
The United States and Japan conducted joint military drills including American aircraft carriers and a Japanese destroyer around Japan following North Korea’s missile launches (Reuters)
In the days prior, the U.S. also conducted joint maritime exercises with South Korea and announced new sanctions on North Korea targeting its fuel procurement network (Reuters)
US, South Korea, Japan Perform Missile Defense Exercise
Seoul said a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group will be deployed off the waters of the Korean Peninsula to demonstrate the United States and South Korea’s resolve in the wake of North Korea’s “provocations” (CNN)
U.S., Japan Hold Joint Air Drills After North Korean Missile Test
Pyongyang’s test yesterday was the first to fly over Japan in five years (Nikkei)
In response to the test, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to work more closely with Japan and South Korea (Bloomberg)
North Korea Test-Fires Missile Over Japan for First Time Since 2017
The missile launch early this morning triggered alerts across Japan telling people to seek shelter; the last time a North Korean missile flew over Japan was during a period of high tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017 (NYT)
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio called the launch an “outrage,” and a White House spokesperson said Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo will coordinate a response; the range suggests the missile could have reached the U.S. island territory of Guam (NPR)
The missile flew around 2,800 miles, a record for a North Korean test, Japanese and South Korean officials said (Axios)
Japan’s defense ministry said North Korea has already launched thirty-six missiles this year, surpassing its previous record from 2019 (Nikkei)
Seoul Fires Back After Barrage of North Korean Missile Tests
North Korea fired a missile that crossed the Northern Limit Line, a maritime border with South Korea that Pyongyang does not recognize, for the first time since the 1950–53 Korean War (CNN)
South Korea’s military called the launch “rare and intolerable” and responded by firing three missiles into waters north of the line; North Korea’s missile was one of as many as twenty-three it test-fired into the seas off of South Korea’s east and west coasts today (Yonhap)
The missile deployment was North Korea’s largest in a single day (Reuters)
The launches came after U.S.-South Korea military drills began on Monday; U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon tomorrow (NYT)
VP Harris Reaffirms Goal of Denuclearization on Korean Peninsula
On a tour of the Korean Peninsula’s demilitarized zone, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Washington and Seoul share the goal of “complete denuclearization” of the peninsula (Kyodo)
North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles Ahead of Kamala Harris’s Arrival in South Korea
South Korea’s military reported that North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast following a joint military drill by the U.S. and South Korea two days prior; this comes a day before U.S. Vice President Harris is set to arrive in Seoul and visit the demilitarized zone (Reuters)
In addition, South Korea warned that North Korea has finished preparations for a nuclear test which they estimate could be carried out between October 16 and November 7 (Reuters)
North Korea Test-Fires Ballistic Missile
The test yesterday came ahead of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to Japan and South Korea (Yonhap)
Satellite Imagery Shows Potential Launch of New Missile Submarine by North Korea
Satellite imagery has captured images suggesting North Korea may be preparing to launch a new submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles (Reuters)
North Korea denied allegations in a recently released U.S. intelligence report detailing evidence of Russian efforts to purchase North Korean weapons (New York Times)
U.S. Aircraft Carrier to Visit South Korea Amidst Renewed North Korean Threat
South Korea and the United States denounced North Korea’s recent law enshrining the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes as “escalatory and destabilizing” (Reuters)
The United States will send the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group to the region for a joint drill this week, the first in five years (ABC News)
North Korea Pledges to Maintain Its Nuclear Weapons Stockpile to Counter U.S.
In a speech before parliament, Kim Jong Un stated that North Korea will never abandon its nuclear weapons amid perceived threats from the U.S. (AP)
Meanwhile, the three senior diplomats in charge of North Korean affairs from the U.S., Japan, and South Korea reaffirmed their trilateral cooperation to counter any North Korean threat, including another speculated nuclear test (AP)
North Korea Codifies Right to Preemptive Nuclear Strikes in Law
The new law poses a challenge to U.S. efforts to urge Pyongyang to denuclearize. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the law means “there can be no bargaining over nuclear weapons” (Washington Post)