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Confrontation With North Korea

North Korea Tests Explosive Devices at Nuclear Site, Per UN Report

  • A draft UN report revealed that Pyongyang has tested explosive devices and begun digging new underground tunnels at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site (Nikkei)

North Korea Threatens to Use Nuclear Weapons if U.S. Attacks

  • In a speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country’s “nuclear war deterrence is fully ready to mobilize its absolute strength” to counter any potential clashes with the United States and South Korea (Reuters)

U.S. Recovers Stolen Funds from Suspected North Korean Hackers

  • The United States captured and returned stolen funds to U.S. healthcare providers targeted by suspected North Korean hackers using a ransomware attack; the seizure is a rare U.S. success against what it perceives as a growing North Korean cyber threat (BBC)

North Korea Suspected of Conducting Artillery Fire Drills

  • South Korea detected flight trajectories suspected to be North Korean rocket launchers, as the United States ramps up defense cooperation with South Korea (Al Jazeera)

U.S. and South Korean F-35s Team Up for the First Time

  • U.S. and South Korean F-35 stealth fighter jets have begun conducting joint exercises for the first time, in an apparent message to North Korea that the United States remains committed to South Korean security against a North Korean threat (CNN)

North Korea Accuses United States, South Korea, and Japan of Attempting to Form “Asian NATO”

  • North Korean state media has flagged recent developments such as the unprecedented South Korean and Japanese attendance of NATO’s annual Madrid summit, along with an upcoming trilateral summit between the United States, South Korea, and Japan, as preliminary efforts toward creating an “Asian NATO” (Al Jazeera)

North Korea Fires Artillery Shells into Sea Following Pledge to Boost Military

  • North Korea fired artillery shells into the sea following Kim Jung Un’s call for boosting the country’s military and on the tail of a record-breaking series of weapons tests in 2022 (Washington Post)

North Korea Names Foreign Minister as Nuclear Negotiator

  • Choe Son-hui is North Korea’s first female foreign minister and has participated in the country’s nuclear negotiations with the United States for several years (Kyodo)

U.S., South Korea Test-Fire Missiles in Response to North Korean Launches

  • The United States and South Korea test-fired eight ballistic missiles from South Korea into the sea in response to North Korea’s ramped-up missile testing this year, including its test-firing of eight missiles yesterday (Yonhap)

U.S., Japan, South Korea Hold Talks on North Korea

  • At a meeting of senior officials in Seoul, the countries agreed to increase security cooperation in response to North Korea’s recent missile testing. Pyongyang has conducted fifteen missile tests since the start of the year (Kyodo)

China, Russia Block UN Sanctions Against North Korea for First Time

  • At the UN Security Council, the countries blocked a motion to impose new sanctions on North Korea for its missile testing, stressing dialogue with Pyongyang instead (Yonhap)
  • China and Russia supported all previous UN sanctions against North Korea since they were first imposed in 2006 (Associated Press)

North Korea Launches Three Missiles

  • North Korea launched three missiles—including a possible intercontinental ballistic missile—off the country’s eastern coast. In response, U.S. and South Korean militaries launched a land-to-land missile from South Korea to demonstrate an ability to “deter further provocations” and launch “precision strikes” (New York Times)

New South Korean President Sworn In

  • President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was sworn into office in Seoul, promised to work with international allies to strengthen North Korea’s economy if Pyongyang pursues “complete denuclearization” (Nikkei)

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Into Sea

  • Nort Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea ahead of South Korea’s presidential transition next week, the South Korean military said (Yonhap)

North Korea’s Kim Vows to Strengthen Nuclear Capabilities

  • During a military parade, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to boost the country’s nuclear capabilities at the “fastest possible speed” (Yonhap)

Outgoing South Korean Leader Urges Dialogue With Pyongyang

  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose term ends on May 9, exchanged letters with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week; in his reply, Moon said he will continue to work toward Korean reunification even after his retirement (Yonhap)

U.S. Envoy on North Korea Travels to Seoul

  • Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, traveled to Seoul for talks with his South Korean counterpart on North Korea’s recent missile launches (Yonhap)

United States Pushes for Additional Sanctions on North Korea

  • The United States is urging the UN Security Council to support a resolution that would increase sanctions on North Korea after its recent ballistic missile tests, including banning tobacco exports, halving oil exports, and blacklisting the Lazarus hacking group (Reuters)

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Enters Waters Off South Korea for First Time Since 2017

  • In an apparent show of force in response to North Korea’s nuclear missile tests, a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier entered the international waters of the East Sea for the first time since 2017 (Yonhap)

North Korean Leader’s Sister Warns of Nuclear Response

  • Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, threatened South Korea with a nuclear response if provoked, after Seoul highlighted its pre-emptive strike capabilities (Al Jazeera)

United States Issues New Sanctions on North Korea

  • In response to recent missile tests, the United States imposed new sanctions on five entities accused of providing support to North Korea’s weapons programs (Reuters)

South Korea Dismisses Pyongyang’s Claim of Hwasong-17 Missile Launch

  • South Korea’s defense ministry dismissed North Korea’s claim that it launched a Hwasong-17 missile—its longest-range developmental intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)—last week, saying it had determined it was instead a Hwasong-15, a different ICBM that it successfully tested in 2017 (Associated Press)

Incoming South Korean Leader, Chinese President Speak After North Korean Missile Test

  • South Korean President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to work together to achieve denuclearization of North Korea shortly after Pyongyang tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (Kyodo)

North Korea Launches First ICBM Since 2017

  • Officials from the United States, Japan, and South Korea strongly condemned the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which appeared to fly higher and further than North Korea’s last such launch in 2017 (New York Times)

Conservative Wins South Korean Presidential Election

  • The People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeo, who won South Korea’s presidential election, is expected to draw South Korea closer to the United States and take a more hardline stance against North Korea (ABC)
  • Separately, North Korea said it would launch new reconnaissance satellites in the coming years to monitor military actions by the United States (Reuters)