Nuclear Monitor: North Korea Restarted Its Nuclear Reactor
The United Nations’ atomic watchdog said that a nuclear reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon complex has been in operation since July. Washington and Seoul have signaled that they are open to restarting a dialogue with Pyongyang, and a top South Korean nuclear envoy flew to Washington this weekend to meet with U.S. officials (Yonhap)
North Korea Fails to Answer Military Hotline
North Korea did not answer a daily call on a newly established military hotline with South Korea hours after Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, criticized joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington (Yonhap)
North Korea Wants Sanctions Lifted Before Restarting Talks With U.S.
North Korea wants several international sanctions lifted before it restarts denuclearization talks with the United States, according to South Korean lawmakers. The sanctions include bans on metal exports and refined fuel imports (Reuters)
North Korea, South Korea Restore Military Hotlines
North Korea and South Korea reopened cross-border military hotlines that had been severed last year (Yonhap)
The move came after the countries’ leaders exchanged a series of letters. North Korean state media said the countries aim “to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust” (Bloomberg)
U.S. Diplomat Calls for North Korea to Resume Nuclear Dialogue
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman called for Pyongyang to resume a denuclearization dialogue with Washington. She made the remarks after a meeting among the United States, Japan, and South Korea in Tokyo during which the three countries agreed to increase cooperation (Yonhap)
China, North Korea Pledge Greater Cooperation
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged greater cooperation between their countries on the sixtieth anniversary of a joint defense treaty (South China Morning Post)
Some analysts expect Pyongyang will seek increased support from Beijing to deal with pandemic-related economic hardship (Associated Press)
Kim: “Great Crisis” in North Korea, Believed to Be COVID-19
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said a “great crisis” occurred due to a lapse in pandemic-related measures. Analysts believe this could mean there was a COVID-19 outbreak in the country, though it has reported no cases of the disease (Yonhap)
South Korea to Develop Missile Defense Shield
South Korea’s defense ministry announced it will develop a $2.6 billion interceptor system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome to defend itself from long-range North Korean artillery (Yonhap)
North Korea Dismisses Talks
After the U.S. envoy for North Korea offered to meet with North Korean officials “anywhere, anytime, without preconditions,” Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Washington has the “wrong” expectations about dialogue (Yonhap)
Kim: North Korea Should Prepare for Dialogue, Confrontation With U.S.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country should be ready for both dialogue and confrontation with the United States, which observers said could signal a willingness for talks. The comments were Kim’s first toward the United States since President Joe Biden took office (Yonhap)
Kim Jong-un Warns of Impending Food Crisis in North Korea
Leader Kim Jong-un said the country’s food situation is becoming “tense.” South Korean think tank Korea Development Institute estimates that a grain-production slump has caused a 1.5-million-ton food shortage since last year. UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana last week warned of “drastic economic hardship” in North Korea (Washington Post)
North Korea Calls New U.S. Policy With South Korea ‘Hostile’
The country’s state news agency carried an article by an international affairs analyst that said a new U.S. permission for South Korea to develop longer range missiles amounts to a “hostile policy” toward North Korea (Yonhap)
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington remains committed to diplomacy with Pyongyang (Yonhap)
North Korea: Biden Made a ‘Big Blunder’ by Calling Its Nuclear Program a Threat
A North Korean government official said U.S. President Joe Biden made a “big blunder” by labeling North Korea’s nuclear program a threat in his address to Congress last week. The official warned that the United States will face a “worse and worse crisis beyond control” (Yonhap)
The Biden administration recently concluded a review of U.S. policy toward North Korea. Biden is reportedly seeking a middle ground between President Donald Trump’s emphasis on personal diplomacy and President Barack Obama’s approach of conditioning engagement on North Korean concessions (Washington Post)
North Korea’s statement yesterday was one of three aimed at the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang also blasted Washington for criticizing its human rights record and Seoul for failing to stop anti–North Korea leaflets from being sent across the border (New York Times)
North Korea’s Kim Warns of Hardship
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un told members of the ruling Workers’ Party to brace for “many obstacles and difficulties,” state media reported (Yonhap)
He referenced the so-called Arduous March, a period of widespread poverty and famine in the 1990s. Experts say North Korea faces its biggest economic slump in decades (Financial Times)
White House Signals Biden Will Not Meet With North Korea’s Kim
Amid mounting bilateral tensions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden has no intention of “sitting” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Psaki indicated Biden will take a different approach to North Korea than did former President Donald J. Trump, who met with Kim three times (Reuters)
North Korea Confirms Ballistic Missile Test
State media confirmed that the country tested ballistic missiles yesterday. The UN Security Council’s sanctions committee will discuss the test today, and President Biden said the United States would “respond accordingly” if tensions escalate further (Yonhap)
North Korea Appears to Launch Ballistic Missiles
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early this morning. He called the move a threat to regional security and a violation of UN resolutions. South Korea’s military confirmed the launches and said the projectiles were short-range ballistic missiles (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the incident illustrates the threat posed by North Korea’s weapons program and pledged to defend Japan and South Korea. The launches were North Korea’s first firings of ballistic missiles in nearly a year and came days after it reportedly tested cruise missiles, which was not a violation of UN resolutions and which U.S. President Joe Biden played down (New York Times)
Biden Plays Down North Korea Missile Launch
President Biden dismissed the idea that North Korea’s launch of two short-range cruise missiles on Sunday was a provocation, saying that the Pentagon considered the move “business as usual.” It was North Korea’s first missile test since Biden took office (BBC)
U.S. Considers Response After North Korea Rejects Talks
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that the United States is weighing pressure and diplomacy toward North Korea (Reuters)
Hours earlier, a senior North Korean diplomat, Choe Son-hui, said Pyongyang will not dialogue with Washington unless the United States “rolls back its hostile policy” (Yonhap)
North Korea Warns U.S. in First Comments Toward Biden Administration
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, criticized U.S.-South Kore joint military exercises and threatened the Joe Biden administration against “causing a stink” (New York Times)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that the United States is reviewing its policy toward North Korea (Yonhap)
U.S., South Korea Agree on Sharing Defense Costs
South Korea said it reached a deal with the United States on sharing the costs for U.S. troops based in South Korea. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that the countries came to an agreement that includes a “meaningful increase” in South Korea’s contributions (Yonhap)
The United States unsealed charges against three North Korean military intelligence officers whom it accused of carrying out multiple cyberattacks and attempting to steal more than $1.3 billion worth of cash and cryptocurrency from banks and businesses (New York Times)
Biden, Moon Agree to Counter North Korea
In their first call since the U.S. presidential inauguration, President Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to work together on North Korea, among other issues. Seoul said the countries will develop a “comprehensive” strategy on Pyongyang, aim to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and seek to promote lasting regional peace (Yonhap)
North Korea Shows Off New Weapons
North Korea unveiled a new submarine-launched missile during a military parade. The event came on the heels of the country’s party congress, during which leader Kim Jong-un pledged to bolster North Korea’s nuclear arsenal (Yonhap)
North Korea Closes Party Congress
Leader Kim Jong-un closed the country’s first party congress in five years with a call to strengthen North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and fulfill a new five-year development plan (Yonhap)