North Korea Rejects Peace Talks with South Korea, Tests Missiles
A North Korean spokesperson announced that North Korea has nothing to discuss with South Korea, a day after South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced he would pursue unification of the peninsula by 2045. Separately, North Korea fired two short-range projectiles (Reuters)
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will travel to Japan and South Korea this week (Reuters)
North Korea Warns Against U.S. Missile Deployment
North Korean state media warned today that any U.S. move to deploy intermediate-range missiles in South Korea would escalate tensions, including sparking an arms race in the region (Reuters)
United Nations Investigates North Korean Cyberattacks
The United Nations reported that its experts are investigating thirty-five North Korean cyberattacks in seventeen countries, which illegally funded North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs (Associated Press)
North Korea Threatens to Test Missiles
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un said he would carry out missile tests as long as the United States and South Korea hold joint military exercises, U.S. President Donald J. Trump tweeted, and a North Korean military official said the drills would also halt the possibility of talks between North and South Korea (Axios)
Separately, North Korea reported that it tested a new type of missile as the joint exercises were underway (New York Times)
United States Urges North Korean Restraint
Following North Korea’s four short-range missile tests in the last two weeks, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton reminded North Korea of its pledge to suspend launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (Reuters)
Separately, President Donald Trump claimed today that South Korea has agreed to increase spending on U.S. military cooperation to defend against North Korea (Politico)
North Korea Reportedly Fires Two More Missiles
South Korea’s military said the North has fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its southwest coast, the fourth such launch in less than two weeks. North Korean officials said ongoing joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises violate inter-Korean agreements and that North Korea may seek a “new road” instead of continued dialogue (Yonhap)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper responded today by saying that the United States will not overreact to North Korea’s launches (Reuters)
Separately, a UN report found that North Korean cyberattacks generated two billion dollars to fund its weapons of mass destruction programs (Reuters)
U.S.-South Korean Military Exercises To Proceed
South Korean military officials announced today that the United States and South Korea plan to proceed with annual joint military exercises despite threats from North Korea (Associated Press)
Separately, North Korea did not attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference, where U.S. officials had hoped to resume nuclear talks (Los Angeles Times)
North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast today, according to South Korean military officials. South Korea’s defense minister said the missiles appeared to be different from those fired last Thursday (Yonhap)
Separately, a North Korean official told a U.S. National Security Council official that working-level talks may resume soon (Reuters)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced he is hopeful talks will resume (Associated Press)
United States Adds Sanctions on North Korea
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Kim Su Il, who was formerly employed by the North Korean Munitions Industry Department and is accused of operating an illegal trading mechanism on behalf of North Korea (Wall Street Journal)
North Korea Warns South Korea Over Military Exercises
North Korea announced that its recent missile test was meant as a warning to South Korean “warmongers” against continued U.S. weapons imports and joint military exercises (Reuters)
Separately, South Korea announced today that it will return three North Koreans who recently entered the South on a wooden fishing boat (Associated Press)
Finally, North Korea released a Russian boat that was captured on July seventeenth on grounds of contravening entry regulations (Reuters)
North Korean Missile Tests Throw Diplomacy in Doubt
North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast today, according to South Korean officials. It was Pyongyang’s first weapons test since U.S. President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed last month to resume denuclearization talks (Washington Post)
At the same time, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho reportedly canceled a trip to Thailand next week during which he was slated to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Reuters)
North Korea Reveals New Submarine
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un inspected a new submarine that may be designed to carry ballistic missiles. This is the first time since February 2018 that Kim Jong-un has publicly inspected a military system potentially designed for nuclear weapons (Reuters)
Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that the United States and North Korea have not agreed on a date to resume nuclear negotiations (Reuters)
U.S.-South Korean Joint Exercises to Continue Despite North Korean Warning
A South Korean official announced that joint military exercises with the United States will proceed in August. The announcement follows threats from North Korea to suspend its moratorium on nuclear and missile tests should the joint exercises resume (Reuters)
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected North Korea’s claims that these exercises violated an agreement reached in Singapore in 2018 (Reuters)
Separately, leaked documents revealed that Huawei has secretly assisted the North Korean government in building a wireless network (Washington Post)
North Korea Warns of Suspending Nuclear and Missile Testing Moratorium
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced that it is considering suspending a twenty-month moratorium on nuclear and missile tests (Associated Press)
The announcement comes as the United States and South Korea are expected to resume joint military exercises (Reuters)
United States Seeks Nuclear Freeze in North Korea
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will seek a freeze in North Korea’s nuclear program as the first step in denuclearization. The announcement precedes an expected resumption of negotiations later this month (Reuters)
North Korea Releases Australian Student
North Korea freed Alek Sigley, an Australian student accused of spying and committing anti–North Korean incitement online (New York Times)
Trump Meets Kim Jong-un, Enters North Korea
U.S. President Donald Trump met with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone at the border between North and South Korea yesterday, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to cross in to North Korean territory. During the spontaneous meeting, the two heads of state agreed to restart negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program, and President Trump stated he would invite Kim Jong-un to the White House (New York Times)
Third U.S.-North Korea Summit in the Works
South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced that the United States and North Korea are in talks to arrange a third summit between their leaders and that the United States has proposed resuming working-level negotiations (Reuters)
Trump Sends Letter to Kim Jong-Un
This weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter to North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un in an effort to revive nuclear negotiations (Reuters)
This development comes days before Trump’s visit to South Korea later this week (Reuters)
Xi and Kim Meet in Pyongyang; South Korea to Send North Food Aid
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea today for the first state visit by a Chinese leader to the country in fourteen years. President Xi praised work toward peace on the peninsula in an open letter published in a state-run North Korean newspaper, in which he said North Korea deserved sanctions relief (New York Times)
Separately, South Korea announced yesterday it will send fifty thousand tons of rice to North Korea, its first food donation since 2010 (New York Times)
Russia, China Block Security Council Certification of North Korean Sanctions Violations
Two days before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Pyongyang, Russia and China denied a U.S. request for the UN Security Council to certify that North Korea violated petroleum import restrictions (Associated Press)
North Korea Honors South’s Former First Lady
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister and top aide, Kim Yo-jong, spoke with a top South Korean military official in the demilitarized zone today to honor former South Korean First Lady Lee Hee-ho, who died Monday. A South Korean official told press Kim said she “hoped the South and the North will continue cooperation” (Reuters)
North Korean Leader’s Brother Reportedly Spoke With CIA
Kim Jong-nam, who was assassinated in Malaysia in 2017, told a Japanese reporter before his death that he was in contact with the CIA (Financial Times)
The same claim about Kim, the half brother of leader Kim Jong-un, will appear in a book to be released this week (Wall Street Journal)
Kim Jong-un’s Sister Reappears in Public
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, appeared in public for the first time in nearly two months amid rumors she was punished along with top officials in the wake of a failed U.S.-North Korea summit (Korea Times)
North Korean Official Reappears in Public
Kim Yong-chol, a top North Korean official, appeared at a concert alongside leader Kim Jong-un in a photo released by state media today. A South Korean newspaper reported last week that Kim Yong-chol was sent to a labor camp as part of a purge of senior officials (Guardian)