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North Korea Crisis

North Korea to Convene Ninth Congress in Late February

  • State media reported that North Korea will convene its Ninth Congress in late February; the congress meets every one to five years to set major policy goals (Reuters)

North Korean Soldiers Provide Support to Russia in War in Ukraine

  • A Ukrainian military intelligence report found that North Korean troops are providing skilled assistance to Russia’s war efforts; per the report, North Korea has increased its involvement by launching artillery, including multiple-launch rocket systems, from southern Russia (WSJ)

North Korea Fires Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

  • North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, with South Korea saying the projectiles flew about 350 kilometers after being fired from near Pyongyang; the tests coincided with U.S.-South Korea discussions on reshaping their defense posture against Pyongyang (Reuters)

North Korea Denounces New Sanctions Monitoring Team as Illegal

  • North Korea condemned a new multinational sanction monitoring group as illegitimate and outside the United Nations system, accusing the United States of pushing an “illegal” mechanism to track Pyongyang’s sanctions violations (Reuters)

North Korea Accuses South Korea of Drone Incursion

  • North Korea said South Korea violated its sovereignty by flying a surveillance-equipped drone into its airspace on January 4, claiming it shot the drone down after it flew several kilometers inside the country; Seoul denied operating the drone and said it would investigate whether a civilian was responsible, while analysts said the timing of Pyongyang’s accusation appears aimed at reinforcing Kim Jong-un’s portrayal of South Korea as a hostile foreign state ahead of a major ruling party congress (Reuters)

North Korea Test-Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles

  • Japan’s defense minister said that one missile flew nearly six hundred miles—within striking distance of southern Japan (Japan Times)
  • U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that it was consulting with allies but that the tests did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, territory, or allies (INDOPACOM)

South Korea Scrambles Jets

  • South Korea scrambled fighter jets in response to nine Chinese and Russian aircraft temporarily entering its air defense identification zone, its military said today; the Chinese and Russian planes did not breach South Korean airspace (Yonhap)
  • Aircraft from the two countries have entered the area once or twice yearly since 2019 without prior notice (DW/AFP/Reuters)

New National Security Strategy Drops North Korea Denuclearization Goal

  • The omission from the strategy is the first in over two decades, prompting analysts to suggest Washington may be positioning for renewed diplomacy with Kim Jong-un in 2026 (White House; Reuters)
  • Still, acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim later insisted that denuclearization remains U.S. policy (Anadolu Agency)

South Korea’s Lee Pushes for Renewed Talks With North

  • South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he hopes U.S. President Donald Trump can persuade North Korea to resume dialogue, suggesting that Pyongyang takes Washington more seriously than Seoul (Reuters)
  • As part of outreach efforts, Lee said he was considering apologizing to North Korea over alleged provocations under his predecessor, including suspected drone flights and propaganda campaigns, though the call drew criticism from opposition parties (AP)

U.S.-South Korea Fuel Partnership

  • Washington will launch a joint venture to help Seoul enrich uranium fuel for its nuclear power plants, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said at a news conference today; South Korea had previously been prohibited from enriching its own uranium as part of a bilateral agreement with the United States and as a result imported its uranium from sources like Russia (Yonhap)
  • Lee today also reaffirmed Seoul’s commitment not to obtain nuclear weapons (NYT)

Kim Commemorates North Korean Air Force

  • At ceremonies marking the force’s eightieth anniversary, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signaled forthcoming upgrades to its capabilities, including new drones and surveillance aircraft; the declarations underscore a push to modernize the country’s air operations (Reuters)

U.S.-South Korea Military Exercises

  • North Korean state media claimed the drills, including naval and air exercises near key bases in South Korea, were designed to intimidate Pyongyang; Seoul has reiterated its openness to dialogue to reduce the risk of clashes along the border, though North Korea has ignored this outreach (Reuters)

Expansion of North Korean Nuclear Complex

  • Satellite imagery indicates continued upgrades across North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility, underscoring Kim Jong-un’s push to grow the country’s nuclear stockpile as Pyongyang continues rejecting diplomacy (The Times)

Heightened Risk of Accidental Clash on Korean Peninsula

  • South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said inter-Korean relations have deteriorated to the point where unintended conflict is possible, citing Pyongyang’s refusal to respond to Seoul’s outreach and its installation of new barbed-wire barriers along the border (Reuters)

South Korea Proposes Talks With North

  • South Korea asked North Korea to hold military discussions on reestablishing a mutually recognized boundary along the military demarcation line amid increased North Korean fortification work and repeated troop incursions into the South; Pyongyang has not answered outreach efforts since the end of 2023 (Reuters)
  • Separately, North Korea condemned Washington’s approval for Seoul to develop nuclear-powered submarines, claiming expanded U.S.-South Korea ties would fuel an arms race and deepen regional tensions (Newsweek)

U.S.-South Korea Ties

  • The South Korean government announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States worth over $350 billion covering several industries, including artificial intelligence capabilities, nuclear cooperation, and shipbuilding; talks to implement an agreement on a South Korean nuclear submarine will likewise continue, officials said (CNBC; Reuters)

South Korea To Support UN Measure on North

  • Seoul said it will again co-sponsor the annual UN resolution criticizing North Korea’s human rights abuses, despite speculation that the new government might soften its stance to revive talks with Pyongyang (Reuters)

North Korean Threats

  • North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol condemned U.S.-South Korea security talks and the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in Busan, promising his country would take action in response; the statement comes amid increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula following a North Korean ballistic missile launch and U.S. sanctions targeting cyber-linked entities (Reuters)

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Into Eastern Waters

  • South Korea’s military reported that the missile landed in the East Sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, adding it had monitored launch preparations and is coordinating with the United States and Japan; the test follows a series of recent North Korean missile launches (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, senior defense officials from Pyongyang and Moscow met this week to discuss deepening military ties, as North Korea continues to assist Russian war efforts in Ukraine (AP)

Doubts Loom Surrounding Proposed Nuclear-Powered Submarine

  • South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Philadelphia’s South Korean-owned shipyard lacks the capacity to construct a nuclear-powered vessel despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval of the project, while Seoul’s defense chief argued such submarines would be better built domestically; U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Washington is reviewing how to fulfill the commitment with relevant U.S. agencies (Reuters)

North Korea Criticizes New U.S. Sanctions

  • The North Korean vice foreign minister claimed that the sanctions would bring no advantage to U.S. interests in the Korean Peninsula and stated that his country would respond to the U.S. move accordingly (Reuters)

U.S. Sanctions on North Korea

  • The Treasury Department blacklisted eight people and two organizations accused of helping funnel revenue to Pyongyang’s weapons programs through cyber-enabled laundering networks, including proxy banking operations in China and Russia; the move targets foreign currency flows, ransomware proceeds, and support for overseas North Korean workers used to evade sanctions (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, a South Korean lawmaker said South Korean intelligence believes Pyongyang may seek a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump after military events in early 2026, despite North Korea’s public reluctance to denuclearize; the White House has already signaled openness to talks (NBC)

U.S. Defense Chief in Korea

  • U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth toured the Demilitarized Zone with South Korean officials as both sides prepare for annual defense consultations focused on cost-sharing, wartime command transfer, and nuclear-powered submarine cooperation; the visit also included joint fighter flights meant to showcase allied deterrence as concerns persist over North Korea’s missile buildup (AP)
  • Meanwhile, a State Department official suggested that the United States plans to ask a Security Council committee to punish seven vessels accused of shipping North Korean coal and iron ore to China in violation of international restrictions, saying the trade helps bankroll Pyongyang’s weapons programs, though the need for a unanimous UN vote leaves China and Russia poised to block action (Reuters)

North Korea Dismisses Denuclearization

  • North Korean officials denied a claim from South Korea that a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung would discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, dismissing the claim as a “pipe dream” (Reuters)

Trump Greenlights South Korean Nuclear-Powered Submarine

  • U.S. President Donald Trump made the announcement after meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Seoul, adding that broader defense cooperation will increase as well; once South Korea builds the submarine, it will become one of a small group of states to possess nuclear-powered vessels (Reuters)