Trump, in UN Speech, Threatens to Destroy North Korea
- U.S. President Donald J. Trump said in his first address to the UN General Assembly that he would “totally destroy North Korea” if the United States is forced to defend itself (Reuters)
Published by CFR's Wachenheim Center on Peace and Security
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North Korea Crisis
U.S. Says North Korean Missiles Yet to Pose Threat
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said yesterday that North Korea’s missiles have not yet posed a threat to the United States. He also said the United States has a military option for Pyongyang that will not put South Korea at risk of a counterattack, though he did not detail such a plan (Wall Street Journal)
North Korea Launches Another Missile Over Japan
- North Korea launched a ballistic missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido this morning, the second such launch over the island nation in three weeks (Washington Post)
Moon Says Against Nuclear Weapons in South Korea
- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in an interview that he opposed bringing nuclear weapons to South Korea and that such a move would make peace between the two Koreas impossible (Reuters)
New North Korea Sanctions Target Oil, Textiles, and Labor
- The UN Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to adopt a new sanctions resolution on North Korea after its sixth nuclear test earlier this month. The new measures cap North Korea’s imports of crude oil, ban its textile exports, and prohibit countries from issuing work permits to North Koreans, aiming to squeeze Pyongyang’s sources of hard currency (Associated Press)
South Koreans Protest U.S. Missile Shield
- U.S. forces faced hundreds of protesters as they installed four launchers that will complete a missile-defense battery. Dozens of protesters were injured in clashes with police (Guardian)
Pyongyang Readying Another Missile Test, Seoul Says
- North Korea appears to be readying an intercontinental ballistic missile launch, following its first two such tests in July, according to a South Korean defense official. Seoul and Washington agreed to lift the restrictions on the maximum payload weight of warheads that South Korea can mount on its missiles, and South Korea’s defense minister said the country should consider deploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula (Wall Street Journal)
North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test
- The detonation, North Korea’s sixth nuclear test, is believed to be the most powerful to date. The Trump administration warned of a “massive military response” to even the threat of use of such a weapon against the United States (New York Times)
North Korea Launches Missile Over Japan
- The United States and Japan have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council following North Korea’s launch of a missile over Japanese territory on Tuesday morning. Japan said the missile flew some 1,700 miles over the northern island of Hokkaido before falling into the Pacific (Japan Times)
Kim Jong-un Orders Production of More Warheads
- State media released photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting a missile factory, reporting that he ordered the production of additional warheads, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday he was “pleased” to see the regime had shown some restraint (Wall Street Journal)
China Denounces New U.S. Sanctions Targeting North Korea
- The United States announced sanctions on ten companies and six individuals in Russia and China whose business with North Korea the United States says supports its weapons program. China said it follows all UN Security Council resolutions and opposes such “long-arm jurisdiction” over Chinese entities (Washington Post)
U.S. and South Korea Continue Military Exercises
- The United States and South Korea have started annual joint military drills despite threats from North Korea that the drills could lead to an “uncontrollable phase of nuclear war.” The military exercises are scheduled to last for ten days (CNN)
South Korea’s Moon Tones Down Tensions With North
- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that he can guarantee there will be no new war on the Korean Peninsula after receiving assurances from U.S. President Donald J. Trump that the United States will not carry out any strike against North Korea without Seoul’s consent (Washington Post)
North Korea Tones Down Threat to Strike Guam
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the United States should show through its actions if it wishes to “ease tension” with North Korea, a statement that appeared to back down from threats to strike the U.S. territory of Guam (Radio Free Europe)
North Korea Details Plan to Strike Guam
- The North Korean military released plans to fire four ballistic missiles toward the U.S. territory of Guam, home to about 163,000 U.S. citizens, and vowed to send the plan to leader Kim Jong-un for approval by mid-August (BBC)
North Korea Minimizes Nuclear Warhead, War of Words Ensues
- U.S. intelligence reported that North Korea successfully produced a compact nuclear warhead able to fit inside its missiles. President Trump threatened “fire and fury” against the country, in response to which North Korea released a statement saying it was examining the possibility of striking Guam (New York Times)
U.S. Only Target for Nuclear Weapons
- North Korea’s foreign minister said if the country is militarily provoked, it will use its nuclear forces to teach the United States a “severe lesson,” adding that its arsenal does not pose a threat to other countries unless they join the United States in an attack (Wall Street Journal)
UNSC Agrees to Tougher Sanctions on North Korea
- After much negotiation with China, the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea. Ambassador Nikki Haley described them as “the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation” (New York Times)
Tillerson: U.S. Does Not Seek North Korean Regime Change
- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the United States is not an enemy and does not seek regime change nor the collapse of the North Korean government, but added that the country is presenting an “unacceptable threat” (BBC)
U.S. Military: Highly Unusual North Korean Submarine Activity
- A United States military official reported that there was evidence of North Korea engaging in submarine activity at the Sinpo Naval Shipyard on the country’s eastern border. North Korea conducted its fourth “ejection test”—testing a submarine’s missile launch capabilities— in less than a month on July 30 (Time)
North Korea Tests Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
- North Korea launched a Hwason-14 Missile that appears to have intercontinental capabilities. According to the United States Military, the missile crashed in the Sea of Japan. In response, the United States conducted exercises with supersonic bombers and a test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system (Defense One)
U.S. Intelligence: North Korean Missile Could Reach Continental U.S. in One Year
- U.S. intelligence agencies have shortened their estimate of how long it will take North Korea to develop a missile capable of hitting the continental United States to one year (New York Times)
U.S. Intelligence Indicates North Korea Preparing for Missile Test
- U.S. intelligence has discovered that North Korea is making preparations for an intercontinental ballistic missile or an intermediate range missile test (CNN)
South Korea Proposes Talks With North
- South Korea proposed sending a delegation to hold discussions with the North in the border village of Panmunjom on ceasing hostile activities, according to South Korea’s vice defense minister (New York Times)
South Korea Fears Drop in Tourism
- The Korea Tourism Organization predicted South Korea may see a drop of 27 percent in its number of tourists in 2017, or 4.7 million fewer than in 2016 due to hostile threats from North Korea. China, which accounts for nearly half of South Korea’s tourists, banned tour packages there in protest of a U.S. missile shield (BBC)