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)
U.S. Signals Possible Military Force Against North Korea
President Trump said in a news conference in Poland on July 6 that “something will have to be done” about the North Korean weapons crisis and that he has “some pretty severe” options available to him (CNN)
North Korea Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
The United States confirmed that North Korea successfully fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reportedly reach Alaska (New York Times)
North Korea Announces It Will Keep Building Up Nuclear Arsenal
North Korea’s ambassador to the UN announced it will keep building nuclear weapons regardless of pressure, sanctions, or military attacks (Washington Post)
North Korea Calls for Execution of Former South Korean Leader
North Korea issued an order for the execution of South Korea’s former president Park Geun-hye and her spy chief. North Korea claims that Park and the spy chief plotted to assassinate Kim Jong Un, a claim which South Korea denies (Reuters)
U.S. Student Freed From North Korea Dies
President Trump called North Korea a “brutal regime” after a U.S. college student who had been imprisoned in North Korea and returned to the United States in a coma last week died in a Cincinnati hospital (BBC)
U.S. Student in North Korea Suffered Brain Damage
Doctors examining a U.S. student freed from North Korea said he had suffered “extensive loss of brain tissue in all regions of his brain”and that he is in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness.” Doctors said they saw no signs of botulism, which North Korean officials claimed the man suffered (New York Times)
North Korean Drone Spied on U.S. Missile Shield in South Korea
The South Korean military said a drone suspected to be from North Korea spied on the U.S. missile defense shield in Seongju before crashing in Gangwon Province. The drone contained photos of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) components that arrived on April 26, 2017 (Korea Times)
South Korea Warns North After Missile Launches
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he would not “make any compromise” on national security following North Korea’s launch of short-range missiles that landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan (Associated Press)
South Korea’s Moon Not Informed of U.S. Launchers
A spokesperson for President Moon Jae-in said the defense ministry made a “deliberate” omission by not informing the president of the arrival of four additional launchers for a U.S. missile shield in South Korea (Korea Times)
U.S. to Test Defense System After North Korean Launch
The United States plans to test a newly upgraded system for intercepting long-range missiles after North Korea fired a missile into Japanese waters (CNN)
South Korea Shoots Suspected Drone Near North Korean Border
According to Yonhap news agency, South Korea fired warning shots at a suspected North Korean drone near the border (Reuters)
Moon’s Government May Reopen Inter-Korean Hotline
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s administration will seek to reopen an inter-Korean hotline that was closed by North Korea in February 2016 after Moon’s predecessor, Park Geun-hye, closed an inter-Korean joint industrial complex (Korea Times)
North Korean Missile Launch Prompts Emergency UN Meeting
North Korea said a missile it tested, which traveled 490 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan, is a new type of rocket that can carry a nuclear warhead. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting this week to discuss the launch (Associated Press)
New South Korean President Open to Visiting Pyongyang
Newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in, taking the oath of office, said that he would visit Pyongyang “if conditions are met,” as well as Washington, Tokyo, and Beijing, to promote “peace on the peninsula” (Korea Times)
North Korea Detains Fourth U.S. Citizen
North Korean authorities detained a fourth U.S. citizen, Kim Hak-song of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, for alleged “hostile acts” against North Korea (WaPo)
UN Energy Chief Warns Over North Korean Nuclear Efforts
The head of the UN’s atomic energy agency said that North Korea’s nuclear program is progressing “just as North Korea is publicly stating.” North Korean state media accused the United States and South Korea on Friday of attempting to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Al Jazeera)
ASEAN Ministers Will Discuss North Korea in Washington
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington on May 4 to urge the bloc’s members to cut diplomatic ties with North Korea (VOA)