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North Korea Crisis

Tokyo Holds Missile Evacuation Drill Amid North Korea Fears

South Korean Lawmaker: North Korea Sent Russia One Million Artillery Rounds

  • A lawmaker briefed by South Korean intelligence officials said North Korea had sent Russia enough ammunition for two months of shelling in Ukraine (Bloomberg)

North Korea Closes Down Several Embassies Abroad

  • The closures could affect nearly a dozen international missions, which would represent 25 percent of all North Korean missions; the move appears to be a result of international sanctions, which have hindered North Korea’s ability to conduct business overseas (Reuters)

U.S. Discusses North Korea’s “Destabilizing and Escalatory Behavior” With China

  • The U.S. special representative for North Korea brought up the issue with his Chinese counterpart in a meeting focused on concerns over North Korean weapons transfers to Russia and China’s alleged forced repatriation of North Koreans (Bloomberg)

Seoul Identifies Four People Trying to Defect From Pyongyang by Boat

  • It is the first such attempt through the East Sea since 2019 (Yonhap)

U.S., Japan, and South Korea Hold Joint Aerial Defense Exercise

  • The drill marked the first time all three states practiced aerial maneuvers together, with the U.S. ambassador to Seoul saying it signaled a “new era” in defense ties (VOA)

Russian Foreign Minister Reportedly Proposes Regular Security Talks With North Korea

  • Sergey Lavrov proposed the talks on a two-day visit to Pyongyang to discuss the two countries’ approach to what he called increasing U.S.-led regional military threats, Russian state media reported; the United States and South Korea say that North Korea is sending Russia weapons for use in its war in Ukraine, which Pyongyang has denied (AP)
  • Meanwhile, the United States seized seventeen website domains allegedly used by North Korea to avoid sanctions, defraud businesses, and fund the country’s nuclear program (Reuters)

Israel: Hamas Using North Korean Weapons to Attack

  • The Israeli ambassador to South Korea suggested that the weapons could have been in Iran for a long time before being transferred to Hamas; North Korea denied that Hamas used its weapons (VOA)

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Arrives in South Korea

  • The carrier arrived in the port of Busan in a show of strength against North Korea after trilateral naval exercises with Japan and South Korea (AP)
  • Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a letter wishing him victory over the ‘imperialists’ (Reuters)

‘Unprecedented’ Rail Traffic on North Korean Border Suggests Weapon Shipments to Russia

  • The sharp uptick in rail traffic observed by satellites follows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s trip to Russia last month, when he visited several military sites (AP)

North Korea Suspends Nuclear Reactor, Likely to Extract Fuel for Bomb

  • Halting operations would allow North Korea to extract plutonium that could be used to make weapons (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, the country began transferring arms to Russia, according to a U.S. official (CBS)

North Korea Condemns Pentagon Report that Calls It a ‘Persistent Threat’

  • North Korean state media said the report reveals the United States’ “wild ambition for seizing global military hegemony” and vowed to combat U.S. aggression or provocation with “the most overwhelming and sustained response” (AP)

North Korea Denounces UN Nuclear Agency as “Paid Trumpeter” for U.S.

  • After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution calling for the country to curtail its nuclear program, North Korea blamed the United States of “conspiracy” and of “cooking up” the resolution (Reuters)

North Korea Enshrines Expansion of Nuclear Force into Constitution

  • Nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea, and the United States condemned the move, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said trilateral cooperation among the three countries poses “the worst actual threat” to his country (Yonhap; Yonhap)

U.S. Soldier Who Crossed Into North Korea Arrives Back in United States

  • North Korea expelled Travis King after having detained him for two months when he crossed the border in July; an unnamed U.S. official said his release was the product of “intense diplomacy” (BBC)

North Korean Leader Calls for Exponential Increase in Nuclear Weapons Production

  • Kim Jong Un wants his country to play a greater role in a coalition of countries confronting the United States in a “new Cold War,” North Korean state media said (AP)

North Korea Blames U.S. for Provoking Nuclear War on the Peninsula

  • North Korea released a report yesterday accusing the United States of “desperate efforts to ignite a nuclear war” and warned that any military conflict would have catastrophic consequences (WSJ)
  • Today, North Korea reiterated those accusations, claiming the United States made 2023 an “extremely dangerous year;” meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General called on countries to reverse a looming nuclear arms race (PBS; UN News)

U.S. Approves Potential $5 Billion Fighter Jet Sale to South Korea

  • Washington’s potential sale of up to twenty-five F-35A fighter jets to Seoul is aimed at helping it maintain a “credible” defense capability, the State Department said; the deal requires U.S. congressional approval (Yonhap)

North Korea’s Kim Pledges Support for Russia’s ‘Sacred Fight’ in Meeting With Putin

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he supports “all decisions” made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s fight against the West during a summit at a Russian space center today (Yonhap)
  • The Kremlin said the leaders would discuss sensitive issues in the talks that would not be made public; analysts have warned Kim could provide Putin with ammunition for its war in Ukraine (Reuters)

North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles

  • The South Korean military said it detected two short-range ballistic missiles being fired towards North Korea’s eastern seas while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was traveling in Russia (AP)

Kim Jong Un Departs for Russia

  • Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss the possibility of North Korea providing weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine (Bloomberg)

Kim Jong Un to Discuss Weapons Cooperation With Putin

  • The two leaders will discuss the possibility of arming Russia with North Korean weapons for battlefield use in Ukraine and other military cooperation, U.S. officials said; Kim is making a rare trip out of his country for the meeting, which is expected to take place in Vladivostok, Russia, next week (NYT)

North Korea Simulates Nuclear Strike Drill

  • The staged “scorched-earth” nuclear strike was in response to allied military exercises; North Korean state media was unusually forthright in detailing how it envisioned a potential war (Reuters)

U.S., Japan, South Korea Make Military Consultation Pact

  • At a Camp David summit on Friday, the three countries made a “commitment to consult” with one another on responses to security crises; U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the agreement as a “new era” of cooperation between them, while China said the Asia-Pacific region should not be a “wrestling ground for geopolitical competition” (WaPo)

U.S., Japan, South Korea to Deepen Trilateral Security Ties at Summit

  • At the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting the leaders of Japan and South Korea with the aim of deepening trilateral security cooperation against threats from China and North Korea; they will commit to creating a three-way military hotline, expanding joint exercises, and holding annual leader meetings, White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said (Nikkei)
  • The countries have not held a trilateral summit outside of broader international meetings since 1994, but concerns over China’s behavior and North Korea’s escalated military testing and rhetoric in the Pacific have warmed previously strained ties between Seoul and Tokyo (AP)
  • Today’s meeting marks the first time Biden has invited foreign leaders to Camp David (AP)
  • The leaders are also expected to announce plans to boost cooperation on ballistic missile defense and to conduct three-way military exercises, though Japan has stopped short of agreeing to join U.S.-South Korean planning for a potential nuclear conflict with North Korea (NYT)