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)
North Korea Acknowledges Holding U.S. Soldier For First Time
Pyongyang said the U.S. soldier fled due to ill feelings about “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the U.S. Army, with no immediate mention of his fate in North Korea (NYT)
North Korean Leader Calls for ‘Offensive’ War Prep, Replaces Top General
Kim Jong Un replaced the country’s top general and said Pyongyang’s military should prepare for a possible war in an “offensive” way at a military meeting, state media reported; the move comes as South Korea and the United States are planning joint military drills for later this month, which North Korea has denounced (Yonhap)
North Korea Hacks Russian Missile Developer
Hackers reportedly breached the systems for five months last year; it is unclear whether they stole any data (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un toured weapons factories, pledging to boost military readiness (AP)
North Korea Acknowledges U.S. Soldier Who Ran Across Border
Pyongyang called the UN Command at the demilitarized zone to acknowledge that a U.S. soldier ran across the border from South Korea last month, but has still not responded directly to the United States through diplomatic channels, a State Department spokesperson said (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, North Korea denounced the new U.S. special envoy on the country’s human rights as “wicked” and “mudslinging” (Reuters)
North Korea Vows to Boost Ties with China to “New High”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to further develop the countries’ friendship and cooperation after meeting with a visiting Chinese delegation (Reuters)
North Korea Shows Off Latest Weapons to Russia’s Defense Minister
The weapons include Pyongyang’s new Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and two new drone designs (BBC)
Chinese and Russian Envoys Celebrate Ties With North Korea
Military delegations from China and Russia arrived in North Korea yesterday in a rare flurry of public diplomacy ahead of Pyongyang’s celebration tomorrow to mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Korean War; Russia’s defense ministry said the visit will help strengthen military ties between the two countries, though Russia has denied U.S. accusations that it is receiving North Korean munitions for the war in Ukraine (Reuters)
As North Korea has emerged from pandemic-era isolation, the United Nations reported last month that Russia has resumed sending oil to North Korea for the first time since 2020; a U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson said yesterday that China and Russia “have a potential role to play” in urging North Korea back to the negotiating table over nuclear arms control (Bloomberg)
High-Level Chinese and Russian Delegations to Visit North Korea
The visits this week come as Pyongyang prepares to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War and include the highest-level Chinese official to visit North Korea since the pandemic began and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (CNN)
Late yesterday, North Korea fired two missiles into waters off of its east coast hours after a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea (Reuters)
UN Talking with North Korea About Detained U.S. Soldier
The discussions are taking place under a mechanism established during the Korean War armistice; neither North Korea nor the UN have yet made any comments on the status of the Travis King (Reuters)
North Korea Fires Missiles into the Sea
South Korea reportedly detected several cruise missiles, as North Korea steps up displays of military force (Reuters)
Meanwhile, North Korea has not made any mention of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed the border earlier this week (NBC)
North Korea Detains U.S. Soldier Who Crossed Border Without Authorization
U.S. officials said they were working to respond to the detention of a U.S. soldier who willingly chose to cross into North Korea without permission yesterday rather than board a flight to the United States, where he was expected to face disciplinary charges; the incident occurs during a period of renewed tensions over North Korea’s nuclear capabilities (Reuters)
Travis T. King, the soldier who was detained, had served jail time in South Korea on assault charges; North Korean state media did not immediately make any mention of the incident (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Nuclear-Armed Submarine Arrives in South Korea
The visit is the first by a U.S. Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) since 1981; South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, speaking aboard the vessel, said it demonstrated the credibility of extended deterrence (Yonhap)
Hours later, North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles in what South Korea called a “grave provocation” (Bloomberg)
South Korea and United States Launch New Nuclear Deterrence Initiative
The newly formed Nuclear Consultative Group will meet in Seoul to discuss strategies to deter North Korea from using its atomic weapons and how best to manage the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the region (Bloomberg)
United States Ready for North Korea Talks Without Preconditions
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Joe Biden administration has communicated a willingness to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear program (CBS)
Meanwhile, the United States held joint missile defense drills with Japan and South Korea days after a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile test (Reuters)
North Korea Test Fires Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
A missile was fired into the East Sea from near Pyongyang, according to South Korea’s military, following North Korean warnings about the trajectory of U.S. military planes earlier this week (Yonhap)
North Korea Accuses U.S. Planes of Violating Airspace
A spokesperson for North Korea’s defense ministry said U.S. aircraft have made several “provocative” flights over the East Sea and Yellow Sea this month, and that there is no guarantee that Pyongyang will not shoot down such planes in the future (Yonhap)
North Korea also denounced U.S. plans to deploy nuclear submarines to the peninsula (Al Jazeera)
Later in the day, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, said the country scrambled its air force to repel a U.S. spy plane that attempted to enter the North’s exclusive economic zone eight times (ABC)
South Korea Recovers Debris from North Korean Satellite
After analyzing the pieces of the failed satellite, experts said it “had no military use at all,” indicating that North Korea is far from its goal of utilizing satellites for reconnaissance (NYT)