Author: Anna Fifield
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North and South Korea agree to work toward ‘common goal’ of denuclearization
GOYANG, South Korea — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has laid the foundations for a meeting with President Trump as soon as next month, signaling a willingness to discuss denuclearization and trying to dispel the idea that he’s an unreliable “little rocket man.” In an astonishing turn of events, a beaming Kim on Friday stepped…
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North Korea says it will suspend nuclear and missile tests, shut down test site
TOKYO — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared he will suspend nuclear and missile tests starting Saturday, and that he will shut down the site where the previous six nuclear tests were conducted. “From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles,” the Korean Central News Agency said…
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First Hawaii, now Japan sends a false alarm about incoming North Korean missile
SEOUL, South Korea – Japanese public broadcaster NHK mistakenly sent an alert Tuesday warning that North Korea had fired a missile, just days after a similar mistake caused panic in Hawaii. Unlike in the Hawaii case, however, this error took only five minutes to correct. “NHK news alert. North Korea appears to have launched a…
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For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, 2017 has been a very good year.
SEOUL — As 2017 opened, Kim Jong Un delivered a New Year’s address in which he declared that North Korea had “entered the final stage of preparation for the test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile.” As 2017 draws to a close, Kim can reflect on a year in which he’s not only kept his resolutions, he’s exceeded them:…
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North Korea’s prisons are as bad as Nazi camps, says judge who survived Auschwitz
TOKYO — North Korea’s political prisons are just as bad as — and perhaps even worse than — the Nazi concentration camps of the Holocaust, a renowned judge and Auschwitz survivor has concluded after hearing from former North Korean prisoners and guards. Thomas Buergenthal, who served on the International Court of Justice, is one of three…
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After six tests, the mountain hosting North Korea’s nuclear blasts may be exhausted
TOKYO – Have North Korea’s nuclear tests become so big that they’ve altered the geological structure of the land? Some analysts now see signs that Mount Mantap, the 7,200-foot-high peak under which North Korea detonates its nuclear bombs, is suffering from “tired mountain syndrome.” The mountain visibly shifted during the last nuclear test, an enormous…
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North Korean hackers stole US and South Korean wartime plans, Seoul lawmaker says
TOKYO – North Korean hackers stole a huge trove of classified U.S. and South Korean military documents last year, including a plan to “decapitate” the leadership in Pyongyang in the event of war, a lawmaker in Seoul said Tuesday. The revelations, if substantiated, come at a time of heightened tensions over North Korea, with President…
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As North Korea threatens, US to send ‘strategic assets’ to Seoul
The United States will send “strategic” military assets to South Korea on a more regular basis to better deter North Korea, the South’s national security adviser said Thursday. The decision comes at a time of escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea, with many analysts concerned that incendiary rhetoric, combined with more frequent…
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North Korea fires another missile, its latest step toward putting the U.S. within reach
TOKYO — North Korea has taken another step toward achieving its stated goal of being able to send a nuclear weapon to the United States mainland, apparently firing another ballistic missile late Friday night. However, it was not immediately clear whether the missile was an intercontinental one capable of reaching the continental United States. North…
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North Korea could cross ICBM threshold next year, U.S. officials warn in new assessment
North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile as early as next year, U.S. officials have concluded in a confidential assessment that dramatically shrinks the timeline for when Pyongyang could strike North American cities with atomic weapons. The new assessment by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which shaves a…