Asia

Pyongyang has significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years; analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the US as well as South Korea and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

North Korea fires ballistic missile: Seoul

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed troops fighting in an &quot;alien land&quot; in a New Year message to soldiers, state media reported Thursday, in which he underscored Pyongyang&#39;s alliance with Russia. Without mentioning Ukraine, Kim addressed personnel in what the state-run Korean Central News Agency&nbsp;described as &quot;overseas operations units,&quot; congratulating their &quot;heroic&quot; defense of the nation&#39;s honor and instructing them to &quot;be brave.&quot; &quot;As the whole country is enveloped in a festive atmosphere of greeting the new year, I all the more miss you, who are fighting bravely on the battlefields in the alien land even at this moment, true to the order of your homeland,&quot; he said, according to the KCNA. &quot;Behind you are Pyongyang and Moscow,&quot; Kim said in the message. North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia&#39;s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies. At least 600 have died and thousands more have sustained injuries, according to South Korean estimates. Analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology, and food and energy supplies from Russia in return. North Korean soldiers are instructed to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, according to South Korea&#39;s intelligence service. The North Korean leader praised soldiers for strengthening the &quot;invincible alliance&quot; with Russia and called on them to fight &quot;for the fraternal Russian people.&quot; Two North Korean prisoners of war held by Ukraine said they hoped to start a &quot;new life&quot; in the South, according to a letter seen by AFP in December. Previous reports had indicated that the two men, held captive by Kyiv since January 2025 after sustaining injuries on the battlefield, were seeking to defect to the South. In the letter, the two prisoners thanked those working on their behalf &quot;for encouraging us and seeing this situation not as a tragedy but as the beginning of a new life.&quot; &quot;We firmly believe that we are never alone, and we think of those in South Korea as our own parents and siblings and have decided to go into their embrace,&quot; they wrote.

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia's nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies; at least 600 have died and thousands more have sustained injuries, according to South Korean estimates.

North Korea's Kim hails troops fighting in 'alien land': Report

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured a factory making new multiple rocket launchers and hailed the weapons systems&#39; ability to &quot;annihilate the enemy,&quot; state media reported Tuesday. Kim&#39;s visit to the factory was reported a day after Pyongyang said it had carried out a test-fire of two strategic long-range cruise missiles in a show of &quot;combat readiness&quot; against foreign threats. Accompanied by top officials from North Korea&#39;s missile program, Kim said the new weapons system would serve as his military&#39;s &quot;main strike means,&quot; according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He said the new multiple rocket system was a &quot;super-powerful weapon system as it can annihilate the enemy through sudden, precise strike with high accuracy and devastating power&quot;, KCNA said. The system would be &quot;used in large quantities for concentrated attack in military operations&quot;, KCNA added. State media images showed Kim standing next to the massive new missile systems in a vast factory with propaganda on the walls. North Korea is still technically at war with the South, and its vast artillery arsenal has long been believed by analysts to be central to its strategy should conflict break out on the peninsula. A 2020 study by the RAND think tank assessed that North Korean artillery systems could inflict 10,000 casualties in just an hour if targeting major population centers like the South Korean capital Seoul. Pyongyang has also significantly increased missile testing in recent years. Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea, and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

Says new multiple rocket system a "super-powerful weapon system as it can annihilate the enemy through sudden precise strike with high accuracy and devastating power"; system would be "used in large quantities for concentrated attack in military operations.”

North Korea's Kim says new rocket launchers can 'annihilate the enemy'

SEOUL:&nbsp;North Korea test-fired two strategic long-range cruise missiles, state media reported Monday, hailing the exercise as a show of &quot;combat readiness&quot; against foreign threats. Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the drill &mdash; staged Sunday over the Yellow Sea to the west of the Korean peninsula &mdash; and called for &quot;unlimited and sustained&quot; development of his nuclear weapons forces, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. The goal of the exercise was to review the &quot;counter-offensive response posture and combat capability of long-range missile sub-units,&quot; KCNA said. The missiles flew for more than two hours, state media said, sharing photos of the missiles being fired and hitting a target. Seoul&#39;s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired Sunday at 8:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday) from the Sunan area near the capital, Pyongyang. Kim vowed Pyongyang &quot;would as ever devote all their efforts to the unlimited and sustained development of the state nuclear combat force,&quot; KCNA said. North Korea last staged a ballistic missile test in early November, around a week after US President Donald Trump &mdash; on a tour of the region &mdash; expressed interest in meeting with Kim. Pyongyang did not respond to the offer. At that time, Trump had just approved South Korean plans to build a nuclear-powered submarine. Last week, Pyongyang showed off a nuclear submarine of its own. Photos published by KCNA showed Kim walking alongside a purportedly 8,700-tonne submarine at an indoor assembly site, surrounded by officials and his daughter Kim Ju Ae. Pyongyang viewed Seoul&#39;s development of nuclear subs as &quot;an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty,&quot; Kim said, according to KCNA. North Korean state media last week also published a defence ministry statement condemning the docking of the US Navy&#39;s nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Greenville in South Korea&#39;s Busan. The cruise missile launch drill was aimed at countering these moves, said Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. &quot;The arrow-type cruise missiles, with a range of around 2,000 kilometres, are capable of striking not only the entire Korean peninsula but also rear bases of US forces stationed in Japan,&quot; Yang told AFP.

State's leader Kim Jong Un oversees drill, staged last week over the Yellow Sea, urges "unlimited and sustained" development of his country's nuclear weapons forces.

North Korea tests cruise missiles in show of 'combat readiness'

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to step up production of missiles and construct more factories to meet his military&#39;s growing need for the projectiles, state media said Friday. Pyongyang has significantly increased missile testing in recent years &mdash; aimed, analysts say, at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea, and testing weapons before exporting them to key ally Russia. In a visit to munitions factories accompanied by top officials, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim had ordered the factories to prepare for a busy year ahead. The North Korean leader said they needed &quot;to further expand the overall production capacity&quot; to keep pace with demand from Pyongyang&#39;s armed forces and ordered the building of new munitions plants, KCNA reported. &quot;The missile and shell production sector is of paramount importance in bolstering up the war deterrent,&quot; Kim said. North Korea and Russia have drawn closer since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, and Pyongyang has sent troops to fight for Russia, along with artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems. In return, Russia is sending North Korea financial aid, military technology, and food and energy supplies, analysts say. Washington has also pointed to evidence that Russia is stepping up support for North Korea, including providing help on advanced space and satellite technology, in return for its assistance in fighting Ukraine. Analysts say satellite launchers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) share much of the same underlying technology. &quot;With its ICBM program already at a stage widely seen as having achieved core objectives, Pyongyang is likely to further accelerate development next year,&quot; said Ahn Chan-il, a researcher originally from North Korea. The country is likely to shift &quot;focus toward testing and producing systems linked to potential exports to Russia &mdash; including medium- and intermediate-range missiles,&quot; he added. Nuclear-powered sub&nbsp;Kim&#39;s visit was reported a day after state media said he had toured a nuclear submarine factory and vowed to counter the &quot;threat&quot; of South Korea producing its own such vessels with Washington&#39;s backing. The North Korean leader also learned about research into &quot;new underwater secret weapons,&quot; KCNA said. North Korea is expected to &quot;seek advanced military technologies from Russia, including nuclear-powered submarine capabilities and fighter jets, as it looks to address its air force&#39;s relative weakness,&quot; analyst Ahn told AFP. Kim was reported on Thursday to have overseen the test launch of new-type high-altitude long-range anti-air missiles over the Sea of Japan. And he said that &quot;new modernization and production plans&quot; would be unveiled at his ruling Korean Workers Party&#39;s first congress in half a decade, expected in early 2026.

Europe

North Korean leader says needed 'to further expand the overall production capacity' to keep pace with demand from Pyongyang's armed forces, orders building of new munitions plants; country expected to 'seek advanced military technologies from Russia, including nuclear-powered submarine capabilities and fighter jets.'

North Korea's Kim orders factories to make more missiles in 2026

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">SEOUL:&nbsp;North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months Wednesday, days before US President Donald Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea. South Korea&rsquo;s military said it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles that were launched from an area south of Pyongyang and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles) toward the northeast. The South&rsquo;s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn&rsquo;t release more specific flight details but said the missiles didn&rsquo;t land in the sea. The Joint Chiefs added that the South&#39;s military remains ready to repel any provocations by North Korea based on its solid military alliance with the United States. Japan&rsquo;s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that Tokyo was closely communicating with Washington and Seoul, including by sharing real-time missile warning data. North Korea didn&rsquo;t immediately comment on the launches. Trump is to leave for Asia at the end of the week in the first trip to the region of his second term. He plans to go to Malaysia first for a regional summit, and then head to Japan before travelling on to South Korea for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, an annual summit meant to promote economic integration and trade. Trump was expected to visit the South Korean city of Gyeongju ahead of the summit for bilateral meetings with leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, but South Korean officials say Trump won&#39;t likely attend APEC&#39;s main conference set for Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Experts earlier said North Korea could conduct provocative missile tests before or during the APEC summit to underscore its commitment to gain recognition as a nuclear weapons state. Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would need that status to call for the UN to lift the economic sanctions punishing it for its weapons program. Wednesday&#39;s ballistic missile launches by North Korea were the first of their kind since the country on May 8 tested short-range systems that simulated nuclear counterstrikes against US and South Korean forces. They were also North Korea&#39;s first ballistic missile testing activities since Lee took office in June with a promise to push to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula. Kim has been sharply accelerating the pace of weapons tests since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over the U.S.-led economic sanctions. But last month, Kim suggested he could return to talks if the US drops its demand for North Korea&#39;s denuclearization, after Trump repeatedly expressed his hopes for new diplomacy. Earlier this month, Kim displayed a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade attended by Chinese, Russian and other top officials. The parade highlighted Kim&rsquo;s growing diplomatic footing and his relentless drive to build a reliable arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the US and its allies. North Korea&#39;s state media said the Oct. 10 parade featured the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, which it described as the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.&rdquo; Observers said the new ICBM is designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads to defeat US missile defenses and that North Korea could test-launch it in coming months.<figure class="fr-media"> </figure>

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Americas

North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months Wednesday, days before US President Donald Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea.

North Korea test-fires ballistic missiles ahead of Trump's Asia trip

NEW YORK: A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated at the UN Monday that his country won&#39;t give up its nuclear weapons despite numerous demands to do so, calling them crucial to keeping a &ldquo;balance of power&rdquo; with South Korea. &ldquo;We will never walk away from this position,&rdquo; he said. Under the spotlight of the General Assembly&#39;s annual meeting of world leaders, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong amplified his country&#39;s longstanding complaints about US-led military exercises with South Korea and Japan. Complaining that the US and its allies are mounting a &ldquo;growing threat of aggression,&rdquo; he portrayed his own country&#39;s arsenal as the reason &ldquo;the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula is ensured.&rdquo; Still, his address was more tempered, especially toward the United States, than many of his country&rsquo;s prior remarks on the world stage and elsewhere. While Kim lambasted &mdash; without naming names &mdash; &ldquo;hegemonic forces&rdquo; and an &ldquo;indiscriminate tariff war,&rdquo; there were no personal insults, and there was more sternness than over-the-top bellicosity. Kim vowed that &ldquo;we will never give up nuclear,&rdquo; noting that North Korea&rsquo;s nuclear program is enshrined in its constitution. He asserted that security on the Korean Peninsula &ldquo;is faced with serious challenges more than ever,&rdquo; saying that the US-Japanese-South Korean exercises &ldquo;are breaking all the previous records in terms of scale, nature, frequency and scope.&rdquo; The North routinely characterizes such war games as preludes to an attack. South Korea says military exercises are necessarySouth Korea, for its part, has said the recent trilateral military exercises were necessary to counter North Korea&rsquo;s growing nuclear and missile threats. Numerous UN Security Council resolutions have demanded that the North stop building nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Kim&rsquo;s appearance at the United Nations marked the first time since 2018 that North Korea sent a senior diplomat to the General Assembly gathering. The UN, he said, &ldquo;should not feel relieved, nor congratulate ourselves, on the non-occurrence of World War III for the past 80 years. Instead, we should pay due attention to the fact that the inducible threat has persisted and is now becoming more serious, and take measures accordingly. The diplomat&#39;s appearance at the UN comes amid signs of renewed interest in a possible meeting between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and US President Donald Trump. Trump and the North Korean leader met three times in 2018-2019 as Pyongyang was building a nuclear weapons stockpile, which Kim Jong Un views as key to his country&rsquo;s security and his continued authority in the northeast Asian nation. The talks collapsed over US-led sanctions against the North, and its leader has since shunned any diplomacy with the US and South Korea. Since Trump returned to power in January, he has repeatedly expressed hope of restarting talks with Kim. Last Monday, the North Korean leader said he still has &ldquo;good memories&rdquo; of Trump but urged the United States to drop its demand that the North surrender its nuclear arms as a precondition for resuming diplomacy. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in an Associated Press interview on Friday that President Lee Jae Myung has asked Trump to become &ldquo;a peacemaker&rdquo; and use his leadership to get North Korea to talks to reduce military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Cho said Trump &ldquo;expressed his willingness to be engaged with North Korea again.&rdquo; Trump has an Asia visit upcomingTrump is expected to visit South Korea next month to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Trump is also scheduled to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during that meeting. North Korea has always had close ties to neighboring China, but in recent years has focused on expanding cooperation with Russia, another neighbor, by supplying combat troops and ammunition to support its war against Ukraine. The leaders of North Korea and China recently held their first summit in over six years, pledging mutual support and enhanced cooperation. The meeting followed a first-ever joint appearance by the DPRK&rsquo;s Kim, China&rsquo;s President Xi Jinping, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a massive Beijing military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. At a follow-up meeting in Beijing on Sunday, the foreign ministers of North Korea and China agreed to deepen their bilateral ties and resist &ldquo;hegemonism,&rdquo; an apparent reference to their pushback against the United States.

North Korean diplomat insists his country won't give up nukes at the UN

UNITED NATIONS: South Korea&rsquo;s president has asked President Donald Trump to become &ldquo;a peacemaker&rdquo; and use his leadership to get North Korea to talks to reduce military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the South&rsquo;s top diplomat said Friday.&nbsp;Trump &ldquo;welcomed&rdquo; the request from President Lee Jae-myung, and &ldquo;expressed his willingness to be engaged with North Korea again,&rdquo; Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in an interview with The Associated Press. There was no immediate word from the White House.&nbsp;Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met three times as North Korea was building a nuclear weapons stockpile, which Kim views as key to the country&rsquo;s security and his continued rule of the northeast Asian nation.&nbsp;There were two summits in Singapore in June 2018 and in Vietnam in February 2019, where Trump and Kim disagreed about US-led sanctions against the North. A third meeting that year at the border between the two Koreas failed to salvage their nuclear talks &mdash; and Kim has since shunned any diplomacy with the US and South Korea.&nbsp;&ldquo;It would be fantastic if they met with each other in the near future,&rdquo; Cho said. &quot;And President Lee Jae-myung made it clear to President Trump that he will not be sitting in the driver&rsquo;s seat. He asked President Trump to become a peacemaker, and he relegated himself to become a pacemaker,&rdquo; the foreign minister said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t mind. On the contrary, we want President Trump (to) exercise his leadership to pull North Korea to the dialogue table.&rdquo;&nbsp;Can a meeting happen?Since Trump returned to power in January, he has repeatedly expressed hope of restarting talks with Kim. The North Korean leader said Monday he still has &ldquo;good memories&rdquo; of Trump but urged the United States to drop its demand that the North surrender its nuclear arms as a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy.&nbsp;Trump is expected to visit South Korea next month to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which has prompted media speculation that he might meet Kim again at the border. Trump is also expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during that meeting.&nbsp;The foreign minister said Lee asked Trump to take the lead because the world has changed and become &ldquo;much more precarious&rdquo; since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.&nbsp;&ldquo;Accordingly, we are equally worried about any possible military skirmish on the Korean Peninsula,&rdquo; Cho said. &ldquo;So, we are compelled to explore dialogues with North Korea to reduce the military tension, and at least we want to have a hotline.&rdquo;&nbsp;He stressed that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula &ldquo;is the imperative &ndash; we cannot let it go.&rdquo;&nbsp;Tensions between the Koreas continue apaceEarly Friday, South Korea&rsquo;s military said it fired warning shots to drive away a North Korean merchant ship that briefly crossed the disputed western sea boundary between the two countries, amid continuing high tensions.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised at all,&rdquo; Cho said, &ldquo;but this incident justifies the policy of the new government that we need to have a hotline between the militaries, reduce the military tension and build confidence between the two parties.&rdquo;&nbsp;Lee, who headed the left-leaning Democratic Party, won a snap election in June following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. Cho, a career diplomat and former UN ambassador, took office as foreign minister on July 19.&nbsp;In Lee&#39;s speech to the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, he stated that South Korea has returned to the international community as a normal state after the domestic turmoil and has demonstrated its commitment to democracy.&nbsp;Cho said he felt &ldquo;a bit uncomfortable&rdquo; talking about the previous government compared to the current government, since Yoon was elected. But Cho recalled that when Yoon, who had been a prosecutor, was elected, he was convinced &ldquo;he would become an aberration.&rdquo;&nbsp;Peace is the priority, the diplomat saysSince becoming foreign minister, Cho said he has been explaining to neighboring countries, including during visits to Japan and China, that the new government &ldquo;is determined to seek peace on the Korean Peninsula and also in northeast Asia.&rdquo;&nbsp;He said the government wants to engage China, and he had a &ldquo;very good constructive meeting&rdquo; with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, &ldquo;but I made it clear that there are certain things we cannot accept.&rdquo;&nbsp;Cho referred to China&rsquo;s installation of &ldquo;something&rdquo; in the Yellow Sea that infringes on South Korea&rsquo;s sovereignty. &ldquo;So we made it clear that it be removed. Otherwise, we would think about taking proper measures,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Cho flew to Washington immediately after a massive raid by US immigration officers at a Hyundai plant in southeast Georgia detained 475 people, the majority of them South Koreans. It became a major diplomatic issue between the two countries.&nbsp;The minister said Trump intervened and wanted them to remain, but they were chained and handcuffed, and his primary objective was to get them back home.&nbsp;Cho said his talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended up having &ldquo;a silver lining&rdquo; because obtaining visas for South Korean workers has been a longstanding problem, and &ldquo;we were able to address this issue squarely, and we will be able to sort out the problem.&rdquo;

South Korea, North Korea, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun

Trump “welcomes” the request from President Lee Jae-myung, and “expresses his willingness to be engaged with North Korea again,” says Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.

South Korea asks Trump to be 'peacemaker' with North Korea, says top diplomat

Reuters

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">SEOUL:&nbsp;South Korea fired warning shots on Friday at a North Korean commercial vessel that crossed the maritime border in disputed waters off the Korean peninsula&#39;s west coast, and the vessel subsequently retreated, the South&#39;s military said. The incursion early on Friday also involved South Korean military transmitting verbal warnings, and the operation followed standard protocol, the South&#39;s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The waters around the so-called Northern Limit Line border, which was drawn up after the 1950-53 Korean War, have been the scene of deadly naval clashes in the past. North Korea does not recognize the line as the border. South Korea says North&#39;s long-range missiles at &#39;final stage&#39;Separately, South Korea&#39;s president said on Thursday that Pyongyang is at the &quot;final stage&quot; of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile which could hit the United States with nuclear weapons. Seoul and its Western allies have failed to stop North Korea&#39;s weapons program, and Pyongyang says it will never give up its nuclear arsenal. &quot;Whether to gain leverage in talks with the United States or to secure its own regime, North Korea has kept developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) capable of carrying nuclear bombs to the US,&quot; President Lee Jae Myung said during a visit to the New York Stock Exchange. &quot;It does not seem to have succeeded yet, but it is said to be at the final stage, with only the re-entry technology left, and that too looks likely to be solved,&quot; he said. Since taking office in June, Lee has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor and vowed to improve ties with North Korea. Speaking in New York, he said that &quot;the goal should be to freeze nuclear development, ICBM development and exports.&quot; Halting further production and development of nuclear weapons would bring &quot;major security gains,&quot; he said. The South Korean president estimated his northern neighbor was producing enough material for &quot;about 15 to 20 additional nuclear bombs each year.&quot; &quot;If left unchecked, the number of nuclear bombs would keep growing each year and its ICBMs would become more advanced,&quot; he said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ruled out denuclearization and has strengthened military ties with Russia in recent years. Kim said this week that he was open to talks with Washington, but only if he can keep his nuclear weapons, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korea's President says North Korea is at the "final stage" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile which could hit the United States with nuclear weapons.



South Korea fires warning shots at North Korean ship crossing sea border

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he still has good memories of U.S. President Donald Trump and urged Washington to drop its demand the North surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy. Speaking to Pyongyang&rsquo;s rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, Kim stressed that he has no intention of ever resuming dialogue with rival South Korea, a key U.S. ally that helped broker Kim&rsquo;s previous summits with Trump during the American president&rsquo;s first term, according to a speech published by state media on Monday. Kim suspended virtually all cooperation with the South following the collapse of his second summit with Trump in 2019 over disagreements about U.S.-led sanctions against the North. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have worsened in recent years as Kim has accelerated his weapons buildup and aligned with Russia over the war in Ukraine. Kim&rsquo;s comments came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung prepares to depart for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, where he is expected to address nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula and call on North Korea to return to talks. Trump is also expected to visit South Korea next month to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, prompting media speculation that he may try to meet Kim at the inter-Korean border, as they did during their third meeting in 2019, which ultimately failed to salvage their nuclear diplomacy. During his latest speech at the Supreme People&rsquo;s Assembly, Kim reiterated that he would never give up his nuclear weapons program, which experts say he sees as his strongest guarantee of survival and the extension of his family&rsquo;s dynastic rule. &ldquo;The world already knows well what the United States does after forcing other countries to give up their nuclear weapons and disarm,&rdquo; Kim said. &ldquo;We will never lay down our nuclear weapons &hellip; There will be no negotiations, now or never, about trading anything with hostile countries in exchange for lifting sanctions.&rdquo; He said he still holds &ldquo;good personal memories&rdquo; of Trump from their first meetings and that there is &ldquo;no reason not to&rdquo; resume talks with the United States if Washington &ldquo;abandons its delusional obsession with denuclearization.&rdquo; Kim has stepped up testing activities in recent years, demonstrating weapons of various ranges designed to strike U.S. allies in Asia and the U.S. mainland. Analysts say Kim&rsquo;s nuclear push is aimed at eventually pressuring Washington to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength. Kim is also trying to bolster his leverage by strengthening cooperation with traditional allies Russia and China, in an emerging partnership aimed at undercutting U.S. influence. He has sent thousands of troops and huge supplies of military equipment to Russia to help support President Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s war in Ukraine. He visited Beijing earlier this month, sharing the spotlight with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin at a massive military parade. Experts say Kim&rsquo;s rare foreign trip was likely intended to boost his leverage ahead of a potential resumption of talks with the United States. There&rsquo;s growing concern in Seoul that it could lose its voice in future efforts to defuse the nuclear standoff on the peninsula, as the North seeks to negotiate directly with the United States. Such fears were amplified last year when Kim declared that he was abandoning North Korea&rsquo;s long-standing goal of peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered a rewriting of the North&rsquo;s constitution to cement the South as a permanent enemy.

Kim Jong Un recalls “good memories” of Trump, rejects denuclearization demands, vows to keep nukes, and deepens ties with Russia, China.

Articles tagged with "North Korea,"