Latest news with #KimJong-un
Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
North Korea fires 10 multiple rocket launcher shells after trilateral air drills
Seoul: North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the South conducted joint air drills with the United States and Japan. The North fired the shells toward the Yellow Sea at around 10 a.m. from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the military said, adding that South Korean and US intelligence authorities are conducting an analysis of the latest weapon test. The North's 240mm multiple rocket launcher puts Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range. Last year, the North conducted a test-launch of what it claimed to be a multiple rocket launcher equipped with a new guidance system, Yonhap news agency reported. The weapon test came a day after South Korea, the US and Japan conducted a three-way aerial exercise as part of efforts to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation against North Korean military threats. The exercise, the first to take place under the Lee Jae Myung government, involved the South Korean F-15K, the US F-16 and the Japanese F-2 fighter jets. Last month, North Korea had fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea, South Korea's military said, a day after a "serious" accident occurred during Pyongyang's launch of a new warship. The launches took place as North Korea said earlier in the day that parts of a new naval destroyer were "crushed" during its launch ceremony, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un calling it a "criminal act" that could not be tolerated. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the North's missile launches from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong Province, without providing further details, such as the number of missiles fired. The JCS said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities so that Pyongyang does not "misjudge" the current security situation, adding that it is maintaining the capabilities to "overwhelmingly" respond to any provocation. It marked the North's latest major missile launch this month after it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on May 8. The South's military usually does not immediately announce North Korean cruise missile launches, compared with ballistic ones, which are banned under UN Security Council resolutions.
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
N. Korea touts 'absolute solidity' of alliance with Russia on 1st anniv. of key treaty
North Korea on Thursday underscored the "absolute solidity" of its alliance with Russia and reaffirmed bilateral cooperation as it marked the first anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty with Moscow. The North's mainstream Rodong Sinmun newspaper, which reflects the regime's official position, issued the message in an article marking the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty on June 19 last year in Pyongyang between leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The daily touted the treaty as opening "a new chapter in the friendship" between North Korea and Russia and as an outcome of the leaders' "extraordinary" leadership. It said the two countries have "unsparingly shown off the absolute solidity of the alliance relationship." Under the treaty, which calls on one party to come to the aid of the other without delay if it comes under armed attack, North Korea deployed around 14,000 troops to the Russian side in the war against Ukraine between October last year and February this year. In a meeting with Russia's security chief earlier this week, Kim has reportedly decided to send 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers to Russia's Kursk frontline region for mine removal and war recovery. The Rodong Sinmun described the military deployment and North Korean troops' engagement in the war as the "most exemplary" implementation of the treaty. "It is an unwavering stance of the two countries' peoples to deepen militant friendship and achieve mutual prosperity and well-being," the newspaper said. It also highlighted growing cooperation between the two countries in the economy, diplomacy, education, public health and the arts, adding that "bilateral solidarity and cooperation are becoming broader." On Tuesday, just ahead of the anniversary, Kim held talks with Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, where Russian media reported Kim had decided to send additional troops and workers to Kursk. North Korean media, however, did not report the decision in their reports, only mentioning plans between North Korea and Russia to commemorate North Korean soldiers killed in action while fighting for Russia. An official at South Korea's unification ministry assessed the North likely decided on the additional troop deployment to gain more rewards from Russia in exchange for its military support, adding the decision appears to have been driven by not only economic but also strategic considerations. However, the regime likely omitted media coverage of the decision out of concern for domestic public opinion, the official said. Through the decision, North Korea appears to be aiming to further solidify its alliance with Russia, and the move could likely lead to an increase in North Korean labor exports to Russia at a time when its exports to China remain sluggish, the official said. (Yonhap)
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
North Korea to send construction workers to help Russia rebuild Kursk as ties strengthen between allies
©Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd Today at 21:30 North Korea will send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia to help with rebuilding efforts. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, had agreed to send 1,000 sappers to clear mines and 5,000 military construction workers 'to restore infrastructure destroyed by the occupiers' in the war-torn Kursk region, according to Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of the Russian Security Council.
![[Exclusive] Moon-era inter-Korean military pact needs to be restored: spy chief nominee](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F06%2F18%2Fnews-p.v1.20250618.e7a54f7b240445ff8427fb793180d8b4_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
[Exclusive] Moon-era inter-Korean military pact needs to be restored: spy chief nominee
South Korea's spy chief nominee Lee Jong-seok said he believes the now-suspended inter-Korean military pact, reached between former President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018, should be restored. According to his response to the National Assembly's questions submitted Wednesday, a day ahead of his confirmation hearing, Lee said that reinstating the pact, which was suspended by North Korea in 2023 and by the Yoon administration the next year, was "most desirable." "It is my opinion that restoring the Sept. 19 military agreement is most desirable," he said, in a written response, accessed by The Korea Herald. "But if it is not possible to restore the agreement, I think it is necessary to take commensurate measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas." Lee was also critical of Yoon's China policies. Lee said the previous administration "did not adequately manage the relations between South Korea and China, viewing China only through the lens of ideology and causing unnecessary conflicts." Lee said that when it comes to South Korea's relations with China, a key trade partner, the two countries "pursue areas of common interest." But he added that when South Korea's "national interests are infringed upon," the country needed to "take measures based on principles." Lee denied allegations, raised by some within the opposition People Power Party, of his having "pro-North Korea views." "I absolutely cannot agree with the claims that I am pro-North Korea only because I have studied North Korea and the Korean Peninsula in depth," he said. "I believe that in order to achieve denuclearization and build a lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula, one must have a deep understanding of, and insight into North Korea and the surrounding region." On North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's governing style, Lee said he took after his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. "Kim Jong-un's governing style is more in line with Kim Il-sung's in that he favors more contact with the people, on-the-ground leadership, and public meetings," Lee said. "This is different from his father Kim Jong-il who preferred to rule behind closed doors and refrained from interacting with the public." When asked about where he stands on the 2020 shooting murder of a South Korean government official by North Korean troops, Lee said he was "not aware of all the facts" as he was at the time a scholar at a policy institute. "If I am appointed as the director of the National Intelligence Service, I will look into the matter," Lee said. In 2022, the NIS filed a criminal complaint against its former director Park Jie-won, who is now a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, for allegedly destroying the spy agency's confidential materials related to the South Korean official's death. The criminal trial for Park and other high-level officials at the time is still underway. Lee awaits a confirmation hearing by the National Assembly, slated for Thursday.
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Why Putin's top aide Shoigu keeps meeting Kim Jong-un
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russia's top security official, Sergei Shoigu, agreed to step up Pyongyang's military support for Russia's war in Ukraine, North Korean state media reported Wednesday. However, North Korean media made no mention of Security Council Secretary Shoigu's separate disclosure that 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers would be sent to Russia's Kursk region. Shoigu, Russian President Vladimir Putin's longtime ally, made his third trip to Pyongyang this year on Tuesday to meet with Kim Jong-un, following earlier visits on March 22 and June 4 — all of which included talks with the North Korean leader. The meeting 'discussed the items of immediate cooperation and long-term plans arising in implementing the important matters agreed by the heads of states of the two countries through the exchanges of personal letters for several weeks,' state-run Korean Central News Agency reported in its English-language dispatch. Kim and Shoigu discussed and agreed on several ideas and plans to commemorate and pass down the 'heroic feats displayed by soldiers of units of the Korean People's Army' during the operations in the Kursk region, KCNA added. 'Proceeding from a correct understanding of the current situation in the special military operations and Kursk Region, Kim Jong Un confirmed the contents of the DPRK's cooperation within the range of the treaty between the two countries, accepted the relevant plans and discussed in detail the necessary cooperation plans,' KCNA read. The DPRK stands for the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim and Putin signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which includes a mutual defense obligation, on June 19, 2024, during Putin's visit to Pyongyang — his first since 2000. The Russian Security Council on Tuesday said Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang on "special instructions" from Putin to hold talks with the North Korean leadership. 'Chairman of the State Affairs of the DPRK Kim Jong-un has decided to send 1,000 sappers to Russia to clear mines on Russian territory, as well as 5,000 military construction workers to restore infrastructure destroyed by the occupiers,' Shoigu was quoted by Russia's state-run TASS as saying. When asked about the discrepancies between North Korean and Russian media reports, the Unification Ministry assessed that "Russia's disclosure suggests that there was a bilateral agreement on making the matter public externally." 'The fact that Russia disclosed not only the existence of the troop dispatch but also its scale suggests that Pyongyang may have requested this disclosure in order to secure reciprocal benefits," a ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. 'However, it is possible that North Korea refrained from mentioning any decision on additional troop deployments out of consideration for domestic public sentiment." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in March that North Korea sent around 11,000 troops to Russia last year, with over 3,000 more deployed in early 2025. The UK's Defense Intelligence estimated on Sunday that North Korean casualties have likely exceeded 6,000 in the Kursk region. N. Korea's gains, Russia's needs Doo Jin-ho, director of the Eurasia Research Center at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said Shoigu's three visits to Pyongyang in just three months were ultimately aimed at securing additional troop deployments — a rare display of urgency that underscores both the visits' symbolic weight and Shoigu's status as one of Putin's closest, longest-serving confidants. 'Moreover, the dynamic between North Korea and Russia is clearly shifting; the power balance is no longer one-sided," Doo told The Korea Herald. "This underscores how significantly Russia has come to depend on North Korea's support, (which is) now materializing in the form of 6,000 rank-and-file combat engineers.' Doo explained Russia seems to be bracing for a protracted war, signaling its intent to secure victory through endurance rather than placing hope in US-brokered negotiations, which have stalled. 'In this equation, North Korea's support is decisive,' Doo said. Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification, also noted, "Russia appears to have determined that solidifying control over recaptured territories is essential to gaining the upper hand in future ceasefire negotiations." "Russia is therefore moving swiftly to advance additional troop deployments through Secretary Shoigu's visit to North Korea," Hong said. Regarding what North Korea could gain in return for dispatching troops, Doo pointed out the most pressing issue is the launch of a reconnaissance satellite — something North Korea attempted four times between May 2023 and May 2024, with Pyongyang claiming a single success in November 2023. 'There are strong strategic incentives for North Korea to proceed with a satellite launch,' Doo said. 'With the 8th Party Congress cycle concluding this year, Pyongyang is under mounting pressure to deliver on the objectives it pledged at the congress.' Doo further explained that Russia could provide maintenance, repair and overhaul support for North Korea, with Rajin Port emerging as a key hub for Russian-assisted upgrades. This support could enable North Korea to accelerate the modernization of its aging naval and air force systems.
