North Korea said Monday that Japan’s prime minister has offered to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but stressed that prospects for their countries’ first summit in about 20 years would depend on Tokyo tolerating the North’s weapons program and agreeing to close the book on its past abductions of Japanese nationals. Japan … Read more
Following its run of missile tests last year, North Korea continues its nuclear and conventional military provocations targeting South Korea and the United States at an unprecedented level. Some experts believe that the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is more dangerous than at any time since the Korean War. At the ninth plenary meeting … Read more
As the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East grind on, another conflict brews miles away in East Asia. Wrapping up 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to “thoroughly annihilate” South Korea and the United States if provoked. The saber-rattling continued as Pyongyang fired some 350 artillery shells into a disputed … Read more
TheStarsHub — Aggressive rhetoric on the Korean Peninsula continues to ratchet up. US Vice President Mike Pence reiterated this week that the “era of strategic patience” was over, days after Pyongyang attempted another missile launch and analysts warned a sixth nuclear test could be imminent. Through all the rhetoric and saber-rattling however, it can be … Read more
On the first day of this year, Japan was shaken by a major earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. Among the messages of sympathy that poured in from around the world, one that surprised many observers came from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in the form of a telegram to Japanese Prime … Read more
North Korea’s leadership recently announced a new regional development policy entitled the “regional development 20×10 policy,” which refers to a plan to build manufacturing facilities in 20 cities and counties every year over the next 10 years. The policy can be seen as an official acknowledgement of the severe disparity in living conditions between Pyongyang, … Read more
North Korea on Friday extended a provocative series of weapons tests by firing cruise missiles into the sea, as leader Kim Jong Un called for his military to step up war preparations and toured a shipyard. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. and South Korean militaries were analyzing the North Korean launches … Read more
The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. Soo Kim – principal technical advisor at LMI and a former analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency – is the 399th in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight … Read more
The year 2024 has kicked off with a series of troubling escalations on the Korean Peninsula. For the first time since 2017, Pyongyang and Seoul have resumed provocative artillery drills in the West Sea – a flashpoint that has escalated into deadly military clashes in the past. North Korea also reached a major accomplishment in … Read more
During recent visits to munitions factories, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un referred to South Korea as the “principal enemy” and stated that he had “no intention of avoiding a war,” threatening to annihilate the South if provoked. Right at the outset of the new year, Pyongyang launched around 200 artillery shells into the waters … Read more