WASHINGTON -- A strong and robust US military presence in and around the Korean Peninsula is needed to help support the efforts to denuclearize North Korea, the nominee for commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday. Adm. John Aquilino made the assertion while arguing that sanctions regimes alone will not lead to the denuclearization of North Korea. "I do not believe sanctions alone will lead to the denuclearization of North Korea," the Navy four-star admiral said in a sta

North Korea on Tuesday denounced the European Union's recent sanctions against its top officials over human rights abuses as a "political provocation" aimed at infringing upon its sovereignty. In an answer to a question by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's foreign ministry spokesperson said Pyongyang "strongly denounces and categorically rejects" the EU sanctions on its senior officials. "It constitutes a part of the stereo-typed policy host

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that "nothing much has changed" despite North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, as senior US officials said the firings were not in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. "We've learned nothing much has changed," Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Washington from Columbus, Ohio, where he was making a visit to promote the American Rescue Plan. He also said the missile launches were not considered a

North Korea fired two cruise missiles off the west coast Sunday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday, Pyongyang's first missile test in about a year seen as aimed at testing the administration of US President Joe Biden without being too provocative. "We detected two projectiles presumed to be cruise missiles fired from the North's western port county of Onchon early Sunday," a JCS officer told reporters. He refused to disclose other details, including their exact type, fli

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages Monday in which Kim stressed unity and stronger cooperation against hostile forces, in what is seen as a move to bolster their traditional alliance in the face of intensifying tension between China and the US, as well as stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington. 　 The North’s state-run Korea Central News Agency on Tuesday reported on the exchange of messages between the heads of the two coun

South Korean nuclear armament will make it harder for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, a former commander of the US military in South Korea said at a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday. A growing number of South Koreans see nuclear armament as a feasible option amid stalled nuclear talks between the US and the North, which have yet to narrow differences over which steps to take first between denuclearization and sanctions relief.

The unification ministry is conducting an internal review of ways to provide food and fertilizer to North Korea as humanitarian assistance, an official said Tuesday. "We continue to conduct an internal review as it requires an evaluation of the situation at the North Korea-China border, the overall inter-Korean relations and whether the conditions are right to provide such assistance," a ministry official said. "Our position remains the same over the issue, that we must provide

South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea's military moves in close coordination with the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday, amid signs that Pyongyang is deploying multiple rocket launchers on a western border island. Sources say there have been "multiple signs" that the communist country has deployed multiple rocket launchers and other weapons on the inter-Korean border islet of Changrin. "Our military has been closely tracking and monitoring North

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for stronger strategic communication and unity with China to address "hostile forces" in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media said Tuesday. Kim sent the message "to notify the accounts of the 8th Congress of the WPK, as required by the times that call for intensifying the strategic communication between the two parties on the basis of deep comradeship," the Korean Central News Agency said, without mentioning when the

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday, in a verbal message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, that Beijing will uphold a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue, according to Chinese state media Xinhua. Xi also said he wants to make efforts for solid development of relations with North Korea. Xi's messages were delivered by senior Chinese diplomat Song Tao to Ri Ryong-nam, North Korea's new ambassador to China, during their meeting in Beijing earlier in the day, Xinhua reporte

The unification ministry said Monday it will look for opportunities to move forward the Korea peace process amid dimmed prospects for engaging with North Korea through the Tokyo Olympics following Japan's decision to ban foreign spectators. South Korea has been seeking ways to create opportunities to reengage with North Korea through events such as the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled for July and August this year. "We will continue to seek ways to move forward the peace process on the

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Monday renewed his support for private sector efforts to resume humanitarian assistance to North Korea despite strained cross-border ties and Pyongyang's tight border controls due to the global pandemic. Lee made the remarks in a meeting with Lee Jong-kul, head of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, a pro-unification civic group, after North Korea recently threatened to disband a party organ handling cross-border affairs in anger over join

NK’s diplomatic isolation deepens under international sanctions　

Malaysia said Friday it'll order all North Korean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, in an escalation of diplomat brawl over Malaysia's decision to extradite a North Korean criminal suspect to the United States. Malaysia's announcement came hours after North Korea said it was terminating diplomatic ties with Malaysia because it committed a "super-large hostile act ... in subservience to the US pressure.'' North Korea called the money laundering charges an "absurd fabric

A senior US diplomat on Friday stressed South Korea’s “input” in Washington’s ongoing policy review on North Korea, reiterating the importance of close consultations and coordination between the allies in dealing with the reclusive regime.  The remarks were made by Sung Kim, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, during his meeting with Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy, at the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day