TOKYO (AFP) -- One of the projectiles fired by North Korea early Wednesday appears to have fallen into Japan's exclusive economic zone, the top government spokesman said."At around 7:10 am (1010 GMT), two projectiles were launched from the eastern coast of North Korea," Yoshihide Suga told reporters. "One of them appears to have fallen into waters... inside Japan's exclusive economic zone," the chief cabinet secretary said.The comments came after South Korea's military said t

North Korea fired what was believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile from waters off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, demonstrating its nuclear delivery capabilities just days before resuming denuclearization talks with the United States.  The missile, believed to be a type of Pukguksong, a North Korean SLBM, was fired from off the east coast near Wonsan in an easterly direction at 7:11 a.m., and flew around 450 kilometers at a maximum altitude of a

North Korea on Tuesday issued a statement in Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s name, announcing plans to resume working-level negotiations with the US. The US and North Korea agreed to get together for a preparatory meeting Oct. 4, ahead of working-level talks the following day, according to the statement.“Our representatives are ready to engage in North Korea-US working level talks,” Choe said in the statement.“I hope that improvements in North Korea-US relations will

North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations urged the United States Monday to come to denuclearization negotiations with a new proposal acceptable to Pyongyang.In an address to the UN General Assembly in New York, Ambassador Kim Song said it is up to Washington to turn any future negotiations into a "window of opportunity" or "an occasion that will hasten the crisis."His remarks come as Washington and Pyongyang are expected to resume working-level talks in the coming weeks

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- John Bolton warned Monday that North Korea had not truly chosen to give up nuclear weapons in the hawk's first public appearance since he left as President Donald Trump's national security advisor.At a think-tank conference on North Korea, Bolton said he could now "speak in unvarnished terms" about the "grave threat" posed by the regime of Kim Jong-un, who has courted Trump."It seems to be clear that the DPRK has not made a strategic decision to give

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to "always stand by" China in a message sent to President Xi Jinping on the occasion of China's founding anniversary, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday."Our party, government and people fully support the Chinese party, government and people in their struggle to defend the stability and the core interests of the country and achieve sustained development, and will always stand by them on the path of defending and glorifying socialism," K

A committee of international lawyers has concluded that a dozen North Korean restaurant workers who arrived in South Korea in April 2016 were victims of an abduction, and called for their repatriation to Pyongyang.The fact-finding committee on Monday released the final report on its probe into the high-profile “mass defection” case after conducting investigations in both Koreas. The committee, formed in May, comprises International Association of Democratic Lawyers’ repres

South Korea's national flag is expected to be put up at a stadium in Pyongyang during next month's World Cup qualifier between the two sides, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday.North Korea is set to host the game on Oct. 15 as the two Koreas were placed in the same group for the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification in what would be a rare sports exchange between the two sides. "As the North has said that it will prepare the match in accordance with international pract

South Korea said Monday it will discuss with the World Food Programme what to do with promised food aid to North Korea as the communist nation remains unresponsive to the offer. In June, South Korea announced the plan to provide 50,000 tons of rice to the North via the WFP to help the impoverished country address its worsening food shortages. Seoul's original plan was to complete the delivery by the end of this month.But as the North has reportedly been refusing to accept the aid, taking issue w

The members of the Group of 77 developing countries have adopted a statement opposing "unilateral" economic sanctions on North Korea that hamper its development and prosperity, Pyongyang's state media said Monday.During the ministerial meeting of the G-77 held in New York on Friday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the member states adopted a statement calling for the immediate lifting of sanctions on North Korea, according to the North's radio network Korean Central Broadca

A North Korean envoy called on the United States to translate its promises into action ahead of upcoming working-level talks between the two countries to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. “The US should implement the North Korea-US joint agreement with sincerity and bold decision after great deliberation,” Ri Ki-ho, a counselor at North Korea’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, said at the 2019 Global Peace Forum on Korea, held at Columbia

Two international humanitarian assistance organizations have received temporary sanctions exemptions for their aid projects in North Korea, a UN website showed Saturday.The World Health Organization and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) will be allowed to bring in medical items necessary for their projects in the impoverished state for six months each from Sept. 20 and Sept. 23, respectively, according to the UN Security Council committee for sanctions on North Korea. The WHO ha

Two North Korean diplomats arrived in Beijing on Saturday, raising the possibility that they could be on their way to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session.Jang Il-hun, former deputy ambassador to the UN, and Kim Chang-min, director general at the foreign ministry's international organizations bureau, were seen at the airport in Beijing earlier in the day apparently after disembarking from a flight from Pyongyang. They did not respond to questions about the purpose of their trip and

The White House has made clear its resolve to "transform" relations with North Korea, effectively sending a strong signal to Pyongyang ahead of the envisioned resumption of working-level nuclear talks, a South Korean government official has said.He was briefing foreign correspondents here on Friday on the outcome of the New York summit between President Donald Trump and President Moon Jae-in earlier this week.Cheong Wa Dae earlier said Moon and Trump "exchanged views on how to ach

Former US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert on Friday rejected the notion that South Korea is free-riding on the United States' troop presence in the country, saying the two nations are "very, very strong allies."Lippert, who served as the last US ambassador to Seoul under former President Barack Obama, made the remark as negotiations on renewing a burden-sharing deal between South Korea and the US got under way this week. US President Donald Trump has made clear that he want