The UN Security Council ended its meeting on North Korea's latest test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile without a united response Tuesday, with North Korea lashing out at the United States and South Korea for infringing upon its right to self-defense. Kim Song, North Korea's envoy to the United Nations, warned the allies will face consequences if they continue the stepped-up military cooperation and vowed to keep up its arms buildup to counter threats from "hostile

The United States reaffirmed Tuesday its "ironclad" commitment to South Korea's defense and willingness for dialogue with North Korea, as Pyongyang warned Washington against making a "wrong" choice after its test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department, made the comments after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the latest launch of a Hwasong-18 ICBM shows what option he would take when "Washington

North Korea on Wednesday lauded its latest launch of a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile as a "major success" that will help the country "counter any crises." The North's missile flew about 1,000 kilometers at a lofted trajectory before coming down in the East Sea on Monday, according to South Korea's military. It marked North Korea's fifth ICBM test this year alone -- the highest number ever recorded in a single year -- that also followe

Sung Kim, who served as US Special Representative for North Korea and US ambassador to South Korea, will join Bae, Kim & Lee to lead a new team at one of the top law firms here, according to the firm. On Tuesday, Bae, Kim & Lee said that Kim will oversee its Global Future Strategy Center, which aims to help the firm and local businesses navigate cross-border issues. The center will also give “strategic advice” to multinational firms operating in Korea. The new partnership is

North Korea confirmed Tuesday it test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile the previous day, with leader Kim Jong-un saying the launch showed what option he would take "when Washington makes a wrong decision." The missile launch was conducted to "take a powerful warning measure under the grave situation, in which the hostile forces' anti-DPRK military threat ... is getting evermore undisguised and dangerous," the Korean Central News Agency said, re

North Korea on Monday denounced South Korean military leaders' vow to overwhelmingly retaliate against Pyongyang in the event of the North's provocations, brushing it off as a show of "bravado." In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea scoffed at their call for enhancing combat readiness against Pyongyang, repeating its claim that South Korea should be blamed for the rupture of a 2018 inter-Korean military accord. "A frightened dog barks lou

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has marked the 12th anniversary of the death of his father and predecessor Kim Jong-il by visiting a mausoleum where the father's body lies in state, the North's state media said Sunday. Kim paid tribute the previous day at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Jong-il and the current leader's late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung lie in state, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. Senior officials accompani

A South Korean presidential security official on Thursday raised the possibility of North Korea launching an intercontinental ballistic missile this month as he arrived in Washington for a high-profile security meeting. Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo made the remarks upon arrival here on the eve of the second meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group, a South Korea-US security meeting designed to discuss nuclear and strategic planning issues. "I think there is a poss

Spy agency in Seoul spots signs North Korea sending workers to Russia

North Korea may resort to military provocations and psychological warfare, and escalate tensions to influence crucial elections in South Korea and the United States next year, the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification said Wednesday in an annual report. The elections will be crucial factors in shaping North Korea's foreign policy approach and strategic decisions in the coming year, experts at the KINU said during a briefing on the forecast of the security landscape on t

The unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said Tuesday it has launched a probe to verify details of unauthorized meetings between South Korean filmmakers and members of a pro-North Korea group in Japan. The move came as the ministry has been seeking to tighten the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act amid heightened inter-Korean tensions. Under the law, South Korean nationals are required to file prior notification with the government before contacting members of the General As

South Korea's point man on North Korea said Tuesday the government will hold Pyongyang accountable for using South Korea-owned facilities at a now-shuttered inter-Korean joint industrial park in the North without permission. Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made the remark in a meeting with foreign correspondents in Seoul, as North Korea appears to be illegally running some 30 facilities at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, sharply up from 10 earlier this year, in the namesake border city. &q

A Russian delegation has arrived in North Korea, state media said Tuesday, in the latest sign of growing ties between the two countries. The delegation led by Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Russian far eastern region of Primorsky Krai that borders North Korea, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday and was welcomed by Ji Kyong-su, vice minister of external economic relations, at Pyongyang International Airport, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The KCNA did not provide details on the purpos

North Korea on Monday accused the West of violating human rights while dismissing international criticism of its dire human rights conditions as it published a white paper on the issue. Pyongyang made the accusation as it announced the publication of a white paper on human rights to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. "The dignity and rights of human being mentioned by the declaration are now ruthlessly being violated

South Korea's unification minister said Monday the government will make efforts to assuage foreign investors' concerns about heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, saying his country has been beefing up a readiness posture against North Korea's potential provocations. Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made the remark during his meeting with U.S. investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, in Seoul amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea�