South Korea will hold its biggest-ever joint military drills with the United States this year to counter North Korea's provocations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday.The announcement came hours after the North launched a long-range rocket as part of its continual push for intercontinental ballistic missile tests, banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions."The countermeasure includes military action to correspond to North Korea's military provocations to deter further provo

Russia on Sunday condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket, saying the move was a serious blow to regional security including that of Pyongyang."It is obvious that such actions lead to a serious aggravation of the situation on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia on the whole...(and) inflict serious damage to the security of the countries of the region, first and foremost North Korea itself," the foreign ministry said in a statement.(AFP)

The Latest on North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket (all times local):3:45 p.m. South Korea says t will further restrict the entry of its nationals to a jointly run factory park in North Korea. The number of South Koreans staying in the Kaesong industrial complex, the last major cooperation project between the rivals, will be decreased to 500 from the current 650, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. South Korea took similar measures after the North's nuclear test last month.3:

South Korea and the United States have agreed to begin negotiations for the deployment of an advanced American air defense system on South Korean soil, officials said Sunday, despite opposition from China and Russia.The announcement on the controversial defense system, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, was given just hours after North Korea launched a long-range missile as part of the continual push of its intercontinental ballistic missile tests."The U.S. and South Korea have decided to star

South Korean and US defence officials said Sunday they would begin formal talks on the deployment on the Korean peninsula of a US missile system strongly opposed by China.The announcement followed a North Korean rocket launch that the US and its allies condemned as a covert ballistic missile test."It has been decided to formally start talks on the possibility of deploying the THAAD system to South Korea as part of steps to bolster the missile defence of the Korea-US alliance," said Ryu Je-Seung,

U.S. lawmakers called for stronger sanctions on North Korea after the communist nation flouted international warnings and launched a banned long-range rocket just a month after its fourth nuclear test."Kim Jong-un has taken yet another belligerent step threatening the interests of the United States and our allies," Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement."As North Korea works to build a nuclear arsenal capable of hitting the United States, it is

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Sunday he is considering a visit to New York for consultations on a U.N. resolution to punish North Korea for its back-to-back provocations.The North's long-range rocket launch is expected to "facilitate" ongoing discussions at the U.N. Security Council on adopting the resolution, he said.The 15-member council has been working to impose additional sanctions on Pyongyang for its Jan. 6 nuclear test.Yun said he plans to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerr

North Korea on Sunday defied international warnings and launched a long-range rocket that the United Nations and others call a cover for a banned test of ballistic missile technology. The rocket was fired from North Korea's west coast and its path was tracked separately by the United States, Japan and South Korea; no damage from debris was reported. At an emergency national security council meeting in Seoul, the country's president called the firing an ``intolerable provocation.'' North Korea, w

China on Sunday "expressed regret" over North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket, after Pyongyang said it successfully put a satellite into orbit."With regards to the DPRK's insistence on implementing a launch of missile technology in the face of international opposition, China expresses regret," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was quoted as saying on the ministry's website.(AFP)

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called North Korea's long-range rocket launch "deeply deplorable" and urged the communist nation to halt its provocative actions."It is deeply deplorable that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has conducted a launch using ballistic missile technology in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions on 6 Feb. 2016 despite the united plea of the international community against such an act," Ban's office said in a statement."The secretary-gener