Page 7 - North Korea

S Korea oppn leader Lee indicted over funds transfer to North Korea

"I am not that foolish," Lee said last year, calling the charges against him "fiction" as a court denied a warrant for his arrest

North & South Korea turn up loudspeakers to blare propaganda at each other

What began as South Korea's response to over 1,000 balloons filled with trash and manure sent by the North Korea has evolved into a battle of loudspeakers

S Korean troops fire warning shots after N Korean soldiers crossed border

South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops violated the land border earlier this week, South Korea's military said Tuesday. Some North Korean soldiers who were engaged in unspecified work on the northern side of the border briefly crossed the military demarcation line on Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Those North Korean soldiers returned to their territory after South Korea's military fired warning shots and issued warning broadcasts, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said North Korea had not conducted any other suspicious activities. The Koreas' mine-strewn land border is the world's most heavily armed border, with hundreds of thousands of combat troops facing each other. It's a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The border-crossing incident came amid rising tensions over North Korea's recent launches of trash-carrying balloons.

Seoul activists develop 'smart balloons' to send messages into North Korea

Built using 3D printers and components sourced online and sometimes equipped with GPS-tracking, these so-called "smart balloons" can cost up to $1,000 each

N Korea installing its own loudspeakers along the border, says S Korea

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't immediately comment on the number of suspected North Korean speakers

Putin to visit North Korea, Vietnam soon to strengthen diplomatic ties

The Kremlin has said Russia wants to build a partnership with North Korea "in all areas" but has yet to confirm the date of the visit

Balloon war escalates: North and South Korea exchange trash and propaganda

The two Korean nations are engaged in a fierce exchange of trash-filled balloons, carrying propaganda as military tensions rise

Seoul to resume loudspeaker broadcasts as Pyongyang sends trash balloons

South Korea says it will restart anti-North Korean propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas in response to continuing North Korean campaigns to drop trash on the South with balloons. Following an emergency security meeting led by South Korean national security director Chang Ho-jin, the officials decided to install and begin the loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas on Sunday, Seoul's presidential office said in a statement. The move is certain to anger North Korea and potentially prompt it to take its own retaliatory military steps. Chang and other South Korean security officials berated Pyongyang for attempting to cause anxiety and disruption in South Korea and stressed that North Korea will be solely responsible for any future escalation of tensions between the Koreas. North Korea over the weekend flew hundreds of trash-carrying balloons to South Korea in its third such campaign since late May, the South's military said, just days after South Korean activists floated ..

North Korea resumes flying balloons in likely bid to drop trash, says Seoul

North Korea resumed flying balloons on Saturday in a likely attempt to drop trash on South Korea again, South Korea's military said, two days after Seoul activists floated their own balloons to scatter propaganda leaflets in the North. Animosities between the two Koreas have risen recently because North Korea launched hundreds of balloons carrying manure and trash toward South Korea in protest of previous South Korean civilian leafletting campaigns. In response, South Korea suspended a tension-easing agreement with North Korea to restore frontline military activities. Saturday's balloon launches by North Korea were the third of their kind since May 28. It wasn't immediately known if any of North Korean balloons has landed on South Korean territory yet across the rivals' tense border. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korean balloons likely carrying balloons were moving in an eastward direction but they could eventually fly toward the south because the direction of

US conducts 1st precision bombing drill in 7 yrs amid tensions with N Korea

The United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber over the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday for its first precision-guided bombing drill with South Korea in seven years, the South said Wednesday. The US B-1B bomber conducted joint aerial drills with other US and South Korean fighter jets, South Korea's Defence Ministry said in a statement. It said the B-1B bomber dropped Joint Direct Attack Munitions during the training while being escorted by South Korean jets, the first such bombing drill since 2017. The JDAM bombs include bunker-busters. JDAM is a guidance system that converts unguided, conventional bombs into more precise, GPS-guided weapons. All US fighter jets, bombers and drones can use JDAMs, and the munitions are among the weapons systems the United States has been providing to Ukraine to help it fight Russia's invasion. The drill is seen as a show of force against North Korea amid rising tensions over its recent launches of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea. North Ko

Trash balloons are deepening rift between North and South Korea; here's why

Animosities between North and South Korea are rising sharply again over an unusual cause: The North's rubbish-carrying balloons. In the past week, North Korea floated hundreds of huge balloons dumping manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth, waste batteries and even reportedly dirty diapers across South Korea. In response, South Korea vowed unbearable retaliatory steps and moved to suspend a fragile military deal meant to ease tensions with its northern neighbor. Experts say if South Korea resumes live-fire drills or anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers in border areas, that's certain to infuriate North Korea and may prompt it to take its own provocative countermeasures along the border. Here's a look at North Korea's balloon launches: WHAT DID NORTH KOREA DO? Since May 28, North Korea has sent about 1,000 balloons carrying all kinds of trash across the border. No hazardous materials were found, but South Korean social media was still abuzz with worries that Nort

South Korea suspends military deal with North Korea over trash balloons

South Korea on Tuesday took steps to suspend a contentious military agreement with North Korea and resume frontline military activities, as tensions between the rivals are rising over the North's recent launch of trash-carrying balloons. North Korea didn't immediately respond, but South Korea's resumption of firing exercises or propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts will likely prompt North Korea to take similar or stronger steps along the rivals' tense border. In the past week, North Korea has used balloons to drop manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth and waste paper on South Korea, prompting Seoul to vow unbearable retaliation. On Sunday, North Korea said it would halt its balloon campaign. On Tuesday, South Korea's Cabinet Council and President Yoon Suk Yeol approved a proposal to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering frontline military tensions. It will take effect once Seoul formally notifies the North. Cho Chang-rae, South Korea's deputy defense minister for poli

S Korea agrees to suspend military deal with N Korea over trash balloons

South Korea's government has approved the suspension of a contentious military agreement with North Korea, a step that would allow it to take tougher responses to North Korean provocations. The development came as animosities between the rival Koreas rose sharply recently after North Korea launched trash-carrying balloons across the border in reaction to previous South Korean civilian leafletting campaigns. On Tuesday, South Korea's Cabinet Council passed a proposal aimed at suspending the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering down frontline military tensions. The proposal will formally take effect when it's signed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, likely later Tuesday, according to government officials.

S Korea to nullify peace deal to punish N Korea over balloon launches

South Korea announced Monday it'll suspend a rapprochement deal with North Korea to punish it over its launches of trash-carrying balloons, even after the North said it would halt its balloon campaign. Over several days, North Korea flew hundreds of balloons to drop trash and manure on South Korea in an angry reaction against previous South Korean civilian leafleting campaigns. On Sunday, South Korea said it would take unbearable retaliatory steps in response, before North Korea abruptly announced it would stop flying balloons across the border. On Monday, South Korea's presidential national security council said it has decided to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at easing frontline animosities, until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored, according to the presidential office. The security council said the suspension would allow South Korea to resume military drills near the border with North Korea and take effective, immediate responses to provocations by North

North Korea sending more trash carrying balloons across South Korean border

North Korea launched more trash-carrying balloons toward the South after a similar campaign earlier in the week, according to South Korea's military, in what Pyongyang calls retaliation for activists flying anti-North Korean leaflets across the border. South Korea's Defence Ministry did not immediately comment on the number of balloons it had detected or how many have landed in South Korea. The military advised people to beware of falling objects and not to touch objects suspected to be from North Korea, but report them to military or police offices instead. In Seoul, the capital, the city government sent text alerts saying that unidentified objects suspected to be flown from North Korea were being detected in skies near the city and that the military was responding to them. The North's balloon launches added to a recent series of provocative steps, which include its failed spy satellite launch and test-firings of about 10 suspected short-range missiles this week. South Korea's ...

US, allies clash with China and Russia over North Korea's launches

The United States and allies South Korea and Japan clashed with China and Russia on Friday over North Korea's latest satellite and ballistic missile launches and threats to use nuclear weapons that have escalated tensions in northeast Asia. The scene was an emergency open meeting of the UN Security Council called after North Korea's failed launch of a military reconnaissance satellite on May 27 and other launches using ballistic missile technology in violation of UN sanctions. Since the beginning of 2022, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea the North's official name has launched over 100 missiles using this banned technology as it has advanced its nuclear weapons programme. In response, the US and its allies have carried out an increasing number of military exercises. UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari briefed the council meeting saying sovereign states have the right to benefit from peaceful space activities but the DPRK is expressly prohibited from conducting ..

North Korea fired a barrage of ballistic missiles, alleges South Korea

North Korea on Thursday fired a barrage of suspected ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea, according to South Korea's military, days after its attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure but still drew strong condemnation from its rivals. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the North firing around 10 projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. It said the suspected missiles flew around 350 kilometers (217 miles) before landing in waters off the North's eastern coast. It said the South Korean military has increased surveillance and vigilance and is closely sharing information with the United States and Japan. Japan's coast guard issued a maritime safety advisory over the North Korean launches and urged ships to exercise caution if they find any fallen objects. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the suspected missiles were believed to have landed in waters

Kim Jong Un doubles down on satellite ambitions after failed launch

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his military scientists to overcome a failed satellite launch and continue developing space-based reconnaissance capabilities, which he described as crucial for countering US and South Korean military activities, state media said on Wednesday. In a speech on Tuesday, Kim also warned of unspecified stern action against South Korea over an exercise involving 20 fighter jets near the inter-Korean border hours before North Korea's failed launch on Monday. Kim called the South Korean response hysterical insanity and a very dangerous provocation that cannot be ignored, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim visited the North's Academy of Defence Sciences a day after a rocket carrying what would have been his country's second military reconnaissance satellite exploded shortly after liftoff. North Korea's aerospace technology administration said the explosion was possibly related to the reliability of a newly developed rocket engine .

North Korea says latest military satellite launch exploded in flight

The attempt came just hours after Pyongyang issued a warning that it would try to launch a satellite by June 4, in what would have been its second spy satellite in orbit

North Korea appears to have fired missile into sea, say Japan, South Korea

North Korea had earlier notified Japan's coast guard about its plans to launch "a satellite rocket" during a launch window from Monday through June 3