DefenceTalkSeoul will face a “serious security crisis” for going ahead with its joint military drills with the United States, a senior Pyongyang official threatened Wednesday, saying the South had missed its opportunity to improve inter-Korean ties. The statement by Kim Yong Chol came just a day after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader […]

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNuclear-armed North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un vowed to strengthen its military capabilities at a key ruling party meeting, state media reported Thursday, just weeks before Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president. In his work report to the Workers’ Party congress Kim pledged to place “the state defence capabilities on a much higher level, and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-koreas-kim-pledges-to-strengthen-defence-capabilities-kcna-76635/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkEight months into a strict, coronavirus-triggered border shutdown, nuclear-armed North Korea is widely expected to stage an attention-grabbing display of its latest and most advanced weaponry at a mass military parade in Pyongyang on Saturday. The cavalcade will mark the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party and satellite imagery on the respected 38North website […]https://www.defencetalk.com/despite-virus-shutdown-north-korea-to-stage-huge-parade-76444/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNorth Korea is violating international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear programme by exceeding a cap on petroleum imports and sending its workers overseas, including a former Juventus footballer, the United Nations said. Pyongyang is subject to a range of restrictions imposed since 2017 that limit its oil imports and ban exports of coal, fish […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-flouting-nuclear-sanctions-un-report-76411/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons guarantee its safety, state media reported Tuesday, signalling once again that it will not give up its arsenal. Kim was addressing a conference of veterans on the 67th anniversary of the 1953 armistice that ended Korean War hostilities, the official Korean Central News Agency […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-koreas-kim-says-nuclear-deterrent-crucial-76068/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Friday there was “no need” for another summit with the United States unless Washington offered a “decisive change” in approach. Kim and US President Donald Trump first met in Singapore two years ago but talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal have been stalled since their […]https://www.defencetalk.com/kims-sister-says-no-need-for-another-us-n-korea-summit-75885/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNorth Korea rebuked Washington on Thursday for criticizing its decision to cut communication links with Seoul, warning it to stay out of inter-Korean affairs if it wanted to ensure a smooth presidential election. In a statement carried by the KCNA news agency, a senior North Korean foreign ministry official slammed the “double-dealing attitudes” of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-warns-us-to-stay-out-of-inter-korean-affairs-75723/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe US Justice Department indicted 28 North Koreans and five Chinese on Thursday for operating a money laundering ring that moved billions of dollars through global banks to avoid nuclear sanctions on Pyongyang. The network processed more than $2.5 billion through over 250 front companies across Thailand, Libya, Austria, Russia, China and Kuwait to evade […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-indicts-nkoreans-chinese-over-2-5-bn-network-to-dodge-sanctions-75701/

DefenceTalkThe United States will keep seeking North Korea’s denuclearization no matter who is in charge in Pyongyang, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday, amid speculation about leader Kim Jong Un’s health. US officials including President Donald Trump have declined to discuss Kim’s condition after a report, downplayed by South Korea, that the reclusive authoritarian […]https://www.defencetalk.com/kim-exit-wouldnt-change-us-goals-pompeo-75229/

DefenceTalkSeoul: North Korea fired several suspected cruise missiles Tuesday towards the sea, according to the South’s military, with analysts saying Pyongyang was demonstrating the breadth of its arsenal. The “multiple projectiles” fired from Munchon in the east of the country were believed to be “short-range cruise missiles”, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-multiple-suspected-cruise-missiles-75141/