CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea Monday for an “internal meeting”, the US embassy in Seoul confirmed, following reports of an unannounced visit as tensions mount over growing nuclear threats from the North. South Korea’s largest daily Chosun Ilbo reported Monday that Pompeo arrived in Seoul at the weekend and held back-to-back closed-door … Read more
South Korea and the United States wrapped up their annual large-scale military drills on Sunday, but continued a separate joint naval exercise that has triggered dire threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been running sky-high for weeks, with signs that the North might be preparing a long-range missile launch or … Read more
Japan will dispatch its biggest warship since World War II to protect a US supply ship, as tensions mount in the region over North Korea, media reports said on Sunday. The helicopter carrier Izumo will leave the mother port of Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, on Monday and join the US supply ship to escort it … Read more
Pope Francis has called for international mediation to ease rising tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear activity. The pontiff suggested that Norway, for example, was “always ready to help”. He warned the crisis risked sparking a devastating war in which “a good part of humanity” would be destroyed. His comments come … Read more
The US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on Saturday kicked off a joint drill with the South Korean navy, officials said, as tensions rose over North Korea’s latest test-fire of a ballistic missile. “Immediately after the aircraft carrier arrived in the Sea of Japan, South Korea and the US strike forces launched a drill from … Read more
North Korea has test-fired another ballistic missile, South Korean and US military officials say. The missile exploded shortly after take-off, they said – the second failed launch in the past fortnight. US President Donald Trump accused North Korea of showing “disrespect” towards China and its president. The missile was fired from a site in South … Read more
Southeast Asian leaders are meeting in the Philippines for a day-long meeting where tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea are expected to be high on the agenda. The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was expected on Saturday to urge North Korea to “immediately cease all actions that violate … Read more
North Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile, according to the South Korean and US military, defying pressure from the US and the North’s main ally, China. US and South Korean officials said Saturday’s test, from an area north of the North Korean capital Pyongyang, appeared to have failed, in what would be a fourth successive … Read more
North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile from an area north of Pyongyang Saturday, a news agency report said, as the United States pushed for tougher sanctions to curb the country’s nuclear threat. “North Korea fired an unidentified missile from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province) early this morning,” Yonhap … Read more
The US is open to negotiations with North Korea aimed at removing nuclear weapons from the region, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said. But he said the US would use military force if necessary. The foreign minister of China, North Korea’s greatest ally, said a peaceful settlement was the “only right choice”. Mr Tillerson … Read more
Stressing the need to avoid “chaos” on the Korean peninsula, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said dialogue and negotiations were “the only right choice” to address the threat from North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. “Right now, the situation on the Korean peninsula is under grave tension and at a critical point,” Wang said ahead … Read more
Southeast Asian countries are to express ‘grave concern’ over North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missile launches despite Kim Jong Un’s appeal for the region to join forces and fend off a ‘nuclear holocaust’. In a rare move, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho wrote to the ASEAN bloc’s secretary general appealing for backing … Read more
Southeast Asian countries on Friday expressed “grave concern” over North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missile launches, despite Pyongyang’s appeal for support in its tense standoff with the United States. In a rare move, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho wrote to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations appealing for backing in its … Read more
Southeast Asian countries will express “grave concern” over North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missile launches, despite Pyongyang’s appeal for support, according to a draft statement due to be released Friday. In a rare move, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho wrote to the ASEAN regional bloc’s secretary general appealing for backing in its … Read more
Seoul on Friday brushed aside US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that it should pay for a $1 billion missile defence system the two allies are installing in South Korea to guard against threats from the North. The first parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system have already been delivered to a former … Read more
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. ‘There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,’ Trump said ahead … Read more
North Korea has appealed to Southeast Asian countries for support in its row with the United States to prevent what it warned could be a “nuclear holocaust”, according to a letter obtained by AFP. In the letter to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ secretary general, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho warned the situation … Read more
The US is to tighten sanctions on North Korea and step up diplomatic moves aimed at pressuring the country to end its nuclear and missile programmes. President Donald Trump’s strategy was announced after a special briefing for all 100 US senators. Earlier, the top US commander in the Pacific defended the deployment of an advanced … Read more
A top US admiral said Wednesday that America wants to bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to “his senses,” as senators attended an extraordinary briefing at the White House. Admiral Harry Harris, who heads the Pacific Command, welcomed recent efforts by Beijing to try to defuse soaring tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, and suggested a … Read more
The US military’s top commander in the Pacific has said an advanced missile defence system in South Korea aims bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees”. Adm Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command, told Congress the US would be ready “with the best technology” to defeat any North … Read more