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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- Fresh satellite imagery showed a 10-meter-long truck and a possible crane at North Korea's satellite launching site, U.S. experts said, amid concerns the communist nation could launch a long-range rocket from the site. Jack Liu, an expert on North Korea's missile program, and Peter Makowsky, an imagery analysis expert, said in an analysis on the website 38 North that continued activity was captured on satellite imagery taken Wednesday of the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, better known as the Dongchang-ri site. (Please see full article for details)

On December 7, North Korea claimed to have conducted a “very important test” at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station that “will have an important impact on changing the strategic position of the DPRK.”[1] The North Koreans did not describe what was tested, but prior open-source imagery suggests it was a static (ground) test of a large liquid-propellant rocket engine.[2] It remains to be seen what rocket system the engine was associated with: a previously launched intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), intermediate-range ballistic missile, space launch vehicle, or a new system. In any case, the static test could be the precursor to...

North Korea appears to be preparing to test a new ballistic missile submarine capable of launching nuclear missiles, significantly bolstering the regime’s ability to conduct long-distance attacks. Satellite photographs taken Monday of the Sinpo South Shipyard in North Korea show the new submarine with nearby cranes and support craft, suggesting the submarine may be in preparation for a launch test. Last month, North Korea claimed that Kim Jong Un had inspected a “newly built submarine” at the shipyard. The new photographs appear to confirm the claim, say Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha of Beyond Parallel, a research project backed by...

New photos taken of a North Korean shipyard suggest the country could be building a submarine that could potentially be capable of launching a nuclear missile, a report early Tuesday said. The photos show vessels and cranes that could be used to haul a missile out to sea for launch, according to experts at a Washington-based think tank, NBC News reported. The satellite photos seem to confirm North Korean state media reports from July about a newly built submarine. “There is no conclusive evidence at the moment that this is a near-term certainty,” an expert said of a possible missile test. Once a...

Successful Test-fire of Newly Developed Super-large Multiple Rocket Launcher Held under Guidance of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Date: 25/08/2019 Pyongyang, August 25 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, guided the test-fire of newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher on Saturday. The Supreme Leader of the Party, state and armed forces learnt about the development of the super-large multiple rocket launcher system and issued an...

When President Trump sent a Twitter invitation on Friday to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to meet at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone separating the Koreas — “just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” — both men had much to gain, and more to lose. If Mr. Kim did not attend, even though his side had seemed intrigued, it would have embarrassed Mr. Trump and opened him up to more criticism for his unpredictable diplomacy. It would also have compounded the dramatic failure of their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, which Mr. Trump abruptly called off in February. . ....

The candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary put aside their squabbles on Sunday - sort of - to focus on a common enemy: President Trump. From former Vice President Joe Biden to former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, the Democratic hopefuls derided Trump’s third meeting with North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un – accusing the president of everything from “coddling” dictators to posing for a photo opportunity. “President Trump’s coddling of dictators at the expense of American national security and interests is one of the most dangerous ways that he’s diminishing us on the world stage...

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea on Sunday, hoping for a third encounter with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to revive stalled nuclear talks. (interesting)

President Donald Trump met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Sunday, stepping into North Korea as he shook hands in a moment of high-stakes diplomacy. Trump made history, becaming the first American president to step foot into North Korea, despite decades of conflict between the two nations.Trump initiated the meeting at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea, first publicly calling for the meeting on Twitter before North Korea moved quickly to make the meeting happen.

SEOUL — A South Korean newspaper reported Friday that North Korea executed a senior envoy involved in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. as well as four other high-level officials. But as ever with North Korea, a country that closely guards its secrets, there are reasons to be cautious about the purported purge. NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the report. Kim Jong Un's regime also hasn't used its propaganda services to comment. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked about the report during a visit to Germany Friday.

North Korea on Friday said it will never resume nuclear talks with the U.S. unless the Trump administration modifies its position on unilateral demands for disarmament. A spokesman of the North's Foreign Ministry made the comments on Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency. He reportedly accused the U.S. of deliberately causing the collapse of February's nuclear summit in Hanoi between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with unilateral and impossible demands.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has labeled Joe Biden a "fool of low IQ" and an "imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being" after the Democratic presidential hopeful during a recent speech called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a tyrant.

EEarlier this year, as Donald Trump prepared to meet the North Korean Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, in Vietnam, he took a moment in the State of the Union address to congratulate himself on a diplomatic masterstroke: “If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea, with potentially millions of people killed.” For John Bolton, the national-security adviser, the summit represented a conundrum. Two months before he entered the White House, in April, 2018, he had called for preëmptive war with North Korea....

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea announced that it has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon. The Korean Central News Agency says Chairman Kim Jong Un observed the firing of the weapon Wednesday by the Academy of Defense Science. The agency reports that Kim said "the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People's Army." The agency says Kim mounted an observation post to learn about the test-fire of the new-type tactical guided weapon and guide the test-fire. The announcement came after reports of...

Apologies for the rather caustic title, but the latest release from Pyongyang regarding a possible third summit between Kim Jong-un and President Trump is completely unserious and shows that any American hopes for actual denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are wholly unrealistic. The “offer” of another summit came during a speech Kim gave to Parliament. While the possibility of further progress is a worthy goal, North Korea’s diminutive dictator is already putting conditions on his potential participation and they clearly add up to what many of us suspected all along. Kim wants major sanctions relief and resources for his...

English synopsis translation of the Korean article (北 최선희 "美와 비핵화 협상 중단 고려...김정은 곧 행동 계획 발표") Text: North Korea (key negotiator) Ms. Choe Hee-hee: "We Are Now Considering Stopping Negotiations with the US" Article by Chosun Ilbo Reporter Kim Nam-hee Sub point: Choi states: "It will soon be decided if Kim Jong Un will continue to maintain a nuclear or missile moratorium," "(SOS) Mike Pompeo and (NSC) John Bolton are the ones to have created hostility and mistrust." "It will soon be decided if Kim Jong Un will continue to maintain a nuclear or missile moratorium and...

Commercial satellite imagery of a facility near Pyongyang suggests that North Korea is preparing to launch a missile or space rocket in the near future. The images are of a site known as Sanumdong — a facility where North Korea has assembled some of its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and satellite-launching rockets. The images taken Feb. 22 by DigitalGlobe and shared exclusively with NPR show cars and trucks parked near the facility. Rail cars sit in a nearby rail yard, where two cranes are also erected. "When you put that all that together, that's really what it looks like when...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea has restored part of a rocket test site it began to dismantle after pledging to do so in a first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last year, while Trump’s national security advisor warned that new sanctions could be introduced if Pyongyang did not scrap its nuclear weapons program. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency and two U.S. think tanks reported on Tuesday that work was underway at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Tongchang-ri, even as Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a second summit in Hanoi last week.

The departure of President Trump from Vietnam without an agreement with Kim Jong Un was his Reykjavik moment. It was time to walk away with no deal instead of a terrible deal. This marks a diversion from every other administration that caved to North Korea when faced with these difficult moments. It is interesting to look back over the days leading up to this summit at the comments from people responsible for decades of failed diplomacy with North Korea. These are the last people who should be giving President Trump advice, but they offer it publicly and constantly. Samantha Vinograd,...

President Trump landed Tuesday in Vietnam for his crucial summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- the president's second meeting as part of a bold push to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. “Looking forward to a very productive Summit,” Trump tweeted on Monday before boarding Air Force One. Trump landed in Hanoi hours after Kim arrived by armored train. The summit will take place later this week. Officials in Hanoi told The Associated Press that they only had about 10 days to prepare, but promised airtight security for the two leaders. But the chaotic preparations included the White...