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North Korea's Berlin hostel targeted by German sanctions German authorities plan to terminate a North Korean business in the heart of Berlin - a big hostel next to the communist state's embassy. The move is in line with UN sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons capability. German media say City Hostel Berlin is run by a Turkish hotelier who pays more than €38,000 (£32,000; $41,000) a month in rent to North Korea. The embassy also derives income from a conference hall at the site. North Korea has conducted several nuclear tests and launched missiles, provoking fears that it could...

CIA establishes mission center focused on North Korea The CIA has opened a mission center focused on curbing North Korea's advancing weapons program, the agency announced on Wednesday. "Creating the Korea Mission Center allows us to more purposefully integrate and direct CIA efforts against the serious threats to the United States and its allies emanating from North Korea," CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "It also reflects the dynamism and agility that CIA brings to evolving national security challenges." A veteran CIA operations officer allegedly has been tapped to lead the mission center as the assistant director of...

U.S. to use all means to denuclearize Korean Peninsula: nominee for deputy secretary of state WASHINGTON, May 10 (Yonhap) -- The United States will use "all the means at our disposal," while keeping military options on the table, to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the nominee to be America's No. 2 diplomat said. John Sullivan, named to be deputy secretary of state, also said during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that the U.S. will turn up pressure on China. "Our goal is to have a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. That is our objective and we're going to use all the means...

The article is originally from Bloomberg. Here is a link: Trump 'screamed' at national security adviser H.R. McMaster over comments to South Korea: Report

U.S. may begin to monitor Russia’s eastern ports over North Korean sanctions The administration of the White House plans to undertake special monitoring of several Russian ports in Primorsky Krai in light of the implementation of sanctions against North Korea. Such a provision is included in a bill adopted Thursday by the U.S. Congressional House of Representatives. If the law is passed, the U.S. president will be obliged to provide congressmen with a full report annually, for a period of five years, on the ports and airports involved in the violation of sanctions against North Korea by any countries. In...

'China must be prepared to TOPPLE Kim Jong-un or WE'LL do it', former US chief claims CHINA must be prepared to destabilise North Korea and unseat Kim Jong-un – or face the consequences of American intervention, a former US foreign policy chief has claimed. By VINCENT WOOD 01:10, Mon, May 8, 2017 | UPDATED: 02:16, Mon, May 8, 2017 Condoleezza Rice, who served as Secretary of State during George W. Bush’s administration, claimed China were too concerned about causing the “collapse” of dictator Kim Jong-un. Ms Rice claimed Beijing must be prepared for “instability on their border” as the US...

China urged U.S. to fire Pacific Command chief Harris in return for pressure on North Korea BEIJING – China urged the United States to sack the head of the U.S. Pacific Command in return for exerting more pressure on North Korea amid concerns over its growing nuclear and missile threats, a source close to U.S.-China ties said Saturday. The Chinese leadership headed by President Xi Jinping made the request, through its ambassador in the United States, to dismiss Adm. Harry Harris, known as a hard-liner on China, including with respect to the South China Sea issue, the source said. China’s...

U.S. sanctions bill may lead China to review oil embargo to N.K.: experts SEOUL, May 5 (Yonhap) -- The United States' latest drive to tighten sanctions against North Korea, heaps pressure on China to consider whether to use its last-resort punitive action, namely an oil embargo, to rein in the unruly ally, experts said Friday. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the legislation on Thursday which authorizes sanctions on those providing North Korea with crude oil and other related products. It also requires the U.S. government to determine whether the North is a state sponsor of terrorism. The bill...

North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site: Activity Continues Throughout the Site By 38 North 02 May 2017 38 North exclusive with analysis by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Jack Liu. Commercial satellite imagery of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility from April 25 indicates an apparent resumption of activity (e.g., the pumping out of water) at the North Portal—the tunnel that North Korea seems to have been preparing for a nuclear test over the past few weeks—to maintain an optimal environment for instrumentation and stemming. Several probable mining carts appear to be present, although there does not seem to have been...

N. Korea's grain imports from China surge in March SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's grain imports from China surged in March from a year earlier, a U.S.-based news agency said Wednesday, citing customs data released by China. The North imported a total of 4,400 tons of grain from China in March, which represented about a 3,200 percent spike from the same month last year, according to a report by Voice of America (VOA). The amount was also up from the North's February grain imports from its closest ally, which stood at around 1,275 tons. Of the imports, wheat...

'Don't move or I'll shoot' - China teaching Korean to soldiers on N. Korean border By Lee Han-soo Chinese soldiers stationed along the North Korean border are learning Korean in case North Koreans cross the border to flee any U.S. attacks, according to a Japanese news outlet Tuesday. The Yomiuri Shimbun said the soldiers are memorizing phrases such as "Stop" or "Don't move or I'll shoot" in Korean, citing sources familiar with China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). "The PLA is teaching Korean to soldiers near the North Korean border in case North Korean refugees start flocking into China if a...

North Korea vows to put US military bases in Japan "under radioactive clouds" and threatens another Hiroshima A state newspaper in Pyongyang made the chilling threat: "Japan knows better than others how terrible the nuclear disaster is" BYJOSHUA TAYLOR North Korea has vowed to put US military bases in Japan "under radioactive clouds" if war breaks out. Kim Jong-un 's regime issued the chilling warning and reminded Japan of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The threat comes as Japan debates whether to change its anti-war constitution as fears of a conflict between the US and...

China, US share goal of halting North Korean nuclear tests Source:Global Times Published: 2017/5/2 23:23:39 US President Donald Trump said to the media on Monday that "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him [Kim Jong-un], I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it." He stressed that "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that." His latest remarks have triggered great controversy in the US. White House press secretary Sean Spicer explained later that the right circumstances mean "We've got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down immediately." But...

North Korea's state media published a rare criticism of China on Wednesday, saying Chinese state media commentaries calling for tougher sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear program were undermining relations with Beijing and worsening tensions. A commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) referred to recent commentaries in China's People's Daily and Global Times newspapers, which it said were "widely known as media speaking for the official stand of the Chinese party and government." "A string of absurd and reckless remarks are now heard from China every day only to render the present bad situation tenser," it said. "China...

As U.S. and China find common ground on North Korea, is Russia the wild card? By James Pearson and Alexei Chernyshev | SEOUL/VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Lunar New Year greetings this year, the first card went to Russian President Vladimir Putin, ahead of leaders from China and other allies of the isolated country, according to its official news agency. Some academics who study North Korea argue Kim could be looking for Russia to ease any pain if China, which accounts for about 90 percent of North Korea's trade, steps up sanctions against the isolated...

North Korea 'fired missile at Russia before blowing it up mid-flight' North Korea intentionally blew up its own missile during a test fire on the weekend over fears it had accidentally been fired towards Russia, South Korean media reports. The Seoul Economy Daily said the rocket made it 48 kilometres from the launch site before North Korea decided to abort. “If the ballistic missile that flew to the northeastern region had not failed, it would have been heading to a harbour point or a Russian territory,” the paper said. “It is for this reason that North Korea intentionally destroyed the...

North Korea’s latest missile test may have been more than just another failure. U.S. Pacific Command reported that the ballistic missile, which has yet to be identified, “did not leave North Korean territory.” The weapon reportedly broke up over North Korea several minutes after launch, but it may not have been a botch. Saturday’s missile failure may have been a deliberate explosion, South Korean government officials told the Korea Times. “We don’t believe the mid-air explosion was an accident,” South Korean cable news channel YTN quoted government officials as saying. “It’s believed the explosion was a test to develop a...

CIA chief visits island near inter-Korean border SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), visited an island near the tense inter-Korean border during his visit to the peninsula this week, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) announced Tuesday. He traveled to Yeonpyeong Island to view the contested waters between the two Koreas and "gain a first-hand appreciation of the North Korean threat to South Korea at this past and potential flashpoint," it said. The island came under an artillery attack from North Korea in 2010, in which two South Korean marines and two civilians...

China urges citizens in N. Korea to return home By Ko Dong-hwan The Chinese Embassy in North Korea has advised Korean-Chinese residents to return home amid concern that the North's military provocations may trigger a U.S. attack on the North, according to a source. The embassy began sending the message on Apr. 20, five days before the North celebrated the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army with a show of military power, Radio Free Asia said Tuesday. The U.S.-based station specializes in North Korea. The station cited a Korean-Chinese living in the North's capital, who said he left for...

North Korea’s Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Program: Are the Tests Poised to Accelerate? By 38 North 01 May 2017 A 38 North exclusive with analysis by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. Commercial satellite imagery from April 19 has identified a second submersible test stand barge for North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) program at the Nampo Naval Shipyard, located on the country’s west coast. The barge appears identical in size (~9 m by 22.5 m) and layout to the original barge that was first seen in 2014 at the Sinpo South Shipyard on the country’s east coast, which has been involved in...