North Korea

USA Today reports: U.S. Army Private Travis King, who last year ran into North Korea and was taken into custody there, will plead guilty to five charges, including desertion, while taking responsibility for his conduct, his lawyer said in a statement on Monday. The U.S. Army charged King with crimes ranging from desertion for running into North Korea in July …

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, revived a Cold War-era mutual defense pledge between their nations on Wednesday by signing a new agreement that obligated them to assist each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. The Russian president, in a briefing after the two leaders signed …

Reuters reports: South Korea accused North Korea on Wednesday of sending a large number of balloons across their heavily fortified border to drop objects including trash and excrement, calling the act base and dangerous. The military’s explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team were deployed to inspect and collect the objects, and an alert was issued warning …

CNN reports: North Korea has decided “to expel” US Army Private Travis King, who had crossed into the North from South Korea during a tour of the joint security area in July, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. “The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the …

The New York Times reports: Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss the possibility of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its war in Ukraine and other military cooperation, according to American and allied officials. In a rare foray from his country, Mr. Kim …

The Associated Press reports: The American-led U.N. Command said Monday it has started a conversation with North Korea about a U.S. soldier who ran into the North last week across one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders. Andrew Harrison, a British lieutenant general who is the deputy commander at the U.N. Command, refused to say when the conversation started, …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea hasn’t responded to U.S. attempts to discuss the American soldier who bolted across the heavily armed border, officials in Washington said, underscoring that the serviceman’s prospects for a quick release are unclear at a time of high tensions and inactive communication channels. Pvt. Travis King, who was supposed to be on his way to …

Reuters reports: The U.S. military was scrambling on Wednesday to determine the fate of an American soldier who made an unauthorised crossing of the inter-Korean border into North Korea, throwing Washington into a new crisis in its dealing with the nuclear-armed state. The U.S. Army identified the soldier as Private Travis T. King who joined in 2021 and was facing …

The Washington Post reports: North Korean officials have detained a U.S. national who crossed into the country through the demarcation zone without authorization, a United Nations body responsible for ensuring security on the inter-Korean border reported Tuesday. The person detained is a U.S. Army soldier, according to two U.S. officials. One of the officials said the soldier was scheduled on …

The Associated Press reports: An American has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, the American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area said Tuesday, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program. The U.N. Command tweeted that the U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the …

CNN reports: A North Korean missile sparked fear on the Japanese northern island of Hokkaido Thursday after the government’s emergency alert system warned residents to take cover. Millions of people received a J-alert, or evacuation order, shortly before 8 a.m., urging them to seek shelter as the missile could land on or near the island. But soon after, fear turned …

Posted last night to Trump’s Truth Social account: Kim Jung Un of North Korea, who I got to know and got along with very well during my years as President, is not happy with the U.S. and South Korea doing big training and air exercises together. He feels threatened. Even I would constantly complain that South Korea pays us very …

NBC News reports: Behind closed doors in 2017, President Donald Trump discussed the idea of using a nuclear weapon against North Korea and suggested he could blame a U.S. strike against the communist regime on another country, according to a new section of a book that details key events of his administration. Trump’s alleged comments, reported for the first time …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea’s military said Monday its recent barrage of missile tests were practices to “mercilessly” strike key South Korean and U.S. targets such as air bases and operation command systems with a variety of missiles that likely included nuclear-capable weapons. North Korea fired dozens of missiles and flew warplanes toward the sea last week — triggering …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea’s recent barrage of missile launches were the simulated use of its tactical battlefield nuclear weapons to “hit and wipe out” potential South Korean and U.S. targets, state media reported Monday, as its leader Kim Jong Un signaled he would conduct more provocative tests. The North’s statement, released on the 77th birthday of its ruling …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea on Tuesday conducted its longest-ever weapons test, a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that flew over Japan and could reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond, forcing the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains. The South Korean and U.S. militaries responded by launching fighter jets which fired weapons at a target …

Agence France-Presse reports: North Korea has passed a law allowing it to carry out a preventive nuclear strike and declaring its status as a nuclear-armed state “irreversible”, state media said Friday. The announcement comes at a time of crumbling ties between the North and South, with Pyongyang blaming Seoul for the outbreak of Covid-19 in its territory and conducting a …

Politico reports: Russia is purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use in the Ukraine conflict, according to a U.S. official, citing newly downgraded intelligence. The news comes a week after Kyiv began a major counteroffensive in the south of the country to take back territory Moscow captured in its initial invasion. Since the operation began, …

Ars Technica reports: After an intense, detailed investigation, North Korea has determined what sparked an explosive outbreak of COVID-19 that has led to over 4.7 million “fevers” within its borders since late April. The culprit: “alien things” blown into the country from the South. According to a report from the official KCNA news agency, North Korea’s outbreak began in early …

Reuters reports: North Korean hackers are most likely behind an attack last week that stole as much as $100 million in cryptocurrency from a U.S. company, three digital investigative firms have concluded. The cryptoassets were stolen on June 23 from Horizon Bridge, a service operated by the Harmony blockchain that allows assets to be transferred to other blockchains. Since then, …