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On August 6, 2017, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea that could see the reclusive state's US$3 billion annual export revenue drop by a third. The sanctions, which banned North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood, were aimed at punishing Pyongyang over its two intercontinential ballistic missile tests. Countries were also prohibited from hiring additional North Korean labourers.
Pyongyang on Monday warned the UK, Canada, Germany, France, New Zealand and Australia to immediately stop their ‘blatant military intervention’ under the pretext of monitoring UN sanctions violations.
Kim Ki-nam helped forge a cult of personality around the Kim dynasty, serving every one of the country’s three leaders since its founding. He has died at the age of 94.
Analysts say the sudden two-tier rise of the warning despite no major events in progress for Seoul could signal precautions against a retaliation over a row on defected diplomats.
The move is in line with Pyongyang’s efforts to attract Iran to an alliance against the US and boost cooperation for mutual benefit, analyst notes.
US Treasury Department accused entities of channelling funds to North Korea’s weapons programmes. It said action was coordinated with South Korea.
In video-link meeting with US representative Jung Pak, China’s envoy Liu Xiaoming says stable peninsula is in the interests of the region and the world.
Jin Guanghua is accused of committing bank fraud in an illegal scheme by North Korea to generate revenue through the purchase and sale of tobacco.
The two pariah states have been forging closer ties in recent months amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and Pyongyang’s continued nuclear weapons development. UN Security Council resolutions ban the export of luxury goods to North Korea.
Dialogue between North and South Korea has given way to fiery rhetoric and mutual threats of destruction. Neither side seems inclined to de-escalate, as the spectre of a second Trump presidency only adds to mounting concerns.
Under biting US sanctions, Iran denies any ambition to develop a nuclear weapons capability.
Reuters spoke to 20 people, including 15 in the eyelash industry, who described a system in which China-based firms import semi-finished products from Kim Jong-un’s closed-off nation, giving it vital currency.
President Yoon Suk-yeol says the North has a history of carrying out ‘provocations’ before important polls in South Korea.
The former US national security adviser warns such a move would ‘further alienate Japan and South Korea, and extend China’s influence’.
Workers at a North Korea-run factory in China were said to have staged a deadly protest after learning their back pay had been transferred back to the regime.
Two new-generation Pulhwasal-3-31 missiles ‘flew in the sky above the East Sea … to hit the island target’, state media reported on Monday, adding that Kim had ‘guided’ the launch.
Communist Party diplomatic chief Liu Jianchao pledges to increase strategic communications in meeting with North Korean envoy as Pyongyang announces test of nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in response to US-Japan-South Korea military drills.
The North’s bid to enshrine its own sea border and codify a commitment to invade the South shows ties ‘have reached an almost irreparable breakdown’.
The missile could neutralise South Korea’s missile defence system and threaten US strategic assets such as its aircraft-carrier striker groups in the West Pacific, analysts say.
Solid-fuel missiles do not need to be fuelled immediately ahead of launch, are often easier and safer to operate, and require less logistical support, making them harder to detect and more survivable than liquid-fuel weapons.
The Japanese government was taken aback by Kim Jong-un’s surprise sympathy message after the deadly New Year’s Day quake. Analysts say there’s more than just commiseration at play.
‘There is no longer any disguise … the Russian Federation for the first time struck at ... Ukraine with missiles received from … North Korea,’ a senior Kyiv official said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol says he will strengthen his military’s pre-emptive strike in his New Year’s Day address.
North Korea watchers also say Kim’s statements were a veiled threat towards Seoul, amid Pyongyang’s plan to launch three more spy satellites into space in 2024.