Tag: North Korea

North Korea fired off multiple ballistic missiles on January 27 – the second missile test by Pyongyang so far in 2026, following another launch on January 4.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were launched around at 15:50 KST from the vicinity of northern Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, toward the waters off the east coast. The South’s military said that the missiles flew about 350 kilometers.

“The South Korean military has heightened its surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches while maintaining full readiness through close information sharing with U.S. and Japanese authorities regarding the North Korean ballistic missile,” the South Korean military said in a statement sent to reporters.

The National Security Office also convened an emergency meeting and urged North Korea to halt acts of provocations that violate the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 yesterday’s ballistic missile launch was carried out 23 days after the North test-fired multiple hypersonic missiles. Also on January 4, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung departed to Beijing to have a summit meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

More details  yesterday’s launch will likely be released by the North’s state-controlled media. For now, it’s safe to say that Pyongyang appears to be intent on beefing up its nuclear capabilities further.

It seems the North Korea has not yet held the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), but the event is expected very soon. Then North Korea’s new five-year plan for strengthening its military capabilities will be released in the upcoming months.

Read Also: Türkiye, Nigeria target $5bn trade volume as Erdogan, Tinubu seal new economic push

Despite Lee’s dialogue-based approach to renew the devastated inter-Korean relations, Pyongyang has made crystal clear that it will not negotiate with Seoul, implying that Washington is the only counterpart whom it can deal with. Pyongyang has not crossed the red line – conducting a seventh nuclear test – but other developments in inter-Korea relations, such as the North’s accusation of the South sending drones toward its territory and Pyongyang’s consistent ballistic missile tests, apparently demonstrate that Pyongyang’s antagonism toward Seoul has not been soothed despite Lee’s consistent efforts.

In light of this, the arms race on the Korean Peninsula will likely be accelerated. Seoul is looking to build a nuclear-powered submarine with support from the United States, while North Korea is enhancing its bilateral ties with Russia to receive economic support and sensitive military technology.

Since his inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled that he would be willing to meet again with Kim Jong Un, the autocratic leader of North Korea. However, Washington has clearly shown that the North’s nuclear issues are no longer its priority task to deal with. Instead, the Trump administration has steadily urged Seoul to take more responsibility in handling North Korea.

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters yesterday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The statement said several ballistic missile launches were detected from North Korea’s capital region early yesterday, adding that the missiles flew about 900 kilometres and that South Korea and US authorities were analysing details of the launches.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry noted the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by North Korea. It urged North Korea to cease provocative actions immediately and respond to South Korea’s push to restart talks and restore peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The launches came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping. During the four-day trip, Lee’s office said he would request China, North Korea’s major ally and biggest trading partner, to take “a constructive role” in efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that at least two missile launches by North Korea had been confirmed. “They are a serious problem, threatening the peace and security of our nation, the region and the world,” Koizumi told reporters.

The launches were the latest weapons demonstration by North Korea in recent weeks. Experts say North Korea is aiming to show off or review its achievements in the defence sector ahead of its upcoming ruling party congress, the first of its kind in five years.

Read Also: Nigeria are favourites, Mozambique coach admits

Observers are watching the Workers Party congress to see whether North Korea will set a new policy on the US and resume long-stalled talks between the two countries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has also boosted his diplomatic credentials by aligning with Russia over its war in Ukraine and tightening relations with China. Observers say Kim would believe his leverage has sharply increased to wrest concessions from Trump if they sit down for talks again.

North Korea hasn’t announced when it will hold the congress, but South Korea’s spy service said it will likely occur in January or February.

South Korea and the US have long asked China to exercise its influence on North Korea to persuade it to return to talks or give up its nuclear programme. But there are questions on how big of a leverage China has on its neighbour. China, together with Russia, has also repeatedly blocked the US and others’ attempts to toughen economic sanctions on North Korea in recent years.

North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system earlier this week, coinciding with a joint visit by the defence chiefs of South Korea and the United States to the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas, the South’s military said yesterday.

The North launched the rockets toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea at around 4 p.m. Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding an analysis of the weapons test is under way.

Read Also: ECOWAS at 50: Amandla Institute, ALC, others set to hold meeting of experts

The launch came less than an hour before U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas, just south of the Joint Security Area within the DMZ, for a joint visit to the tense border with Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back.

Separately, the military confirmed the North also fired another 10 artillery rocket shells at around 3 p.m. Saturday, when President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held summit talks in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering.

North Korea said yesterday that its latest missile tests involved a new hypersonic system aimed at strengthening its nuclear war deterrent, as leader Kim Jong Un continues to build up weapons designed to overwhelm South Korea’s defenses.

The report by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected the North firing multiple missiles from an area south of the capital, Pyongyang, and said they flew about 350 kilometres (217 miles) northeast before falling on land.

The tests came days before world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, are expected to gather in rival South Korea for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.

The U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement that it was “fully aware” of North Korea’s ballistic launches and also its “relentless pursuit of long-range missile capabilities.” It urged the North to refrain from “unlawful and destabilising actions” in violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions, adding that the U.S. commitment to its alliance with Seoul remains “ironclad.”

Read Also: Madugu, Nnadozie  ‘missing’ as Ballon d’Or holds today in Paris

KCNA said the launches involved two hypersonic projectiles that accurately struck a land target in the country’s northern region. It described the system as strategic, implying that the missiles were designed to be armed with nuclear warheads.

KCNA didn’t specify the name of the missile system it tested. At a military parade earlier this month, Kim unveiled some of his military’s newest weapons, including what appeared to be a short-range ballistic system fitted with hypersonic glide vehicles.

North Korea in recent years has been testing various missile systems tipped with hypersonic weapons, which are designed to fly at more than five times the speed of sound. The speed and maneuverability of such weapons are meant to help them evade regional missile defense systems, but experts have questioned whether they have consistently flown at the speeds the North claimed during tests.

Pak Jong Chon, one of Kim’s top military officials who attended Wednesday’s tests, lauded the performance of the “new cutting-edge weapon system” and said the North would continue efforts to bolster its war deterrent and defense capabilities.

During the Oct. 10 parade, Kim also unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile that state media described as the country’s most powerful nuclear asset, adding to his growing collection of weapons with potential range to reach the U.S. mainland. Experts say the North could be preparing to test the missile in the coming weeks, ahead of a major ruling party conference in early 2026, when Kim is expected to announce key policy directions, potentially including his approach toward the United States.

Kim has been sharply accelerating the pace of weapons tests since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over the U.S.-led economic sanctions.

Wednesday’s launches were North Korea’s first ballistic missile tests since liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office in June, pledging to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula. But Kim has so far rejected Lee’s offer for talks and has said he won’t resume diplomacy with the United States unless Washington abandons its goal of denuclearizing the North.

North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing Seoul’s military.

The launch came as Seoul and Washington kicked off their annual combined military drills, known as the Freedom Shield, which are scheduled to last for 11 days.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul said it detected the missile launch from North Korea’s western Hwanghae Province at about 1:50 p.m. (0450 GMT) but provided no further details, according to Yonhap report.

The JCS added that it has increased surveillance efforts and is working closely with the U.S.

North Korea condemned the allies’ joint exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion against it.

Read Also: Newstap/SWAN 5-Star Awards: Dikko hails awardees over uplift of  Nigerian sports

Yesterday’s test marked its first known ballistic missile launch since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

North Korea was prohibited by UN resolutions from launching or even testing ballistic missiles of any range.

These were usually surface-to-surface missiles that could also be equipped with a nuclear warhead.

Pyongyang has significantly expanded its missile tests over the past two years, while sharpening its rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea.

It has also strengthened its military cooperation with Russia.

North Korea has signed off a treaty with Russia calling for a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Pyongyang’s state-controlled news agency KCNA reported yesterday.

It comes as North Korean troops are in Russia fighting against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian and other military sources.

In a statement, KCNA said North Korea signed the treaty, which was concluded on June 19 in Pyongyang, on Monday.

Read Also: Kano closes case against ‘mosque arsonist’

It will take effect once both sides exchange their ratification documents, the agency said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed off on the agreement on Saturday, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing Russia’s TASS news agency.

Moscow’s lower house of parliament or Duma okayed the treaty on Oct. 24.

The agreement takes the military cooperation between the two countries to a new level and stipulates that they will provide mutual assistance should either country be attacked.

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into the East Sea yesterday, South Korea’s military said, days after leader Kim Jong Un called for a nuclear weapons buildup.

“Our military detected several short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area into the East Sea around 07:10 (yesterday),” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters.

The missiles flew roughly 225 miles before splashing down in the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. The JCS said it was analyzing the launch and closely sharing information with the United States and Japan.

Hawaii-based U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that it detected the launch and was consulting with regional allies and partners.

“The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts,” the command said in a statement. “While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation.”

Read Also: Nigeria to get N589b in pact on health, others with Britain

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

The launch was the first since July 1, when North Korea fired what it claimed were missiles carrying a new “super-large warhead.”

North Korea this week celebrated its 76th anniversary of its founding, and leader Kim Jong Un called for a nuclear weapons buildup in response to threats posed by the United States and South Korea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have signed a pact that includes a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if either is attacked.

The inclusion of a mutual defence clause in their comprehensive strategic partnership, which Kim described as an “alliance”, will add to the west’s alarm over growing economic and military ties between North Korea and Russia. The deal was finalised yesterday after hours of talks in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. It is Putin’s second summit with Kim in nine months.

 “The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Putin was quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency, Tass, as he made his first visit to North Korea in 24 years.

It was not immediately clear what form that support might take, and no details of the agreement were made public. Putin later described the pact as “defensive”, citing North Korea’s right to defend itself, Tass reported. He added that Russia would not rule out developing military-technical cooperation with North Korea.

Read Also: U.S. issues 300 new sanctions that go after Russia’s war economy

Kim, speaking after the signing ceremony, called the deal the “strongest ever treaty” signed between the two countries, elevating their relationship to the “higher level of an alliance”. The pact would lead to closer political, economic and military cooperation, he said, hailing the agreement as “accelerating the creation of a new multipolar world”.

Putin’s visit has been closely watched by the US and South Korea amid concern that growing military cooperation between the isolated, sanctions-hit states could boost the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine and add to tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Ahead of his visit to North Korea yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Pyongyang for its support in Moscow’s fight against Ukraine.

Putin praised North Korea’s “unwavering support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine,” using the Kremlin’s wording to refer to the war, in a letter published in Pyongyang’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

The Russian leader also thanked North Korea for its solidarity on important international issues.

Read Also: Five animators, 15 Nigerian animation studios for 2024 Annecy International Film Festival

He added that it was committed and like-minded and ready to counter the West’s aspiration to restrain the establishment of a multipolar world order.

According to Putin, both countries have plans to collaborate on building security architecture in Eurasia.