Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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Defense chief says N. Korea's light-water reactor likely to be in full operation next summer

SEOUL -- North Korea's experimental light-water nuclear reactor is expected to be in full-fledged operation next summer, South Korea's defense chief has said, although it is unlikely to be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the remark to reporters Thursday after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi renewed concerns last week over signs of activity at the reactor in the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

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(LEAD) U.S. reaffirms 'no hostile intent' to N. Korea after Kim calls for stronger war preparations

WASHINGTON -- The United States has "no hostile intent" toward Pyongyang and remains committed to diplomacy, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for beefed-up war preparations.

During a plenary session of the ruling Workers' Party on Wednesday, Kim made the call, pointing to the security situation on the Korean Peninsula that he claimed has become "extremely dangerous" due to "unprecedented" U.S.-led confrontational moves against the North.

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N. Korean human rights bill unlikely to pass Congress this year again

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. bill to reauthorize the expired North Korean Human Rights Act appears unlikely to pass Congress this year again, with the House of Representatives adjourning for a holiday recess.

According to Congress' website on Thursday, the bill to extend the 2004 act, aimed at promoting human rights in the reclusive country, remains pending, marking 15 months of absence since the law expired in September last year.

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Yoon orders military to retaliate first, report later in case of enemy attacks

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday ordered the military to immediately retaliate first and report it later in case of enemy attacks, as he paid a year-end visit to a front-line Army unit.

"In case of provocations, I ask you to immediately retaliate in response and report it later," Yoon said during the visit to the Fifth Army Infantry Division in the border county of Yeoncheon, 60 kilometers north of Seoul.

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(Yonhap Interview) Trump may bring about 'bolder' N. Korea policy shift if reelected: U.S. expert

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump could make a "bolder" shift in North Korea policy if reelected, an American expert said Wednesday, raising the prospects of him eyeing another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Andrew Yeo, the SK-Korea Foundation chair at the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies, also warned of a potential policy "clash" between South Korea and the United States should Trump handle the North Korean nuclear quandary from a standpoint of arms control rather than denuclearization.

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N. Korea will seek to increase nuclear weapons to improve 'second-strike capability': experts

SEOUL -- North Korea will continue to escalate its nuclear threats against the United States and South Korea next year while seeking to improve its capabilities to strike back with a nuclear weapon if it comes under a nuclear attack, experts said Wednesday.

Jun Bong-geun, a professor emeritus at the state-run Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), made the point at a briefing on the prospects of international relations for next year, stressing that North Korea has taken the "most aggressive nuclear posture in the world" due to its inadequate "second-strike" capability.

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(LEAD) Pontiff calls for Korea peace through dialogue in Christmas message

GENEVA/WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (Yonhap) -- Pope Francis expressed hope for efforts to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through "dialogue and reconciliation" in his Christmas message on Monday, amid tensions heightened by North Korea's recent missile launches and tough rhetoric.

The pontiff delivered the message during his "Urbi et Orbi" -- or "to the city and the world" -- blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican as the world has been beset by multiple security challenges, including the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group and Russia's war in Ukraine.

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