Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) S. Korean, U.S. top diplomats agree to cooperate on N.K. threats, peace in Taiwan Strait, South China Sea

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed to work together to address North Korean threats and support peace in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea in their phone call Thursday, a State Department spokesperson said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held the first phone conversation with his new South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, since Cho assumed office this week to succeed Park Jin.

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(LEAD) U.S. slaps sanctions on 3 Russian entities, 1 individual over arms transfers with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States imposed sanctions on three Russian entities and one individual for their involvement in the transfer and testing of North Korean ballistic missiles for Russia's use against Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

The sanctions came after the White House said that the North has provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles, some of which were used to strike Ukrainian targets on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Saturday.

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S. Korea submits written questions to U.N. on China's forced repatriation of N.K. asylum seekers

SEOUL -- South Korea has submitted a set of questions to the United Nations for the first time for an upcoming universal periodic review (UPR) to address China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

UPR is a mechanism that calls for each U.N. member state to go through a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years.

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(Yonhap Interview) Defense chief says N. Korea may supply tactical guided missiles to Russia

SEOUL -- North Korea may sell new types of tactical guided missiles to Russia in addition to its alleged supply of short-range ballistic missiles for Moscow's use in its ongoing war with Ukraine, South Korea's defense chief has said.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik also said North Korea could test-fire solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) as early as this month and may launch a long-range missile at normal angles to escalate already-high tensions ahead of key elections in South Korea and the United States.

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(LEAD) Security advisers of S. Korea, U.S. decry N. Korea's missile transfer to Russia for use in Ukraine

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- The national security advisers of South Korea and the United States condemned "in the strongest possible terms" North Korea's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine during a phone call on Tuesday, the White House said.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his new South Korean counterpart, Chang Ho-jin, to discuss the North's increasing military cooperation with Russia and its provocative actions along the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, it said.

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Demand for Chinese yuan grows in N. Korean private markets: report

SEOUL -- Demand for the Chinese yuan appeared to be growing in North Korea's private markets, a report showed Wednesday, in a sign of rising distrust over the North's own currency.

Some 68.4 percent of North Korean defectors who left their home country between 2016 and 2020 said they used the Chinese yuan in unofficial private markets, known as "jangmadang," compared with 6.4 percent of those who defected before 2000, according to a draft report on the North Korean economy and society compiled by the unification ministry.

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(3rd LD) Russia fired more N. Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine: White House

WASHINGTON -- Russia recently fired additional North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine following earlier such launches, a White House official said Tuesday, reiterating the arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang violate multiple U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, disclosed Russia's additional missile strikes on the war-torn country on Saturday, while noting its earlier launches of North Korean missiles on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2.

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(LEAD) S. Korea's spy agency confirms Hamas' suspected use of N. Korean weapons

SEOUL -- South Korea's spy agency on Monday confirmed suspicions that North Korean-made weapons are being used by the Hamas militant group in its war with Israel despite Pyongyang's repeated denial of its arms transactions.

Releasing a new photo of a North Korean rocket part, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) confirmed a Voice of America (VOA) report that Hamas fighters used an F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher manufactured in North Korea.

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