Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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N. Korea fires unspecified ballistic missile toward East Sea: JCS

SEOUL -- North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Friday, the South Korean military said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff did not provide further details as an analysis is currently under way.

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(LEAD) N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-U.S. military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'

SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday denounced a plan by South Korea and the United States to stage their joint annual military drills in August, warning that they could face a "catastrophic aftermath" if they carry out the exercise.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) by Seoul and Washington is a "nuclear attack exercise" against Pyongyang that will involve state-of-the-art military equipment, including nuclear strategic assets, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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(LEAD) N.K. leader's sister dismisses suspicions of weapons exports to Russia

SEOUL -- The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un dismissed allegations of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow on Friday, emphasizing that North Korean weapons are solely intended to target Seoul, not for exports to Russia.

The statement by Kim Yo-jong, who serves as the vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, came amid suspicions that North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.

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N.K leader visits newly built ruling party training school

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a newly built school for the country's ruling party officials, lauding it as a "perfect" facility to ensure the North's political principles, state media reported Thursday.

Kim's visit to the Central Cadres Training School of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang took place the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The visit came less than two months after he inspected its construction on March 30.

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(2nd LD) N. Korean leader inspects new tactical missile system

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a new tactical missile weapons system and called for an "epochal change" in war preparations by attaining arms production plans, state media said Wednesday.

Kim oversaw the "tactical missile weapons system to be newly equipped by the combined missile units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in charge of an important firing assignment" on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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(LEAD) N. Korea's Kim, daughter attend ceremony for new street in Pyongyang

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his "beloved daughter" Ju-ae attended a ceremony marking a newly built street at the north gateway of Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Wednesday.

It was the first time in about two months that Ju-ae made a public appearance since she visited a military unit on March 15. Kim and his daughter attended the ceremony on Tuesday, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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N. Korean municipal delegation heads for Russia's Far East

SEOUL -- A North Korean delegation from the country's border city of Rason has left for Russia's Far East, state media said Monday, the latest in a series of deepening exchanges between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The delegation, headed by the chief of the Rason Municipal People's Committee, departed the northeastern city on Sunday to visit the far eastern Russian region of Primorsky Krai, the Korean Central News Agency said in a one-sentence dispatch.

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N.K. leader calls for increased artillery capabilities during visit to arms factories

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has urged efforts to ramp up the military's artillery capabilities as he visited key munitions factories that produce sniper rifles and rocket launcher vehicles, state media said Monday.

Kim made the remark during his visit to major defense industrial enterprises on Saturday and Sunday, as he inspected the modernization of production lines and production plans for the year, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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N. Korea slams U.N. members' sanctions enforcement as 'provocations'

SEOUL -- North Korea on Monday denounced efforts by the international community to implement U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions against the North as "provocations" that spark tension and instability in the region.

The North's chief of the external policy section at the foreign ministry claimed that countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand, deployed warships and warplanes to the Asia-Pacific region under the pretext of monitoring UNSC sanctions resolutions.

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