Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) N. Korea succeeded in ICBM flight test, re-entry technology unverified: defense chief

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense chief said Thursday that North Korea's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) demonstrated its flight capability but its atmospheric reentry technology has not yet been verified.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the assessment after the North on Monday test-fired the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM at a lofted angle, which is considered to be capable of striking the U.S. territories if launched at a standard angle.

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(LEAD) U.S. deploys B-1B bombers near Korean Peninsula after N.K. ICBM launch

SEOUL -- U.S. B-1B strategic bombers took part in a joint aerial exercise that South Korea, the United States and Japan held over waters around the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday in a show of force after North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The exercise took place over waters east of the southern island of Jeju, where the air defense identification zones of South Korea and Japan overlap, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, amid heightened tensions in the wake of the North's firing of the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM into the East Sea on Monday.

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UNSC meeting on N.K. ICBM launch ends without outcome

NEW YORK -- The U.N. Security Council ended its meeting on North Korea's latest test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile without a united response Tuesday, with North Korea lashing out at the United States and South Korea for infringing upon its right to self-defense.

Kim Song, North Korea's envoy to the United Nations, warned the allies will face consequences if they continue the stepped-up military cooperation and vowed to keep up its arms buildup to counter threats from "hostile forces."

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(2nd LD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan launch system to share N.K. missile warning data in real time

SEOUL -- South Korea, the United States and Japan on Tuesday launched a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time, the defense ministry said, in the latest effort to bolster trilateral security cooperation against the North.

The three sides also jointly established a multiyear plan for trilateral military drills as agreed by their defense chiefs in a three-way meeting in November as they seek to better counter evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

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S. Korea, U.S. conduct joint special operations drills amid N.K. threats

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have staged a joint special operations exercise to enhance interoperability, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday, amid heightened tensions in the wake of Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch.

The combined exercise kicked off Monday at various training grounds, including the Army's Special Warfare School in the Gyeonggi Province city of Gwangju, 33 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as the North fired what it claimed to be a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM the same day.

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(LEAD) Unification minister says human rights violations 'status quo' in N. Korea

SEOUL -- South Korea's point man on North Korea called Monday for concerted international efforts to address the North's dire human rights situation, saying such violations are the "status quo" in the reclusive country.

North Korea has been under pressure from the international community to improve its human rights situation, though no meaningful progress has been reported.

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U.S. nuclear-powered sub arrives in S. Korea amid possibility of N.K. ICBM launch

SEOUL -- A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea on Sunday, Seoul's defense ministry said, amid concerns North Korea could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this month.

The USS Missouri (SSN-780), a Virginia-class attack submarine, entered a key naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, earlier in the day, according to the South Korean Navy.

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(LEAD) N. Korean leader Kim marks 12th anniversary of father's death

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has marked the 12th anniversary of the death of his father and predecessor Kim Jong-il by visiting a mausoleum where the father's body lies in state, the North's state media said Sunday.

Kim paid tribute the previous day at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Jong-il and the current leader's late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung lie in state, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

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