NK weekly-external news
Summary of external news of North Korea this week
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.
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(LEAD) Secretary Austin to highlight U.S. commitment to S. Korea during upcoming trip to Seoul: Pentagon
WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will underscore the U.S.' commitment to the security of South Korea during his upcoming trip to Seoul, a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday.
Sabrina Singh, principal deputy spokesperson for the defense department, also noted the U.S. defense chief looks forward to meeting with his South Korean counterparts, but said she had nothing to offer when asked if Austin will also be meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
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(2nd LD) UNC says both Koreas breached armistice by flying drones in each other's territory
SEOUL -- The U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) announced Thursday both South and North Korea violated the armistice by sending drones into each other's territory last month.
The UNC released the outcome of a probe by its special investigation team (SIT) into the North's Dec. 26 drone infiltrations, which led the South to send its drones north of the inter-Korean border in a "corresponding" counteraction.
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S. Korean nuclear envoy, senior IAEA official discuss N.K. nuclear issue
SEOUL -- South Korea's chief nuclear envoy met with a senior official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday to discuss cooperation in dealing with the North Korean nuclear stalemate, the Seoul foreign ministry said.
Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with Massimo Aparo, deputy director general of the IAEA, in Seoul and expressed hope for the agency's secretariat to play an active role in sending a strong message condemning the North at the IAEA level if Pyongyang conducts its seventh nuclear test.
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U.S. military presence in S. Korea does not bother N. Korea at all: Pompeo
WASHINGTON -- North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un are not bothered at all by the U.S. military presence in South Korea, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued in a memoir published Tuesday.
They rather consider U.S. troops in South Korea as a protection against Chinese dominance, according to Pompeo.
Pompeo said the North Korean leader had raised the issue of U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises during their first meeting in Pyongyang.
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Biden nominates new special envoy for N. Korean human rights
WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated a state department official as a new special envoy for North Korean human rights, the White House said Monday.
Julie Turner, director of East Asia and the Pacific at the state department's bureau of democracy, human rights and labor, has been nominated to serve as special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, according to the White House.
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