NK weekly-external news
Summary of external news of North Korea this week
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.
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Top commanders of S. Korea, U.S., Japan vow close security ties to counter N. Korean threats
SEOUL -- The top military officers of South Korea, the United States and Japan emphasized the importance of trilateral security cooperation against North Korea's threats during their Pentagon meeting, as Washington reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of the regional allies, according to a joint statement.
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum participated in the Trilateral Chief of Defense Meeting, along with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Koji Yamazaki, respectively -- on Thursday (local time). U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander Adm. John C. Aquilino and Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, attended it as well.
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Defense chief orders 'immediate' response using 'ultra-precision' missiles in case of contingency
SEOUL -- South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup instructed field officers Thursday to employ "ultra-precision" missiles for an "immediate" response in case of a contingency during his inspection of an Army unit, his ministry said.
Lee's visit to the unit of the Army Missile Strategic Command came as Seoul and Washington are striving to sharpen deterrence following a series of North Korean military provocations, including this week's launch of hundreds of artillery shells.
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S. Korea's Army seeks advanced interception system against new N.K. missiles
SEOUL -- South Korea's Army said Thursday it is pushing to acquire an advanced interception system to defend against evolving missile and artillery threats from North Korea.
It unveiled the plan for the acquisition of the low altitude missile defense-II (LAMD-II) system that is intended to shoot down North Korea's new ballistic missiles, such as the KN-23 and the KN-24, and its super-large artillery rockets in a report for an annual parliamentary audit.
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S. Korea considering co-sponsoring U.N. resolution on N.K. human rights: ministry
SEOUL -- South Korea is "positively" considering co-sponsoring a U.N. resolution condemning North Korea's grave human rights conditions after refraining from doing so for years under the preceding liberal administration, according to Seoul's foreign ministry Thursday.
"Our government is proactively participating in consultations on the North Korean human rights resolution being deliberated at the U.N.," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said during a press briefing.
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JCS chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. discuss possible response to N. Korean provocation
WASHINGTON -- The top military chiefs of South Korea and the United States discussed ways to deal with North Korean provocations, the office of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday.
South Korea's JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, also reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula in the annual Military Committee Meeting held in Washington, according to a press release from the South Korean JCS.
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(3rd LD) U.S. envoy says N. Korea's tactical nuke threats 'irresponsible, dangerous'
SEOUL -- The U.S. ambassador to South Korea on Tuesday stressed Washington's "ironclad" commitment to extended deterrence for Seoul, as he denounced North Korea's recent threats of tactical nuclear weapons as "irresponsible and dangerous."
Ambassador Philip Goldberg made the remarks during a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, a Seoul-based group of senior journalists, amid mounting calls for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons here to counter Pyongyang's intensifying nuclear threats and deter its provocations. Some even argue for the need for South Korea to develop its own nuclear arms.
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