NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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S. Korea's military power 5th in world; N. Korea ranks 36th: index

SEOUL -- South Korea ranked fifth in the world in terms of military strength, while North Korea's standing was at 36th, an annual military power index showed Friday.

South Korea had a firepower score of 0.1416 to stand at fifth out of 145 countries, according to Global Firepower 2024. Its standing rose by one notch from a year earlier.

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No signs of imminent preparations for nuclear test at N. Korea's Punggye-ri site: U.S. monitor

WASHINGTON -- Recent satellite imagery of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site does not suggest imminent preparations for a new nuclear experiment despite apparent maintenance activity related to one of the underground tunnels there, a U.S. monitor said Thursday.

Citing imagery captured Tuesday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, released the analysis as Seoul and Washington have assessed the North as having completed preparations for what would be its seventh nuclear test at the site.

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UNSC holds closed-door meeting on N. Korean issues amid heightened peninsula tensions

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK -- The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) held closed-door consultations on North Korea-related issues on Thursday, sources said, amid tensions heightened by Pyongyang's recent launch of a claimed hypersonic missile and its hardening rhetoric against Seoul.

The informal UNSC meeting came as South Korea began its two-year term as a non-permanent member this month. Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are said to have requested the meeting -- this year's first UNSC consultations dedicated to North Korean issues.

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(LEAD) Nature of N.K. threat could change 'drastically' due to Pyongyang-Moscow cooperation: U.S. official

WASHINGTON -- The nature of North Korean threats could change "drastically" over the next decade due to an "unprecedented" level of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, a senior U.S. official warned Thursday.

Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, made the remarks, amid growing concerns about reported arms transactions between the North and Russia in the midst of the war in Ukraine, and their security implications.

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(3rd LD) Top U.S. nuclear envoy says N.K.'s belligerent rhetoric creates 'unnecessary' tensions

SEOUL -- The top U.S. nuclear envoy for North Korea expressed deep concern Thursday over North Korea's belligerent rhetoric against South Korea, saying it is increasing "unnecessary" tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Jung Pak, U.S. senior official for North Korea, made the remarks ahead of trilateral talks with her respective South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Gunn and Hiroyuki Namazu, saying the North Korean issue remains "an extraordinarily high concern" for the United States.

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(LEAD) U.S. warns against N. Korea's weapons aid to Russia after N. Korean FM's visit to Moscow

WASHINGTON -- The United States warned Wednesday against North Korea's potential provision of additional military aid to Russia for use in Ukraine, as Pyongyang's top diplomat visited Moscow this week in an apparent sign of deepening bilateral ties.

At the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited Russia from Monday to Wednesday, during which she also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan stage joint naval drill involving aircraft carrier

SEOUL -- South Korea, the United States and Japan have jointly conducted naval drills in waters south of the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's recent launch of a hypersonic missile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday.

The joint exercise took place in southeastern waters off Jeju Island involving nine warships of the three nations, including the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, from Monday to Wednesday.

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