Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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Blinken to discuss N. Korean threats, stress 'unshakable' commitment to S. Korea: official

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss North Korea's "continued and growing" nuclear and missile threats during his visit to Seoul next week, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, warning that Washington will take "robust" steps to counter the threats.

Blinken plans to visit Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday next week amid security concerns over North Korea's apparent preparations for the launch of what it calls a military reconnaissance satellite and its burgeoning military cooperation with Russia.

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N. Korea could stage provocations to divert domestic attention: defense chief

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense minister called Thursday for heightened military readiness to brace for any possible North Korean provocation meant to divert domestic attention from the nation's food crisis.

North Korea has launched a flurry of ballistic missile tests since last year, including a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in April and July. It also made two failed attempts to put a military spy satellite into orbit earlier this year.

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(LEAD) S. Korean military says N. Korea might have provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles

SEOUL -- North Korea might have provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles and portable anti-aircraft missiles in addition to artillery rounds for its war in Ukraine, a senior South Korean military official said Thursday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) made the assessment amid concerns over increasing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow following the rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.

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N. Korea appears to have resumed regular flights to Beijing

SEOUL -- North Korea's national carrier appears to have resumed regular flights connecting Pyongyang and Beijing, a website showed Thursday, as the reclusive regime reopened its border following more than three years of border lockdown.

The move comes after an Air Koryo flight landed in Beijing on Aug. 22, the first resumption of commercial flights since the North closed its border in January 2020 to fend off COVID-19.

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N. Korea in final stage of preparations for 3rd satellite launch: NIS

SEOUL -- North Korea is believed to be in the final stage of preparations to carry out what would be its third satellite launch after two failed attempts earlier this year, South Korea's spy agency was quoted as reporting to lawmakers.

After its second attempt failed in August, the North said it would try again in October. But no such launch has happened, and the North has given no word as to why the launch has been postponed and when it will take place.

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(LEAD) Blinken to visit S. Korea next week for 1st time since Yoon came into office

SEOUL -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea next week to discuss the alliance, North Korea and other issues, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, his first trip to Seoul since the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol came into office.

Blinken will begin a two-day trip to Seoul on Wednesday after attending a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting in Tokyo. The trip comes ahead of a highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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100 U.S. nuclear weapons should be committed to supporting S. Korea's security against N.K. threats: report

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States should modernize around 100 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to support the security of the South against North Korea's growing threats, a research report said Monday.

The Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Rand Corp. made the suggestion in a joint report, stressing the North has "already established a nuclear weapon force that could pose an existential threat" to South Korea and is "on the verge" of posing a serious threat to the U.S.

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