NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.

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U.S. says it is consulting with allies over N.K. launches, reaffirms defense commitment to allies

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. military command said Saturday it is consulting closely with allies and partners over North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, while reaffirming America's defense commitment to regional allies.

Pyongyang fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Saturday (Seoul time), as South Korea and the United States were conducting their major military exercise, which the recalcitrant regime has decried as a rehearsal for an invasion against it.

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N. Korea estimated to have earned up to US$14.4 bln from Russia-Ukraine war involvement: report

SEOUL -- North Korea is estimated to have earned up to US$14.4 billion from its troop deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war and arms exports to Russia, a report showed Monday.

The figures come from a recent report on the economic impact of North Korea's soldier dispatch and arms exports to Russia by Im Soo-ho at the Institute for National Security Strategy.

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N. Korea shows off 'human-like' robots at polling station, schools

SEOUL -- North Korea has showed off "human-like" robots at a polling station and schools, in apparent efforts by Pyongyang to catch up with fast-growing global robotics technology.

Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan, published a photo of a robot with a humanoid appearance at a university in Pyongyang in its Tuesday issue. The photo showed a robot wearing a white and navy hanbok dress.

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N. Korea-China trade surpasses US$427 mln in Jan.-Feb., highest in 9 yrs

SEOUL -- Trade between North Korea and China surpassed 2.94 billion Chinese yuan (US$427 million) in the January-February period this year, marking the highest amount in nine years, Chinese data showed Wednesday.

China's exports to North Korea amounted to 2.31 billion yuan, while imports reached 625.6 million yuan during the two-month period, marking a combined 19.6 percent increase from the trade volume recorded a year earlier, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs.

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N. Korea committed to expanding nuclear, missile programs; poses 'significant' threats to S. Korea, Japan: U.S. report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea remains committed to expanding its nuclear, ballistic missile and other strategic weapons programs, posing "significant" threats to South Korea, the United States and Japan, a U.S. threat assessment report showed Wednesday.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, pointing out a series of North Korean threat elements among other security challenges, including Pyongyang's "sophisticated" and "agile" cyber program.

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