Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news in North Korea this week.

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(2nd LD) Harris says she will not cozy up to dictators like Kim Jong-un

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said she will not "cozy up to" dictators like North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom she cast as "rooting for" her Republican rival Donald Trump.

In her nomination acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday, Vice President Harris took aim at former President Trump, who has long boasted about his personal ties with Kim, stressing she knows "where I stand" in the "struggle between democracy and tyranny."

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S. Korea, U.S., Japan plan meeting on N. Korean human rights in Washington, D.C., in October

SEOUL -- South Korea, the United States, and Japan are planning to hold a meeting in Washington, D.C., in October to discuss North Korean human rights issues, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

The meeting, to be hosted by the U.S. State Department in early October, will involve government officials and civilian experts, the ministry said.

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Police probe pro-N.K. media founded by controversial pastor

INCHEON -- Police have opened an investigation into a pro-North Korean online media outlet founded by Korean American pastor Choi Jae-young on suspicion of violating the National Security Act, officials said Thursday.

Choi, who has made headlines for secretly filming himself handing over a luxury handbag gift to first lady Kim Keon Hee in 2022, reportedly participated in the creation of the media outlet in 2018.

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Korea denuclearization would remain goal if Harris wins White House: campaign official

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO -- The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula would remain a U.S. policy objective should Vice President Kamala Harris win the White House race in November, a former Pentagon official said Tuesday, dispelling concerns about the exclusion of the goal in the Democratic Party's new policy platform.

Colin Kahl, former undersecretary of defense for policy, made the remarks, saying that people appear to be "overreading" the platform. He is known to have participated in a process to write the platform expected to help set the tone for Harris' policy stances.

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Biden approved strategy to prepare against coordinated nuclear challenges from N.K., China, Russia: NYT

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden approved a secret strategy earlier this year to focus on China's growing nuclear threats and prepare the United States for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from North Korea, China and Russia, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Biden's approval in March of the revised strategy, called the "Nuclear Employment Guidance," came amid North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, China's rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal and Russia's perceived nuclear saber-rattling.

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U.S. alliance with S. Korea, Japan will get 'even stronger' regardless of election: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- The United States' alliance with South Korea and Japan will continue to get "even stronger," a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday amid questions about how the U.S. presidential election in November would affect Washington's security and foreign policy.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder made the remarks as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are in a tight race for the White House following President Joe Biden's exit from the contest last month.

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(3rd LD) U.S. to stand by S. Korea, other allies against N. Korean threats: 2024 Democratic platform

WASHINGTON -- The United States will stand by South Korea and other allies to counter North Korean provocations, the Democratic Party's 2024 policy platform has showed, reiterating the party's commitment to cementing regional alliances for stronger deterrence.

The party released the platform Sunday, the eve of the four-day Democratic National Convention, where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are to be celebrated as the Democratic nominees for president and vice president for the Nov. 5 general election.

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S. Korea, U.S. launch key summertime military exercise

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States kicked off a major combined military exercise for its 11-day run Monday to bolster their joint defense readiness amid advancing North Korean military threats.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, which runs through Aug. 29, got under way in the face of growing concerns over Pyongyang's continued weapons development, highlighted by its launches of 37 ballistic missiles this year alone and heightened cross-border tensions from the North's recent trash balloon campaign.

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(LEAD) Leaders of S. Korea, U.S., Japan reaffirm commitment to trilateral security cooperation

SEOUL -- The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan hailed the achievements of their trilateral security cooperation since their historic Camp David summit a year ago and vowed to bolster their ties across a broad range of areas.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued a joint statement celebrating progress in their three-way cooperation since their first-ever stand-alone summit at the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David a year ago.

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