Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) S. Korea's spy agency confirms former N. Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho was purged

SEOUL -- South Korea's spy agency confirmed Thursday former North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho was purged, but it remains unclear whether he was executed.

The confirmation came after Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported Wednesday Ri appears to have been executed last year, citing multiple unnamed sources.

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S. Korea's Navy stages New Year's live-fire drills amid N.K. threats

SEOUL -- South Korea's Navy conducted its first live-fire drills of the year earlier this week, officials said Thursday, in a major display of naval might against evolving North Korean threats.

Designed to check the Navy's combat readiness, the annual drills took place in waters off the country's eastern, western and southern coasts on Wednesday, involving flagship warships and personnel from the Navy's 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fleets.

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(2nd LD) S. Korea, U.S. not discussing joint nuclear exercises: White House

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States are not discussing "joint nuclear exercises" against North Korean threats, the White House confirmed Tuesday, hours after President Joe Biden said "no" to a reporter's question about whether the allies have been talking about the issue.

Speaking earlier in a media interview, President Yoon Suk Yeol said the two sides are in discussions on joint planning and drills involving nuclear assets in order for the effective implementation of "extended deterrence." He added the U.S. is "quite positive" about it.

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(LEAD) S. Korea's military establishes new nuke, WMD response division amid N.K. threats

SEOUL -- South Korea's military launched a new division tasked with countering threats from North Korea's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) on Monday, officials said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) held a ceremony marking the creation of the Directorate of Countering Nuclear and WMD, which it said will lay the foundation for the envisioned launch of the "strategic command."

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Defense ministry touts progress from last week's solid-fuel space rocket test

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense ministry said Monday that last week's successful flight test of a homegrown solid-propellant space vehicle reflects progress in the country's quest to secure "independent" space security capabilities.

The state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) conducted the experiment, involving the engine combustion tests of the second-, third- and fourth-stage rockets of the four-stage vehicle, on Friday, whereas its first flight test in March involved only that of the second-stage rocket.

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