Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) Deputy secretary of state nominee stresses focus on N.K. deterrence amid growing threats

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden's nominee for deputy secretary of state highlighted the need Thursday to focus "even more" on deterrence against growing North Korean threats, noting Pyongyang continues to perfect its long-range weapons capabilities while shunning dialogue.

Kurt Campbell, currently the National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, made the remarks during a Senate confirmation hearing as he responded to a question of whether he has any "creative" ideas to address the North Korean quandary.

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U.S., Japan agree on need to bolster deterrence over N.K. missile threats in security talks

WASHINGTON -- The United States and Japan have agreed on the need to beef up deterrence amid an "increasingly challenging" security landscape marked by North Korea's repeated missile launches and its military cooperation with Russia, the State Department said Thursday.

The two sides shared the need during their bilateral Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD) that took place in Japan from Tuesday to Thursday (local time). Extended deterrence refers to the U.S.' commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities to defend its ally.

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S. Korea, U.S., Japan hold 1st trilateral working-level talks on N.K. cyber threats

SEOUL -- South Korea, the United States and Japan held their first trilateral working-level talks Thursday on ways to boost cooperation against North Korea's growing cyber threats, in a follow-up to the summit among their leaders in August, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.

The talks in Tokyo were led by Lee Jun-il, the ministry's director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs, U.S. Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Jung Pak and Ishizuki Hideo, Japan's ambassador in charge of cyber policy.

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G7 leaders strongly condemn N. Korea's satellite launch, arms transfers to Russia

WASHINGTON -- The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries "strongly" condemned North Korea's recent spy satellite launch and its arms transfers to Russia on Wednesday, stressing the moves directly contravene U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan issued a statement on a range of global issues, including Russia's war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, after they met virtually.

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N.K. leader 'in hurry' to highlight his daughter to show his will for succession: minister

YANGPYEONG, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have been "in a hurry" to bring his daughter to the forefront in a bid to demonstrate his commitment to the third hereditary power succession, Seoul's top point man on Pyongyang said Wednesday.

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made the assessment amid speculation that frequent public appearances by Kim's daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae, may indicate she could be anointed to succeed her father.

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Nat'l security advisers of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Seoul

SEOUL -- The national security advisers of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Seoul this weekend to discuss trilateral cooperation on North Korea, and other regional and global issues, the presidential office said Wednesday.

The meeting between National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba, respectively, will be held Saturday in line with an agreement reached by President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their Camp David summit in August.

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(2nd LD) S. Korea successfully conducts third test flight of solid-fuel space rocket

SEOUL -- South Korea successfully conducted a third test flight of a solid-fuel space rocket Monday, the defense ministry said, as part of efforts to build its independent space-based surveillance system against North Korea.

The space launch vehicle was launched from a barge floating in waters about 4 kilometers south of Jeju Island at 2 p.m. and placed a small Earth observation satellite into orbit at an altitude of about 650 km, the ministry said.

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