President Donald Trump ratcheted up the pressure on North Korea Monday, refusing to rule out eventual military action and declaring that the United States “will not stand” for Pyongyang menacing America or its Asian allies. Trump, on the first stop of his lengthy Asia trip, denounced North Korea as “a threat to the civilized world,” […]
Trump forgoes visit to DMZ to instead visit troops
The White House says President Donald Trump will not visit the Demilitarized Zone during his upcoming trip to Asia — a break from many previous administrations. There’s not enough time in the president’s schedule to accommodate a visit to the heavily fortified border zone that has separated the North and South Korea for 64 years, […]
Jim Mattis talks N.Korea diplomacy
On his first visit to the tense but eerily quiet frontier between North and South Korea as U.S. secretary of defense, Jim Mattis conveyed the message he hopes will win the day: Diplomacy is the answer to ending the nuclear crisis with the North, not war. He made the point over and over – at […]
What!? N. Korea STOLE S. Korea’s war plans
A South Korean lawmaker said Tuesday that North Korean hackers may have stolen highly classified military documents that include U.S.-South Korean wartime “decapitation strike” plans against the North, according to South Korean media reports. Rep. Lee Cheol-hee, a lawmaker for the ruling Democratic Party, cited unidentified defense officials as saying the hackers stole the plans […]
Japanese foreign minister praises Trump on N. Korea, pledges action
Japan’s new foreign minister is a reputed renegade, famous for bashing his ruling party’s policies with stands against nuclear power and for stricter checks on foreign aid. Taro Kono, appointed earlier this month, said he won’t abandon his pet issues, but will make sure to send a united message when representing his country to the […]
U.S. and S. Korean troops start drills amid N. Korea tension
U.S. and South Korean troops kicked off their annual drills Monday that come after President Donald Trump and North Korea exchanged warlike rhetoric in the wake of the North’s two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills are largely computer-simulated war games held every summer and have drawn furious responses from […]
U.S. general pledges to defend Japan from North Korea
America’s top military official reiterated Friday his country’s pledge to defend Japan against a North Korean missile attack, as western Japan carried out a test of an emergency alert system. “I think we made it clear to North Korea and anyone else in the region that an attack on one is an attack on both […]
Steve Bannon: ‘No military solution to North Korea’
Contradicting a boss already under pressure to fire him, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon says there’s no military solution to the threat posed by North Korea and its nuclear ambitions. Just last week, Trump pledged to answer North Korean aggression with “fire and fury.” In an interview with The American Prospect posted online […]
U.S. official sends chilling warning to North Korea
The top U.S. military officer said Monday that the United States wants to peacefully resolve a deepening standoff with North Korea but is also ready to use the “full range” of its military capabilities in case of provocation. The comments by Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford in a series of meetings with senior South Korean […]
China plans to cut off imports from N. Korea under sanctions
China announced Monday it will cut off imports of North Korean coal, iron ore and other goods in three weeks under U.N. sanctions imposed over the North’s nuclear and missile programs. China, the isolated North’s main trading partner, has been reluctant to push leader Kim Jong Un’s regime too hard for fear it might collapse. […]