Russia's state-run TASS News Agency said that while Putin flew to Vostochny from the Primorye Region where he participated in the Eastern Economic Forum, Kim arrived on a train to the spaceport's rail station.
The two leaders then greeted each other
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, discussions between Kim and Putin at the summit will focus primarily on bilateral cooperation, including trade and economic ties and cultural exchanges.
They will also engage in a comprehensive exchange of opinions about the situation in the region and the international affairs in general, TASS quoted Peskov as saying.
In a video posted on the Kremlin's official Telegram handle, Kim and Putin are seen shaking hands, after which the North Korean leader says: "Thank you for inviting us during your busy schedule," the BBC reported.
Kim also thanked the President for inviting him to Russia.
On his part, Putin told Kim. "I am glad to see you...This is our new cosmodrome" as he introduced to the Vostochny space centre launched in 2016.
In a report, Russian TV said that Putin showed Kim around the facilities at the spaceport .
PrimaMedia reported that the North Korean leader will be shown how the Angara launch vehicle is being assembled.
He and Putin will also inspect the launch complex for the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle, after which they will hold negotiations, the BBC reported.
In reponse to questions from reporters if Russia will help North Korea build satellites, Putin said: "This is why we've come to Vostochny Cosmodrome."
Analysts have predicted that North Korea may agree to supply Russia with ammunition and weaponry for its war in Ukraine, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Moscow, in return, may agree on a weapons-related technology transfer to Pyongyang, such as those involving spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.
If Kim and Putin also agree to strengthen their military cooperation, including a three-way naval drill with China, it would pose a major security challenge on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
This makes some tech enthusiasts worried, while others are happy about it.
Recently, Microsoft issued a warning about increased digital threats coming from China and North Korea.
They published a report called "China, North Korea pursue new targets while honing cyber capabilities"
In this report, Microsoft talks about the higher risk to specific industries and regions.
According to Microsoft's report, in the past year, people connected to China used AI-generated images to influence operations, making them look like they were American voters.
These images are probably created by AI-powered image generators that use AI to create realistic images and improve them over time.
This technology creates more attention-grabbing content compared to the simple digital drawings and stock photos they used before.
Microsoft expects China to keep improving this technology, but they are not sure when and how China will use it on a large scale.
The report also mentioned that various Chinese groups gather information and spread malicious software against governments and businesses in that area.
The report predicts that in the upcoming 2024 elections, China will likely continue to focus on Taiwan and the US as their top priorities.
Separately, the North also conducted a cruise missile drill using missiles "tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead" as it slammed the combined military exercises between South Korea and the US as an "actual drill" for "occupying" Pyongyang, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report.
The Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Worker's Party (WPK) commanded the drills from March 21 to 23 "in order to alert the enemy to an actual nuclear crisis and verify the reliability of the nuclear force for self-defence", Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA as saying.
The "underwater nuclear attack drone" was deployed off the coast of Riwon county, South Hamgyong province, on Tuesday and reached the target point in the waters off Hongwon Bay set as a mock enemy port with its test warhead detonating underwater on Thursday afternoon, it said.
The drone cruised "along an oval and pattern-8 course at an underwater depth of 80 to 150 meters in the East Sea of Korea for 59 hours and 12 minutes".
The North claimed that the drones, designed to "stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami" to destroy naval striker groups and major ports of its enemies, can be deployed "at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation".
North Korea began developing such underground nuclear weapons in 2012 to "outpace the military and technical superiority of the imperialist aggressor forces", the KCNA said.
The "secret weapon" was named "unmanned underwater nuclear attack craft 'Haeil'" at the eighth congress of the WPK in 2021 and has undergone more than 50 shakedowns in the past two years, it added.
On Wednesday, the North also test-fired strategic cruise missiles "tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead", according to the KCNA.
It said two "Hwasal-1" strategic cruise missiles and two "Hwasal-2" strategic cruise missiles, launched in South Hamgyong province, accurately hit the target set in the East Sea.
The missiles flew on their "programmed 1,500km- and 1,800km-long oval and pattern-8 orbits for 7,557 to 7,567 seconds and 9,118 to 9,129 seconds respectively.
South Korea's military earlier said it detected multiple cruise missile launches from the North's eastern city of Hamhung on Wednesday morning.
India's Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj joined US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Wednesday to issue a joint statement, along with nine other countries, to "strongly condemn North Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch which overflew Japan on October 4 and its seven other ballistic missile launches conducted since September 25".
"North Korea made its intentions clear in April and September when its leader signalled an effort to accelerate North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and even alluded to pre-emptive use of nuclear forces," the statement said referring to the country by the initials of its formal name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.
"We are witnessing North Korea's pursuit of this objective," the statement warned.
The launches "violate multiple Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to not only the region, but to the entire international community", said the statement issued after a meeting of the Security Council on North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.
China and Russia stood isolated in the Security Council by defending North Korea at the meeting while all the other 13 Security Council members crticised Pyongyang.
China's Deputy Permanent Representative Geng Shuang linked Pyongyang's missile launches to the joint military exercises by the US and other countries in the region.
Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva said her country opposed new sanctions on North Korea, whose activities she blamed on US military activity.
Speaking at the Security Council, Kamboj said that the "proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies" by North Korea "have an adverse impact on peace and security in the region, including on India".
She was alluding to Pakistan bartering its nuclear technology for North Korea's missile technology.
India reiterated the importance of "addressing the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea in our region", she said.
Referring to the global instability on several fronts that could be exacerbated by North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes, she said: "The Global South has already been disproportionately affected by the prevailing geopolitical situation and related challenges. It is therefore important, to continue to make all efforts to maintain peace and stability."
Speaking outside the Security Council chamber with diplomats from the 11-member group that included Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, France and Britain, Thomas-Greenfield said: "The US and those who have joined me at the podium today remain committed to diplomacy and continue to call on North Korea to return to dialogue."
"But we will not stay silent as North Korea works to undermine the global nonproliferation regime and threaten the international community," she added.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from Mupyong-ri in the northern province of Jagang at 7:23 a.m. and that the missile flew some 4,500 kilometres at an apogee of around 970 km at a top speed of Mach 17.
The missile flew past Japan, they said, adding that the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. are conducting a detailed analysis to verify the specifics of the missile.
Pyongyang last fired an IRBM in January. The Hwasong 12-type missile flew some 800 kilometres at a top altitude of 2,000 km.
"The series of North Korea's ballistic missile provocations will further strengthen deterrence and the response capabilities of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and only deepen the North's isolation from the international community," the JCS conveyed in a correspondence with Yonhap, a South Korean news agency.
It also condemned the launch as an act of "significant" provocation that undermines peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community, and a "clear" breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Soon after the launch, JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, had virtual consultations and reaffirmed that they would solidify the allies' combined defense posture against "any North Korean threats and provocations," according to the JCS.
In a statement over the launch, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command called on the North to refrain from further "unlawful and destabilising" acts.
"While we have assessed that this event does not pose a threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we will continue to monitor the situation," the command said. "The U.S. commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK remain ironclad."
ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
Given its flight distance, Tuesday's missile appears to have been fired at a standard angle -- in contrast to the North's earlier launch of an IRBM on a lofted trajectory, observers said.
The IRBM puts the U.S. territory of Guam within range in a reminder that it poses threats far beyond the peninsula.
The North launched one short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on September 25, then two last Wednesday, another two the following day and two on Saturday.
The string of the North's missile launches raised questions over the efficacy of the deterrence efforts by South Korea and the U.S.
The allies have recently ramped up their rhetoric against Pyongyang and held a naval exercise involving the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier. They also resumed the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) session last month after a nearly five-year hiatus.
Analysts said the North's recent provocations indicate it has been doubling on its major weapons development schemes, including developing a tactical nuclear warhead mountable on short-range ballistic missiles.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from the Sunan area in Pyongyang between 6.45 a.m. and 7.03 a.m. and that the missiles flew some 350 km at apogees of around 30 km at top speeds of Mach 6, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The launches came just hours before South Korea was set to hold an event marking the Armed Forces Day with its key military assets on display.
On Friday, the South, the US and Japan staged an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the East Sea.
"The recent series of North Korea's ballistic missiles is an act of significant provocation that undermines peace not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the international community, and a clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions," the JCS said in a statement.
"Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture while tracking and monitoring related movements in close cooperation with the US in preparation against additional provocations."
The presidential National Security Council convened a standing committee session and condemned the North's latest launches.
The latest launches followed earlier provocations on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Military authorities have been looking into possibilities that the North's recent launches might have involved its KN-23, KN-24, the KN-25 super-large multiple rocket launcher or other short-range platforms.
The KN-23 and KN-24 are modeled after Russia's Iskander ballistic missile and the US' Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), respectively.
Both KN-23 and KN-24 missiles are known for "pull-up" maneuvers to avoid interception.
Pyongyang's test-firing of short-range missiles raised speculation that it has been doubling down on its push to develop tactical nuclear arms.
Construction work on an underground testing facility in the north of the country has been observed in recent months, said a confidential UN report, parts of which were made available to dpa news agency.
"Work at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site paves the way for additional nuclear tests for the development of nuclear weapons."
Satellite imagery of the site suggests that North Korea has been repairing its network of tunnels at Punggye-ri, as well as rebuilding structures on the site that were demolished in 2018 during negotiations with the US.
According to the UN report, which covers activity over the the past few months, fissile material production capacity has also been ramped up at the country's Yongbyon nuclear facility.
Observers have been concerned for months that following numerous missile tests by Pyongyang, North Korean's first nuclear test in almost five years could be imminent.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been highlighting activity at Punggye-ri, where North Korea conducted six nuclear test explosions between 2006 and 2017, since June.
The Pyongyang government is subject to stringent sanctions as a result of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme.
The speaker of the US House of Representatives arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite fierce protests from China, becoming the highest-level official to make a formal trip there in decades, Yonhap news agency reported.
In a statement, she said her move "honours America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy."
In a quick response, however, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said the visit is "arousing serious concern of the international community," as it stated support for China, which labelled Pelosi's trip as infringing its "sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"The current situation clearly shows that the impudent interference of the US in internal affairs of other countries and its intentional political and military provocations are, indeed, the root cause of harassed peace and security in the region," a spokesperson for the ministry was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and the issue of Taiwan pertains to the internal affairs of China."
"We vehemently denounce any external force's interference in the issue of Taiwan, and fully support the Chinese government's just stand to resolutely defend the sovereignty of the country and territorial integrity," the unnamed spokesperson added, according to the KCNA's English-language report. "The U.S. scheme to disturb the growth and development of China and its efforts for accomplishing the cause of reunification is bound to go bankrupt."
Pelosi is leading a congressional delegation in its Asia swing. It travelled to Singapore and Malaysia with plans to visit South Korea and Japan as well.
North Korea has openly stressed its strong ties with China amid an intensifying Sino-US rivalry.
North Korea has so far refused to accept millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccine proposed in the COVAX global distribution programme, as it had claimed to be coronavirus-free, with strict border controls in place over the past two years against the pandemic.
"On May 12 alone, some 18,000 persons with fever occurred nationwide and as of now up to 187,800 people are being isolated and treated," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report.
It reported six Covid-19 deaths, including one linked with the Omicron variant, Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA report as saying.
The announcement came a day after Pyongyang acknowledged the coronavirus outbreak in the secretive country and declared a shift to a "maximum emergency" antivirus system.
Since late April, an unknown fever spread "explosively" across the North with a population of 24 million, affecting 350,000 people, according to the KCNA.
It added that 162,200 people have been fully treated so far.
The North's leader, meanwhile, inspected the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters on Thursday, the KCNA reported.
During his inspection, Kim "criticised" a failure to ward off the spread of Covid-19.
"The simultaneous spread of fever with the capital area as a centre shows that there is a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system," he was quoted as saying.
He called on all provinces, cities and counties to lock down their areas to prevent the further spread of the "malicious virus".
Kim also urged public health authorities to thoroughly observe all patients with symptoms of fever, set up scientific treatment methods and further strengthen the country's measures for supplying medicine.
"It is the most important challenge and supreme tasks facing our Party to reverse the immediate public health crisis situation at an early date, restore the stability of epidemic prevention and protect the health and wellbeing of our people," he said.
On Thursday, the North announced its first case of Covid-19.
Kim appeared in public wearing a mask for the first time as he presided over an emergency politburo meeting.
The outbreak forced leader Kim Jong Un to wear a mask in public likely for the first time since the start of the pandemic, but the scale of transmissions inside North Korea wasn't immediately known. A failure to slow infections could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated. Some experts say the North, by its rare admission of an outbreak, may be seeking outside aid.
The size of the outbreak wasn't immediately known, but it could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated. Some experts say the North, by its rare admission of an outbreak, may be seeking outside aid.
The official Korean Central News Agency said tests of samples collected Sunday from an unspecified number of people with fevers in the capital, Pyongyang, confirmed they were infected with the omicron variant.
In response, Kim during a ruling party Politburo meeting called for a thorough lockdown of cities and counties and said workplaces should be isolated by units to block the virus from spreading, KCNA said. He urged health workers to step up disinfection efforts at workplaces and homes and mobilise reserve medical supplies.
Kim said it was crucial to stabilise transmissions and eliminate the infection source as fast as possible, while also easing the inconveniences to the public caused by the virus controls. Kim insisted that the country will surely overcome what he described as an unexpected outbreak because its government and people are united as one.
North Korea's state TV showed Kim and other senior officials wearing masks as they entered a meeting room, although Kim removed his mask to speak into a set of microphones. Still photos distributed by KNCA showed Kim unmasked and sitting at the head of a table where all other officials remained masked.
South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, couldn't immediately confirm whether it was the first time state media showed Kim wearing a mask since the start of the pandemic.
North Korea has maintained strict anti-virus controls at its border for more than two years and didn't provide further details about its new lockdown. But an Associated Press photographer on the South Korean side of the border saw dozens of people working in farming fields or walking on footpaths at a North Korean border town an indication the lockdown doesn't require people to stay home or it exempts farm work.
The measures described in state media and Kim's declaration that economic goals should be met possibly indicate that North Korea isn't strictly confining people to their homes and is focusing more on restricting travel and supplies between regions to slow the viral spread, analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at South Korea's Sejong Institute said.
The North's government has shunned vaccines offered by the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program, possibly because those have international monitoring requirements.
Seoul's Unification Ministry said South Korea is willing to provide medical assistance and other help to the North based on humanitarian considerations. Relations between the Koreas have deteriorated since 2019 amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations and the North's increasingly provocative weapons demonstrations.
Kim Sin-gon, a professor at Seoul's Korea University College of Medicine, said North Korea likely is signaling its willingness to receive outside vaccines shipments, but wants many more doses than offered by COVAX to inoculate its entire population multiple times. He said North Korea would also want COVID-19 medicines as well as medical equipment shipments that are banned by U.N. sanctions.
The omicron variant spreads much more easily than earlier variants of the virus, and its fatality and hospitalisation rates are high among unvaccinated older people or those with existing health problems. That means the outbreak could cause a serious situation because North Korea lacks medical equipment and medicine to treat virus patients and many of its people are not well-nourished, Kim Sin-gon said.
Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea, said North Korea may want an international shipment of COVID-19 treatment pills. But he said the North's admission of the outbreak is also likely designed to press its people harder to guard against the virus as China, which shares a long, porous border with the North, has placed many cities under lockdown over virus concerns.
Despite the elevated virus response, Kim Jong Un ordered officials to push ahead with scheduled construction, agricultural development and other state projects while bolstering the country's defense postures to avoid any security vacuum.
The North will likely double down on lockdowns, even though the failure of China's zero-COVID approach suggests that approach doesn't work against the fast-moving omicron variant, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul's Ewha Womans University.
For Pyongyang to publicly admit omicron cases, the public health situation must be serious, Easley said. This does not mean North Korea is suddenly going to be open to humanitarian assistance and take a more conciliatory line toward Washington and Seoul. But the Kim regime's domestic audience may be less interested in nuclear or missile tests when the urgent threat involves coronavirus rather than a foreign military.
North Korea's previous coronavirus-free claim had been disputed by many foreign experts. But South Korean officials have said North Korea had likely avoided a huge outbreak, in part because it instituted strict virus controls almost from the start of the pandemic.
Early in 2020 before the coronavirus spread around the world North Korea took severe steps to keep out the virus and described them as a matter of national existence." It quarantined people with symptoms resembling COVID-19, all but halted cross-border traffic and trade for two years, and is even believed to have ordered troops to shoot on sight any trespassers who crossed its borders.
The extreme border closures further shocked an economy already damaged by decades of mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile program, pushing Kim to perhaps the toughest moment of his rule since he took power in 2011.
North Korea had been one of the last places in the world without an acknowledged COVID-19 case after the virus first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 spread to every continent including Antarctica. Turkmenistan, a similarly secretive and authoritarian nation in Central Asia, has reported no cases to the World Health Organization, though its claim also is widely doubted by outside experts.
In recent months, some Pacific island nations that kept the virus out by their geographic isolation have recorded outbreaks. Only tiny Tuvalu, with a population around 12,000, has escaped the virus so far, while a few other nations Nauru, Micronesia and Marshall Islands have stopped cases at their borders and avoided community outbreaks.
North Korea's outbreak comes as China its close ally and trading partner battles its biggest outbreak of the pandemic.
In January, North Korea tentatively reopened railroad freight traffic between its border town of Sinuiju and China's Dandong for the first time in two years, but China halted the trade last month due to an outbreak in Liaoning province, which borders North Korea.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch in waters off the North's eastern coastal city of Sinpo at 2.07 p.m. and that the missile flew some 600 km at a top altitude of about 60 km, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The latest launch marks the North's 15th show of force this year. It came just three days after the reclusive regime test-fired what was thought to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and also ahead of the inauguration of South Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol.
"The North's recent series of missile launches are acts of serious threat that undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community, and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions," the JCS said in a statement, urging Pyongyang to immediately stop them.
During a military parade last month, the North showcased a set of SLBMs, including a "mini-SLBM" that it claimed to have successfully test-fired from a submarine in October last year.
The SLBM is a bedrock asset for nuclear retaliation as a submarine carrying it can operate undetected, launch counterstrikes and thus allow a country to survive an enemy's preemptive attack.
At the parade, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hinted his country could use nuclear arms in case of encroachment on its "fundamental rights," raising speculation he is shifting to a more aggressive doctrine for nuclear use.
Concerns have persisted that the North could continue to engage in provocations, such as another ICBM launch or a nuclear test, particularly around Yoon's inauguration slated for Tuesday or his summit with US President Joe Biden scheduled for May 21.
The panel, however, said Pyongyang also continued to seek materials and technology for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs from overseas by evading UN Security Council resolutions, Yonhap news agency reported.
"During the reporting period, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continued to maintain and develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in violation of Security Council resolutions," said the report, dated March 1.
"Although no nuclear tests or launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles were reported, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continued to develop its capability for the production of nuclear fissile materials," it added, referring to North Korea by its official name.
The annual report on North Korean sanctions enforcement covers the period between August 4, 2021, and January 28, 2022.
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last Thursday (Seoul time), ending its self-imposed moratorium on long-range ballistic missile testing that had been in place since late 2017.
Pyongyang also fired two missiles on Feb. 27 and March 5, which the U.S. said involved testing a new ICBM system.
"Maintenance and development of the nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continued, and the country continued to seek material, technology and know-how for these programs overseas, including through cyber means and joint scientific research," said the report.
It added that the North's ballistic missile capabilities appeared to be advancing, noting the country staged a "series of launch tests of a wide range of new missile systems" from September 2021 to January 2022.
"It appears that those related to the development of various delivery platforms using either solid or liquid propellant ballistic missiles are being gradually achieved," said the report.
Pyongyang conducted nearly a dozen rounds of missile launches over the cited period, including seven rounds in January that marked the largest number of missile tests it has undertaken in a single month.
To help finance its missile tests, the North may have stolen as much as US$400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021, the panel of experts noted, citing a recent report from a cybersecurity firm.
"The cryptocurrency funds that are acquired by the cyber actors of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea go through a careful money-laundering process in order to be cashed out," it said.
The North's trade of goods, on the other hand, fell to record low levels in 2021, partly due to its continued border closure.
Still, the North continued to engage in the illicit transfer of goods, including energy imports, according to the report.
"Sophisticated evasion of maritime sanctions continued, facilitated by deliberately obfuscated financial and ownership networks," it said.
The panel added tactics to evade UNSC restrictions on oil shipments to North Korea including the use of "shell" companies and "multi-stage oil transfers" where a group of smaller vessels will deliver oil to a North Korean tanker, making it more difficult to track and identify their origins.
New Delhi "believes that there is a pressing need to address the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in our region", India's Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti told the Security Council on Friday.
"These linkages have an adverse impact on the peace and security in the region, including on India."
While he referred to North Korea by its formal name, diplomatically he did not mention Pakistan, but it was clear he was speaking of the well-documented swap of Islamabad's clandestine nuclear technology for North Korea's missile technology.
This cooperation helped Pyongyang develop nuclear weapons and Islamabad build missiles.
Tirumurti spoke at the Council meeting convened at the request of the US to discuss North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday, which ended Pyongyang's self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing that had been in place since November 2017
While the world is consumed by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, nuclear-armed North Korea sprang the ICBM test and its leader Kim Jong-un taunted the US.
KCNA, the official North Korean news agency, quoted Kim as saying that his country should get ready for a"long-standing confrontation with the US" and that "the strategic forces of the DPRK are fully ready to thoroughly curb and contain any dangerous military attempts of the US imperialists".
Tirumurti said: "India deplores the launch of an ICBM by the DPRK. This is a violation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council relating to the DPRK. It affects peace and security of the region and beyond."
The launch contravenes Pyongyang's own self-declared moratorium against the launch of ICBMs, he added.
Russia and China have proposed a Council resolution for loosening sanctions on North Korea citing their impact on its people.
China's Permanent Representative Zhang Jun said" "The China-Russia draft resolution on the DPRK serves one purpose and only one purpose and that is to ease the humanitarian and logistical plight".
US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield countered: "We have also heard recent calls for sanctions relief for the DPRK. But why should the Security Council reward bad behaviour?"
The US will be introducing its own "resolution to update and strengthen the sanctions regime", she said.
The two resolutions will not survive the vetoes from the opposing sides.
Tirumurti said that "India is sensitive to the humanitarian situation in the DPRK" and had sent it $1 million worth of anti-tuberculosis medicines through the World Health Organization.
The nuclear-for-missile swap was carried out through what came to be known as the "Khan Network", a nuclear arms bazaar run by A.Q. Khan, the prime mover behind Pakistan's nuclear bomb.
Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf admitted that Khan had given North Korea centrifuges for enriching uranium for nuclear weapons.
Khan said that his country had been buying missiles from North Korea.
In deals going back to Pakistan's slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, North Korea gave her country missile designs.
Pakistan's Ghauri missile is based on North Korea's Rodong (sometimes written as No Dong).
It would be the second meeting of the UNSC in about a week in connection with such a move by the North, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Regarding the North's test-launch of an apparent ballistic missile on March 5, some members of the influential panel have requested closed-door discussions, and the meeting is scheduled to open on Monday morning (New York time), according to the Foreign Ministry official.
"Our government is in close communication with major members of the Security Council including the US," the official added.
The North lobbed what appears to be a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) into the East Sea on March in its ninth show of force this year alone, the South's military said.
The following day, Pyongyang's state media reported that the nation's defense science authorities have conducted "another important test under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite".
"The DPRK National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) and the Academy of Defence Science conducted another important test on Saturday under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report.
The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Through the test, the NADA "confirmed the reliability of data transmission and reception system of the satellite, its control command system and various ground-based control systems", Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA as further saying.
The report however, did not provide additional details.
On Saturday, the North fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, its ninth show of force this year, according to South Korea's military.
Launched from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang, the missile flew about 270 km at a top altitude of 560 km, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
On Saturday, South Korea's presidential National Security Council convened an emergency meeting and condemned the North's missile launch, calling for Pyongyang to halt acts that raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The North has launched a barrage of missiles, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile, since the start of this year.
On February 27, the North launched a ballistic missile and announced the next day that it carried out an "important test" to confirm the accuracy of the "photographing system, data transmission system and attitude control devices" to develop a reconnaissance satellite.
Saturday's show of force came ahead of South Korea's presidential election on March 9.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 8.48 a.m. and that the missile flew around 270 km at a top altitude of 560 km, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The latest launch, the North's ninth show of force this year, came less than a week after it claimed to have conducted a "reconnaissance satellite" development test that the South called a ballistic missile launch.
"The North's recent series of ballistic missile launches are a significant threat to not only the international community but also peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," the JCS said in a press statement.
"We strongly urge the North to immediately stop them."
The North appears to have launched the missile at a steep angle from a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) from the Sunan airfield, a JCS official said.
Saturday's missile appears to be similar to the one fired also at a steep angle at the Sunan airfield on February 27, the official said.
If launched at a standard angle, the missile would have travelled between 1,000 km and 1,200 km -- a flight distance for a medium-range ballistic missile, according to analysts.
South Korea's presidential National Security Council condemned the North's missile launch, calling for it to halt acts that raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The US Indo-Pacific Command also denounced the launch and urged the North to refrain from "further destabilizing acts".
The North's "satellite" development test on February 27 marked the resumption of its rocket launches following a hiatus that it apparently imposed during the Beijing Winter Olympics apparently in respect for China, its ally and key economic patron.
Since the start of this year, the North has launched a barrage of missiles, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile, using various platforms, such as a road-mobile launcher and a railway-borne one.
The State-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed the testing of the missile, which was targeted 800 kms away at the Sea of Japan.
KCNA said that Sunday's firing was "conducted by the highest-angle launch system from the northwestern part of the country toward the waters" of the Sea of Japan "in consideration of the security of neighboring countries".
The Hwasong-12 missile is "being deployed," the report added, saying North Korea has "confirmed the accuracy, security and effectiveness of the operation" of the weapon system under production.
CNA also shared images of the earth from space clicked by a camera installed on the missile's warhead.
Both Japan and South Korea have condemned the launches. Seoul said the missile reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 km before coming down in the Sea of Japan. This was the seventh round of tests by North Korea this month, reports the Kyodo news agency.
The Japanese Defence Ministry estimates that the Hwasong-12 has a range of around 5,000 km, which would bring the entire Japanese archipelago and the US territory of Guam within its reach.
Criticising the series of missile launches, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said: "It is clear that the aim is to unilaterally escalate the stage of provocation against the international community."
North Korea's continued tests of missiles violate the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
Experts believe that through repeated test firings, Pyongyang seems to be signalling for talks with the US. It has made efforts to speak with South Korea about "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula.
Former US president Donald Trump in his Singapore summit with Kim in June 2018 had promised to provide security guarantees to Pyongyang in return for "complete" denuclearization. North Korea has withheld nuclear and ICBM tests since then but the two countries have not made progress over denuclearization and sanctions relief over the past few years.
The Biden administration has indicated that it is willing to resume the stalled talks but levied additional sanctions after Pyongyang began testing a diversity of missiles last year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also began modernising the country's armed forces.
The North launched the missile eastward at around 8.10 a.m. (S.Korea time) from a land-based platform, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said without further elaboration, reported Yonhap news agency.
"For additional information, the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.
South Korea's military in cooperation with the US is closely watching related North Korean movements and maintaining a readiness posture against the possibility of the North's additional launches, the JCS said.
It marks the North's first projectile launch since the regime fired off a new submarine-launched ballistic missile in October last year.
The latest sabre-rattling came just days after the North concluded a five-day Central Committee plenary of the ruling Workers' Party on Friday, highlighting its key focus on economic issues and its pandemic response.
At the plenary, participants stressed the importance of boosting their country's defence capabilities, pointing to the growing instability of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not issue any particular messages for the South or the US at the gathering, but the latest launch appears aimed partially at raising the stakes for future talks with the allies, analysts said.
Wednesday's launch could also be part of the North's wintertime drills, some observers said.
The launch came amid expectations the North could refrain from major strategic provocations that could undermine the mood for peace in the lead-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics slated for next month.
The 5th Conference of the Frontrunners in the Three Revolutions, which kicked off in Pyongyang on November 18, closed with the adoption of an appeal that calls for the glorification of "the great era of Kim Jong-un", according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The three-revolution movement is a mass movement devised under Kim Il-sung, the North's late founder and grandfather of the current leader, to continue "the revolution in the realms of ideology, technology and culture even after the establishment of the socialist system", Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA as saying.
At the start of the conference, Kim Jong-un sent a letter to the participants and called for strengthening the country's self-reliance.
"It is the feelings and aspiration of all the Korean people who live in the glorious era and the solemn call of the revolution to transform and change the whole society in line with the revolutionary idea and will of the respected Comrade Kim Jong-un," the KCNA said.
The conference took place as North Korea has been continuing to elevate Kim's political status ahead of the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong-un's leadership.
He rose to power in December 2011, following the sudden death of his father and former leader Kim Jong-il.
It marked the second of its kind held under the current leader after the fourth conference took place in November 2015.
The previous sessions were held in 1986, 1995 and 2006.
The reaction came four days after the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved the resolution, reports Yonhap News Agency.
The resolution, the 17th of its kind adopted annually by the UN panel, is expected to be endorsed at the General Assembly next month.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry said it categorically rejects the anti-DPRK "human rights resolution" of the hostile forces, calling it a product of anti-DPRK hostile policy and double standard, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"We will never tolerate any attempts that violate the sovereignty of our state, and we will continue to resolutely counter to the end the ever-worsening moves of the hostile forces against us," the Ministry said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea has long been accused of grave human rights abuses, ranging from holding hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in concentration camps to committing torture and carrying out public executions.
In 2014, the UN Commission of Inquiry issued a landmark report after a yearlong probe that stated North Korean leaders are responsible for "widespread, systematic and gross" violations of human rights.
But Pyongyang has bristled at any talk of its human rights conditions, calling it a US-led attempt to topple its regime.
On Sunday, North Korea claimed all its policies serve to give the highest and absolute priority to the people's rights and interests, and to promote the well-being of the people.
North Korea is one of 10 countries designated as "country of particular concern", Yonhap News Agency quoted Blinken as saying in a statement on Wednesday
"I am designating Burma, the People's Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated 'systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom'," he added.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
This is the 20th consecutive year that the North has been designated as a state violator of religious freedom.
Blinken vowed efforts to end what he called "structural, systematic and deeply entrenched" challenges to religious freedom, also calling on the international community to do the same.
"The challenges to religious freedom in the world today are structural, systemic, and deeply entrenched," he said.
"They demand sustained global commitment from all who are unwilling to accept hatred, intolerance, and persecution as the status quo. They require the international community's urgent attention."
Along with the 10 state violators of religious freedom, Blinken also designated nine non-state actors, including the Houthi militia in Yemen and the Islamic State (IS) terror group, as entities of particular concern, while placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua on a special watch list for countries that have engaged in or tolerated "severe violations of religious freedom".
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) dismissed reports that claimed Kim Yo-jong ousted Kim Jong-un after a coup, reports Yonhap News Agency.
A separate government official also said such reports are not true.
Citing a report from US-based tabloid "Globe", some news outlets here said Kim Yo-jong staged a coup between May 6 and June 5, and removed Kim Jong-un from the post.
The report claimed Kim Jong-un at recent events is actually an impostor, pointing out that his appearance is different than the past, with substantial weight loss.
Speculations about Kim Jong-un's well-being have been brought up by media regularly since last year.
In July, the NIS dismissed rumours over Kim Jong-un's health problems as "groundless".
The North Korean leader earlier this month attended a defence development exhibition in Pyongyang and called for boosting military capabilities.
He was also seen smoking cigarettes with officials at the event, according to photos released by the North.
A spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry expressed concerns over what it called "abnormal" reactions from the US and the UN Security Council as they convened an emergency meeting on its "rightful exercise of right to defence," Yonhap news reported, citing the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Two days earlier, North Korea fired an SLBM from the vicinity of Sinpo, where its main submarine shipyard is located. It marked the North's eighth known major missile test this year.
"To criticise the DPRK for developing and test-firing the same weapon system as the one the US possesses or is developing is a clear expression of double-standards and it only excites our suspicion about the 'authenticity' of its statement that it does not antagonize the DPRK," the spokesperson said.
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The North's Academy of Defence Science carried out the test aimed at "confirming the practicality of operation of the launcher, radar and comprehensive battle command vehicle as well as the comprehensive combat performance of the missile", Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The Academy verified the "remarkable" combat performance of the new missile that features rapid response and guided accuracy with a missile control system as it introduced new technologies that included "twin-rudder control technology" and a "double-impulse flight engine", Yonhap News Agency quoted KCNA as saying.
The North has also been successful in substantially increasing the effective range of the missile, it added.
The twin-rudder control technology appears to be aimed at increasing mobility by attaching variable wings to the warhead and at the middle of the missile.
Pak Jong-chon, a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the ruling Workers' Party, guided the launch, while leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the firing, according to the KCNA.
South Korea's Unification Ministry said it will continue efforts to restart inter-Korean talks while keeping a close watch on the North's next move.
North Korea has recently ratcheted up tensions by conducting its first test-launch of a hypersonic missile earlier this week, just two weeks after test-firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
The latest missile launch also comes as the North has signalled a willingness to improve ties with the South in recent weeks on the condition that Seoul drops its "double standards" of denouncing the North's "defensive" weapons tests while justifying its own arms build-up.
During his speech at the second-day session of the Supreme People's Assembly on Thursday, Kim said that cross-border communication lines with South Korea will be restored in early October as part of efforts to improve chilled relations.
Kim also said the North has "neither aim nor reason" to provoke South Korea and urged Seoul to "get rid of the delusion" that it has to deter the Pyongyang's provocations.
Inter-Korean relations have remained in a deadlock since the no-deal summit between the US and North Korea in early 2019.
In a press statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yong Chol, department director of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), said: "As we have already clarified, we will make them realise by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice."
Kim Yong Chol made the remarks one day after Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the WPK, issued a similar warning: "the choice of hope or despair is totally up to the South Korean authorities", Xinhua news agency reported.
He stressed that the military exercises slated by South Korea with the US "would be an unfavourable prelude further beclouding the future of the inter-Korean relations".
"But the South Korean authorities have now revealed that peace and trust much touted by them whenever an opportunity presented itself were just a wordplay," said Kim Yong Chol, who is in charge of South Korea affairs in the country.
South Korea "must be made to clearly understand how dearly they have to pay for answering our good faith with hostile acts after letting go the opportunity for improved inter-Korean relations," he added.
Despite strong opposition from Pyongyang, South Korea and the US started their four-day preliminary drills on Tuesday and the joint military exercises are expected to run through next week from August 16 to 26.
The leaders of both North Korea and South Korea agreed to resume the inter-Korean hotlines two weeks ago, which was cut off for more than a year.
The North has since demanded that the South suspend drills to accelerate a thaw in the strained inter-Korean relations.
Reiterating solidarity with its Asian partners on Friday, France called North Korea's move to build a nuclear and ballistic program a "violation of its international obligations", which put at risk the security of the region and the international community, Xinhua news agency reported.
"In the face of this threat, France is prepared to work -- particularly within the UN Security Council and the European Union -- to strengthen measures to convince the Pyongyang regime that escalation is not at all in its interest and to bring it to the negotiating table," the Quai d'Orsay added in a statement.
North Korea reportedly fired, earlier on Friday, a missile that flew over Japan's northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean.
At the request of the US, Japan and South Korea, the UN Security Council was to meet to discuss the missile launch.
China on Friday said it opposes ballistic missile launches by North Korea against UN Security Council resolutions.
On Monday, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear test on September 3, the ninth UN sanctions resolution adopted on North Korea since 2006.
The sanctions resolution curtailed North Korea's oil supply by almost 30 per cent, and banned all of its textile exports worth $800 million and remittances of North Korean labourers from abroad.
Kim's armoured train departed from Beijing at 2.08 p.m., according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not confirm the information on Kim's journey but said it would issue an official press release.
Kim is expected to reach the North Korean capital on Thursday, reports Efe news.
As on previous occasions, Kim's agenda has not been made public, but he is reported to have held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday.
Yonhap reported that on Wednesday, Kim visited the facilities of a Chinese traditional medicine firm for close to 30 minutes, after which he had lunch with Xi.
This was Kim's fourth visit to China in the last year and came amid reported preparations for a second meeting between Kim and US president Donald Trump to resume denuclearization talks.
The first meeting between Kim and Xi in Beijing took place ahead of North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics held in South Korea, which kicked off a process of rapprochement between the two Koreas.
The other two summits with Xi in May and June occurred soon after his meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and with Trump in Singapore.
After the signing of the deal during the course of the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin here on Friday, a top source pointed out that India's negotiations for the S-400 missile system began several years before the current US sanctions on Russia came into effect.
This was basically implying that New Delhi will not give up on its defence cooperation legacy with Moscow in the face of another country's actions.
The S-400 missile deal has been an issue of much speculation after the Trump administration's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) law came into effect in January. CAATSA targets countries doing business with Russian, Iranian and North Korean defence companies.
A group of US senators imposed the sanctions on Russia over what they called Moscow's continued involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Syria and its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
Following the signing of the S-400 deal, the US Embassy spokesperson here said that the intent of her country's implementation of CAATSA was "to impose costs on Russia for its malign behaviour, including by stopping flow of money to Russia's defence sector".
Spokesperson Jinnie Lee said that CAATSA was "not intended to impose damage to the military capabilities of our allies or partners".
Her comments came after a senior US State Department official said last month that there will be no blanket waiver for defence trade with Russia.
"On the S-400, there is no blanket waiver or country-specific waiver," Principal Deputy Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Alice Wells had said while briefing the media about the first ever 2+2 India-US Ministerial Dialogue.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis held the 2+2 Dialogue here on September 6.
Wells also referred to Pompeo's remarks to the media here after the 2+2 Dialogue in which he said that no decision has been taken on the S-400 deal.
"We continue to have conversations with the Indian leadership on ways we are working to hold Russia accountable for its behaviour," she stated. "As Secretary Pompeo said, the sanctions are not intended to adversely impact countries like India. These are designed to impact Russia."
The most significant outcome of the 2+2 Dialogue was the signing of the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) by the two sides. COMCASA guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication networks to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.
Though India and the US maintain a robust Global Strategic Partnership with the two countries being major defence partners, by signing the S-400 missile deal, New Delhi has now sent a clear signal to the world that its bilateral relationship with one country is independent of that with a third country.
This was also evident when Modi went to Wuhan in China in April at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping for an informal summit after Indian and Chinese troops were in a face-to-face situation at Doklam on the India-Bhutan-China trijunction for 73 days last year.
India and China are now also in talks to update a 12-year-old defence agreement and establish a hotline between their defence ministries.
Putin, too, after being re-elected President for the fourth time, hosted Modi for a similar informal summit in the Russian resort city of Sochi in May. Following that meeting, Modi said that India-Russia bilateral ties have been taken to a new level.
New Delhi also made its foreign policy independence in West Asia clear when Modi made separate visits to Israel in July last year and to Palestine in February this year.
These were the first-ever Indian prime ministerial visits to the two countries.
Despite developing strong ties with Israel, India in December last year voted with the rest of the world in the UN General Assembly against US President Donald Trump's unilateral decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Now, what remains to be seen is how India handles the fresh US sanctions on Iran that are set to come into effect on November 4.
The US pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that Tehran had signed with the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council, Germany and the European Union and imposed the new sanctions on the West Asian nation over its nuclear programme.
Under the sanctions, the US wants all countries in the world to stop importing oil from Iran.
This has sparked concerns in New Delhi as Iran is a major supplier of crude oil to India.
According to Wells, expert-level discussions are going on between India and the US on issues related to crude oil exports from Iran and ways to bring those exports down.
Stating that these conversations are ongoing, she said that the US is "working very hard with our partners so that there are no disruptions in the market and adequate supply is available to substitute for Iranian oil".
But can India afford to forego crude supplies from Iran in the face of the spiralling oil prices? This is the next big foreign policy challenge for New Delhi.
Kim agreed to take additional steps for denuclearisation, in an apparent gesture to restart the stalled talks with the US, Yonhap news agency reported.
The agreement came in a historic summit between Kim and Moon held at the state guesthouse Paekhwawon here. The two leaders "agreed on a way to achieve denuclearisation" said Moon, the BBC reported.
The agreement was described by Kim as a "leap forward" towards military peace on the Korean Peninsula. He also hoped to "visit Seoul in the near future". He would be then the first North Korean leader to do so.
"The North has agreed to permanently shut down its Dongchang-ri missile engine testing facility and missile launch pad under the participation of experts from related countries," Moon said in a joint press conference with Kim after the summit, broadcast live in Seoul.
The North also agreed to take additional steps, such as the permanent shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear facility, depending on the US' corresponding measures, he added.
"The South and the North discussed denuclearisation steps for the first time," Moon added.
"The North held the military parade in the morning, and it has been completed," the source told Seoul's Yonhap News Agency.
It is not yet clear whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un joined the event and if intercontinental ballistic missiles were put on display.
The North's media has stayed silent on the event, which is the first since Kim held a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in June.
Meanwhile, international journalists have been invited to watch the military parade, a torch-lit rally and the Arirang Mass Games, a highly choreographed event expected to involved hundreds of thousands of people, CNN reported.
The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang - or Arirang Games - last took place in 2013.
This year's games, which tells a symbolic story of North Korea's history, are titled "The Glorious Country", according to the BBC.
Analysis of satellite images from the past two weeks suggest this year's games, which will continue throughout September, are going to be very big.
With tickets for foreigners costing more than $930, the country could rake in foreign currency at a time it is still under sanctions from many Western nations.
National carrier Air Koryo has scheduled additional flights from Beijing to bring in more tourists to watch the performances.
Sunday's parade will be North Korea's second such event of the year.
The first came in February a day before South Korea held the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Those games helped kick start the current stage of rapprochement between the Koreas.
Newly obtained evidence, including satellite photos taken between July 20 and July 22, indicates that work is underway on at least one and possibly two liquid-fuelled ICBMs at a large research facility in Sanumdong, on the outskirts of Pyongyang, informed officials told The Washington Post on Monday.
The Sanumdong factory has produced two of North Korea's ICBMs, including the powerful Hwasong-15, the first with a proven range that could allow it to strike the US East Coast.
The evidence points to ongoing work on at least one Hwasong-15 at the Sanumdong plant, according to imagery collected by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
"We see them going to work, just as before," a US official told The Washington Post.
The exception, the officials said, is the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on North Korea's west coast, where workers can be observed dismantling an engine test stand.
The findings are the latest to show ongoing activity inside North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities at a time when the country's leaders are engaged in arms talks with the US.
The new intelligence does not suggest an expansion of North Korea's capabilities but shows that work on advanced weapons is continuing after US President Donald Trump last month declared that Pyongyang was "no longer a nuclear threat".
Monday's development come after revelations about a suspected uranium-enrichment facility, called Kangson, that North Korea is operating in secret.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged during a Senate testimony last week that North Korean factories "continue to produce fissile material" used in making nuclear weapons.
He however, declined to say whether Pyongyang was building new missiles.
During the historic June 12 Singapore summit between Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un, the Pyongyang leader agreed to "work toward" the "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula.
But since then, North Korea has made few tangible moves signaling an intention to disarm.
This is the first time in 10 years that military fleets of the two countries will be able to communicate by radio to avoid tensions and confrontations at sea, reports Efe news.
A South Korean Navy vessel situated near Yeonpyeong island - which Pyongyang bombed in 2010 - on Sunday carried out the first test call, which was answered by a North Korean boat.
In May 2008, when inter-Korean relations had hit a low after conservatives came to power in South Korean elections, maritime communication between the two countries was cut off after North Korean vessels stopped responding to South Korean radio messages.
In June 2004, when the two Koreans maintained amicable relations, they agreed to use the same radio frequencies and visual signals for better communications in the waters around the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier this month, the first-ever communications at sea between South and North Korean patrol ships were carried out.
In a carefully choreographed encounter at around 9 a.m., Trump and Kim strode towards each other, arms extended, in the red-carpeted reception area of the grand Capella Hotel, in Singapore's Sentosa Island, reports The New York Times.
This is the first time a sitting American President and North Korean leader have ever met.
The two leaders then shared a 12-second handshake in the courtyard of the British-colonial style hotel against a backdrop of American and North Korean flags.
Posing for photographs, Trump put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. Then the two, alone except for their interpreters, walked off to meet privately in an attempt to resolve the crisis over North Korea's nuclear programme.
"I feel really great," Trump said.
"It's gonna be a great discussion and I think tremendous success. I think it's gonna be really successful and I think we will have a terrific relationship, I have no doubt."
Kim spoke in Korean, saying that "the old prejudices and practices worked as obstacles on our way forward, but we've overcome all of them, and we are here today".
The goal of the summit was to ratify the outlines of a joint statement, to be released before the two men left Singapore later on Tuesday, that laid out a framework for additional talks, reports The Washington Post.
After their one-on-one meeting which lasted for about 45 minutes, the two leaders were joined by senior aides for an expanded bilateral meeting and working lunch.
Asked how the earlier discussion went, Trump said: "Very, very good," The Straits Times reported.
On the US side, Trump's team included Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.
The North Korean delegation included Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Yong Chol.
The two delegations are sitting across a nearly 80-year-old, 4.3 metre-long teak wood table formerly used by the Chief Justice of Singapore in the daily administration of the court.
It has been loaned by the Singapore National Gallery to the US Embassy.
On Monday, North Korea's Choe and US Ambassador Sung Kim led a working-level meeting to finalise last minute details of the summit.
The two leaders reached Singapore on Sunday followed by their individual meetings with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The summit, which was almost scrapped by a mercurial Trump last month, comes after a flurry of diplomatic activities and barrage of invective and insults traded between the US President and an equally aggressive Kim.
While the US seeks complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim fears giving up of all nukes may invite an invasion by Washington.
In 2017, Pyongyang fired off ballistic missiles and even conducted the most powerful nuclear test till date infuriating the US. Its sole ally China was left embarrassed.
The summit also marks a diplomatic landmark between the two countries with a long history of tense ties.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended without an official peace treaty. Previous US Presidents have made several attempts to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons, without success.
Two major diplomatic efforts - an agreement in 1994 and the six-party talks in the 2000s - were ultimately abandoned, with both sides either failing to agree or accusing the other of not abiding by the terms of the agreements.
(Photo Credit: New York Post)
The number of visitors to tourist sights near the border has gone up 30 per cent, from 1,200-2,300 per day in the same period last year to 1,500-3,000 per day, Yonhap News agency reported.
The sights include a tunnel constructed by North Korea for invading the South and the Dora Observatory from which the North Korean village of Kaesong is visible.
The local government also ascribed the rise in the number of tourists to the lifting of restrictions on package tours imposed by Chinese cities following a diplomatic spat last year.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a historic meeting in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone on April 27. At the summit, the pair agreed to agreed to pursue "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula.
The message was issued by the standing committee of South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) after North Korea cancelled Wednesday's talks for implementing the Panmunjom Declaration signed on April 27 between its leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Efe news reported.
"While reaffirming their stance that the declaration... must be carried out without any disruption, the members agreed to continue consulting with the North side to hold the high-level talks at an early date," the committee said in a statement.
In the declaration, the two Koreas had agreed to work for establishing peace and denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
The council, headed by top security advisor Chung Eui-yong, also backed the summit between Kim and the US President Donald Trump, on June 12 in Singapore, although Pyongyang's statements on Wednesday raised doubts about its future.
The NSC said it would boost cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Pyongyang to make the summit a success "under the spirit of mutual respect".
North Korea had announced that it was reconsidering its participation in the summit, alleging that the US wanted to pressurize it to accept a complete unilateral nuclear disarmament, a condition which it termed unacceptable.
The officials from both sides would meet in the Panmunjom border village in the Peace House inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, Xinhua quoted a statement as saying.
The Panmunjom Declaration was announced on April 27, after the third and historical inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In the declaration, they agreed to complete denuclearisation and the alteration of the current armistice agreement to a peace treaty by the end of 2018.
The two leaders had agreed to hold senior-level talks to discuss follow-up measures to enforce the declaration. The Korean Peninsula had remained technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in armistice.
Seoul had proposed for the dialogue on Monday, but Pyongyang wanted it on Wednesday, which has now been agreed upon.
The five-member North delegation, led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Peaceful Reunification Committee will include railway, sports and inter-Korean economic cooperation officials.
The South Korean delegation will be headed by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.
Under the Panmunjom Declaration, the two Koreas agreed to connect and modernise railways and roads in the east transport corridor and between Seoul and Sinuiju in North Korea.
They also agreed to encourage exchanges, cooperation, visits and contacts at all levels to raise the sense of national reconciliation and unity.
To resolve humanitarian issues, the two sides would hold a reunion of families separated across the border around the August 15 Liberation Day, when the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial from 1910-45.
Trump tweeted that he would greet the men when they return on Thursday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Pyongyang to arrange the planned talks.
"I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health," he tweeted.
He added that Pompeo had a "good meeting" with Kim and said a date and place have been set for the meeting between the two leaders.
The Americans, Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim, were able to "walk on the plane without assistance", the White House said. They had been jailed for anti-state activities and placed in labour camps, CNN reported.
While Kim Dong Chul had been in North Korean custody since 2015, the other two were arrested in 2017. Their convictions were widely condemned.
Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, which bills itself as the only privately-run university in the North Korean capital.
Ahead of his visit, the second to North Korea in six weeks, the US Secretary of State said that he hoped North Korea would "do the right thing" and release the detainees.
South Korea's presidential Blue House welcomed the release of the Americans, saying it would have a "positive effect" for upcoming negotiations.
Blue House spokesman Yoon Young-chan also called upon the North to release six South Korean prisoners.
In a statement provided to the BBC, the family of Tony Kim "thanked all those who worked towards and contributed to his return home".
"We also want to thank the President for engaging directly with North Korea," the family added.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused the US of "misleading the public opinion" by arguing that the willingness to denuclearise expressed by Pyongyang in the Panmunjom Declaration "is the result of pressure and sanctions", reports Efe news.
Pyongyang referred to the joint declaration signed by Kim Jong-un and the South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the inter-Korean summit held on April 27 ahead of a planned meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump.
"The US is making open remarks that it would not ease the sanctions and pressure until North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons completely and also moving to aggravate the situation on the Korean peninsula by deploying strategic assets on the peninsula and increasing its attempt of taking up the 'human rights' issue against North Korea," said the spokesperson.
He added that the US is deliberately provoking Pyongyang "at a time when the Korean peninsula is moving towards peace and reconciliation, thanks to the historic inter-Korean summit".
The spokesperson stressed that the US should not misinterpret Pyongyang's pacifist willingness as weakness, and warned that "it would not be conducive" to continue with its "pressure and military threats".
In the Panmunjom Declaration, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to work to achieve the complete denuclearisation of the peninsula and also pledged to sign a multilateral agreement to formally end the Korean War (1950-53), which ended with an armistice, but not a peace treaty.
Yoon Young-chan, senior press secretary for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said at a press briefing that during the April 27 summit, Kim told Moon that he will shut down the nuclear test site and show the process to the world, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kim said he will invite experts and reporters of South Korea and the US to North Korea for the transparent shutdown. Pyongyang conducted all of its six nuclear tests in the Punggye-ri test site.
Moon and Kim held the third-ever inter-Korean summit in the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom. Kim became the first North Korean leader to step onto South Korean soil since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
After the summit, they confirmed a common goal of the complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, and agreed to have multilateral talks, including China and the US, to declare an end to the Korean War and alter the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty by the end of this year.
The peninsula remains technically at war as the war ended with armistice, not a peace treaty.
Kim told Moon that the Punggye-ri test site is in a good shape, rebutting the contention by some media that North Korea would close the already collapsed nuclear test site.
Moon welcomed Kim's decision to openly shut down the nuclear test site, agreeing to discuss when to invite experts and reporters of South Korea and the US to North Korea.
Kim told Moon that the US will realise, after holding talks with Pyongyang, that North Korea was not a country to use its nuclear weapons toward South Korea, the Pacific Ocean, or the US.
The North Korean leader said his country has no reason to live with difficulty because of the nuclear programme when it meets the US frequently and build mutual trust to promise the end to the Korean War and non-aggression.
The summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump is forecast to be held in May or early June.
Kim told Moon that there will be no repetition of war on the peninsula, strongly affirming that there will never be any use of force.
In a separate press briefing, Moon's spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the South Korean President had a telephone conversation with Trump for 75 minutes from 9.15 p.m. local time on Saturday to exchange views over the result of the inter-Korean summit.
Trump congratulated the successful inter-Korean summit, while Moon expressed gratitude for Trump's strong support that led to it.
Moon and Trump exchanged opinions on ways to successfully hold the North Korea-US summit, agreeing to continue close consultations in a bid to reach an agreement on the summit on detailed ways to realize the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Moon also had a phone dialogue for 45 minutes from 10 a.m. local time on Sunday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to explain and share the results of the inter-Korean summit.
The Army would extend full support to the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea's Moon Jae-in to ensure the meeting was held in an atmosphere of stability, the spokesperson told Efe news.
It was decided that the first part of the Key Resolve drills, which started on Monday, would conclude on Thursday and the second part, which would last approximately one week, would start after the summit.
The allies have already concluded the Foal Eagle exercises, which began on April 1 and were deliberately cut to half their normal duration of a month amid the rapprochement with North Korea.
Pyongyang has long denounced the joint drills in South Korea as a rehearsal to invade its territory and on many occasions responded with missile tests, but this year the exercises have the nod of the North Korean regime, which reportedly agreed to their conduct during a meeting with South Korean officials in March.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted by the state-run KCNA news agency as saying that the country's quest for nuclear arms was "complete" and it "no longer needed" to test its weapons capability.
"Under the proven condition of complete nuclear weapons, we no longer need any nuclear tests, mid-range and intercontinental ballistic rocket tests, and that the nuclear test site in northern area has also completed its mission," Kim said.
His decision was welcomed by the world leaders, with US President Donald Trump describing it as "good news" for the world, and South Korea calling it "meaningful progress".
Kim is due to meet his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on April 27 for the first inter-Korean summit in over a decade, and Trump by June. Both countries have been pushing Pyongyang to denuclearise.
Pyongyang and Seoul started talking again for the first time in two years via a special phone line, and those talks led to North Korea's participation in South Korea's Winter Olympics.
"This is very good news for North Korea and the World -- big progress! Look forward to our Summit," Trump tweeted after the announcement.
A statement from the South Korean President's office said that the North's move "will also contribute to creating a very positive environment for the success of the upcoming South-North summit and North-US summit".
China, North Korea's main backer, welcomed North Korea's decision. "The decision made by North Korea will help ease the situation and promote the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula as well as a political settlement of the peninsula issue," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe too hailed the announcement, while stressing that it was important to monitor the situation to see if it would lead to "a complete, verifiable and irreversible abandonment of nuclear arms, weapons of mass destruction and missiles," state broadcaster NHK reported.
The EU said it was "positive", but called for complete denuclearisation. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said it was a "long sought-after step" that should lead to "verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation".
The call was echoed by Britain. "We hope this indicates an effort to negotiate in good faith," according to a statement from the British government.
Russia's Foreign Ministry also welcomed it, but called on the US and South Korea to reduce their military activity in the region.
North Korea conducted all of its six nuclear tests at the Punggye-ri test site in the northeastern province since 2006. Its latest and most powerful nuclear test was conducted in September, Yonhap news agency reported.
Although Pyongyang said it would abolish its nuclear test site, there was no indication it was planning to get rid of its existing weapons.
The decision to halt missile tests was also aimed at pursuing economic growth, according to KCNA. Kim reportedly pledged to "concentrate all efforts" on developing a socialist economy during Friday's meeting.
The declaration came as Pyongyang continued to make concessions ahead of the talks. In March, Kim told a South Korean delegation that he "understood" the need for joint US-South Korean military drills.
Earlier this week he dropped his requirement that US troops leave the Korean peninsula as a precondition for denuclearisation.
During the meeting, Wang Yi told Ri Yong-ho that China appreciated North Korea's commitment to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and its efforts to ease tension in the region, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Wang added that China supported North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's upcoming summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April and US President Donald Trump in May and stressed that Beijing would continue to advocate peace talks, Efe news reported.
Ri said that North Korea will maintain strategic communication with China on matters related to the peninsula, following the directions outlined in the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim in Beijing last week.
The North Korean Foreign Minister had stopped over in Beijing on his way to Azerbaijan, where he will take part in the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement on April 4-5 as part of a trip that includes an official visit to Russia.
Kim's China visit, his first overseas trip since coming to power in December 2011, had rejuvenated the North's ties with China's communist regime -- a major economic and ideological ally of North Korea for decades -- after years of strained ties over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme and China's support for UN sanctions against the hermetic regime.
According to the reports, Choe Kang Il, who is responsible for relations with the US at the North Korea Foreign Ministry, will arrive here on Sunday on a two-day visit, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry has confirmed the visit, describing it as "unofficial".
Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat reported that Choe would meet Kathleen Stephens, a former US ambassador to South Korea.
News agency STT said the talks would take place at the Japanese Embassy in Helsinki.
Kimmo Lahdevirta, head of the Asia desk at Finnish Foreign Ministry, told STT that the talks would be "academic" and "from the perspective of international relations".
On Saturday, the Swedish government said North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho concluded his three-day visit to Stockholm for talks on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The Director of Press of the Institute for American Studies of North Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that such accusation is another example of the US habit to pander fiction as "truth", Xinhua news agency reported.
"It is the US that conducts military aggressions and cruise missile attacks on sovereign states in broad daylight while faking 'possession of WMD' and 'use of chemical weapons' of those countries," said the statement.
It recollected when US troops openly used biological weapons during the Korean War and inflicted needless suffering on innocent civilians.
"They are also the American politicians and the white supremacists making conceived attempts for state terrorism and racial extinction through overt research and development of the biological weapons in the worldwide-scattered US laboratories," it said.
The US daily Washington Post said this month that US intelligence officials sent a report as early as 2006 to US Congress, warning secret work was underway on a biological weapon in Pyongyang. The report was widely relayed by other US media outlets.
The fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft will take part in the 'Vigilant ace' exercise with the South Korean air force from December 4 to 8.
The US also plans to deploy F-35 and F-16 fighters and the B-1B strategic bombers.
This is the first time that the US has deployed six F-22 at one time in the Korean peninsula, which serves as another warning to Pyongyang after the latter launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - its most sophisticated missile to date - on Wednesday.
This deployment, as well as the three US nuclear aircraft carriers deployed last month near the North Korean waters, falls under the agreement in October between Seoul and Washington to increase rotational deployment of strategic assets of the US in the Korean peninsula.
South Korea and the US seek to pressurize North Korea to return to the negotiating table to abandon its nuclear programme.
The claim was not proven and experts have cast doubt on the country's ability to master such technology, BBC reported on Wednesday.
North Korean Kim Jong-un called the launch "impeccable" and a "breakthrough". It was the first test from Pyongyang in more than two months, after a flurry earlier this year.
It has been condemned by the international community.
US President Donald Trump spoke to China's President Xi Jinping by telephone, the White House said, urging him to "use all available levers to convince North Korea to end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearisation".
Xi responded by telling Trump it was Beijing's "unswerving goal to maintain peace and stability in north-east Asia and denuclearise the Korean peninsula".
China is North Korea's biggest ally and most important trading partner, and the two share a land border.
Experts say the height reached by the inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) indicates Washington could be within range, although North Korea is yet to prove it has reached its aim of miniaturising a nuclear warhead.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the US would put more sanctions on North Korea "very shortly".
The Hwasong-15 missile, described as North Korea's "most powerful", was launched in darkness early on Wednesday.
It landed in Japanese waters but flew higher than any other missile the North had previously tested.
The test, which defied international sanctions imposed over the North's weapons programme, drew swift international condemnation.
South Korea responded by launching one of its own ballistic missiles in a live-fire drill.
Pyongyang says the missile reached an altitude of 4,475 km and flew 950 km in 53 minutes. That huge altitude, sending it far outside Earth's atmosphere, is close to independent estimates made by South Korea's military.
The projectile, fired at a steep incline, did not fly over Japan as some have done in the past, and landed about 250 km short of its northern coast, according to Japanese officials.
"The missile flew eastward and the South Korean military is analyzing details with the US," Fox News reported citing Yonhap.
There have been signs that indicated Kim Jong Un regime was planning a missile launch in recent days.
Japan's Kyodo News reported on Monday that Japanese government detected radio signals that indicated a possible missile test in the near future.
North Korea last fired a missile on September 15 that flew over Japan's Hokkaido Island before splashing into the Pacific ocean.
The total ban, taking effect immediately, is one of the EU's autonomous measures against North Korea which was adopted by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg, according to a statement of the Foreign Affairs Council.
The ban was previously limited to investment in the nuclear and conventional arms-related industry.
The Council also slapped a total ban on the sales of refined petroleum products and crude oil to North Korea, and slashed the amount of personal remittances transferred to Pyongyang from 15,000 euros ($17,7000) to 5,000 euros ($5,900).
Furthermore, the Council added three persons and six entities to a blacklist of those subject to an asset freeze and travel restrictions, bringing the backlist to 41 individuals and 10 entities.
The EU has carried out all UN sanctions against North Korea, in addition to its autonomous restrictive measures against Pyongyang.
The UN Security Council on September 11 unanimously adopted a resolution to impose fresh sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear test on September 3 in violation of the previous Security Council resolutions.
The new sanctions severely restrict Pyongyang's oil imports, and ban its textile exports worth $800 million dollars and the remittances from about 93,000 overseas North Korea labourers.
Reiterating that the "dual--track approach" and the "suspension for suspension" initiative are practical methods to solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang has called on all relevant parties to actively support China's efforts to push for dialogue and negotiation, and play a constructive role for a peaceful solution of the issue.
Pyongyang on September 3 detonated a hydrogen bomb capable of being carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the sixth nuclear test it has undertaken, running counter to relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the goal of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.