NK weekly-external news
Summary of external news of North Korea this week
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.
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(2nd LD) Some 8,000 N. Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, expected to enter combat in 'coming days': Blinken
WASHINGTON -- As many as 8,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's western front-line Kursk region and are expected to enter into combat "in the coming days," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, warning that they would become "legitimate" military targets.
Blinken made the remarks during a press conference after he, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun held their "two-plus-two" meeting at the State Department in Washington.
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(LEAD) U.S. envoy warns N. Korean soldiers will come back in 'body bags' if they enter Ukraine to help Russia
SEOUL -- North Koreans soldiers will end up in "body bags" if they enter Ukraine and fight alongside Russia, a U.S. envoy to the United Nations has warned, urging Pyongyang to rethink joining the war against Kyiv.
Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., leveled the sharp warning at Pyongyang on Wednesday (New York time), as the representatives of the U.S. and its allies exchanged intense barbs with those of Russia and North Korea over the North's deployment of its troops to Russia.
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N.K. denuclearization goal absent in joint statement of SCM meeting for 1st time in 9 years
SEOUL -- A shared goal for North Korea's denuclearization was not mentioned in a joint statement issued after an annual meeting of the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States for the first time in nine years, raising questions over a possible shift in policy focus.
Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, issued the joint communique of the 56th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington on Wednesday (local time), vowing for continued coordination against Pyongyang's nuclear threats.
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(2nd LD) S. Korean, U.S. defense chiefs condemn N.K. troop dispatch to Russia in 'strongest' terms 'with one voice'
WASHINGTON -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States condemned North Korea's troop deployment to Russia in the "strongest" terms with "one voice" as they held the allies' annual defense talks at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued the condemnation at the 56th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) as Seoul and Washington have confirmed the troop deployment, which is feared to escalate Russia's war in Ukraine.
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(2nd LD) Presidential office says to begin talks with Ukraine this week over Kyiv's special envoy to S. Korea
SEOUL -- The presidential office said Wednesday that it will begin talks with Ukraine this week over a visit by Kyiv's special envoy to South Korea, as the two nations vowed to step up responses against North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.
A senior presidential official shared the intelligence assessment by South Korea and its allies that at least 11,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia, with some sent to Russia's western region near the border with Ukraine.
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(LEAD) S. Korean delegation briefs EU officials on N. Korea's troop deployment to Russia
BRUSSELS/SEOUL -- A South Korean government delegation visited the European Union headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday to brief officials on North Korea's deployment of its troops to Russia, an EU official said.
The delegation, comprising high-level intelligence, defense and foreign affairs officials from Seoul, is in the Belgian capital this week to share its assessments and information with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the EU about the North's troop dispatch for use in Russia's war against Ukraine. They briefed NATO the previous day.
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(3rd LD) N. Korean advance unit possibly moving to war front line in Russia: S. Korean spy agency
SEOUL -- An advance team of North Korean troops, including a ranking Army general, is believed to be making its way to the front lines of the war in Russia near Ukraine, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Tuesday.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has obtained the intelligence about the troop movement and is verifying the details, according to Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party.
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(2nd LD) Yoon says S. Korean delegation to visit Ukraine to share info on N.K.'s troop deployment
SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday a South Korean delegation will visit Ukraine this week to share information on North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia and discuss cooperation measures.
Yoon shared the plan during a phone call with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte, who confirmed North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's Kursk region, a front-line area in its conflict with Ukraine, after receiving a briefing from the South Korean delegation, according to Yoon's office.
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