Tag: North Korea

North Korea clarifies nuclear doctrine

RT – September 9, 2022

North Korea has issued a document outlining its approach to nuclear warfare, warning it will not hesitate to use the bomb if it perceives threats to its senior leadership or “important strategic targets,” state media has reported.

A statement on the “nuclear force policy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” was carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, noting that while the government considers nuclear weapons a “last resort,” it would deploy them to prevent “aggression that seriously threatens the security of the state and people.”

The policy document went on to note that Pyongyang would launch a preemptive strike “automatically and immediately” if officials believe “the command and control system for the national nuclear force is in danger due to an attack by hostile forces.”

While the statement stressed that North Korea “does not threaten or use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries,” it warned it would forcefully respond to aggression, or to nations threatening the DPRK by “colluding with other nuclear-armed states.” It named five scenarios under which the military might launch a nuclear strike, including when the country is threatened with weapons of mass destruction, when leaders or “important strategic targets” come under attack, in the case of “an unavoidable operational necessity to prevent the expansion and prolongation of war,” or in response to any other “catastrophic crisis” that endangers the nation or its people.

https://www.rt.com

North Korea: Christians arrested, martyred in secret worship gathering

Lindy Lowry – March 28, 2022

We have received urgent news through our contacts that there has been a massive sweep against underground Christians in North Korea.

While we can’t disclose the region’s name for security reasons, we can report that security guards broke into a place where several dozen Christians were gathered for a secret worship meeting. The guards arrested all of them and then executed every secret believer in the room.

The information we have suggests that the time and place of the worship meeting was leaked to authorities—it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

As is often the case in North Korea, the families of the North Korean believers will suffer as well. Our contact says that their families—exceeding 100 people—were also arrested and have been sent to political prison—where the inhumane conditions have been reported to be worse than those of the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Inmates are treated as animals, tortured and forced to do harsh labor with little food.

In North Korea, it is illegal to worship Jesus or have a Bible. For the last three decades, believers have been known and treated as “the hostile class.” Anything that gives people an alternative allegiance to the ruling Kim dynasty is deemed to be dangerous to the state. Christians must hide their faith, even from their own children.

As a result, Coming together to worship Jesus is a death warrant. And yet, as this report indicates, secret Christians are risking their lives to be part of a church or own a Bible. They’re facing death to worship Jesus, knowing that their only hope is in Him.

The words of North Korean believer and ex-prisoner Hae-Woo encourage us to pray with these families recently imprisoned and for all secret believers in North Korea. She now lives in South Korea.

https://www.opendoorsusa.org

US Says NKorea Could Be Ready to Conduct Nuclear Test This Month

Newsmax – May 6, 2022

North Korea has recently stepped up weapons tests and resumed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches this year for the first time since 2017.

It has not tested a nuclear bomb since 2017, but U.S. and South Korean officials have been saying for weeks that there are signs of new construction at Punggye-ri, North Korea’s only known nuclear test site, and that Pyongyang could soon test another bomb.

Punggye-ri has been officially closed since 2018 and Porter’s statement that the site could be ready this month was more specific as to possible timing of a test and was the first such statement on the record from a U.S. official.

“The United States assesses that the DPRK is preparing its Punggye-ri test site and could be ready to conduct a test there as early as this month, which would be its seventh test,” she told a regular briefing referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name.

“This assessment is consistent with DPRK’s own recent public statements. We’ve shared this information with allies and partners and will continue closely coordinating with them as well,” Porter said.

https://www.newsmax.com

Biden defense secretary warns US forces ready to ‘fight tonight’ after North Korea warning

Audrey Conklin – March 18, 2021

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday warned North Korea that U.S. forces are ready to “fight tonight” after the dictatorship condemned military drills taking place in South Korea.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have resumed springtime drills in South Korea after pausing exercises last February due to coronavirus concerns.

Austin discussed the U.S. military’s commitment to “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” and “the importance of maintaining military readiness” during a press conference Wednesday.

“Our force remains ready to ‘fight tonight,’ and we continue to make progress toward the eventual transition of wartime Operational Control to a [Republic of Korea]-commanded, future Combined Forces Command,” the defense secretary said.

He continued: “While meeting all the conditions for this transition will take more time, I’m confident that this process will strengthen our alliance.”

U.S.-led diplomacy focusing on North Korea’s nuclear weapons remains stalemated because of disputes over sanctions. Experts are debating whether the United States and its allies should settle for a deal that would freeze North Korea’s nuclear activities in return for relaxing sanctions to prevent its arsenal from growing.

Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the United States to “refrain from causing a stink,” while criticizing the U.S.-South Korean drills that her government views as an invasion rehearsal.

“We take this opportunity to warn the new U.S. administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement to state news agency KCNA, according to Reuters. “If it wants to sleep in peace for coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step.”

https://www.foxnews.com