South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries launched their biggest joint military exercises in years Monday, as North Korea said it tested submarine-launched cruise missiles in apparent protest of the drills it views as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea’s missile tests Sunday signal the country likely will conduct provocative weapons testing activities during the U.S.-South Korean drills that are to run for 11 days. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to be ready to repel its rivals’ “frantic war preparation moves.”

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire artillery drill simulating an attack on a South Korean airfield and called for his troops to be ready to respond to the enemies’ “frantic war preparation moves” — apparently referring to the recent series of military drills between the United States and South Korea.

SEOUL, March 9. /TASS/: North Korea has launched one short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Accroding to the agency’s information, the missile was launched at about 6:20 p.m. local time (12:20 a.m. Moscow time) from the Nampo area. "We are maintaining full readiness in close cooperation with the US. We’ve also stepped up surveillance and vigilance," the South Korean military said in a statement.

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - Seoul approved export licences last year for Poland to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a South Korean defence official and a Polish industry representative told Reuters on Wednesday.

The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia.

SEOUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's opposition political parties and civic groups have raised their voice against the government's push to resolve Japan's wartime forced labor issue through a private foundation as it dismissed the victims' demand for sincere apology from the Japanese government and firms that should be held accountable.

Lee Jae-myung, chief of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, said on Wednesday that the so-called third-party reimbursement solution was a "de facto surrender document to Japan."

SEOUL, March 7 (Reuters) - North Korea said any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea for growing tensions, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, warned in a statement that Pyongyang would see it as a "declaration of war" if the U.S. took military action against the North's strategic weapon tests.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The influential sister of North Korea’s leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea, a day after the U.S. flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strengthen against the North.

Monday’s U.S.-South Korean training involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

SEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - The United states deployed a B-52 bomber for a joint drill with its ally South Korea on Monday, in a show of force against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's defence ministry said.

B-52 bombers are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The air drill came ahead of combined large-scale exercises including amphibious landings starting later this month.

North Korea has traditionally called for those joint exercises to be called off, branding them as a prelude to invasion.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea took a step toward improving ties with its traditional rival Japan on Monday, announcing a plan to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyo’s colonial rule that doesn’t require Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries said Friday they’ll go ahead with large-scale annual military drills later this month despite North Korea’s threats to take “unprecedently” strong action against such training.

It’s likely that North Korea will respond to the upcoming South Korean-U.S. exercises with provocative missile tests and belligerent rhetoric because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.