UN Security Council imposes new sanctions on North Korea

UN Security Council imposes new sanctions on North Korea

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says is capable of reaching anywhere on the U.S. mainland.The resolution adopted by the council includes sharply lower limits on North Korea's oil imports, the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months, and a crackdown on ships smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country.But the resolution doesn't include even harsher measures sought by the Trump administration that would ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.The resolution, drafted by the United States and negotiated with China, drew criticism from Russia for the short time the 13 other council nations had to consider the draft, and last-minute changes to the text.

Attack siren blares in Hawaii for first time since Cold War

Attack siren blares in Hawaii for first time since Cold War

HONOLULU — A siren blared across Hawaii on Friday for the first time since the end of the Cold War in an effort to prepare tourists and residents for a possible nuclear attack from North Korea.The state is the first to bring back the Cold War-era warning system, Hawaii emergency management officials said.

UN Ambassador Haley: North Korea 'brings us closer to war' the US doesn't seek

UN Ambassador Haley: North Korea 'brings us closer to war' the US doesn't seek

WASHINGTON — U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday that North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers believe could reach Washington and the entire U.S. Eastern Seaboard "brings us closer" to a war the U.S. doesn't seek.Haley, speaking at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, said that if war comes as a result of further acts of "aggression" like Tuesday's launch, "make no mistake the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.""The dictator of North Korea made a decision yesterday that brings us closer to war, not farther from it," Haley said. "We have never sought war with North Korea and still today we do not seek it."The Trump administration threatened new sanctions on North Korea after the reclusive government shattered 2½ months of relative quiet with its most powerful weapon test yet.President Donald Trump tweeted that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Pyongyang's "provocative actions," and he vowed that "additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today.

President Trump promises more sanctions against North Korea

President Trump promises more sanctions against North Korea

WASHINGTON— The Trump administration threatened new sanctions on North Korea on Wednesday after the reclusive government shattered 2½ months of relative quiet with its most powerful weapon test yet, an intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers believe could reach Washington and the entire U.S. Eastern Seaboard.President Donald Trump tweeted that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Pyongyang's "provocative actions," and he vowed that "additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today.

North Korea launches ICBM in possibly its longest-range test yet

North Korea launches ICBM in possibly its longest-range test yet

NORTH KOREA -- After 2 ½ months of relative peace, North Korea launched its most powerful weapon yet early Wednesday, claiming a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers believe could put Washington and the entire eastern U.S. seaboard within range.The North said in a special televised announcement hours after the launch that it had successfully fired what it called the Hwasong-15, a new nuclear-capable ICBM that's "significantly more" powerful than the North's previously tested long-range weapon.

North Korea says US carrier groups around Korean peninsula raise nuclear war threat

North Korea says US carrier groups around Korean peninsula raise nuclear war threat

UNITED NATIONS — North Korea warned Monday that the unprecedented deployment of three U.S. aircraft carrier groups "taking up a strike posture" around the Korean peninsula is making it impossible to predict when nuclear war will break out.North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam said in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres Monday that the joint military exercises with South Korea are creating "the worst ever situation prevailing in and around the Korean peninsula."Along with the three carrier groups, he said the U.S. has reactivated round-the-clock sorties with nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bombers "which existed during the Cold War times."He also said the U.S. is maintaining "a surprise strike posture with frequent flight of B-1B and B-2 formations to the airspace of South Korea.""The large-scale nuclear war exercises and blackmails, which the U.S. staged for a whole year without a break in collaboration with its followers to stifle our republic, make one conclude that the option we have taken was the right one and we should go along the way to the last," Ja said.He didn't elaborate on what "the last" might be, but North Korea has launched ballistic missiles that have the potential to strike the U.S. mainland, and it recently conducted its largest-ever underground nuclear explosion.

President Trump strikes hard line against North Korea in Japan

President Trump strikes hard line against North Korea in Japan

TOKYO — President Donald Trump struck a hard line against North Korea's nuclear weapons program Monday and urged Japan to do the same as he closed out two days of talks, dinner and golf diplomacy with ally Japan.The president refused to rule out eventual military action against the north and exhorted dictator Kim Jong Un to stop weapons testing, calling the recent launches of missiles over Japanese territory "a threat to the civilized world and international peace and stability.""We will not stand for that," President Trump said at news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "The era of strategic patience is over.

Pentagon chief says North Korea engages in 'outlaw' behavior

Pentagon chief says North Korea engages in 'outlaw' behavior

SEOUL, South Korea — The threat of nuclear missile attack by North Korea is accelerating, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday, accusing the North of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs and pledging to repel any strike.In remarks in Seoul with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo at his side, Mattis said North Korea engages in "outlaw" behavior and that the U.S. will never accept a nuclear North.The Pentagon chief added that regardless of what the North might try, it is overmatched by the firepower and cohesiveness of the decades-old U.S.-South Korean alliance."North Korea has accelerated the threat that it poses to its neighbors and the world through its illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear weapons programs," he said, adding that U.S.-South Korean military and diplomatic collaboration thus has taken on "a new urgency.""I cannot imagine a condition under which the United States would accept North Korea as a nuclear power," Mattis said.As he emphasized throughout his weeklong Asia trip, which included stops in Thailand and the Philippines, Mattis said diplomacy remains the preferred way to deal with the North."With that said," he added, "make no mistake — any attack on the United States or our allies will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response that is effective and overwhelming."Mattis' comments did not go beyond his recent statements of concern about North Korea, although he appeared to inject a stronger note about the urgency of resolving the crisis.While he accused the North of "outlaw" behavior, he did not mention that President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his own rhetoric.

Tillerson: North Korea diplomacy continues until 1st 'bomb drops'

Tillerson: North Korea diplomacy continues until 1st 'bomb drops'

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the North Korean crisis "will continue until the first bomb drops."But it was only recently that President Donald Trump tweeted that Tillerson was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with the leader of the nuclear-armed nation.Tillerson says in a television interview that President Trump "has made clear to me that he wants this solved diplomatically.

US Customs vows to block imports made by North Korea workers

US Customs vows to block imports made by North Korea workers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is ready to block U.S. imports of seafood — as well as any other goods — produced by North Korean laborers who work in China.An Associated Press investigation tracked salmon, squid and cod processed by North Korean laborers working abroad to American stores, including Walmart and ALDI.

President Trump: Tillerson 'wasting his time' negotiating with North Korea

President Trump: Tillerson 'wasting his time' negotiating with North Korea

NORTH KOREA -- President Donald Trump said Sunday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, raising speculation about whether President Trump could be undermining efforts to maintain channels of communication or somehow bolstering the diplomat's hand in possible future talks.

Tillerson calls for calming of situation on Korean Peninsula

Tillerson calls for calming of situation on Korean Peninsula

BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Saturday for a calming of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, but said it was incumbent on North Korea to halt its missile launches.Following meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials in Beijing, Tillerson said he believes China has become deeply concerned about the North's missile and nuclear programs and is working hard to convince Pyongyang to re-enter talks, but did not say specifically what form those talks should take."I think the most immediate action that we need is to calm things down," Tillerson told reporters. "They're a little overheated right now.

US says it's not pushing for regime change in North Korea

US says it's not pushing for regime change in North Korea

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Monday it's not seeking to overthrow North Korea's government after the president tweeted that Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer" and called Pyongyang's assertion absurd that President Donald Trump's comment amounted to a declaration of war.Still, the fiery rhetoric carrying over from a week of threatening exchanges at the U.N. General Assembly only further fueled fears the adversaries might stumble back into open military conflict.

Pentagon: U.S. flies mission in airspace east of North Korea

Pentagon: U.S. flies mission in airspace east of North Korea

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon says B-1B bombers from Guam and F-15 fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, have flown a mission in international airspace over the waters east of North Korea.The U.S. says it's the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula that any American fighter or bomber has flown this century.Defense Department spokesman Dana White says in a statement that the mission shows how seriously the U.S. takes what he calls North Korea's "reckless behavior."His statement says the flights are a "demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message" that President Donald Trump "has many military options to defeat any threat."White says "we are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies."

South Korea says natural North Korea earthquake detected

South Korea says natural North Korea earthquake detected

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's weather agency said a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was detected in North Korea on Saturday around where the country recently conducted a nuclear test, but it assessed the quake as natural.The quake was detected in an area around Kilju, in northeastern North Korea, and about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of where the North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, according to an official from Seoul's Korea Meteorological Administration.China's official Xinhua News Agency said earlier that the country's seismic service detected a magnitude 3.4 quake in North Korea and saw the likely cause as an explosion.