Yahoo! News:

The drone test is the latest in a flurry of other weapon tests carried out by the North in the wake of US-led drills being carried out in the Korean peninsula.

The tests of the underwater drone were carried out in the span of four days, between 4 and 7 April, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday.

The tests were carried out just a little more than a week after the Kim Jong-un regime tested the first version of the drone, called “Haeil” – a Korean word meaning tidal waves or tsunamis.

North Korea claims “Haeil-1”, tested at the end of March, can set off a “super-scale radioactive tsunami” that is designed to destroy ports and decimate naval fleets.

ABC News:

The United States said Tuesday it will push for additional sanctions on North Korea if it conducts a new nuclear test explosion.

U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials have said North Korea could soon conduct its first nuclear test in nearly five years.

On Thursday, China and Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States that would have imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea for a spate of launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be used to deliver nuclear warheads. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13-2 and marked a first serious division among the five veto-wielding permanent members over a North Korea sanctions resolution.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was asked Tuesday whether the U.S. would seek new sanctions if the North conducted another nuclear test. “We absolutely will,” she said.

That’ll show ’em!

The Hill:

The Treasury Department will freeze the assets of two North Korean banks, one individual and a trading company working with the country’s rocket ministry following the May 24 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range missiles by North Korea.

The sanctions target supporters of the country’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, as well as foreign financial institutions that “have knowingly provided significant financial services” to the North Korean government, Brian Nelson, head of the Treasury Department’s terrorism and financial intelligence division, said in a statement.

See also: US Intelligence Assessing Whether North Korea Tested Missile With Properties Not Seen Before

Military Times:

Hours after North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off of its eastern coast on Wednesday, the U.S. and South Korea together launched some live-fire missiles of their own, U.S. Forces Korea confirmed in a statement.

The launch combined the capabilities of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System and the Republic of Korea Hyunmu-2 missile system, according to the release.

NPR:

North Korea test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons into the sea Wednesday, South Korea said, hours after President Joe Biden ended a trip to Asia where he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend its allies in the face of the North’s nuclear threat.

If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first ICBM launch in about two months amid stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States. Breaking its 2018 moratorium on long-distance launches, North Korea in March claimed to have test-launched its longest-range missile as part of its development of functioning nuclear-armed missiles that can reach the American homeland.

CNN:

The age of appeasing North Korea is over and any new talks between Seoul and Pyongyang must be initiated by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s new conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday.

Speaking exclusively to CNN in his first media interview since taking office two weeks ago, Yoon said: “I think the ball is in Chairman Kim’s court – it is his choice to start a dialogue with us.”

North Korea has launched 15 missile tests so far this year – more than in the past two years combined – and last month Kim vowed to “strengthen and develop” its nuclear forces at the “highest possible” speed.

From his new presidential office at the former defense building in Seoul, Yoon told CNN South Korea and its allies stand ready for any acts of North Korean provocation.

CNN:

North Korea appears to be preparing for a possible intercontinental ballistic missile test within the next 48 to 96 hours, just as President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Asia, according to a US official familiar with the latest intelligence assessment.

“The things we have noticed in the past for a launch are the things we are noticing now,” the official said. The launch site under satellite observation is located near Pyongyang. The official would not detail specifics of the current imagery, but typically, intelligence analysts look for signs of scaffolding or other launcher equipment, fueling, vehicles and personnel.

Biden sets off for South Korea on Thursday and will hold meetings with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol before traveling to Japan on Sunday where he is set to meet with the leaders of Japan, Australia and India.

CNN:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized the military to respond to the country’s first officially acknowledged outbreak of Covid-19, as the impoverished nation scrambles to address what state media has described as a “major national emergency.”

Despite having placed all cities under lockdown on Thursday, a further 392,920 new cases of “fever” and eight deaths were recorded between Saturday and Sunday evening alone, state media outlet KCNA reported on Monday, though it did not specify Covid-19 as the cause of death.

That brings the total number of reported cases to 1.2 million, with more than 648,000 recovered, and the total death toll to 50. However, many experts are skeptical of the official figures, with few believing that a country of around 25 million people had been spared until now by a virus that has infected millions worldwide.

See also:
–North Korea Is Being Monitored For Its First Test Of A Nuclear Weapon In 5 Years
–Moves By Russia, China, North Korea Rekindle Nuclear Concerns

CNN:

North Korea appears to have resumed construction at a long-dormant nuclear reactor in recent weeks that, if completed, would dramatically increase its capacity to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, according to new satellite images obtained by CNN and a source familiar with recent US intelligence reporting on the matter.

The satellite images, which were captured by Maxar during April and May of this year, show North Korea has restarted construction of the second reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear complex after years of inactivity, experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who analyzed the photos said.

The reactor is about 10 times larger than the existing nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, which has been operating since the late 1980s.

CBS News:

North Korea fired several suspected ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, according to South Korea. They are the latest in a series of weapons tests this year and came just hours after the Kim Jong Un regime confirmed its very first case of the coronavirus.

A statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military had detected three short-range ballistic missiles had been fired from the Sunan area of Pyongyang into the East Sea. CBS News’ Jen Kwon in Seoul said the tests were atypical: North Korea normally launches its missiles in the morning, but Thursday’s launches took place in rapid succession late in the afternoon.  

Earlier Thursday, North Korean state media confirmed the country’s first COVID-19 infections as leader Kim Jong Un ordered nationwide lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus. Kim also ordered officials to bolster the country’s defense posture to avoid what was described as a potential security vacuum.

The Washington Post:

Yoon Suk-yeol, who has called North Korea the South’s “main enemy,” offered to work with the international community to craft an “audacious plan” to improve North Korea’s economy in return for its commitment to “complete denuclearization.” He also said he would keep a door open to dialogue.

Yoon’s offer comes as U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials warn that Pyongyang is gearing up for its seventh nuclear test and as tensions are rising on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has conducted more than a dozen weapons tests this year in pursuit of a diversified arsenal — most recently conducting two suspected ballistic missile tests in the past week.

See also:
–Are America And South Korea Ready For Kim’s Next Nuclear Weapons Test?
–North Korea To Continue Developing Nuclear And Missile Programs In 2022, Intelligence Chief Says

Al Jazeera:

The United States has requested a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting later this week to discuss North Korea, diplomats said, as Washington is pushing the 15-member body to strengthen sanctions against Pyongyang.

Washington holds the UNSC presidency for the month of May and has been considering calling a meeting since late last week, the diplomats said on Monday.

The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 3pm local time in New York (19:00 GMT).

North Korea has ramped up its missile launches in recent months, holding 15 weapons tests so far this year in a show of force that has raised concerns from the country’s neighbours and the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The latest test was on Saturday, when Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile from a submarine.

See also: South Korea: North Korea Test-Fired Missile From Submarine

CNN:

US military and intelligence agencies assess that North Korea could be ready to resume underground nuclear testing this month, according to three US officials.

The assessment concludes that Kim Jong Un’s government is making preparations at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and could be ready to conduct a test by the end of the month. Signs of personnel and vehicle activity at the site have been seen through satellite imagery, but the officials do not know if the regime has placed nuclear material in one of the underground tunnels at the test site, which the US has been closely watching.

If North Korea conducts a test, it would be the country’s seventh underground nuclear test and the first in nearly five years.

Military News:

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to speed up the development of his nuclear weapons “at the fastest possible pace” and threatened to use them against rivals.

The launch, the North’s 14th round of weapons firing this year, also came six days before a new conservative South Korean president takes office for a single five-year term.