Kim Jong-un

Top North Korean officials vowed to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as they called their country's first, and failed, launch last month "the most serious" shortcoming this year and harshly criticized those responsible, state media reported Monday.

Construction of the satellite was completed this month, and Kim Jong Un ordered the launch to go ahead as planned during a visit to the North Korean space agency.
Details of the launch date have not been announced.
In his address to the space agency officials, Kim Jong-un spoke about the deployment of "several reconnaissance satellites in different orbits."

North Korea said Friday it flight-tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, a possible breakthrough in its efforts to acquire a more powerful, harder-to-detect weapon targeting the continental United States.

Satellite imagery has indicated a high level of activity at North Korea's main nuclear complex after leader Kim Jong Un ordered the production of weapons-grade nuclear material be ramped up, a US think tank said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a ballistic missile factory in Pyongyang. He was accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae. This is her first official appearance at the Ordnance Factory Inspection.

US President Joe Biden has said that the US is not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea. His statement contradicted a statement by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, made at a time of rising tensions with North Korea, Reuters reported, citing BTA.

South Korea reconfirmed Tuesday that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in U.S. nuclear asset management in the face of intensifying North Korean nuclear threats, after President Joe Biden denied that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.

The United States, Japan and South Korea warned Wednesday that a North Korean nuclear test would warrant an "unprecedentedly strong response", vowing unity after a blitz of missile launches from the hermit state.

Following talks in Tokyo, the three nations' deputy foreign ministers said they would ramp up their deterrence in the region.

North Korea has passed a law declaring its readiness to launch preventive nuclear strikes, including in the face of conventional attacks, state media said on Sept. 9. 

The move effectively eliminates the possibility of denuclearisation talks, with leader Kim Jong Un saying the country's status as a nuclear state was now "irreversible".

Pope Francis has asked Pyongyang to invite him to North Korea, saying in a televised interview on Friday that he would not turn down a chance to visit and work for peace.

A potential papal visit to the isolated, nuclear-armed country was previously floated in 2018 when Seoul's former president Moon Jae-in embarked on a round of diplomacy with Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un.