Chronologies
US - Korea
Chronology from Sep 2022 to Dec 2022
: Kim Gunn discusses the need for a stern response to North Korean provocations with US counterpart Sung Kim. Kim Gunn also urges China to take a more active role in holding North Korea responsible for its provocations during a consultation with Liu Xiaoming, China’s top nuclear envoy.
: South Korea’s Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang states that South Korea will maximize the benefits from the US Inflation Reduction Act in the battery, solar, and wind power generation fields to minimize fallout in the car industry.
: Five North Korea drones cross the inter-Korean border, with one flying over northern Seoul. South Korea fails to shoot down the five drones but sends its own drones to the border, with some crossing the border to carry out surveillance and other operations.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, following the combined South Korea-United States air drills the day before.
: North Korea reportedly conducts the first static ground test of a large solid-propellant rocket motor, the first indication that the regime is developing a propulsion system usable in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or ICBM-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
: South Korea and the United States plan to conduct around 20 combined “realistic” training programs in the first half of next year to address growing North Korean security threats. The allies also consider staging their first large-scale combined live-fire demonstration to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their alliance and to demonstrate the allies’ “overwhelming deterrence capabilities against North Korea.”
: Kim Yo Jong, Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, criticizes those who question the regime’s satellite development capabilities and reconnaissance satellite project.
: South Korea, the United States, and 13 other member nations participate in the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ministerial meeting.
: South Korea and the United States conduct combined air drills to strengthen the credibility of America’s “extended deterrence.”
: Leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party Chung Jin-suk condemns North Korea’s latest missile launches, stating that such provocations are aimed at breaking up the South Korea-United States alliance.
: North Korea conducts an “important final-stage” test that evaluates the capabilities of putting a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. A spokesperson at the National Aerospace Development Administration states that North Korea will finish preparations for its first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023.
: South Korea and the United States hold their sixth Cyber Policy Consultations to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation on cybersecurity and countering cyber threats posed by North Korea.
: United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution calling for international efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea, making this the 18th consecutive year the General Assembly has adopted such a resolution.
: North Korea successfully conducts a static firing test of a high-thrust solid-fuel motor, which the Korean Central News Agency states is an “important test” that provides “sure sci-tech guarantee” for the development of a new strategic weapons system. John Kirby, US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, statesthat North Korea is pursuing military capabilities that pose a threat to the region.
: United States military launches US Space Forces Korea, a unit focused on strengthening bilateral space security coordination in the Indo-Pacific region.
: Air Force Major General Michael E. Martin, Commander of the Special Operations Command-Korea (SOCKOR), states that the SOCKOR unit is committed to military readiness by conducting peak-level “realistic” training.
: US State Department spokesperson Ned Price stresses the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” as an overarching US objective and to holding North Korea accountable for its recent missile provocations.
: At the seventh Senior Economic Dialogue, South Korea’s 2nd Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon meets with US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and Environment Jose W. Fernandez to discuss concerns about the US Inflation Reduction Act. Both sides reaffirm commitment to continuing discussions on the issue.
: South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo expresses concerns over the US Inflation Reduction Act and calls for an “exceptional clause” for countries that have entered a free trade agreement with the United States prior the IRA.
: United States imposes sanctions on over 65 individuals and entities in 17 countries, including North Korea’s border guard bureau, for serious human rights violations and other crimes related to North Korea.
: US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim talks with China’s Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming to discuss North Korea’s recent missile provocations.
: During a meeting between several US lawmakers and a South Korean delegation, US lawmakers state that revisions to the US Inflation Reduction Act are unlikely during a lame-duck session of Congress.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin meets with a delegation from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) and urges NCAFP’s support in strengthening bilateral ties.
: US State Department Press Secretary Ned Price states that China and Russia must “fulfill its obligations” and implement U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea to push back on North Korean provocations.
: United States Senate and House of Representatives reach an agreement on the National Defense Authorization Act which requires the US to maintain a minimum of 28,5000 US service members in South Korea and reaffirm its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea.
: North Korea fires 130 artillery shells into inter-Korean maritime buffer zones.
: Major Gen. Kim Su-kwang, Director of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, discusses strengthening US extended deterrence against North Korean provocations with Rear Admiral Anthony Carullo, Director of Plans and Policy at the US Strategic Command.
: United States designates North Korea and 11 other countries as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
: Ned Price, US State Department Press Secretary, announces that the United States is working with allies to prepare for any contingencies from North Korea, especially a seventh nuclear test.
: Eliot Kang, Assistant Secretary of State for international security and nonproliferation, states that Russia and China have gone to “great lengths” to shield North Korea from “accountability for increasingly provocative behavior.”
: South Korea’s Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geon and the European Union’s Vice-President Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, agree to work more closely for joint responses to the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korea sends its second official written opinion to the United States regarding the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: General James Dickinson, commander of the US Space Command, states that the Command is working to integrate US assets into an architecture that will provide both the US and its allies and partners “as much advanced warning as possible” regarding missile activity out of North Korea.
: United States calls on the United Nations Security Council to hold North Korea accountable for its recent missile provocations and attributes inaction to China. and Russia, two veto-wielding members of the council.
: On the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai agree to continue consultations regarding the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un states that the recent firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile is representative of North Korea’s “strategic forces and its powerful combat performance as the strongest strategic weapon in the world.”
: A US B-1B Lancer strategic bomber joins a US-South Korea joint air drill, one day following North Korea’s firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
: North Korea fires an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea. The launch involves the Hwason-17 ICBM, notorious for its sheer size and range capabilities. Yoon orders a strengthening of the US-South Korea combined defense posture and executability of extended deterrence against North Korea. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and prime ministers of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, jointly condemn the launch.
: Anne Neuberger, US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies, states that North Korea is believed to fund about 30% of “its missile and other malicious programs” through cyber attacks.
: North Korea fires one short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea, making this its second missile provocation in a little over a week, which the United States condemns. North Korea has launched 50 ballistic missiles this year, the largest number of ballistic missiles launched in a single year.
: US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy Richard Johnson meets with Director-General of the South Korean Defense Policy Bureau Ha Dae-bong to explain the recently released US Nuclear Posture Review and Missile Defense Review.
: Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning North Korea for systematic human rights violations and calling for efforts to improve human rights conditions, marking this the 18thconsecutive year the committee passed such a resolution.
: Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, states that China has a “responsibility” to encourage North Korea to act responsibly and not engage in nuclear or ballistic missile tests.
: South Korea and the United States co-host the Symposium on Countering DPRK Cyber-Exploitation of Cryptocurrency Exchanges. Officials from more than a dozen countries discuss ways to counter cryptocurrency theft and other illegal cyber activities of North Korea.
: Lee Tae-woo, the South Korean Director-General for North Korean nuclear affairs, meets with his US counterpart Jung Park to share updates on North Korean cyberthreats and extortion of cryptocurrencies.
: South Korea and the United States celebrate the completion of the relocation of their Combined Forces Command headquarters from Seoul to Pyeongtaek.
: Biden calls on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discourage North Korea from taking further escalatory steps, as the United States will take “more defensive” actions that will be “up in the face of China” should North Korea conduct a nuclear test.
: South Korea’s Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin meets with Swedish State Secretary of Foreign Ministry Hakan Jevrell discuss ways the two countries can work together to resolve concerns over the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: Yoon and Biden state that the two countries will respond with “overwhelming force using all available means” if North Korea uses nuclear weapons in any form.
: Yoon announces South Korea’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy, promoting peace and stability in the region, along with the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative. This marks South Korea’s first time presenting a diplomatic strategy specific to the Indo-Pacific.
: South Korea’s Defense Ministry reaffirms its commitment to not provide Ukraine with lethal military support.
: US State Department Press Secretary Ned Price calls on North Korea to “put the interest of its people first” and states that the United States is looking for ways to support the “humanitarian needs” of the people of North Korea.
: Kim Gunn meets with members of the Korean Peninsula Club, a consultative channel of the ministry and 20 foreign ambassadors based in Seoul. Gunn encourages member countries to step up against North Korea’s illegal cyber activities.
: US Department of Defense spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder states that the United States is closely watching the suspected delivery of North Korean artillery shells to Russia.
: During a visit to the US 7th Fleet Headquarters, South Korean Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lee Jong-ho meets with US Vice Adm. Karl Thomas to discuss strengthening the allies’ combined defense posture against North Korea.
: Kim Gunn condemns North Korea’s missile provocations along with his American counterpart Sung Kim and Japanese counterpart Funakoshi Takehiro.
: North Korea launches one short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea. The missile is assumed to be one of North Korea’s new SRBMs.
: US State Department Press Secretary Ned Price calls on China and Russia to hold North Korea accountable for its missile launches in violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, after China and Russia vetoed additional sanctions on North Korea during the ninth UNSC meeting this year on North Korea’s missile launches.
: Under the Korea-US Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue, South Korea and the United States discuss the impacts of recent US measures to restrict exports of advanced semiconductor equipment to China.
: South Korea’s climate ambassador Na Kyung-won and US climate envoy John Kerry sign an agreement to establish a green cargo shipping route linking South Korea’s Busan port with the US Tacoma port near Seattle to better achieve maritime carbon neutrality.
: South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, and Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mori Takeo strongly condemn North Korea’s latest missile launches.
: North Korea fires four short-range ballistic missiles toward the Yellow Sea on the last day of the Vigilant Storm drill of South Korea and the United States.
: United States calls on the United Nations Security Council to hold North Korea accountable for its recent ballistic missile launches, and most recently, its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
: While wrapping up the South Korea-United States Vigilant Storm exercise, two US B-1B aircraft join the drills, making this the first time that long-range supersonic bombers have been deployed to South Korea since 2017.
: South Korea and the United States agree to extend the Vigilant Storm drill by another day in response to recent North Korea’s recent firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
: North Korea fires three short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: South Korea scrambles around 80 warplanes after detecting more than 180 North Korean military aircraft activities.
: North Korea fires an intercontinental ballistic missile and two short-range missiles toward the East Sea.
: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup meetduring the 54th Security Consultative Meeting to discuss matters such as the allies’ combined defense posture, strengthening cooperation in various areas such as cyber, and responding to North Korean provocations.
: South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman condemn North Korea’s latest missile launches during a phone call consultation and agree to maintain a strong combined defense posture.
: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemns North Korea’s missile provocations, especially it’s “reckless decision” to fire a missile below the Northern Limit Line.
: South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup visits the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and meets with Director Frank Whitworth. Lee and Whitworth share intelligence regarding North Korea’s recent missile and artillery firings and agree to stronger cooperation.
: According to John Kirby, spokesperson for the US White House National Security Council, North Korea supplies a large number of artillery shells to Russia for use in the ongoing aggression in Ukraine.
: North Korea launches a barrage of missiles and artillery shells, with one short-range ballistic missile flying across its de facto maritime border with South Korea.
: Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, states that the US and South Korea will have to “face a terrible case and pay the most horrible price in history” if they attempt to use armed forces against North Korea.
: Yoon condemns North Korea’s recent missile launches, as one of the missiles crossed the Northern Limit Line. Yoon orders the military to maintain “full readiness.”
: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemn North Korea’s latest missile launches, calling them an “unprecedented, grave provocation.”
: South Korea will submit an official written response providing feedback to the United States regarding the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: In response to the US-South Korea Vigilant Storm drills, North Korea states that it will respond with “more powerful follow-up measures” if the US continues “military provocations.”
: Ned Price, press secretary of the US Department of State, asserts that the United States does not and will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state.
: US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg meets with leaders of South Korea’s ruling and main opposition parties to discuss improving bilateral cooperation, North Korean threats, and the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korea continues to engage in defense deals with European nations as they seek to become a bigger player in international weapons sales, bringing forth concerns from US defense industry insiders.
: Yoon thanks Biden, other foreign leaders, heads of foreign embassies, and US Forces Korea for their condolences over the Itaewon stampede.
: South Korea and the United States conduct the five-day Vigilant Storm exercise involving stealth jets and more than 240 aircraft.
: US Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins states that the United States welcomes a conversation with North Korea about arms control.
: Sabrina Singh, deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, asserts that the United States condemns North Korea’s recent missile launches and continues to seek dialogue with North Korea.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: In its National Defense Strategy, the US Department of Defense states that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the US or its allies and partners is “unacceptable” and will result in the “end of that regime.”
: South Korea’s Ambassador to the US Cho Tae-yong states that the two countries are working together to strengthen extended deterrence to “strongly and sternly” react against North Korean provocations.
: South Korea launches an interagency task force to prepare for the envisioned Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement with the United States, an effort to strengthen cooperation in defense supply chains.
: Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder of the US Pentagon affirms that the US has no plans to adjust its defense posture in the Indo-Pacific region, such as deploying tactical nuclear weapons to the region.
: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen states that the US Inflation Reduction Act will be implemented without exception. Yoon states his believe that Yellen’s statement is “slightly different from the general view of the US government.”
: A seventh nuclear test by North Korea would constitute a “grave escalatory action,” states Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson of the US State Department. Patel furthers that the US has a “number of tools” to hold North Korea accountable for future provocations and calls on China and Russia to hold North Korea accountable when necessary.
: US Department of State Press Secretary Ned Price announces that the US assesses that North Korea is preparing for its seventh nuclear test.
: South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong states that the “geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia is grim” due to North Korean provocations and the end of the Chinese Communist Party Congress.
: As part of the annual ongoing Hoguk drills, the South Korean Navy begins a large-scale exercise in the Yellow Sea involving American troops.
: At the Trilateral Chief of Defense Meeting, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Kim Seung-kyum, US General Mark Milley, and Japanese General Yamazaki Koji emphasize the importance of trilateral security cooperation against North Korea.
: Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder of the US Department of Defense states that the US is not considering deploying nuclear weapons to South Korea.
: US Forces Korea discloses footage on artillery live-fire training in response to North Korea’s recent firing of artillery shells.
: South Korea and the United States agree to continue working-level consultations to seek solutions regarding the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Kim Seung-kyum and US counterpart General Mark Milley reaffirm to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and developing the countries’ joint defense posture at the annual Military Committee Meeting.
: North Korea fires around 100 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea and another 150 rounds into the East Sea, falling into the eastern and western buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line. North Korea calls this a “serious warning” over South Korea’s ongoing military drills, calling on the South to immediately stop “reckless and inciting provocations.”
: South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun meets with British Ambassador to Seoul Colin Crooks, Swedish top envoy in Seoul Daniel Wolven, and Charge’ d’affaires of the European Union Christophe Bess to discuss the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korea and the United States stage combined river-crossing military drills to strengthen readiness to counter evolving North Korean threats.
: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken states that North Korea may be trying to draw US attention and argues that North Korean provocations may be a reaction to the growing cooperation between the US, South Korea, and Japan.
: US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg stresses the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to extended deterrence for South Korea and denounces recent threats of tactical nuclear weapons. Goldberg also criticizes China for having “done little” to mitigate North Korean provocations.
: US Forces Korea reveals it conducted a “quick reaction force training” with South Korean special warfare troops as the allies strive to sharpen deterrence against evolving North Korean threats.
: Vice Admiral Karl Thomas of the US Seventh Fleet states that the recent joint US-South Korea naval exercise may have “precipitated” North Korean provocations, especially “after many years of not Operating in the Sea of Japan and visiting South Korea.”
: A group of around 10 North Korean military aircraft flies close to the border with South Korea, prompting the South Korean Air Force to scramble its F-35A stealth fighters and other assets to the scene.
: North Korea claims that its latest ballistic missile launch was a countermeasure to the South Korean military’s “provocative” and “reckless” moves in the frontline area.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises the test-firing of long-range strategic cruise missiles involving units operating “tactical nukes” to send a “clear warning to the enemies” and a demonstration of the country’s deterrence capabilities.
: Representative Chung Jin-suk, party leader of the ruling South Korean People Power Party, calls for a stronger US nuclear umbrella.
: In its 2022 National Security Strategy, the United States reaffirms its commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy and to strengthening US alliances to address “shared challenges” while outmaneuvering geopolitical competitors.
: Rather than the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul states that the most desirable way to deter North Korea is through the “redeployment of US strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in a timely, coordinated matter.”
: South Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong states that the two nations may need to “quietly review creative solutions” to the “real threat” posed by North Korea.
: Kim Song, North Korean Ambassador to the United States, urges the US to refrain from providing a nuclear umbrella and to suspend joint exercises with South Korea.
: John Kirby, US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, states that the US remains open to dialogue with North Korea without any preconditions.
: US State Department rejects the notion that the United States’ “defensive actions” such as joint military and naval exercises with South Korea do not justify North Korea’s “escalatory and unlawful behavior.”
: South Korea’s industry, finance, and foreign ministries hold a third round of their joint task force meeting with officials from the domestic car and battery industries to discuss concerns over the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises an exercise of tactical nuclear operation units to check and assess the “war deterrent and nuclear counterattack capability” in response to recent joint US-South Korea military trainings. Kim states that North Korea has “no content for dialogue with the enemies and felt no necessity to do so.”
: North Korean state media reports that North Korea’s recent missile provocations were the simulated use of its tactical battlefield nuclear weapons to “hit and wipe out” potential South Korean and American targets.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, making this its seventh missile provocation in two weeks.
: South Korea and the United States conduct a joint naval exercise involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to reinforce the allies’ operational capabilities against North Korean provocations.
: South Korean Ambassador Lee Shin-hwa, special envoy for international cooperation on North Korean human rights, argues that appointing a US special envoy for North Korean human rights—a post vacant for five years—will send a clear message to North Korea that human rights matter.
: Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, agrees to redouble joint efforts to block North Korea’s nuclear and missile program financing through cryptocurrency theft with American and Japanese counterparts Sung Kim and Funakoshi Takehiro.
: United States imposes sanctions on two people and three entities for violating UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea for being involved in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum with North Korean vessels designed to evade UNSC sanctions.
: US Forces Korea brings in new pieces of equipment to its THAAD missile defense unit to complete the three-stage Joint Emergent Operational Need program to enhance the efficiency of its overall anti-missile capabilities.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, making this the sixth missile test in under two weeks. In response, Yoon states that he “will thoroughly take care of the people’s lives and safety through a strong South Korea-US alliance and security cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan.”
: North Korea condemns the United States for redeploying the USS Ronald Reagan into the waters east of South Korea, stating that the US “poses a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”
: South Korea, Japan, the United States, and eight other UN member countries issue a joint statement condemning North Korea for its ballistic missile provocation and call on other UN members to urge North Korea to abandon its “unlawful weapons programs.”
: Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and American counterpart Sung Kim voice “serious concerns” regarding North Korea’s recent firing of two short-range ballistic missiles.
: South Korea, Japan, and the United States conduct a joint naval exercise in the East Sea focusing on countering nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
: South Korea and the United States fire four ground-to-ground missiles into the East Sea in joint drills to demonstrate the allies’ deterrence capability.
: Biden sends a letter to Yoon expressing his willingness to continue talks on the Inflation Reduction Act.
: United States, among other countries, call for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. The session ends with no agreement on next steps, with Russia and China insisting that US-led military exercises in the region provoked North Korea.
: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discusses appropriate responses the international community should take with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-han and Japanese counterpart Akiba Takeo.
: USS Ronald Reagan returns to the waters east of South Korea to conduct a trilateral exercise with South Korea and Japan in a show of force following North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches.
: North Korea fires an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over Japan, making this the North’s first launch of an IRBM in eight months and the fifth missile test in just over a week. In response, a South Korean F-15K fighter fires two JADAM precision bombs at a firing range on a Yellow Sea island and air drills with the US in a combined strike package.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken agree to strengthen cooperation in responding to North Korea’s missile tests, including a new UN resolution against North Korea and trilateral action with Japan.
: South Korea-US Combined Forces Command plans to move its headquarters to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, just a day a day after South Korea, the United States, and Japan staged an anti-submarine warfare exercise. This marks North Korea’s fourth missile launch within a week.
: In light of North Korea Freedom Week, the US State Department releases a statement urging for global efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea.
: Following recent North Korean missile provocations, a US Forces Korea unit carries out Exercise Teak Knife, a series of surgical strike drills, at US base Camp Humphreys.
: United States Indo-Pacific Command releases a statement reaffirming its “ironclad” commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan following North Korea’s recent firing of two ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
: South Korea, Japan, and the United States conduct a trilateral anti-submarine exercise, following North Korea’s short-range ballistic missile launches this week.
: Harris promises Yoon that the United States will look for solutions to South Korea’s concerns regarding the Inflation Reduction Act.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, just three days after the North fired one SRBM earlier this week.
: South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin meets with 18 ambassadors to Seoul from several EU nations to ask seek joint responses over the US Inflation Reduction Act.
: Kim Song, head of the North Korean mission to the United Nations, states that the “security environment of the Korean Peninsula is now caught in a vicious cycle of tensions and confrontations due to the growing hostility of the United States” during an address to the UN General Assembly.
: Previous USFK Commander Gen. Robert Abrams states that the United States will preserve “all options” in determining what forces might be used in the event of a military conflict between China and Taiwan.
: South Korean Ambassador Cho Tae-young states that South Korean Yoon and Biden have reaffirmed their commitment to resolving issues concerning the Inflation Reduction Act.
: US Department of State Press Secretary Ned Price states that North Korea is in a “period of provocation” but the United States remains committed to engage with North Korea in serious diplomacy.
: South Korea draws investment worth a combined $1.5 billion from seven North American firms in the semiconductor, battery, and energy sectors. The seven firms plan to build facilities in South Korea.
: In reference to a video circulating of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaking to his aides in vulgar language in supposed reference to the US Congress and US President Joe Biden, Yoon’s office clarifies that the president was speaking about South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly.
: On the sidelines of the G20 meeting, South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai agree to make joint efforts to seek solutions regarding the Inflation Reduction Act.
: Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon meets with White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act. Lee also meets with Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Illinois), and Rep. Young Kim (R-California).
: US stands by its intelligence that Russia is seeking to purchase ammunition from North Korea, despite a North Korean statement earlier this week that it has never exported any weapons or ammunition to Russia and does not plan to do so.
: Nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea to conduct its first combined drills with the South Korean Navy, two days later, North Korea fires a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, the North’s fifth missile firing since the Yoon administration took office.
: Biden and Yoon hold a brief bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 77th of the United Nations General Assembly and reaffirm “their commitment to strengthen the US-ROK alliance and ensure close cooperation to address the threat” posed by North Korea.
: In an address to the UN General Assembly, Biden names North Korea as one of the main reasons why the United Nations should work to strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime and states that the US is prepared to pursue “critical arms control measures.”
: Yoon asks Biden to resolve South Korea’s concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden affirms that he is aware of the concerns and states that both sides should continue discussions.
: Yoon and Kishida agree to improve relations by resolving pending issues and share concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program.
: South Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul assures the South Korean public that the US and South Korea will ensure that “consultations would not move in a direction that undermines security on the Korean Peninsula.”
: South Korean and US Marine Corps develop a five-year plan to strengthen combined amphibious landing exercises.
: Yoon asks UN Chief António Guterres for a stern response to North Korean provocations and thanks Guterres for supporting the “complete, verifiable, and irreversible” denuclearization of North Korea.
: Yoon arrives in New York to attend the 77th session of the UN General Assembly and plans to hold a series of summits on the sidelines with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
: After meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang expresses worries that the negative impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act will have impacts on bilateral ties.
: South Korean and American soldiers conduct combined training at the National Training Center in California to improve “warfighting” and “interoperability” capabilities.
: Reports say the US made a dialogue offer in July to North Korea through the New York channel but North Korea has yet to respond.
: Yoon states that “South Korea will take a more clear position with respect to US-China relations” and criticizes the diplomacy of his predecessor, Moon Jae-in.
: South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong points out the “discriminatory elements” in the Inflation Reduction Act while meeting with US officials.
: United States and South Korea hold the third meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) which provides a forum for discussions on strategies to strengthen Alliance deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.
: South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup states that South Korea and the US will revise contingency plans for nuclear crisis scenarios in their joint deterrence strategy and make intelligence-sharing more systematic.
: South Korean Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul visits the Pentagon to discuss bilateral cooperation in high-defense tech projects. Shin also holds bilateral talks with US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante to discuss the expansion of South Korean firms’ participation in the US defense supply chain.
: South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission approves the fines of 69.2 billion won ($55.2 million) for Google and 30.8 billion won for Meta Platforms for collecting personal information without users’ consent.
: A recent Korea Information Society Development Institute report finds that South Korea’s participation in the Chip 4 alliance would be a “rational” decision for the country amid intensifying competition for global technology.
: South Korea and 13 other member nations of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework agree to start official negotiations to boost regional economic cooperation.
: North Korea celebrates the 74th anniversary of its founding. At the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea announces five conditions for a nuclear preemptive strike, states that it will not share nuclear weapons and technology with other countries, and reaffirms that the country will resist all sanctions and pressures to give up its nuclear weapons.
: US develops “Unhiding Hidden Cobra,” a nine-day training program designed to help detect and prevent malicious cyber activities by North Korea.
: After meeting with White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun states that South Korea and the US will launch ministerial level talks on minimizing damage from the Inflation Reduction Act on South Korean carmakers
: South Korean Land Minister Won Hee-ryong meets with US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg to discuss cooperation in transportation and construction. Goldberg asks for South Korean companies to invest in US transportation infrastructure and launch the relocation project of US Embassy headquarters in Seoul. Won asks Goldberg to deliver Seoul’s concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo meets with US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg and requests Washington’s consideration for South Korean firms entering the US market following the Inflation Reduction Act.
: South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun arrives in the United States for talks on the Inflation Reduction Act and meets with White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
: South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup discusses with a group of visiting US House representatives to bolster combined defense posture amid concerns of another North Korea nuclear test.
: South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo meets with a US congressional delegation led by Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Florida) to raise South Korea’s concerns about the Inflation Reduction Act.
: President Yoon Suk Yeol meets with Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona and asks for Ducey’s cooperation in addressing South Korea’s concerns about the Inflation Reduction Act.