Tag Archives: North Korea

U.S. may accuse North Korea in Bangladesh cyber heist: WSJ

Federal Reserve and New York City Police officers stand guard in front of the New York Federal Reserve Building in New York, October 17, 2012. REUTERS/Keith Bedford/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors are building potential cases that would accuse North Korea of directing the theft of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last year, and that would charge alleged Chinese middlemen, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation believes that North Korea is responsible for the heist, an official briefed on the probe told Reuters. Richard Ledgett, deputy director of the U.S. National Security Agency, publicly suggested on Tuesday that North Korea may be linked to the incident, while private firms have long pointed the finger at the reclusive state.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that prosecutors believe Chinese middlemen helped North Korea orchestrate the theft from Bangladesh’s central bank, which was among the biggest bank robberies in modern times.

The current cases being pursued may not include charges against North Korean officials, but would likely implicate the country, the newspaper reported, with the United States accusing a foreign government of orchestrating the heist.

A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman declined to comment.

FBI offices in Los Angeles and New York have been leading an international investigation into the February 2016 incident, in which hackers breached Bangladesh Bank’s systems and used the SWIFT messaging network to request nearly $1 billion from its account at the New York Fed.

The branch of the U.S. central bank rejected most of the requests but filled some of them, resulting in $81 million disappearing into casinos and other entities in the Philippines. A top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters in December that some Bangladesh Bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems, enabling the hackers to get in.

The incident exposed bungling and miscommunication between central banks, and left the Fed, Bangladesh, SWIFT, and the Philippine lender that initially received the funds trading blame for months.

SWIFT – or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication that serves as the backbone of global finance – has since revealed that its messaging system has been targeted in a “meaningful” number of other attacks last year using a similar approach as in the Bangladesh incident.

Last week, SWIFT said it planned to cut off the remaining North Korean banks still connected to its system as concerns about the country’s nuclear program and missile tests grow.

The Journal reported that federal investigators are focusing on Chinese individuals or businesses who allegedly helped North Korea orchestrate the heist, and that the U.S. Treasury is considering sanctions against these alleged middlemen.

The New York Fed and SWIFT declined to comment.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Joseph Menn; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and James Dalgleish)

Exclusive: North Korea has no fear of U.S. sanctions move, will pursue nuclear arms – envoy

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched the ground jet test of a Korean-style high-thrust engine newly developed by the Academy of the National Defence Science in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on March 19, 2017. KCNA/via Reuters/File Photo

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) – North Korea has nothing to fear from any U.S. move to broaden sanctions aimed at cutting it off from the global financial system and will pursue “acceleration” of its nuclear and missile programs, a North Korean envoy told Reuters on Tuesday.

This includes developing a “pre-emptive first strike capability” and an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), said Choe Myong Nam, deputy ambassador at the North Korean mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

Reuters, quoting a senior U.S. official in Washington, reported on Monday that the Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions as part of a broad review of measures to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat. (For Monday’s story, click http://reut.rs/2n9HZ5a)

“I think this is stemming from the visit by the Secretary of State (Rex Tillerson) to Japan, South Korea and China…We of course are not afraid of any act like that,” Choe told Reuters.

“Even prohibition of the international transactions system, the global financial system, this kind of thing is part of their system that will not frighten us or make any difference.”

He called existing sanctions “heinous and inhumane”.

North Korea has been under sanctions for “half a century” but the communist state survives by placing an emphasis on juche or “self-sufficiency”, he said. His country wants a forum set up to examine the “legality and legitimacy of the sanctions regime”.

He denounced joint annual military exercises currently being carried out by the United States and South Korea on the divided peninsula and criticized remarks by Tillerson during his talks with regional allies last week.

“All he was talking about is for the United States to take military actions on DPRK,” Choe said, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea rejects claims by Washington and Seoul that the military drills are defensive. They involve strategic nuclear bombers and a nuclear submarine, Columbus, that recently entered South Korean ports, he said.

“In the light of such huge military forces involved in the joint military exercises, we have no other choice but to continue with our full acceleration of the nuclear programs and missile programs. It is because of these hostile activities on the part of the United States and South Korea.”

PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE CAPABILITY

“We strengthen our national defense capability as well as pre-emptive strike capabilities with nuclear forces as a centerpiece,” Choe said.

Asked to comment on Choe’s remarks, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Anna Richey-Allen, called on North Korea “to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric…and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks.”

Choe declined to give technical details of North Korea’s latest rocket engine test on Sunday – seen as a possible prelude to a partial ICBM flight – calling it a great historical event that would lead to “fruitful outcomes”.

“I can tell you for sure that the inter-continental ballistic rockets of the DPRK will be launched at any time and at any place as decided by our Supreme Leadership,” Choe said, recalling leader Kim Jong Un’s pledge in a New Year’s address.

Analysts say North Korea has likely mastered the technology to power the different stages of an ICBM and may show it off soon, but is likely still a long way from being able to hit the mainland United States.

“The United States has been talking about launching pre-emptive strikes at North Korea,” Choe said. “And we have been prepared to deter, to counter-attack such attacks on the part of the United States.

“We would utilize every possible means in our hands and the inter-continental ballistic rocket is one of them.”

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; editing by Ralph Boulton and Jonathan Oatis)

Exclusive: Trump administration weighing broad sanctions on North Korea – U.S. official

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides field guidance at the construction site of Ryomyong Street in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on March 16, 2017. KCNA/via Reuters

By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system as part of a broad review of measures to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threat, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

The sanctions would be part of a multi-pronged approach of increased economic and diplomatic pressure – especially on Chinese banks and firms that do the most business with North Korea – plus beefed-up defenses by the United States and its South Korean and Japanese allies, according to the administration official familiar with the deliberations.

While the long-standing option of pre-emptive military strikes against North Korea is not off the table – as reflected by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s warning to Pyongyang during his Asia tour last week – the new administration is giving priority for now to less-risky options.

The policy recommendations being assembled by President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, are expected to reach the president’s desk within weeks, possibly before a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in early April, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. North Korea is expected to top the agenda at that meeting.

It is not clear how quickly Trump will decide on a course of action, which could be delayed by the slow pace at which the administration is filling key national security jobs.

The White House declined comment.

Trump met McMaster on Saturday to discuss North Korea and said afterward that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, was “acting very, very badly.”

The president spoke hours after North Korea boasted of a successful rocket-engine test, which officials and experts think is part of a program aimed at building an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

‘SECONDARY SANCTIONS’

The administration source said U.S. officials, including Tillerson, had privately warned China about broader “secondary sanctions” that would target banks and other companies that do business with North Korea, most of which are Chinese.

The move under consideration would mark an escalation of Trump’s pressure on China to do more to contain North Korea. It was not clear how Chinese officials responded to those warnings but Beijing has made clear its strong opposition to such moves.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the situation on the Korean peninsula was at a crossroads and there were two prospects.

One, she said, was that the relevant parties could continue to “escalate toward conflict and potential war”.

“The other choice is that all sides can cool down and jointly pull the Korean nuclear issue back to a path of political and diplomatic resolution,” Hua told a daily news briefing on Tuesday.

China would strictly and comprehensively implement its duties under the U.N. Security Council resolutions, which meant implementing sanctions but also making efforts to get back to talks, she added.

The objective of the U.S. move being considered would be to tighten the screws in the same way that the widening of sanctions – to encompass foreign firms dealing with Iran – was used to pressure Tehran to open negotiations with the West on its suspected nuclear weapons program. That effort ultimately led to a 2015 deal to restrict Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

For such measures to have any chance to influence the behavior of North Korea, which is already under heavy sanctions, Washington must secure full international cooperation – especially from China, which has shown little appetite for putting such a squeeze on its neighbor.

Analysts also have questioned whether such sanctions would be as effective on North Korea as they were on a major oil producer such as Iran, given the isolated nation’s limited links to the world financial system.

North Korea has relied heavily on illicit trade done via small Chinese banks. So, to be applied successfully, the new measures would have to threaten to bar those banks from the international financial system.

Also under consideration are expanded efforts to seize assets of Kim and his family outside North Korea, the official said.

MILITARY OPTIONS

The military dimension of the review includes a strengthened U.S. presence in the region and deployment of advanced missile defenses, initially in South Korea and possibly in Japan. The U.S. military has begun to install a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in South Korea, despite Chinese opposition.

Washington is increasingly concerned, however, that the winner of South Korea’s May 9 presidential election might backtrack on the deployment and be less supportive of tougher sanctions.

Tillerson warned on Friday that Washington had not ruled out military action if the threat from North Korea becomes unacceptable.

For now, U.S. officials consider pre-emptive strikes too risky, given the danger of igniting a regional war and causing massive casualties in Japan and South Korea and among tens of thousands of U.S. troops based in both allied countries.

Another U.S. government source said Trump could also opt to escalate cyber attacks and other covert action aimed at undermining North Korea’s leadership.

“These options are not done as stand-alones,” the first U.S. official said. “It’s going to be some form of ‘all of the above,’ probably excluding military action.”

Trump is known to have little patience for foreign policy details, but officials say he seems to have heeded a warning from his predecessor, Barack Obama, that North Korea would be the most urgent international issue he would face.

In his North Korea briefings, Trump has asked repeatedly how many nuclear warheads and missiles Pyongyang has, at the same time as demanding to know how much South Korea and Japan are paying for their own defense, one U.S. official said.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by John Walcott, and Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Kieran Murray, Peter Cooney and Nick Macfie)

North Korea engine test may be prelude to partial ICBM flight

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched the ground jet test of a Korean-style high-thrust engine newly developed by the Academy of the National Defence Science in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on March 19, 2017.

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has likely mastered the technology to power the different stages of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and may show it off soon, analysts say, but it is likely still a long way from being able to hit the mainland United States.

North Korean state media announced its latest rocket-engine test on Sunday, saying it would help North Korea achieve world-class satellite-launch capability, indicating a new type of rocket engine that could be compatible with an ICBM.

The test showed “meaningful” progress, a spokesman for South Korea’s Defence Ministry said on Monday, with the firing of a main engine and four auxiliary engines as part of the development of a new rocket booster.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis declined to give a specific assessment of the test but said it was “consistent with the pattern we’ve seen by North Korea to continue to develop their ballistic missile program.”

The North Korean announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Beijing at the end of his first visit to Asia for talks dominated by concern about North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Lee Jin-woo said the test showed progress in engine function, but added that further analysis was needed to show the exact thrust produced and possible uses for the engine.

North Korea’s state media released pictures of the high-thrust engine test overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, and said he had called it “a new birth” of the country’s rocket industry.

Experts say space rockets and long-range missiles involve fundamentally identical technologies, but with different configurations for trajectory and velocity for the stages.

MOTOR FOR ICBM?

Kim Dong-yub of Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said he believed North Korea had carried out “a comprehensive test for the first-stage rocket for an ICBM.”

“It appears that North Korea has worked out much of its development of the first-stage rocket booster,” he said.

Joshua Pollack, of Washington’s Nonproliferation Review, said four steering nozzles had also been seen in older, long-range rockets North Korea used to launch objects into space in 2012 and 2016. But he said the main engine was quite different from anything seen previously and appeared roughly the right diameter to serve as either the first or second stage of an ICBM.

U.S. aerospace expert John Schilling, a contributor to the 38 North North Korea monitoring website, said the motor appeared too big for any ICBM North Korea has been known to be working on, but would be a good fit for the second stage of a new space rocket it is planning – or for a yet-unknown ICBM design.

Kim said North Korea had not yet mastered the re-entry technology needed for an ICBM, so still had work to do before it was able to hit the United States. It might though soon be able to demonstrate that it had perfected an ICBM system’s booster rocket stage.

“What could be next is they would make a new type of ICBM with this new engine system and launch it, but not the entire stages, but to make only the first stage, fly about 400 km and drop. They are not going to show it all at once.”

A U.S. administration official declined to give a specific technical assessment of the test but said it showed North Korea was “150 percent” committed to its weapons programs.

“This is one more indication that they are going to act in a way that is counterproductive,” he said.

North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches in defiance of U.N. resolutions, and experts and Western officials believe it is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said this year the country was close to test-launching an ICBM, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to tweet: “It won’t happen!”

Last week, Tillerson issued the Trump administration’s starkest warning yet to North Korea, saying a military response would be “on the table” if it took action to threaten South Korean and U.S. forces.

Trump told reporters on Sunday he held meetings on North Korea over the weekend and said Kim was “acting very, very badly.”

China said on Monday the situation with North Korea was at a new crossroads with two scenarios – a deterioration to war or a diplomatic solution.

“Any chance for dialogue must be seized, as long as there’s hope,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing.

(Additional reporting by James Pearson in Seoul and David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Jack Kim and James Dalgleish)

Tillerson signaled U.S. policy of patience on North Korea is over

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson looks on during a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lintao

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “sent a very clear signal that our policy of strategic patience is over” with North Korea during his recent visit to China, a White House spokesman said on Monday.

Spokesman Sean Spicer made the comment at a news briefing in reply to a question about Tillerson’s reaction to an announcement by North Korea about its latest rocket-engine test on Sunday. Tillerson was in Beijing during his first visit to Asia for talks dominated by concern about Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

U.S., China soften tone, say to work together on North Korea

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) talks with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 18, 2017 in Beijing, China. REUTERS/ Lintao Zhang/POOL

By Yeganeh Torbati and Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States and China will work together to get nuclear-armed North Korea take “a different course”, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Saturday, softening previous criticism of Beijing after talks with his Chinese counterpart.

China has been irritated at being repeatedly told by Washington to rein in North Korea’s surging nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, one of a series of hurdles in ties between the world’s two largest economies.

But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the talks with Tillerson as “candid, pragmatic and productive”. The two sides appeared to have made some progress or put aside differences on difficult issues, at least in advance of a planned summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Friday, Tillerson issued the Trump administration’s starkest warning yet to North Korea, saying in Seoul that a military response would be “on the table” if Pyongyang took action to threaten South Korean and U.S. forces.

Tillerson took a softer line after the meeting with Wang. He told reporters both China and the United States noted efforts over the last two decades had not succeeded in curbing the threat posed by North Korea’s weapons programmes.

“We share a common view and a sense that tensions on the peninsula are quite high right now and that things have reached a rather dangerous level, and we’ve committed ourselves to doing everything we can to prevent any type of conflict from breaking out,” Tillerson said.

He said Wang and he agreed to work together to persuade North Korea “make a course correction and move away from the development of their nuclear weapons.”

Wang said U.N. resolutions on North Korea both mapped out sanctions and called for efforts to resume efforts for a negotiated settlement.

“No matter what happens, we have to stay committed to diplomatic means as a way to seek peaceful settlement,” he said.

Wang said he and Tillerson “both hope to find ways to restart the talks”.

“Neither of us are ready to give up the hope for peace,” he said.

Tillerson had said on Friday that any talks on North Korea could only take place after it began the process of unwinding its weapons programmes.

A U.S. official had told Reuters in Washington earlier this week that Tillerson may raise the prospect of imposing “secondary sanctions” on Chinese banks and other firms doing business with North Korea in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

Trump said in a tweet on Friday that North Korea was “behaving very badly” and accused China, Pyongyang’s neighbour and only major ally, of doing little to resolve the crisis.

XI-TRUMP SUMMIT

However, the two sides appear to have toned down differences as they work on finalising a trip by Xi to the United States, possibly next month, for his first summit with Trump.

Wang said the two countries were in “close communication” on arranging the meeting, but gave no details.

The state-run Chinese tabloid the Global Times said on Saturday that it was in China’s interests to stop North Korea’s nuclear ambitions but to suggest China cut the country off completely was ridiculous as it would be fraught with danger.

“Once there is chaos in North Korea, it would first bring disaster to China. I’m sorry, but the United States and South Korea don’t have the right to demand this of China,” it said in an editorial.

A former oil executive with no prior diplomatic experience, Tillerson will meet Xi on Sunday.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the beginning of last year.

Last week, it launched four more ballistic missiles and is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.

Washington has been pressing Beijing to do more to stop North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.

China has called for a dual track approach, urging North Korea to suspend its tests and the United States and South Korea to suspend military drills, so both sides can return to talks.

China has also been infuriated by the deployment of the THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, missile defence system in South Korea, which it says will both harm China’s own security and do nothing to ease tensions.

China says the system’s powerful radar will extend into the country’s northeast and potentially track Chinese missile launches, and maybe even intercept them. Russia also opposes THAAD, for the same reasons.

There are other tricky issues too, including the self-ruled island of Taiwan which China claims as its own.

The Trump administration is crafting a big new arms package for Taiwan that could include advanced rocket systems and anti-ship missiles to defend against China, U.S. officials said, a deal sure to anger Beijing.

Wang said Saturday’s talks included discussions on THAAD and Taiwan but did not give details.

(Additional reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

U.S. policy of ‘strategic patience’ with North Korea over: Tillerson

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) speaks as South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se looks on during a news conference in Seoul, South Korea March 17, 2017. REUTERS/JUNG Yeon-Je

By Ju-min Park and James Pearson

SEOUL (Reuters) – A U.S. policy of strategic patience with North Korea has ended, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in South Korea on Friday, adding that military action would be “on the table” if North Korea elevated the threat level.

Tillerson began his first Asian visit as secretary of state in Japan on Wednesday and will travel to China on Saturday with a main focus on finding a “new approach” on North Korea after what he described as two decades of failed efforts to denuclearize the insular nation.

“Let me be very clear: the policy of strategic patience has ended. We are exploring a new range of security and diplomatic measures. All options are on the table,” Tillerson told a news conference in Seoul.

He said any North Korean actions that threatened the South would be met with “an appropriate response”.

“If they elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe requires action, that option is on the table,” Tillerson said when asked about military action.

Tillerson also called on China to implement sanctions against North Korea and said there was no need for China to punish South Korea for deploying an advanced U.S. anti-missile system aimed at defending against North Korea.

China says the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system’s powerful radar is a threat to its security.

“We believe these actions are unnecessary and troubling,” Tillerson said, referring to what South Korea sees as Chinese retaliation in the form of business restrictions in response to the deployment of the missile system.

“We also believe it is not the way for a regional power to help resolve what is a serious threat for everyone. So we hope China will alter its position on punishing South Korea.”

“We hope they will work with us to eliminate the reason THAAD is required.”

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the beginning of last year.

Last week, it launched four more ballistic missiles and is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told the joint news conference the missile system was only intended to defend against North Korea, not any other country.

FACING OFF AT THE DMZ

Earlier, Tillerson visited the Demilitarized Zone, and looked across the heavily fortified border at armed North Korean guards, staring back. He met some of the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

Tillerson also met South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is also acting president.

The latest bout of tension with North Korea comes at a time of political turmoil in South Korea. President Park Geun-hye was ousted last week after being impeached in a corruption scandal and an election for a new president will be on May 9.

A liberal opposition politician, Moon Jae-in, who has raised questions about the THAAD deployment, is leading in the opinion polls.

Tillerson, a former oil executive with no prior diplomatic experience, said he expected a new government would “continue to be supportive” of the deployment, adding it was also intended to protect U.S. troops in South Korea.

China resents U.S. pressure to do more on North Korea and says it is doing all it can but will not take steps to threatened the livelihoods of the North Korean people.

China has urged North Korea to stop its nuclear and missile tests and said South Korea and the United States should stop joint military exercises and seek talks instead.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated that talks were the best way to resolve the problems of the Korean peninsula.

“As a close neighbor of the peninsula, China has even more reason than any other country to care about the situation,” she told a briefing.

Hua also said the THAAD would “upset the regional strategic balance”. Its radar, with a range of more than 2,000 km (1,250 miles), meant it could cover a large part of China, far outside the scope of the threat South Korea faces, Hua said.

“We do not oppose South Korean taking necessary measures to protect its security, but these measures cannot be based upon harming the security interests of South Korea’s friendly neighbor, China,” she said.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING, Christine Kim in SEOUL; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Sirens blare as Japan, fearing North Korea, holds first missile drill

Elementary school students squat down on the street as they participate in an evacuation drill for local residents based on the scenario that a ballistic missile launched landed in Japanese waters, in Oga, Akita prefecture, Japan March 17, 2017. Kyodo/via REUTERS

By Hyun Oh

OGA, Japan (Reuters) – Sirens blared and loudspeakers broadcast warnings in Japan’s first civilian missile evacuation drill on Friday, conducted in a fishing town by officials wary about the threat of North Korean missiles.

The exercise comes more than a week after North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan’s northwest coast, with one rocket landing about 200 km (124 miles)from the town of Oga.

Friday’s drill played out a scenario in which North Korea had fired a ballistic missile on the Japanese islands.

“The missile is seen to have landed within a 20-km (12-mile) boundary west of the Oga peninsula,” a speaker blared during the evacuation. “The government is currently examining the damage.” (For a graphic on missile evacuation drill in Oga, Japan, click http://tmsnrt.rs/2ngq11y)

Residents of the largely rural peninsula jutting into the ocean about 450 km (280 miles) north of the capital, Tokyo, made their way to a designated evacuation center equipped with emergency kits and protective gear.

Schoolchildren in another part of town crouched down to the ground before hurrying inside a gymnasium.

“I’ve seen missiles flying between foreign countries on television, but I never imagined this would happen to us,” said Hideo Motokawa, a 73-year-old who participated in the drill.

Officials said the exercise was prompted by growing concern about the regional security situation.

“Anything can happen these days, and it’s even more true when we cannot anticipate the behavior of our neighboring countries,” said Osamu Saito, a security supervisor in the prefecture of Akita where Oga is located.

North Korea is also developing nuclear-tipped missiles, in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions, and conducting nuclear tests in what U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described during a visit to Japan as an “ever-escalating threat.”

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday the missile drill was worthwhile, to help educate the public.

Some Oga residents worried about how they would react in a real attack.

“It’s a scary thing,” said participant Emiko Shinzoya, 73. “If it did actually happen, I don’t think we can do what we practiced today. We’ll just be panicked.”

(Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Clarence Fernandez)

North Korea says Malaysia ‘incident’ political scheme by U.S., South Korea

North Korean diplomat Pak Myong Ho attends a news conference in Beijing, China, March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) – The recent “incident” that occurred in Malaysia was a political scheme by the United States and South Korea that will only benefit enemy countries, a North Korean diplomat based in the Chinese capital said on Thursday.

The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was murdered on Feb. 13, when Malaysian police say two women – an Indonesian and a Vietnamese – smeared super toxic VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

“The recent incident that occurred in Malaysia was clearly a political scheme by the U.S. and South Korea aimed at hurting the DPRK’s reputation and overthrowing the DPRK regime,” diplomat Pak Myong Ho told a news conference, using the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The only parties that will benefit from this incident are the enemy countries.”

(Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Writing by Ben Blanchard and Christine Kim; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Interpol ‘issues red notice’ for North Koreans in murder mystery

The cover of a Chinese magazine features a portrait of Kim Jong Nam, the late half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a news agent in Beijing, China February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Interpol has issued a red notice, the closest to an international arrest warrant, for four North Koreans wanted in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, Malaysia’s police chief said on Thursday.

The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was murdered on Feb. 13, when Malaysian police say two women – an Indonesian and a Vietnamese – smeared super toxic VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The two women were charged with murder earlier this month, but police are looking for seven North Korean suspects in connection with the killing, including four who are believed to have made their way back to Pyongyang.

Police requested Interpol’s help to apprehend the suspects last month.

“We have obtained a red notice for the four North Korean nationals who were at the airport on the day of the incident and who have since left… we are hoping to get them through Interpol,” police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters.

An Interpol red notice is a request to find and provisionally arrest someone pending extradition.

The murder has resulted in a diplomatic meltdown between two countries with once strong ties.

North Korea has questioned the Malaysian investigation into the murder and refused to acknowledge that the man murdered is Kim Jong Nam.

Speaking at the North Korean embassy in Beijing at an unusual and hastily arranged news conference, diplomat Pak Myong Ho blamed the United States and South Korea.

“The recent incident that occurred in Malaysia was clearly a political scheme by the U.S. and South Korea aimed at hurting the DPRK’s reputation and overthrowing the DPRK regime,” Pak said, using the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The only parties that will benefit from this incident are the enemy countries,” Pak told a hand-picked audience of reporters in a small, sparsely decorated room inside the embassy.

At the time of the killing, Kim was carrying a diplomatic passport bearing another name, but Malaysian authorities said on Wednesday Kim Jong Nam’s identity had been confirmed using DNA samples taken from one of his children.

Malaysia has also refused demands by the North Korean government for Kim Jong Nam’s body to be released, saying that the remains can only be handed over to the next-of-kin under local laws. No family member has come forward to claim the body.

State news agency Bernama, quoting Malaysian deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said on Thursday that the family had given consent for Malaysia to manage Kim Jong Nam’s remains. Noor Rashid did not say when or where the consent was given.

Kim Jong Nam had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing’s protection after the family went into exile several years ago. He had been known to speak out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of North Korea.

A man claiming to be the son of Kim Jong Nam appeared in video footage last week, saying he was lying low with his mother and sister.

An official at South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirmed the man in the video was Kim Han Sol, the 21-year-old son of Kim Jong Nam.

Malaysia is one of the few countries outside China that has for decades maintained ties with North Korea.

But as relations soured, Malaysia recalled its envoy from Pyongyang and expelled the North Korean ambassador.

North Korea then barred nine Malaysians – three diplomats and their six family members – from leaving the country, prompting Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to describe the action as “hostage” taking. The Southeast Asian country followed with a tit-for-tat action stopping North Koreans from leaving.

Najib told reporters Malaysia will begin formal negotiations with North Korea “when the time is right”, clarifying previous reports saying that talks between the two countries had begun on Monday.

(Reporting by Nguyen Ha Minh and Joseph Sipalan; Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd in Beijing, and Christine Kim in Seoul; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)