Pyongyang

China will halt iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea starting on Aug. 15, following through on new U.N. sanctions after U.S. pressure for Beijing to strong-arm Pyongyang over its ally's nuclear program.

North Korea said on Saturday that nearly 3.5 million workers, party members and soldiers volunteered to join or rejoin its army to resist new U.N. sanctions and to fight against the United States in the current geopolitical tension between Pyongyang and Washington, Reuers reported.

China should remain neutral if North Korea launches an attack that threatens the United States, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Friday, sounding a warning for Pyongyang over its plans to fire missiles near the US Pacific territory of Guam, The Independent reported. 

North Korea angrily insisted tough new United Nations sanctions would not stop it from developing its nuclear arsenal and warned yesterday that it would not negotiate while being threatened by the United States.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution significantly strengthening the sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang's new missile trials. Reports Mediapool.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged Chinese officials to apply greater diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea to force Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear weapons program.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In warned on May 17 there was a "high possibility" of military clashes along the border with North Korea as tensions mount over Pyongyang's weapons ambitions.

Moon, who was sworn in last week, warned that the North's nuclear and rocket programs were "advancing rapidly," days after Pyongyang launched what appeared to be its longest-range missile yet.

AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS

The North Korean Foreign Ministry believes that US decision to send an aircraft carrier strike group to the shores of the Korean Peninsula proves the aggressive intentions of Washington, and Pyongyang is ready to take countermeasures in case of military action, local media reported Tuesday, citing a ministry's official.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on March 16 that the escalating threat from North Korea's nuclear program showed a clear need for a "new approach," although he stopped short of detailing what steps the Trump administration would pursue.

The UN Security Council echoed international condemnation April 24 of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test by North Korea, while US President Barack Obama dismissed Pyongyang's offer of a nuclear moratorium.