Topic: North Korea

North Korea is scrambling to contain an outbreak of fever cases connected to the country's first reported COVID-19 infections, with nearly 270,000 new cases and six deaths reported on Tuesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has blamed health officials for failing to swiftly deliver medicines to the public amid a fast-growing COVID-19 surge and ordered the military to step in and "stabilize" distribution.

COVID-19 has been spreading "explosively" in North Korea since last month and has caused six deaths, state media reported Friday, a day after the isolated country announced its first cases of the disease.

North Korea has recorded its first official COVID-19 infection, state-run media reported on Thursday, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing a strict lockdown at an emergency meeting of top politburo officials.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a U.S. House sub-committee Wednesday that the 2023 defense budget is a "very healthy" budget that provides the military with "significant capability."

New South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup took office on Wednesday and said that he hopes to strengthen ties with the United States and promised to respond "sternly" to any provocations from North Korea.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in on Tuesday, vowing to overcome social divisions through rapid economic growth and opening the door to engagement with North Korea.

In his final speech before leaving office, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday he's proud of the work his administration did in engaging with North Korea -- particularly on denuclearization.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea off of its east coast Wednesday, the militaries of South Korea and Japan said, as concerns rise that a nuclear provocation is on the way.

Envoys from China and South Korea met Tuesday to discuss how to respond to an increasingly assertive North Korea, which has conducted many missile launches this year and now appears to be preparing for a nuclear test.