South Korea’s military firmly denied that any discussions have taken place with the United States regarding a potential withdrawal of American troops from the peninsula, following a media report suggesting the White House was considering such a move.

SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week. ------------ (2nd LD) Seoul says USFK reduction is matter requiring bilateral consultation

North Korea is in its "strongest strategic position in decades," the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in a new assessment.

Eight decades after the partition of the Korean peninsula, the Catholic Church in South Korea remains one of the few actors that, with perseverance and faith, keeps alive the hope for reconciliation between the two Koreas.

The United States extended its ban on travel to North Korea for the ninth year in a row, a federal notice showed, citing "imminent danger" posed by any trips to the authoritarian state.

On Tuesday, South Korean military officials announced that North Korea likely received help from Russia to develop a new air-to-air missile — a missile fired from an aircraft to destroy another aircraft — which is the kind of advanced weaponry that South Korea is attempting to build by 2032.

Participating U.S. forces included the Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence and a maritime patrol aircraft, according to South Korean naval officials. South Korea contributed roughly 10 aircraft and 10 warships, including the destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I.

American and South Korean officials often describe the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. alliance as ironclad, with both allies working in lockstep on their combined defense posture. While nice sounding, such truisms will soon be tested.

South Korea sent a delegation to Washington to hold a second round of technical discussions this week over the Trump administration's proposed "reciprocal" tariffs, Seoul's Trade Ministry said Tuesday.

Members of the UN General Assembly have traded barbs at a meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea. Some nations contend that the North's human rights violations are closely tied to the country's development of nuclear weapons and its missile programs.