(ATTN: RECASTS headline, throughout) SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea slammed the United States on Thursday for convening a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying the "provocative act" has helped it decide which path to take in the deadlocked nuclear talks. A spokesperson of the North's foreign ministry made the remarks after the UNSC held a session on Wednesday at the request of the U.S. At the meeting, the U.S. envoy called on the council to "act accordingly" against Pyongyang's tension-heightening behavior. "We will never tolerate the U.S. for fostering the mood of pressure against North Korea by spearheading the UNSC public meeting that discussed our problem at such a sensitive time as right now," the North Korean official said. "The U.S. took a stupid act like hitting at its own foot with an ax by holding the meeting," the official added. "It has also given us decisive help in making up our mind clearly on which way we will take." The council meeting was held

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(ATTN: RECASTS headline, updates paras 1-6 with details on flight of B-52H; TRIMS) SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- The United States on Wednesday flew a Global Hawk surveillance plane over the Korean Peninsula and a strategic B-52 bomber over the sea near Japan, an aviation tracker said, amid brewing tensions over Pyongyang's threat of possible military provocations. A Stratofortress, supported by a KC-135R refueling aircraft, was spotted in skies above Japan's east, Aircraft Spots said on its Twitter account without specifying the exact time of the operation. It said the aircraft took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Air Force sent an RQ-4 Global Hawk over the Korean Peninsula, according to the tracker. The flights came as tensions have heightened since Pyongyang conducted a rocket engine test at its Dongchang-ri satellite launching site on Saturday, sparking speculation that it may be preparing to resume testing of intercontinenta

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(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 18-21) By Lee Haye-ah WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- The United States is ready to be flexible in negotiations with North Korea on dismantling the regime's nuclear weapons program, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said Wednesday, urging Pyongyang to refrain from provocations. Ambassador Kelly Craft made the remarks at a U.N. Security Council session as Pyongyang's year-end deadline for nuclear negotiations with Washington draws near. Amid indications the North is preparing to launch a long-range missile, Craft warned that such activity will only complicate efforts to implement an agreement reached by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their first summit in Singapore in June 2018. "We remain ready to take actions in parallel, and to simultaneously take concrete steps toward this agreement," Craft told the Council in New York, in live online footage. "We are prepared to be flexible ... and we recogni

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By Song Sang-ho SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun is expected to make a last-ditch effort for a turnaround in deadlocked nuclear talks with North Korea, as he reportedly prepares to travel here weeks ahead of Pyongyang's year-end negotiation deadline. His trip to South Korea would come amid heightened tensions caused by the North's recent provocative weapons tests and concerns over its possible long-range rocket launch that could stymie Washington's engagement with Pyongyang. Reports said that Biegun, now the nominee for deputy secretary of state, may arrive in Seoul this weekend and could travel to the inter-Korean border truce village of Panmunjom for possible contact with North Korean officials. "First and foremost, Biegun may explore ways for a breakthrough in nuclear talks with the North and try to prevent its possible long-range rocket launch," Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, said. "The

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(ATTN: UPDATES with more remarks in last 3 paras) By Lee Haye-ah WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- A top U.S. diplomat warned North Korea on Thursday against taking any "ill-advised" action in light of its veiled threats to resume nuclear and long-range missile tests. David Stilwell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, made the remark as North Korea has threatened to take a "new way" unless the U.S. offers concessions in their stalled denuclearization negotiations before the end of the year. Washington has urged Pyongyang to stick to its commitment to cease nuclear and long-range missile tests, saying they would be counterproductive to efforts to reach a deal exchanging North Korea's denuclearization for U.S. concessions. "Threats are threats. We've heard threats before," Stilwell said during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, when asked about the possibility of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic mis

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(ATTN: MODIFIES lead para; UPDATES with background info on S. Korea military unit in Middle East in last 4 paras) SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top security officials on Thursday assessed the recent security conditions on the peninsula amid the looming year-end deadline set by Pyongyang for the U.S. to make concessions in their deadlocked nuclear talks. In a weekly session of the National Security Council (NSC) standing committee, its members agreed to continue strengthening cooperation with "neighboring countries" for "substantive progress" in the Korea peace process through the early resumption of denuclearization negotiations, according to Cheong Wa Dae. The meeting was presided over by Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at the presidential office. The NSC session came after the United Nations Security Council had a meeting on North Korea. There's speculation that the secretive North may be poised for a launch using long-range ballistic missile technol

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(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more remarks, background; ADDS photo) By Lee Haye-ah WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- The United States hopes North Korea will refrain from nuclear and long-range missile tests, but remains ready to respond to the threat, the Pentagon said Thursday. Joint Staff Vice Director Navy Rear Adm. William Byrne Jr. made the remark in response to North Korean statements hinting at a resumption of nuclear and long-range missile tests in the coming weeks. "I'm not going to share any classified information," he said during a press briefing at the Pentagon when asked if the U.S. has seen indications of North Korea preparing for such tests. "But more generally, the North Koreans have made a commitment to denuclearize and to cease their long-range missile testing and their nuclear weapons testing, and we would hope that they would abide by those words." "Hope is not a strategy," he continued. "As (U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper) said up on Capitol Hill yes

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SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea announced a package of policy measures, including the expansion of a visa-free stay program, on Thursday to help the country's flourishing tourism trickle down to smaller regional provinces. The measures were discussed in a government meeting on strategies to promote regional tourism held in the southern city of Cheongju. Presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, the meeting was attended by the culture, health and transportation ministers as well as vice ministers from the finance, education, foreign affairs, justice and agriculture ministries and officials from tourism-related government bodies. The meeting came up with four major policy measures including, most notably, a new visa program with Southeast Asian countries and the expansion of the country's visa-free stay program to regional airports. "(South Korea) plans to sign a treaty with ASEAN to allow young people from the region to enjoy regional tours and language studies

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SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. will invest an additional US$8 billion into its memory chip plant in Xian, China, officials confirmed Thursday, as the South Korean tech giant further expands its presence in the world's second largest economy. According to Chinese media and Xian's municipal government, Kang Bong-yong, a Samsung Electronics vice president, told Chinese officials that the company's further $8 billion investment in its second plant in Xian is on track. Samsung's investment plan was previously hinted by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang when he said in October that a total of $15 billion will be spent on the company's second Xian plant. At the time, Samsung had only revealed $7 billion worth of investment in the second Xian plant. The plant is expected to begin operation in the first half of 2020. The company's first Xian plant has been running since 2014. Industry insiders said the additional $8 billion will be used for a project to ramp up

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(ATTN: ADDS more info in 12th para; RECASTS 13th para) By Song Sang-ho SEOUL Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- The United States on Wednesday returned four of its military bases in South Korea in a decision to end a yearslong delay caused by differences on decontamination procedures and to allay worries over the adverse impact of the delay on regional development schemes. South Korea and the U.S. also initiated the long-awaited return process for the Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, once home to the headquarters of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), to ensure that a mega project to establish a national park there proceeds as scheduled. The four returned bases are Camps Eagle and Long in Wonju, 130 kilometers east of Seoul; parcels of Camp Market in Bupyeong, just west of the capital; and the Shea Range parcel at Camp Hovey in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul. They were already closed between 2009 and 2011. The allies made the agreement at the 200th joint committee meeting of the Status o

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