SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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N. Korea tests cluster bomb mountable on tactical ballistic missiles

SEOUL -- North Korea has tested a cluster bomb that can be mounted on tactical ballistic missiles and vowed to field various types of cluster warheads by the end of the year, its state media said Sunday.

The North's Missile Administration conducted the test on Saturday to assess adaptation to combat and power of a cluster-bomb warhead to be mounted on tactical ballistic missiles, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

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N. Korea denounces S Korea-U.S. joint military drills, vows to bolster nuclear deterrent

SEOUL -- North Korea on Monday denounced a recent South Korea-U.S. combined military exercise that integrates South Korea's conventional military capabilities with U.S. nuclear capabilities, saying strengthening the North's nuclear capabilities is "immutable" against such a backdrop.

In a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee, claimed the drill, named Iron Mace, was "the most hideous nuclear war rehearsal aimed at using nuclear weapons against the DPRK."

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S. Korea officially recognizes 3 fishing crewmen abducted by N. Korea in 1973

SEOUL -- South Korea has officially recognized three fishing crewmen abducted by North Korea decades ago, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday, bringing the total number of government-recognized abductees since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to 519.

The ministry added Jo Gi-won, Kim Yang-hun and Kim Dong-ho, who were forcibly taken to the North while aboard their fishing boat, the Daeyeong, near the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong in 1973, to the list of post-war abductees eligible for "consolation" payments under a relevant law.

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N. Korean leader's sister blasts FBI's crypto theft probe as 'political provocation'

SEOUL -- North Korea flatly dismissed the outcome of a U.S. investigation on its cryptocurrency theft Tuesday, calling it a "grave political provocation" that it said only reinforced Washington's hostile policy toward Pyongyang.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made the remarks in a dispatch carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), referring to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) announcement Saturday that the regime is responsible for the theft of more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

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N. Korea tests 'dispersal warhead' for cruise missiles following cluster bomb test

SEOUL -- North Korea has tested a "dispersal warhead" for a strategic cruise missile, state media reported Tuesday, following its recent test of a cluster bomb for ballistic missiles.

Full Gen. Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Military Commission and first vice department director of the Central Committee, oversaw Monday's tests, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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N. Korea slams Japan's missile reinforcement, joint drills with U.S.

SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday criticized Japan's push to acquire "preemptive attack" capabilities and last month's regular military drills between Washington and Tokyo, warning that such moves would invite a "vicious cycle" of escalating regional tensions.

In an article carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, a military commentator took issue with Tokyo's deployment of a Type 25 longer-range anti-ship missile launcher during the bilateral Keen Sword exercise that took place across Japan from Oct. 19-29.

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N. Korea's Kim Yo-jong says dialogue with U.S. an option but not a must for national interest

SEOUL -- North Korea said Wednesday that dialogue with the United States remains an option for peace, but that it would not be necessary for its own interest while again stressing the U.S.' accusation of its involvement in a major cryptocurrency theft as a sign of Washington's hostility toward Pyongyang.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made the remarks, saying the continued "hostile signal" by Washington was compelling the regime to reconsider the "true nature" of the U.S.

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Senior N. Korean party official visiting China: KCNA

SEOUL -- A senior North Korean ruling party official has arrived in China, the North's state media confirmed Wednesday, a visit that underscores deepening cooperation between Pyongyang and Beijing.

Kim Song-nam, a member of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and a party secretary, embarked on a trip to China on Tuesday, leading a party delegation, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). His visit came at the invitation of China's Communist Party's Central Committee.

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N. Korea's Kim inspects Nampho shipyard, calls for rapid naval buildup

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the Nampho Shipyard and called for a rapid buildup of naval combat power to counter "hostile acts of the enemies," state media said Wednesday.

Kim made the remarks during an on-site inspection at the shipyard Monday, where he was briefed on the shipyard's ongoing upgrades and inspected a new warship under construction, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

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N. Korea says it test-fired new air defense missile system

SEOUL -- North Korea said Thursday it test-fired a newly designed air defense missile system the previous day to confirm its technical capabilities.

The Missile Administration conducted the test, overseen by Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Central Military Commission, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

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N. Korea lambasts money-laundering watchdog over renewed 'high-risk' label

SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday denounced the intergovernmental anti-money laundering body for keeping Pyongyang on its blacklist, claiming the agency serves the United States' hostile policy toward it.

At a meeting in Paris in late October, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to keep the North on its list of a "high-risk jurisdiction subject to a call for action."

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N. Korea says Japan's push to raise defense spending will only burden its people

SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday criticized Japan's push to increase defense spending, saying it will darken prospects of Japan's economic recovery and impose "heavy hardships" on its people.

In an article carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a researcher at the Institute for Japan Studies under the North's foreign ministry, issued the criticism, following reports that Tokyo is considering nearly doubling its defense expenditures over the next five years.

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N. Korea removes assembly vice chairman, amends construction, precious metal laws

SEOUL -- North Korea's parliament has held a presidium meeting to dismiss an assembly vice chairman and revise two laws, state media said Friday.

The Standing Committee of North Korea's 15th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) held its second plenary meeting Thursday, presided over by Vice Chairman Kim Hyong-sik, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.