NK leader, his wife attend art performance by army families

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended an art performance by the families of the army, state media reported Thursday. The performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) took place Wednesday at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim lauded the KPA after watching the show, saying it "always sets an example in implementing the party's policy on mass

May 6, 2021

N. Korea continues to build up chemical, biological weapons: US official

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to build up its chemical and biological weapons, in addition to its other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as nuclear weapons that pose a serious threat to US forces and South Korean allies, a ranking US official said Tuesday. Jennifer Walsh, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security, also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may actually use such weapons in case of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula. &quo

May 5, 2021

North Korea accuses South Korea of suppressing freedom of speech

Fresh controversy is building in South Korea over the memoirs of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung, published almost 30 years ago. A local publishing firm republished the eight-volume memoirs, titled “With the Century,” last month for the first time here. But sales were suspended almost immediately after civic groups filed a court injunction to stop them, citing the National Security Act. The books chronicle Kim’s life through his childhood to his time in the anti-J

May 4, 2021

S. Korea to wait for N. Korea's final decision on World Cup qualifiers: official

South Korea will wait for North Korea's final decision on whether to play a World Cup qualifier set to take place in the South next month, an official said Tuesday, after Asia's soccer governing body asked Pyongyang to reconsider its decision not to play the game. Earlier, the South's Korea Football Association (KFA) said its North Korean counterpart, known as the DPR Korea Football Association, sent an official document to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) last Friday to declare its inten

May 4, 2021

NK propaganda outlets slam S. Korea's court ruling in favor of Japan against 'comfort women'

North Korean propaganda outlets on Tuesday denounced a South Korean court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit by wartime sexual slavery victims against the Japanese government as "a disregard for conscience and justice" and an act of subservience to Japan. Last month, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case brought by 20 plaintiffs, including surviving victims forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II, citing sovereign immunity, a legal do

May 4, 2021

NK paper says coronavirus vaccines 'far from a panacea' amid delay in securing supplies

North Korea's official newspaper on Tuesday urged people to brace for a prolonged fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying that vaccines are not a cure-all solution, amid the country's apparent failure to secure supplies. "The situations in many countries prove that vaccines are far from a panacea," the Rodong Sinmun said. "Some vaccines, which had been considered highly effective, caused severe side effects, including even death, leading many countries to stop their use.&q

May 4, 2021

Police chief orders thorough probe into anti-NK leafleting by defector group

South Korea's police chief has ordered a swift and thorough probe into a North Korean defector group's alleged sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North last week, police officials said Monday. Commissioner General Kim Chang-yong gave the order to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Sunday, hours after the North Korean regime threatened "corresponding action" in response to the "intolerable provocation." "I ask you to strictly handle the sending of anti-No

May 3, 2021

Unification minister vows continued efforts for 'meaningful' change in inter-Korean ties

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday that tensions should not be heightened under any circumstances on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to make continued efforts to produce a "meaningful" change in stalled inter-Korean relations. Lee made the remarks in a speech at a seminar on cross-border cooperation in the renewable energy sector, a day after Pyongyang slammed the South and the United States in a string of scathing statements. The harsh words appear to be aimed at putting mor

May 3, 2021

NK propaganda outlet criticizes S. Korea over national founder's memoirs

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Monday criticized South Korea over a controversy surrounding the recently published memoirs of the North's national founder, saying that some "impure" forces are trying to hamper their sales in a "wicked way." A local publishing company recently began selling the eight-volume memoirs of Kim Il-sung, entitled "With the Century," here for the first time since the books were published by the North Korean regime in the early 1990s.

May 3, 2021

US policy not aimed at hostility, but reducing tension with N. Korea: Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- The US policy toward North Korea is not aimed at hostility but reducing tension, the top US security adviser said Sunday, adding the ultimate goal of the policy is to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan added the United States is prepared to engage with North Korea to discuss "practical" steps toward denuclearization. "Our policy towards North Korea is not aimed at hostility. It's aimed at solutions. It's aimed at u

May 3, 2021

Pyongyang slams Washington, Seoul after US completes NK policy review

North Korea lashed out at South Korea and the US, upping the ante as the Biden administration announced the completion of its monthslong policy review on how to deal with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang. 　 The North released three heated statements directed at the allies on Sunday via its state-run Korea Central News Agency. It attacked US President Joe Biden for labeling North Korea a serious threat, calling the remark a “big blunder,” while condemning South Korea for failing to stop ac

May 2, 2021

NK leader's sister warns S. Korea of consequence for failing to stop propaganda leaflets

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slammed South Korea for failing to stop anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown by a defector group last week, calling it an "intolerable provocation" and warning of "corresponding action." Kim Yo-jong made the remarks in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, saying that the South Korean government "again did not stop the reckless acts" and expressed "displeasure" over the matter. "'Defec

May 2, 2021

N. Korea says Biden 'made big blunder,' warns of 'worse crisis beyond control'

North Korea said Sunday that US President Joe Biden made a "big blunder" after he called Pyongyang's nuclear program a serious threat, warning the US will face a "worse and worse crisis beyond control." Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the Department of US Affairs of the North's Foreign Ministry, made the remarks after Biden pledged in his first congressional address last week to work with allies to address "serious threats" from the North and Iran through diplom

May 2, 2021

Defector group sends propaganda leaflets into N. Korea in defiance of ban

A North Korean defector group claimed Friday it has sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border in defiance of a ban enacted recently over concern such a leafleting campaign could provoke the North and endanger the safety of people in border regions. Fighters for a Free North Korea led by Park Sang-hak, a vocal North Korean defector, said that the group flew 10 large balloons carrying around 500,000 leaflets, 500 booklets and 5,000 $1 bills from unidentified border areas in Gyeonggi and Gang

April 30, 2021

NK's largest youth group drops late founder's name from title after 25 years

North Korea dropped the name of late national founder Kim Il-sung from the title of its largest youth organization and put the word "socialist" back into the title, according to state media Friday, a move aimed at tightening ideological discipline of younger generations. The Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League, governed by the ruling Workers' Party, was renamed as the Socialist Patriotic Youth League (SPYL) at the 10th congress in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Age

April 30, 2021

Unification minister pins hopes on Moon-Biden summit to revive diplomacy with North Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Thursday stressed the importance of the upcoming South Korea-US summit, pinning hopes on the meeting as a chance to revive the stalled Korean Peninsula peace process.   　 “I believe the first half of this year, with the US’ policy review on North Korea expected to be completed and uncertainty being cleared up, will be a golden opportunity and the most optimal time for the South, the North and the US to move together toward the Korean Penins

April 29, 2021

UN committee requests N. Korea provide explanation on human rights violations

A UN committee called on North Korea to provide an explanation on reported cases of human rights violations and to report any progress, its website showed Thursday. The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) last week urged the North to provide information on whether it has made progress on several human rights issues, including torture and violence against women. The committee asked the North to specify the measures it has taken to ensure that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

April 29, 2021

Minister calls first half 'most optimal' period for progress in stalled peace process

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Thursday said that South Korea will strive to bring the stalled peace process on the Korean Peninsula back on track, saying that the first half of this year will be the "most optimal" time to realize any possible progress. Lee urged the United States to engage North Korea at the earliest date possible during a press conference in Seoul as the Joe Biden administration is likely to finalize its monthslong North Korea policy review in the weeks to com

April 29, 2021

NK's largest youth group calls for eradication of anti-socialist practices

North Korea's largest youth organization called on its members to help root out anti-socialist practices as it held the first congress in five years, state media reported Thursday. The Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League, governed by the ruling Workers' Party, held its 10th congress in Pyongyang on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). At the meeting, Pak Chol-min, chairman of the league's central committee, told the youth league organizations to "wage a revoluti

April 29, 2021

N. Korea to build 'export processing zone' in border town near China

North Korea plans to build an "export processing zone" near the border with China, state media said Thursday, in a move that appears to be aimed at increasing trade with the neighboring ally amid economic challenges due to global sanctions. The decision to establish the "Musan Export Processing Zone" in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, was made during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the North's rubber-stamp parliament, accord

April 29, 2021