NK named 39th most dangerous country in world

North Korea was named the 39th most dangerous country in the world, according to a risk management report published by the European Commission on Thursday. In the Index for Risk Management 2020 report, North Korea received 5.2 out of 10 points in the Inform global risk index, 39th highest among the 191 countries reviewed. The Inform global risk index is calculated based on the country’s hazard and exposure; vulnerability; and lack of coping capacity. The higher the index, the greater t

July 2, 2020

S. Korea closely monitoring NK amid report over possible assault drill

South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea in coordination with the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday, after a media report that the North is building a replica of the South's presidential office for a possible assault drill. On Wednesday, local cable network Channel A reported that the North is building a mini replica of what appears to be the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae or the defense ministry on a desert island near Kilju, North Hamgyong Province. "

July 2, 2020

NK paper expresses 'full support' for China over Hong Kong issue

North Korea fully supports China, the country's main newspaper said Thursday, amid intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing over a series of contentious issues, including China's security legislation for Hong Kong. "The most critical thing is that the US is badgering Chinese socialism, calling it a dictatorship and completely denying the regime... China-US relations are shifting into an all-out confrontation," the Rodong Sinmun said. "We fully support the Chinese in

July 2, 2020

Moon’s adviser calls for inter-Korean summit for breakthrough

Amid heightened uncertainties over inter-Korean relations, a special adviser to President Moon Jae-in called for the leaders of the two Koreas to meet in order to break the deadlock and move forward after the North’s demolition of a joint liaison office last month. 　 “Kim Yo-jong, the vice department director of the North’s Workers Party, said the relationship with the South has changed to that of an enemy and blocked all communication channels between the two Koreas. The onl

July 1, 2020

Trump aide warns NK to avoid provocations

US national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday urged North Korea to avoid provocations and return to negotiations. He said the US hopes to see North Korea achieve a “bright economic future” under leader Kim Jong-un, and that US President Donald Trump remains committed to “enduring peace” on the Korean Peninsula. “Tangible progress has been slow,” O’Brien said during a virtual seminar hosted by the Center for the National Interest, appare

July 1, 2020

Number of NK refugees in Q2 hits all-time low

A total of 12 North Korean refugees arrived here between April and June this year, the lowest figure since 2003 when Seoul’s Unification Ministry started compiling the data, it said Wednesday. The figure is down 96 percent from the same period last year, when 320 defectors fled the communist regime. The downward trend was a continuation from the previous quarter -- from January to March -- when 135 North Koreans arrived here, compared to 229 in the same period last year. The coronavirus

July 1, 2020

N. Korea's grain imports soar in April amid chronic food shortages: data

North Korea's grain imports from Russia nearly tripled on-year in April, data showed Wednesday, amid Pyongyang's chronic food shortages compounded by extreme weather and the coronavirus pandemic hampering cross-border trade. According to the data by the US International Trade Commission, the North imported around $7.41 million worth of grain from Russia in April, compared with $2.55 million worth of imports reported a year earlier. The amount far exceeded $3.79 million tallied in 2019. It was

July 1, 2020

N. Korea's life expectancy is 72 years: UN report

The average North Korean can expect to live 72 years, a UN population organization's data showed, putting the impoverished communist nation at 118th in the world in terms of life expectancy. The life expectancy of North Korean babies born this year is estimated to be 11 years shorter than that of South Korea, according to the latest "State of World Population 2020" report by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). South Korea came in 9th among 198 countries with an average life expectancy o

July 1, 2020

US nat'l security adviser calls on N. Korea to stop provocations, return to dialogue

WASHINGTON -- US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien on Tuesday called on North Korea to refrain from provocations and return to dialogue. O'Brien's comment comes after North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in anger over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent by defectors but then suspended plans to take military action against South Korea. He said the United States wants to see North Korea achieve a "bright economic future" under leader Kim Jong-un, and that Pres

July 1, 2020

Police question defector brothers over anti-Pyongyang leafleting

Police on Tuesday called in North Korean defector brothers over their groups' anti-North Korea leafleting campaign, which Seoul views as a breach of law and Pyongyang vehemently criticizes. Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, and his younger brother Jung-oh, who leads another defector group, Kuensaem, showed up for questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at 9:20 a.m. Police were trying to determine whether the brothers' campaign has breached the inter-Korea ex

June 30, 2020

Moon's adviser urges NK to explain demolition of Kaesong liaison office

North Korea should offer an explanation about its demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office building, a special adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday, urging the communist state to change course and return to talks. Moon Chung-in, special adviser for diplomatic and security affairs, made the remark during a peace forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency, stressing that the liaison office was built as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and peace. "The Kaesong liaison office doe

June 30, 2020

Unification Ministry reconsiders timing of $10m aid to NK

The Unification Ministry on Tuesday said it was reconsidering the timing of a $10 million aid package to North Korea via the World Food Program, amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas. 　 The ministry said that earlier this month the unification minister and WFP Executive Director David Beasley held a videoconference and they were planning to go ahead with an aid project for assisting nutrition needs for women and babies. But it decided to delay the plan after Kim Yo-jong, North Korean

June 30, 2020

North Korea registers ‘Masikryong Hotel’ trademark with UN

North Korea has registered the trademark for “Masikryong Hotel” inside a luxury ski resort with a UN agency on intellectual property rights, as the reclusive regime seeks to develop its nascent tourism industry to garner more revenue amid international sanctions. 　 The North listed the trademark on April 2 at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the website showed Tuesday. The trademark is set to expire in 2030, but it could apply for extension afterward. 　 The luxury ho

June 30, 2020

Trump-Kim summit unlikely before US election: US official

A third US-North Korea summit is unlikely before the US presidential election in November, but the door is open to diplomacy, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Monday. “I think it’s probably unlikely between now and the US election,” Biegun told a forum hosted by the Washington-based think tank German Marshall Fund when asked about a potential summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The US point man on North Korea, however, sa

June 30, 2020

S. Korea reaffirms commitment to peace on 1st anniversary of Trump-Kim DMZ meeting

South Korea reiterated its will toward achieving denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula, a unification ministry official said Tuesday, marking the anniversary of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone. "Today marks the first anniversary of the meeting between the two Koreas and the United States in Panmunjom. The government hopes to achieve denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and will st

June 30, 2020

Police question defector brothers over anti-Pyongyang leafleting

Police on Tuesday called in North Korean defector brothers over their groups' anti-North Korea leafleting campaign, which Seoul views as a breach of law and Pyongyang vehemently criticizes. Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, and his younger brother Jung-oh, who leads another defector group, Kuensaem, showed up for questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at 9:20 a.m. Police were trying to determine whether the brothers' campaign has breached the inter-Korea ex

June 30, 2020

Speculation about NK leader's health 'empty rumors': Russian envoy

Speculation about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's health is nothing more than "empty rumors" and the communist neighbor is functioning normally with the leader making major decisions, Russia's ambassador in Pyongyang said. Ambassador Alexander Matsegora also said in an interview with Russia's TASS news agency Monday that there is no reason to believe that the North Korean leader's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, is being trained as the next leader of the communist nation. Matsegora a

June 30, 2020

Trump-Kim summit unlikely before US presidential election: US envoy

WASHINGTON -- The top US envoy for North Korea said Monday that another summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely before the November presidential election in the United States. Stephen Biegun, deputy secretary of state and lead negotiator on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, made the comment during a virtual forum hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank headquartered in Washington. "I think it's probably unli

June 30, 2020

North rallies people behind leader Kim amid lingering tensions

North Korea on Monday called on its people to rally behind leader Kim Jong-un amid lingering tensions on the peninsula, marking the fourth anniversary of Kim’s rise to chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the highest leadership institution there. The post was established in 2016 as part of branding the communist regime as a legitimate member of the international community. As chairman, Kim undertook a series of diplomatic breakthroughs including the historic first Washington-Pyongyan

June 29, 2020

Ministry takes final step to delist defector NGOs over leaflets

The Unification Ministry on Monday held a hearing on two North Korean defector-led groups, as the final step before revoking their permits for floating anti-North Korea propaganda materials across the border, in defiance of the government. 　 The ministry said it held a hearing on Kuensaem, an organization that has sent bottles filled with rice to the North, and Fighters for a Free North Korea, which has floated anti-Pyongyang leaflets. 　 North Korean defector Park Jung-oh, who heads Kuensaem

June 29, 2020