Trump sent letter to Kim offering help on virus outbreak: Kim's sister

US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, offering help with the communist nation's fight against the coronavirus, Kim's sister said Sunday. The letter is a "a good example showing the special and firm personal relations" between Trump and Kim, said Kim Yo-jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the North's Workers' Party, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "We regard it as a good jud

March 22, 2020

US expert refutes N. Korea’s zero COVID claims

A US public health expert has refuted North Korea’s repeated claims of zero COVID-19 infections, saying that Pyongyang could potentially be dealing with domestic transmission. “It’s really not very conceivable that they aren’t having transmission in North Korea,” epidemiologist Jonathan Mayer from the University of Washington told Voice of America on Thursday. The North could not have blocked the transmission, especially if the virus was circulating in China, he ad

March 21, 2020

N. Korea to hold parliamentary meeting in April amid coronavirus fears

North Korea's parliament will convene a plenary session in Pyongyang next month, state media said Saturday, amid the country's nationwide efforts to block an outbreak of the new coronavirus on its soil.    The presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on Friday released its decision to convene the third session of the 14th SPA on April 10, according to the Korean Central News Agency.    North Korea usually holds such a meeting once in April every year to address the

March 21, 2020

NK fires projectiles in third weapons test this month

North Korea fired what appeared to be two ballistic short-range missiles into the East Sea on Saturday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have overseen the third weapons test this month after previous rounds on March 2 and 9. The missiles flew approximately 410 kilometers and reached a peak altitude of 50 kilometers from Sonchon, along the North’s western coast. The North is suspected of firing variants of the US surfac

March 21, 2020

Life expectancy gap between Koreas is 11 years: CIA

North Koreans born in 2020 can expect to live about 71 years on average, whereas their South Korean neighbors have an average life expectancy of about 82 years, the Central Intelligence Agency said in its latest World Factbook. Boys and girls in the North have life expectancies of 67 and 75 years, respectively, as opposed to 79 and 85 in the South, the CIA said. The median ages for the North and South stand at 34 and 43, respectively. North Koreans over the age of 65 make up only 9 percent of

March 19, 2020

N. Korea again extends school break over coronavirus

North Korea has again extended the vacation of kindergartens and schools across the country over coronavirus concerns, the unification ministry said Thursday. Late last month, the North said that it had postponed the opening of kindergartens and schools, without mentioning exact dates, as part of the country's stepped-up efforts to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country. "Recently, North Korean state media reported that school breaks were extended once again," the

March 19, 2020

Ministry designates 2 border cities as independent operators of aid projects for N. Korea

The unification ministry said Thursday that it has designated two border cities as independent operators of humanitarian aid projects for North Korea as part of efforts to bolster cross-border exchange and cooperation. The designation of Paju and Goyang, both located near the country's border with North Korea, brought the number of independent North Korea assistance project operators to six, though such projects are unlikely to move forward anytime soon as inter-Korean relations have been stal

March 19, 2020

N. Korea bars people from using public transportation without wearing masks

North Korea has banned people from using public transportation without wearing masks as a precautionary measure to block the outbreak of the new coronavirus, state media reported Thursday. North Korea has not reported any confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, but it has reportedly put thousands of people under medical supervision for potential infection and taken various preventive measures, including blocking its border and enforcing strict quarantines. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of th

March 19, 2020

N. Korea's trade with Russia jumps 40% despite sanctions: data

North Korea's trade with Russia jumped about 40 percent on-year in 2019 despite global sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, data showed Wednesday. According to the data disclosed by the International Trade Centre, bilateral trade between North Korea and Russia came to $47.9 million last year, up 40.6 percent from a year earlier. North Korea imported $44.9 million worth of products from Russia last year, with its exports to the neighboring country reaching $3 million, the data showed. Petroleum

March 18, 2020

NK leader attends ground-breaking ceremony for Pyongyang hospital amid coronavirus fears

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony to break ground on a general hospital in Pyongyang, calling it a "crucial task" to prop up the country's public health, state media reported Wednesday. The ceremony to begin the construction of Pyongyang General Hospital marked Kim's first reported public activity in the capital city in about three weeks. Recent state media reports suggested that Kim had been away from Pyongyang to observe military drills along the east coast, i

March 18, 2020

Worshippers, priests wear masks during Mass service in Pyongyang

Russia's Embassy in North Korea has released photos showing all priests and worshippers wearing masks during a recent Mass service at a Russian Orthodox church in Pyongyang in an indication that the country is on high alert for the coronavirus. "The service was carried out in compliance with all necessary precautions ... the parishioners who were quarantined and those attending the mass wore masks and the rituals were performed in sanitary conditions," the embassy said in a post Mond

March 17, 2020

North Korea needs $840,000 for virus response: UNICEF

UNICEF said a fund of $840,000 is required to help North Korea respond to the coronavirus pandemic, the UN agency said in a report. North Korea has not yet reported a confirmed case of the virus nor a death associated with the disease, which many watchers outside have cast doubt on. The reclusive communist state has banned entry of travelers, tightened borders against imported goods and ramped up disinfection measure. According to the report out of $840,312 North Korea needs to navigate the

March 17, 2020

NK’s US expert replaces Kim Il-sung’s son-in-law as Austrian ambassador

North Korean diplomat Choe Kang-il, an expert on US affairs, has been appointed as the new ambassador to Austria, replacing a son-in-law of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, according to North’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.  Choe, a deputy director general for North American affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, has been part of nuclear talks with the US, including working-level negotiations ahead of US-North Korea summits in Singapore and Hanoi. He was

March 15, 2020

N. Korean nuclear negotiator appointed as ambassador to Austria

A North Korean nuclear negotiator has been appointed to replace a son-in-law of the country's national founder Kim Il-sung as ambassador to Austria, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Choe Kang-il, acting director-general of the Foreign Ministry's North American affairs bureau, has been involved in nuclear negotiations with the United States, including preparatory talks ahead of the second summit in Hanoi last year between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Don

March 15, 2020

N. Korea's main paper calls for incentive system for scientists, engineers

North Korea's main newspaper on Friday called for an incentive-based system for scientists and engineers in an apparent move to revitalize the sectors amid economic challenges stemming from global sanctions. North Korea has emphasized advancement in science and technology and an economy independent of outside help as it braces for a prolonged fight against crippling sanctions led by the United States amid an impasse in nuclear talks. "(We) must ensure that a portion of the profit made fr

March 13, 2020

Speculation grows N. Korean leader has been away from Pyongyang for weeks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's attendance at this week's artillery fire exercise has added to speculation that he has been away from Pyongyang for an extended period of time due possibly to coronavirus concerns. According to state media reports, Kim supervised the coastal artillery drill on Thursday, just days after he oversaw a similar exercise on March 9. These drills followed two more artillery exercises held on March 2 and Feb. 28 with the leader in attendance. The North did not discl

March 13, 2020

N. Korea may be ready to test more advanced ICBM: US general

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's recent engine testing suggests the regime may be ready to test a more advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that could pose a greater threat to the United States, a US general said Thursday. Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, commander of the US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, offered the assessment in a written statement to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces ahead of a hearing on fiscal year 2021 priorities for

March 13, 2020

N. Korea lifts quarantine on some 70 more foreigners

North Korea has lifted the quarantine placed on about 70 foreigners over coronavirus concerns, state media reported Friday, bringing the total number of foreigners released from isolation to nearly 300. Those released have been under medical supervision in accordance with guidelines from the central emergency control center, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Last week, the North lifted the quarantine on 221 foreigners. The total number of foreigners allowed to leave quara

March 13, 2020

N. Korean leader attends artillery fire competition

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided an artillery fire competition, stressing that modern warfare is the "warfare of artillery pieces," state media reported Friday. His attendance in the fire competition held Thursday came after the North test-fired three projectiles off its east coast Monday, the second weapons test that the communist state had carried out this month. "The competition was aimed to suddenly make selective inspection and evaluation of how the artillery forces

March 13, 2020

N. Korea's official paper urges self-reliance through localization

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday called for stepped-up efforts to build a self-reliant economy, saying localization is a path the country has to take "until the end" to prevent itself from becoming subjugated by outside forces. North Korea has emphasized to build an economy independent of external support as it is bracing for what would be a prolonged fight against crippling sanctions led by the United States amid an impasse over their denuclearization negotiations. &qu

March 12, 2020