NK edges towards full border reopening amid economic concerns

North Korea is gradually opening its tightly closed borders to neighbors like China and Russia amid concerns of an economic crisis in one of the world's most isolated nations. On Sunday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said the North’s State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters on Saturday authorized North Korean citizens stranded abroad to return. The move comes more than three years after strict border restrictions were implemented to prevent the spread

Aug. 27, 2023

Another N. Korean airliner arrives in Beijing following resumption of Pyongyang-Beijing air route

BEIJING -- Another flight operated by Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, arrived in Beijing on Saturday, marking the resumption of regular passenger flights connecting the two countries after they were halted for more than three years due to the pandemic. China recently announced its approval of Koryo Air's schedule between the two countries' capitals, offering three flights per week, in a sign the border has reopened after international flights from and to the North were

Aug. 26, 2023

US calls for UNSC action against N. Korean satellite launch, says China, Russia's opposition is 'troubling'

WASHINGTON -- The United States' envoy to the United Nations called on the UN Security Council to condemn North Korea's recent failed satellite launch on Friday, while insisting that China and Russia's refusal to hold North Korea accountable for its actions is encouraging the recalcitrant country to continue making provocations. The US envoy. Thomas Linda-Greenfield, said China and Russia's refusal to condemn North Korean provocations is "troubling." "I urge ev

Aug. 26, 2023

N. Korean plane arrives in Vladivostok for 1st time in over 3 years: report

VLADIVOSTOK -- A flight operated by Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, arrived in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok on Friday, a Russian news agency reported, marking the resumption of a commercial flight connecting the two countries after more than three years of COVID-19 restrictions. The flight, which departed from Pyongyang, arrived at Vladivostok International Airport at 11:14 a.m., Russian news agency RIA Novosti said. According to sources, the plane did not carr

Aug. 25, 2023

N. Korea internally tight-lipped on 2nd satellite launch failure

North Korea's state media, which is primarily meant for internal audiences, has not yet reported on its second failed attempt Thursday to launch a purported spy satellite into orbit. The action shows a stark contrast with North Korea’s prompt external acknowledgment of the launch failure, detailed explanations of the primary cause, and the announcement of its intention to conduct a third satellite launch in October via the Korean Central News Agency. The KCNA, which predominantly targ

Aug. 25, 2023

N. Korea's failed satellite launch is provocative, destabilizing: Pentagon

North Korea's failed attempt to launch a military satellite is a provocative action that destabilizes the region, a Pentagon spokesperson reiterated Thursday, after the White House condemned the launch as a direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Pentagon spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, said the United States will continue working closely with its South Korean and Japanese allies to ensure stability in the region. "What we see here is another failed spa

Aug. 25, 2023

Korea-US-Japan summit builds strong foundation for trilateral cooperation: Amb. Cho

The recently held three-way summit between the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States has built an unprecedentedly strong foundation for trilateral cooperation that will help develop their ties under any circumstances, South Korea's ambassador to the US Cho Hyun-dong said Thursday. Cho also insisted that the trilateral summit has created a small multilateral forum that he said is stronger or more powerful than other regional gatherings, including the Quad, a grouping of the US,

Aug. 25, 2023

N. Korea slams S. Korea-US-Japan summit as 'Asian version of NATO'

North Korea on Thursday denounced the trilateral agreement among South Korea, the United States, and Japan as "the Asian version of NATO," and the US scheme to encircle Russia and China. Pyongyang's defense minister, Kang Sun-nam, issued a statement after the leaders of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo held a trilateral summit at Camp David last week, and agreed to beef up cooperation to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. "The recent confab brought to light

Aug. 24, 2023

N. Korea says Japan should immediately retract discharge of treated radioactive water

North Korea said Thursday that Japan should immediately halt the release of treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. In a statement carried by the North's official Korea Central News Agency, a spokesperson for its foreign ministry said the act devastates the earth's environment, and seriously threatens the security and survival of mankind. Earlier in the day, Japan began to discharge its first batch of treated radioactive water into the se

Aug. 24, 2023

S. Korea, US, Japan seek sanctions after NK launch

Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US and Japanese counterparts agreed to look into individual sanctions on North Korea, following its failed second attempt Thursday to put a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, during a phone call that took place hours after the launch. The call is a “meaningful follow-up” to last week’s Camp David summit agreement for joint action on North Korea, an isolated country that defies United Nations sanctions prompted by its nuclear and weap

Aug. 24, 2023

US says N. Korean satellite launch violates UNSC resolutions, calls on Pyongyang to engage in dialogue

The United States called on North Korea to refrain from launching additional satellites Wednesday, stressing that North Korean space launch vehicles violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. A State Department spokesperson urged Pyongyang to engage in serious diplomacy instead. "Any DPRK launch that uses ballistic missile technology, which would include SLVs used to launch a satellite into space, violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions," the spokesperson t

Aug. 24, 2023

NK's 2nd satellite launch attempt fails, plans another in Oct.

North Korea admitted an attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit ended in failure Thursday, but pledged to conduct another launch in October. North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration launched a Malligyong-1 spy satellite using a Chollima-1 space launch vehicle at Sohae Satellite Launching Station in the Tongchang-ri area of North Pyongan Province, according to North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. The first- and second-stage fl

Aug. 24, 2023

Food security prioritized in NK amid heavy rain: Unification Ministry

North Korea has been placing a high priority on stabilizing food security amid unfavorable weather conditions, while its trade with China has not fully recovered to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, South Korea's Unification Ministry said Wednesday. "North Korea has fully mobilized resources and manpower for grain production which has been designated as the No. 1 task among 12 major economic priorities for this year," reads a report submitted by the ministry to the National Assembly.

Aug. 23, 2023

North Korea's Kim lambasts premier over flooding, possible bid to shift blame for bad economy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely rebuked his premier and other senior officials over their “irresponsible” response to recent flooding that inundated farmlands, state media reported Tuesday. Summer floods in North Korea often cause serious damage to its agricultural sector due to poor drainage and deforestation. Observers say Kim’s lambasting of top officials likely aims to shift blame for the country’s worsened economic hardships

Aug. 22, 2023

N.Korea plans satellite launch amid S. Korea-US military drills

North Korea has notified Japan of its plans to launch a satellite between Thursday and Aug. 31, sparking immediate condemnation from Seoul and Tokyo who called it a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The launch window also aligns with the ongoing 11-day joint, interagency Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise between South Korea and the US, which is scheduled to continue until the end of August and is accompanied by more than 30 field training exercises. North Korea has identif

Aug. 22, 2023

Air Koryo runs Pyongyang-Beijing flights for first time in 3 years

An Air Koryo passenger flight from Pyongyang landed at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning for the first time since January 2020 when the pandemic began. Flight JS151 arrived at 9:14 a.m. there, 30 minutes ahead of its scheduled time of arrival. The electronic display board at Beijing Capital International Airport also showed another flight, JS152, was leaving for Pyongyang from Beijing at 1:05 p.m. Although it is unclear whether passengers were aboard flight JS151, a vehicl

Aug. 22, 2023

Yoon says NK provocations will only strengthen trilateral partnership

North Korea's provocations will only strengthen South Korea's trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday, urging full-fledged preparations against any military threats from the North. Speaking at the Cabinet meeting on the first day of 11-day joint exercises with the US, Yoon touted the three-way partnership on security and economy as a "solid structure" that would lower the risk of North Korea's provocations and transform the growing g

Aug. 21, 2023

N. Korean taekwondo athletes stage demonstration performances in Kazakhstan

North Korean taekwondo athletes have staged demonstration performances in Kazakhstan, after the North's team made a rare border crossing into China from North Korea last week to attend a taekwondo event following a yearslong COVID-19 border closure. The North's demonstration team conducted performances Saturday (Kazakhstan time) for about an hour at the opening ceremony of the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan. The ITF stands for the North Korean-led Interna

Aug. 20, 2023

NK hacking group targets Korea-US combined exercise

In a coordinated effort, the South Korean police and the US military investigative agency have uncovered a malicious cyber attack by the North Korean hacking group "Kimsuky," aimed at the Korea-US combined military exercise battle simulation center, according to the police on Sunday. According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, the North Korean hacking group has carried out continuous malicious email attacks targeting a domestic battle simulation company for military eng

Aug. 20, 2023

North Korea slams UN human rights meeting as a US 'scheme'

North Korea slammed a recent United Nations meeting about its human rights record, asserting the United States used the international organisation for a "scheme" against Pyongyang, state media KCNA reported on Saturday. The UN Security Council discussed human rights abuses in North Korea on Thursday, with the U.S. ambassador criticising leader Kim Jong Un for using "repression and cruelty" to develop nuclear weapons and missiles. US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Sout

Aug. 19, 2023