N. Korea fires 2 SRBMs toward East Sea: S. Korean military

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Monday, Seoul's military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches from the Chunghwa County area in North Hwanghae Province starting from around 7:47 a.m. The missiles flew some 370 kilometers before splashing into the sea, it added. Pyongyang's latest provocation came as South Korea and the United States kicked off the Ssangyong (double dragon) amphibious landing exercise last week. It is s

March 27, 2023

N. Korean propaganda outlets slam S. Korea-US amphibious exercise

North Korean propaganda outlets continued their criticism of an ongoing South Korea-US amphibious landing exercise Sunday, blaming the allies for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul and Washington kicked off their first large-scale Ssangyong exercise in five years last Monday to sharpen deterrence against growing North Korean threats. It runs through April 3. Uriminjokkiri, a propaganda website, rejected the allies' argument that their combined drills were defensive in nature

March 26, 2023

N. Korea holds general meeting of Olympic Committee

North Korea has held a general meeting of its Olympic Committee to discuss plans for this year, vowing to win more medals in international competitions, its state media said Saturday, after the country was reinstated for the Olympic Games. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said high-ranking officials attended the meeting on Friday to discuss ways to win more medals in global-scale competitions and to tackle anti-doping issues. With the turn of the year, the North has become free fro

March 25, 2023

N. Korea tests undersea drone in latest nuclear drills

North Korea tested a new underwater drone capable of nuclear attacks on South Korea and its biggest ally, the United States, in its latest drills in response to the two allies’ resumption of their annual military exercises this month after a five-year hiatus failed to bring the North back to nuclear talks. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Friday that leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the three-day drills that began Tuesday, which Kim said should make Seoul and Washingto

March 24, 2023

NK dictator's daughter seen wearing $1,900 Christian Dior jacket

Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, was recently seen wearing what appears to be a product of a luxury brand Christian Dior, marking a stark contrast to the living conditions of ordinary people in one of the poorest countries in the world. The girl, one of Kim’s three known children and believed to be 10 years old, appeared on a video released on March 17 by the North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, accompanying her father in observing the previous

March 23, 2023

N.Korea fires cruise missiles

North Korea fired cruise missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday in the morning hours. The latest salvo of North Korea’s saber-rattling notably came hours before a US amphibious assault ship, USS Makin Island, arrived in South Korea for the first time to participate in large-scale combined amphibious drills between the allies. The South Korean military detected North Korea firing “several cruise missiles” at around 10:15 a.m. local time from the area of the eastern coastal c

March 22, 2023

Sanctions target N. Korean satellites

South Korea on Tuesday revealed fresh sanctions banning items linked to North Korea’s satellite development, pushing for tighter curbs on its nuclear and missile programs amid the isolated country’s search for better “nuclear counterattack capabilities.” The Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced a watchlist of 77 items -- including antennas, optical devices, solar panels and camera power supplies -- to prevent Pyongyang from importing such materials either directly or ind

March 21, 2023

Major N. Korean websites offline as of Tuesday morning

Websites of some major North Korean organs, including the country's state media outlets and the foreign ministry, were knocked offline for an unknown reason Tuesday morning. As of 9 a.m., there were failures in connecting to North Korean domain names ending in ."kp," such as the official Korean Central News Agency and the main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun. The exact cause for the problem was not immediately confirmed. In January 2022, the North's major websites reportedly suf

March 21, 2023

Unification minister to visit Japan to discuss N.Korean issues

The South Korean unification minister will visit Japan at the official invitation of the Japanese government to discuss ways to enhance coordination on North Korean issues, including North Korean abductions of South Korean and Japanese people. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se is scheduled to meet Japanese government officials and lawmakers during his four-day trip to Japan that begins Wednesday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry announced Monday. The trip essentially aims to upgrade bil

March 20, 2023

N. Korea simulates nuclear air burst to attack S. Korea

North Korea said it conducted a live-fire drill simulating attacks on South Korea by exploding a tactical nuclear weapon mounted on a missile in the air, ramping up its nuclear saber-rattling amid the ongoing defense-oriented Freedom Shied military exercise being conducted between South Korea and the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided the two-day “joint tactical drills simulating a nuclear counterattack by units operating tactical nuclear weapons” on Saturday and S

March 20, 2023

North Korea tests missile as allies stage joint drills

North Korea launched yet another ballistic missile toward the sea between South Korea and Japan on Sunday, while South Korea and the United States staged their annual joint military exercises aimed at dismantling the isolated country’s nuclear arsenal. The United Nations Security Council, a 15-member body that includes five countries with veto powers, is expected to discuss the matter Monday, though issuing a UNSC presidential statement condemning the launch is highly unlikely given potent

March 19, 2023

NK leader says nuclear buildup is to ‘strike fear into enemies’

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reiterated the nation's push for nuclear buildup to “instill fear” into South Korea and the United States as they conduct large-scale joint military exercises. Kim's threat was delivered while he was guiding the “launching drill” of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday. He was accompanied by his teenage daughter, Kim Ju-ae, North Korean state media reported on Friday. “Dear Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un said

March 17, 2023

N.Korea fires ICBM ahead of S. Korea-Japan summit

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile on Thursday morning, hours before a summit in Tokyo between the leaders of South Korea and Japan aimed at mending years of strained ties over historic disputes and enhancing security cooperation. The South Korean military said the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, was planned and intended to express North Korea’s “strong dissatisfaction” over the summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumi

March 16, 2023

National Security Council convenes over N.Korea’s ICBM launch

The presidential office has convened a National Security Council meeting after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday morning in the run-up to the summit between South Korean and Japanese leaders. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the meeting and was briefed on the ICBM launch by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, the South Korean presidential office said in a statement. Yoon ordered countermeasures to North Korea’s ICBM

March 16, 2023

N. Korea confirms firing of two ground-to-ground ballistic missiles Tuesday

North Korea has launched two ground-to-ground ballistic missiles in a demonstration firing drill for sub-military units, vowing to "annihilate the enemy," according to state media Wednesday. A missile unit of the North's military launched the missiles "in a medium-range system" Tuesday in Jangyon, South Hwanghae Province, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. South Korea's military said Tuesday the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles towar

March 15, 2023

N.Korea fires two ballistic missiles as Freedom Shield exercise enters second day

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward waters off its east coast on Tuesday, marking its third missile launch in just six days as South Korea and the United States entered the second day of the largest combined military exercise in years. The two short-range ballistic missiles were launched from the area of Jangyon County, South Hwanghae Province, from 7:41 to 7:51 a.m. local time, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The missiles fired from the western inland ar

March 14, 2023

N. Korean FM congratulates Chinese counterpart following new Beijing Cabinet confirmation

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a congratulatory message to her Chinese counterpart following the confirmation of Beijing's new Cabinet, according to state media Tuesday. In the message sent to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, Choe also expressed her willingness to develop the bilateral ties to a new level and strengthen their "strategic and tactical cooperation" in the field of diplomacy, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Choe a

March 14, 2023

[Graphic News] Total area of N. Korea’s rice paddies down in 2022

　The total area of North Korea’s rice paddies decreased by 0.8 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed, reflecting the reclusive regime’s challenging food shortages. 　The North’s rice paddies totaled 539,569 hectares in 2022, an area slightly larger than the US state of Delaware, compared to 544,006 hectares recorded in 2021, according to Statistics Korea. 　The figure stands at around 74 percent of the 727,158 hectares of rice paddies in South Korea. 　The North is

March 14, 2023

N. Korea fired 2 'strategic cruise missiles' from submarine Sunday: KCNA

North Korea fired two "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine in waters off its east coast over the weekend, state media said Monday, in apparent protest over a regular South Korea-US combined military exercise to begin this week. The missiles were fired from the 8.24 Yongung in waters off Kyongpho Bay in the East Sea in an underwater launching drill held at dawn Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. "The drill confirmed the reliability of the weapon s

March 13, 2023

N.Korea warns to offensively use ‘war deterrent’ ahead of S. Korea-US military exercise

North Korea has determined significant, practical steps to offensively use its “war deterrent” at a key military meeting in the run-up to the longest-running military exercise between South Korea and the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened an enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea, North Korean state media reported on Sunday without specifying the date of the meeting. “The enlarged meeting discussed an

March 12, 2023