Ex-NIS chief banned from traveling abroad over probe into handling of North's killing of fisheries official

Prosecutors banned former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won from traveling overseas while putting Park's predecessor, Suh Hoon, on an entry alert list as part of investigations into the previous administration's handling of two incidents involving North Korea, officials said Friday. Prosecutors have been looking into allegations that Park and Suh mishandled the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea in September 2020 and the repatriation of two North Kore

July 15, 2022

‘I couldn’t sleep,’ defector says of images of North Koreans resisting deportation

A North Korean defector told a forum Friday that he was “appalled” by the newly released photographs of two North Koreans being forcibly handed over to North Korea through the border village of Panmunjom in November 2019. The photographs, made public by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification on Tuesday, showed the two men struggling as they were dragged toward North Korean soldiers waiting on the North Korean side of the demarcation line. One of them collapsed. Their faces we

July 15, 2022

N. Korea holds key Cabinet meeting on this year's national economic goals

North Korea held a Cabinet meeting earlier this week to assess its economic performance for the first half of the year and urged utmost efforts to attain its goals in the remaining months, state media reported Friday. The enlarged plenary meeting of the Cabinet took place via video links the previous day, chaired by Premier Kim Tok-hun, as Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun delivered a report, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Pak analyzed the "flaws" and "lesson

July 15, 2022

N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 600 for 2nd day: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 600 for the second consecutive day, according to its state media Friday. More than 500 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll had stood at 74, with the fatali

July 15, 2022

N. Korea officially recognizes independence of 2 separatist regions in Ukraine

North Korea has formally recognized the independence of two pro-Russian separatist "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine, becoming the world's third nation to do so, according to the North's state media Thursday. The North's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui sent letters to her counterparts in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic the previous day and recognized the entities, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Russ

July 14, 2022

N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 1,000 for 3rd day: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 1,000 for the third consecutive day, according to its state media Thursday. More than 560 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. The total number of fever cases since late April came to over 4.7

July 14, 2022

Prosecutors raid spy agency in investigations into Moon-era North Korea controversies

Seoul prosecutors on Wednesday afternoon raided the National Intelligence Service as a part of investigations into two North Korea-related controversies allegedly linked to the Moon Jae-in administration’s two spy chiefs -- Park Jie-won and Suh Hoon. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office told reporters that the raid sought materials associated with the 2020 shooting death of a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries worker named Lee Dae-jun and the 2019 deportation of two North Korean fis

July 13, 2022

Yoon administration vows to uncover truth of 2019 repatriation of NK fishermen

After photos showing the North Korean fishermen being repatriated in 2019 were released by the Unification Ministry on Tuesday, the presidential office vowed it will “uncover the truth in detail.” The Democratic Party of Korea immediately denounced President Yoon Suk-yeol‘s office, saying it has a political motivation to attack the former Moon Jae-in administration. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Unification released 10 photos of a“ North Korean defectors’ repatria

July 13, 2022

North Korea fired suspected artillery shots for two straight days

North Korea fired suspected artillery shots two days in a row earlier this week, a South Korean military source confirmed Wednesday. The South Korean military detected one trajectory presumed to be a North Korean artillery piece being launched toward the western seas on Monday morning, the source -- who requested to remain anonymous -- said. The official declined to share further details, including the exact location and time of the launch, for security reasons. The belated confirmation cam

July 13, 2022

Despite heavy rains, N. Korea operating main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon

Satellite imagery shows that North Korea’s main plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex is in operation, a Washington-based think tank reported Tuesday. The 5-megawatt reactor has continued to operate to produce weapons-grade plutonium despite heavy rains over the past several weeks, according to 38 North, a US website monitoring North Korea, based on commercial satellite imagery collected on July 5. The satellite imagery analysis is in line with the recent a

July 13, 2022

N. Korea fires another apparent artillery shot on Monday: source

North Korea fired an artillery shot into the Yellow Sea earlier this week, presumably from a multiple rocket launcher, a defense source here said Wednesday, as the US has deployed six F-35A stealth fighters on the peninsula for combined drills. The South Korean military had detected a single trajectory believed to be an artillery shot on Monday morning, the source said without providing additional details including where it was fired. On Sunday, North Korea fired two suspected artillery shots fr

July 13, 2022

N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 1,000 for 2nd day: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 1,000 for the second consecutive day, according to its state media Wednesday. More than 770 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll had stood at 74, with the fatality

July 13, 2022

Gov't releases photos of 2019 repatriation of N. Korean fishermen

South Korea's unification ministry on Tuesday publicly released rare photos showing the controversial repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019. The ten photos revealed by the ministry showed the two fishermen refusing to cross the Military Demarcation Line at the truce village of Panmunjom, as they were taken to be handed over to North Korean authorities. One of them apparently dragged his feet and then flopped down on the ground, being forced to approach the MDL. On Nov. 7, 2019,

July 12, 2022

N.Korea using S.Korean facilities at Kaesong complex without permission

North Korea appears to have operated South Korean facilities at the Kaesong Industrial Complex without permission, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Tuesday. The Unification Ministry has found indications that the North Korean authorities have operated the factories built and owned by South Korean companies at the inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea, an official -- who wished to remain anonymous -- said during a closed-door briefing. “We have recently detected relate

July 12, 2022

In Yongbyon, activity detected at nuclear waste storage facility for first time since 2016

New excavation activity was detected at a nuclear waste storage facility within the Yongbyon nuclear complex for the first time since 2016, which could be part of North Korea’s preparations to produce plutonium. Commercial satellite images acquired on July 3 showed the new excavation activity on the west side of the waste storage building leading to an unused bay door, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said Monday. The facility, commonly known as Build

July 12, 2022

N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases fall below 1,000: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases dropped below 1,000, according to its state media Tuesday. More than 900 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. The total number of fever cases since late April had come to over 4.76 million as of 6 p.m. Monda

July 12, 2022

China, N. Korea to upgrade ties to new level against US-led ‘encirclement campaign’

China and North Korea will constantly strengthen and develop their bilateral relations to a new and higher level in “unprecedented harsh circumstances,” including the US-led campaign to encircle China, the North Korean media said Monday. It also highlighted the significance of the close bond between North Korea and China. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, published an article commemorating the 61st anniversary of the “Treaty of Friendshi

July 11, 2022

N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 2,000 for 5th day: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 2,000 for the fifth consecutive day, according to its state media Monday. More than 1,240 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. The total number of fever cases since late April had come to over

July 11, 2022

NSC chief monitors S. Korea’s military readiness after NK fires artillery shots

National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han was briefed on North Korea's firing of a rocket launcher and monitored South Korea's military's readiness, the presidential office said Sunday night.  “From 7 p.m. to 8:08 p.m, Kim received a report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the National Crisis Management Center regarding North Korea's estimated launch of a rocket launcher into the Yellow Sea and checked the South Korean military's readiness,” the office said in a press statement.&

July 11, 2022

N. Korea fires apparent artillery shots: S. Korean military

North Korea fired artillery shots Sunday, presumably from multiple rocket launchers, South Korea's military said, in what would be yet another show of force by the regime. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters that it had detected “trajectories” believed to be artillery shots from around 6:21 p.m. to 6:37 p.m. It gave no additional details, such as the exact number of shots launched and the origin of the firing. The South Korean military detected a total of tw

July 10, 2022