[Newsmaker] S. Korea, US closely watching N. Korean moves on SLBMs, new submarine: JCS

South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea's military moves in coordination with the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, amid signs of activity at the North's main shipyard used to develop submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the North's Sinpo Shipyard indicates that a missile canister for the submarine missile test barge has likely been removed, possibly for maintenance or for the replacement of a new c

April 12, 2021

N. Korea urges 'cell secretaries' to spearhead efforts to strengthen Kim's leadership

North Korea urged grassroots leaders of the ruling Workers' Party to be at the forefront of efforts to strengthen the leadership of Kim Jong-un, state media said Monday. During a workshop of the secretaries of party cells held from Friday to Sunday, the North also called for rooting out anti-socialist practices, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The lecturers said that the work of establishing the unified leadership system of the General Secretary is the most i

April 12, 2021

N. Korea urges economic guidance organs to take full responsibility in implementing development plans

North Korea urged economic guidance organs to take full responsibility in implementing economic development plans as it held a Cabinet meeting to review the country's first-quarter production results, state media said Monday. The enlarged session of the plenary meeting of the Cabinet took place via video links Sunday, with Premier Kim Tok-hun presiding over the meeting and Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun making a report on the economic performance in the first quarter, according to the Korean Central

April 12, 2021

N. Korea may be modifying submersible missile test barge: 38 North

New satellite images show that North Korea may be modifying its submersible missile test barge at a shipyard on its east coast, a US expert website monitoring the communist country said Sunday. 38 North said commercial satellite imagery taken Saturday (US local time) indicates that a missile canister for the submersible missile test barge has likely been removed. The removal is "possibly for maintenance, or for the replacement with a new canister or launch frame to accommodate larger subm

April 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] N. Korea preparing to launch ballistic missile submarine: report

North Korea has built a new submarine believed to be capable of carrying at least three ballistic missiles and is gauging the right time to unveil it, a local news outlet said Sunday, citing anonymous Seoul officials familiar with the matter. “South Korea and the US believe North Koreans have finished building one that they revealed in 2019,” Yonhap News Agency quoted the officials as saying. The North’s state media released a photograph at the time, in which leader Kim Jong-u

April 11, 2021

N. Korea marks 9th anniversary of Kim Jong-un's leadership with call for loyalty

North Korea urged its people to stay faithful to leader Kim Jong-un as it marked the ninth anniversary of his assumption of top posts of its ruling party and the state amid economic woes from crippling sanctions. It, however, did not have any major events, including the national ceremony, to celebrate the anniversary apparently because of the new coronavirus pandemic and as Pyongyang tends to mark only every fifth or 10th anniversary with large-scale events. "We celebrate the 9th annivers

April 11, 2021

US House caucus to hold hearing on S. Korean ban on anti-Pyongyang leafleting

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan caucus of the US House of Representatives said Thursday it will hold a public hearing next week on South Korea's recently legislated ban on the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea. The caucus, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said it will hold "a hearing on freedom of expression on the Korean peninsula" on Thursday next week. Five witnesses have been called in to testify, including Suzanne Scholte, a human rights activist. "Recen

April 9, 2021

North Korea-China trade may resume next week: report

Trade between North Korea and China that has remained at a standstill for more than a year amid the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to resume possibly next week, a South Korean broadcaster reported Friday. According to JTBC, officials in the Chinese city of Dandong at the North Korean border have started accepting export registration ahead of a potential border reopening on April 16, the day after the birth anniversary of state founder Kim Il-sung on April 15. North Korea sealed off its borde

April 9, 2021

NK leader calls on ruling party to wage tougher 'Arduous March' amid prolonged sanctions

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called on the ruling Workers' Party to wage a tougher "Arduous March" to relieve its people of economic woes as he concluded a conference of the party's grassroots leaders, state media said Friday. Kim warned the cell secretaries and members of the party to brace themselves for the many "obstacles and difficulties" that lie ahead, pointing to the harsh period of the Arduous March in the 1990s, when the country suffered from extreme poverty and

April 9, 2021

US still in final stage of 'careful' N. Korea policy: State Dept.

The United States is taking all necessary steps to carefully review its North Korea policy, a State Department spokesman said Thursday. Ned Price reiterated the review is in is final stages, but said such careful consideration requires time. "We were talking earlier in this briefing about the careful consideration of major decisions in a completely different context, and I think that would also apply to this case," he said when asked if the review process was being held up. "No

April 9, 2021

S. Korea to provide W2.3b to repair bridge near DMZ

South Korea decided Thursday to spend 2.3 billion won ($2.1 million) of inter-Korean cooperation funds to repair a flood-damaged bridge near the border with North Korea, the unification ministry said. A civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges approved the decision to use the funds to rebuild the "Bima Bridge," a sole path toward the Arrowhead Ridge on the border with North Korea in Cheorwon, some 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul. The bridge was destroyed by heavy down

April 8, 2021

N. Korea calls on 'cell secretaries' not to overlook misconduct of members

North Korea urged the grassroots leaders of the ruling Workers' Party not to overlook "wrong deeds" of their members, state media said Thursday, as the country steps up efforts to carry out economic development and other goals put forward earlier this year. A conference of the party's "cell secretaries" has been under way in the North since Tuesday. The meeting came as the country is striving to drum up support for goals and policy directions put forth during the eighth part

April 8, 2021

N. Korea highlights role of WHO amid coronavirus pandemic

North Korea's Cabinet newspaper called Wednesday for strengthening the role of the World Health Organization, saying the country should work closely with the organization to improve the health of its people. The Minju Joson paper made the case in a commentary published on the occasion of World Health Day, saying that billions of people around the world lack access to basic medical services despite big progress in medicine and science technology. "As the COVID-19 swept across the world rec

April 7, 2021

NK Kim urges party cell leaders to be proactive and responsible

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the importance of “party cells” -- the grassroots units of the ruling Workers Party -- and urged them to work in a more proactive and responsible way toward the policy goals set forth at the earlier party congress, the North’s state media reported Wednesday. 　 Kim delivered the opening address Tuesday at a conference of party cell secretaries, who lead basic units consisting of five to 30 members, according to the Korea Central News Ag

April 7, 2021

Unification ministry vows efforts to resume inter-Korean talks despite NK's decision to skip Tokyo Olympics

The unification ministry vowed efforts to resume inter-Korean talks despite North Korea's decision not to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, a high-level official said Wednesday. On Tuesday, North Korea said it will not take part in the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics to protect its athletes from the coronavirus pandemic, dashing South Korea's hopes to use the games to kick-start the stalled peace process with Pyongyang. "There is still time left until July. We will continue efforts to re

April 7, 2021

N. Korea moves submersible missile test stand barge: US think tank

North Korea has moved a submersible missile test stand barge at a shipyard on its east coast, a US think tank said Wednesday, noting the move could be part of preparations for a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test or for maintenance. Citing satellite imagery collected Tuesday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, revealed the activity, warning the "implied threat" of SLBM testing would pose "significant challeng

April 7, 2021

IOC hasn't heard from N. Korea on skipping Tokyo Olympics: spokesperson

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday it hasn't received an official word from North Korea regarding the latter's decision not to participate in this year's Tokyo Summer Games. "The IOC has not received any official application from the NOC of DPRK to be released from their obligation to take part in the Olympic Games according to the Olympic Charter," an IOC spokesperson said in a statement released to Yonhap News Agency. NOC is short for the National Olympic Commi

April 6, 2021

NK’s withdrawal from Tokyo Olympics thwarts Seoul’s hope of rapprochement

North Korea on Tuesday announced it will not participate in the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics due to coronavirus concerns, thwarting Seoul’s hopes to use the games as an opportunity for rapprochement with the reclusive regime.  Pyongyang said the decision to skip the Olympics to be held on July 23 to Aug. 8 was to “protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by the malicious virus infection.” The decision was made when the North’s national Olympic commit

April 6, 2021

N. Korean firm loses suit against S. Korean companies in disputes over export payment

A North Korean firm on Tuesday lost a lawsuit claiming millions of dollars for metal it supplied to South Korean companies in 2010, in a rare legal battle between businesses from the two Koreas. In a ruling against the North Korean National Economic Cooperation Federation, its member company and their South Korean deputy, the Seoul Central District Court said that four South Korean firms need not pay the plaintiffs about 5.3 billion won ($4.7 million) for the zinc they imported from North Korea

April 6, 2021

N. Korea slams UN report on child malnutrition as 'sheer lie'

North Korea on Tuesday slammed a recent UN report on child malnutrition in the country as a "sheer lie," saying it will need to review whether humanitarian assistance can "truly help us." The director of the Research Institute for Nutrition Care of Children from the North's health ministry made the statement in response to the panel of experts report that close to 100,000 kindergarten-aged children in the North lack access to fortified foods due to border restrictions over t

April 6, 2021