NK leader sends congratulatory message to pro-North Korean residents in Japan

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to pro-North Korean residents in Japan encouraging them to continue friendly relations with Japan and make sure to be safe from the coronavirus, state media said Sunday. "All the branches should ... create an external environment favorable for the existence and development of the community of the Koreans resident in Japan by taking the initiative in conducting activities for friendship with the Japanese people," Kim said in the letter rel

Nov. 1, 2020

UN panel says N. Korean mortar apparently used in terrorist attack in Somalia

The al-Shabab Islamic extremist group used what appears to be a North Korean mortar in an apparent attack against the United Nations compound in Somalia earlier this year, a UN panel has said, in a sign of possible arms deals between the two sides. The al-Qaida-linked group carried out six separate mortar attacks on the international airport in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, between February and May. One of the attacks involved four 60-mm mortar rounds that were fired in the direction of th

Oct. 31, 2020

NK propaganda outlet claims US imperialists started Korean War

A North Korean propaganda outlet said Friday that the Korean War was the result of invasion by US imperialists, calling it a shameless distortion of history to claim that the North started the war. Uriminzokkiri renewed the North's long-held claim after Chinese President Xi Jinping recently caused a stir by saying that the 1950-53 conflict was the fight against US "imperialist invaders." The Korean War broke out after North Korean troops invaded the South on June 25, 1950, with backi

Oct. 30, 2020

NK blames killing of S. Korean civilian on Seoul

North Korea on Friday blamed the Seoul government on its killing of a South Korean civilian, calling it an “accident” stemming from Pyongyang’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID. According to the South Korean military, North Korean soldiers found a South Korean fisheries official who drifted into North Korean waters last month, shot him to death six hours later and burned his body at sea. The North Koreans told the South that their soldiers shot the man because he was re

Oct. 30, 2020

Minister urges N. Korea to cooperate in turning DMZ into 'experimental space for coexistence'

Unification Minister Lee In-young called Friday for North Korea to cooperate in efforts to turn the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two sides into "experimental space for coexistence." Lee made the remarks in an opening speech during an international forum held in the border town of Cherwon to discuss how to develop the world's most heavily fortified border into a peace zone. "The South and the North are a single community of life and security," Lee told the forum.

Oct. 30, 2020

N. Korea says S. Korea responsible for death of fisheries official

North Korea said Friday that South Korea is the first to blame for the death of a fisheries official killed at sea last month because the South failed to exercise proper control over its citizen. But the North also said such an "accidental" incident should not lead inter-Korean relations to a "catastrophe." It also said it tried its best, unsuccessfully, to search for the body of the South Korean official to return it to his family. The 47-year-old fisheries official was fa

Oct. 30, 2020

S. Korea discovers more Korean War remains in DMZ

South Korea discovered hundreds more bone fragments believed to be from soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and thousands of artifacts used by troops, including from the United States and China, this year inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the defense ministry said Thursday. The military resumed a demining and excavation operation on Arrowhead Ridge on the border with North Korea in Cheorwon, some 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on April 20 after months of hiatus during winter to con

Oct. 29, 2020

NK slams top S. Korean security official over remarks about inter-Korean ties

North Korea sharply criticized South Korea's national security adviser over his remarks during a recent trip to the United States that inter-Korean relations should be resolved through discussions with the US and other countries in the region. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the remarks by Suh Hoon, chief of the South's presidential National Security Office, represent a "denial and betrayal" of a series of inter-Korean agreements. "South Korea's security advi

Oct. 29, 2020

Xi renews commitment to firming up relations with N. Korea 'generation after generation'

Chinese President Xi Jinping has renewed his commitment to firm up relations with North Korea "generation after generation," saying the world is witnessing the "great rapid change unprecedented in 100 years," Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. Xi made the remarks in a response message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after Kim sent a congratulatory message earlier this month on the occasion of the 71st founding anniversary of China, according to the Korean Central

Oct. 29, 2020

Denuclearization will bring prosperity of N. Korea, not end of regime: O'Brien

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's denuclearization would bring prosperity to the communist country, instead of the collapse of its regime as feared by leader Kim Jong-un, the top US security adviser said Wednesday. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that was the vision President Donald Trump tried to lay out for Kim, for which he insisted the US leader deserved praise. "There is a lot of concern on the North Korean side that if the Kim family gives up their nuclear weapons, it could

Oct. 29, 2020

End-of-war declaration invites nuclear-free Korea: Moon adviser

Signing a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War is the first step toward denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula, Moon Chung-in, President Moon Jae-in’s special security adviser, said Tuesday. “With the end-of-war declaration as a steppingstone for denuclearization, we must play our part to bring about a peace regime here,” security adviser Moon told a forum hosted by the National Unification Advisory Council, a state body offering counsel to the president on in

Oct. 28, 2020

NK paper highlights friendly ties with Laos on summit anniv.

North Korea's official newspaper on Wednesday highlighted friendly ties with Laos on the occasion of the anniversary of the first summit between their leaders more than 50 years ago. North Korea and Laos marked the 55th anniversary of the first summit held between then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and Kaysone Phomvihane, the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, in 1965. "(The summit) was a historic event that generated the precious tradition of friendly ties between the two

Oct. 28, 2020

NK leader's increased public activities suggest he has better control over coronavirus: expert

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's public activities have increased sharply since July, suggesting that he has better control in containing the coronavirus, a researcher at a state-run think tank said Tuesday. Koh Jae-hong, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), said in a report that Kim's face-to-face activities dropped sharply in the first half of the year and were limited to the Pyongyang area or meeting only a few specific officials. But such face-to-face meeti

Oct. 27, 2020

Unification ministry to launch ecological survey of Han River estuary next month

South Korea will launch an ecological survey on its side of the Han River's estuary along the inter-Korean border early next month as part of efforts to implement an agreement with North Korea to jointly use the now-restricted waterway, an official said Tuesday. Under a military agreement signed at a 2018 summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two sides agreed on the joint use of the Han River estuary along their western border and conducted joint waterway

Oct. 27, 2020

NK paper stresses science and technology amid antivirus campaign

North Korea's official newspaper said Tuesday the country should focus on science and technology to make what it needs on its own without imports at a time when its borders are closed over coronavirus concerns. "We can hardly find a better opportunity in strengthening our self-supporting economy and maximize our internal ability and development potential through the power of science and technology than now when borders on the land, in the air and sea have been completely blocked," sai

Oct. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea slams S. Korea for ‘serving’ US

A North Korean propaganda outlet slammed South Korea on Monday for “serving” the US in a display of servility, saying Washington is returning only complications on ongoing disputes with Seoul.　 “Ranking officials in Seoul have paid numerous visits to Washington since October. … Their alliance is a combination of subjugation and subordination where Seoul is held hostage,” the propaganda outlet Maeari said, referring to the prolonged disputes over defense costs-shar

Oct. 26, 2020

N. Korea showing little sign of easing border control: unification ministry

North Korea has shown little sign of lifting restrictions imposed on the operation of trains across its border with China to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the unification ministry said Monday. Early in the day, the Daily NK, a local news website specializing in North Korea, reported that the North and China have reached a deal to resume the operation of international trains moving across their border starting Friday. "We are paying close attention to relevant situations, but bas

Oct. 26, 2020

Biden says N. Korea has more 'lethal' missiles because of Trump

WASHINGTON -- US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Sunday that North Korea now possesses a greater number of missiles that are also more dangerous than before because of US President Donald Trump. He also accused Trump of embracing dictators, such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while undermining the country's relationship with its traditional allies. "He embraces every dictator in sight, and he pokes his finger in the eye of all our friends," the former vice presi

Oct. 26, 2020

NK highlights China relations on war anniversary

North Korea spoke of its strong ties with China and expressed hope of strengthening bilateral relations further as the two countries marked the 70th anniversary of China’s participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, the North’s official newspaper said Sunday.  The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party, ran a special report to honor China for its role in the Korean War, recalling how Chinese troops crossed the border into North Korea on

Oct. 25, 2020

N. Korea-China to enrich friendship, advance 'socialist achievement': NK paper

North Korea and China seek to further develop their friendly relationship and pursue the advancement of socialist achievements, the North's official newspaper said Sunday, in marking the 70th anniversary of China's participation in the Korean War. In its front-page editorial Sunday, the Rodong Sinmun, the official paper of the country's ruling party, said the participation of China's People's Volunteer Army (PVA) in the 1950-1953 Korean conflict was a display of the two country's friendship and

Oct. 25, 2020