US envoy for NK human rights to visit S. Korea, Japan this month

The US special envoy for North Korean human rights will visit South Korea and Japan this month to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark UN report on the North's rights violations, the State Department said Friday. Ambassador Julie Turner's two-nation trip from Monday through Feb. 22 comes as activists and government officials in Seoul and Washington have paid renewed attention to the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that accused North Korean officials of &quo

Feb. 10, 2024

NK leader calls S. Korea 'primary foe,' vows to protect country with power

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has again called South Korea the North's "primary foe" and vowed to guard the country through power rather than negotiations, state media said Friday. Kim's remarks came as the North has recently abandoned its decadeslong policy of seeking reunification with the South and called for codifying the commitment to "completely occupying" the South Korean territory in the event of war. "Defining the South Korean puppets as the most harmful prima

Feb. 9, 2024

US expresses deep concern over Russia's reported move to release frozen NK assets

WASHINGTON -- A US State Department spokesperson expressed deep concern Thursday over a media report that Russia has allowed the release of millions of dollars in frozen North Korean assets and may be helping the North with access to international banking networks. The New York Times published the report this week, noting that Moscow's such assistance has come after the North's transfer of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. "Of course, it is something that we're deeply con

Feb. 9, 2024

N. Korea scraps inter-Korean economic cooperation laws

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament approved the annulment of laws and agreements related to promoting economic cooperation with South Korea during its plenary meeting Wednesday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday. The Supreme People’s Assembly voted to abolish the law on inter-Korean economic cooperation, the "law on the special zone for international tours of Mount Kumgang" and regulations for its enforcement and agreements on inter-Korean econom

Feb. 8, 2024

N. Korea renews call for combat readiness on military founding anniversary

North Korea on Thursday urged its armed forces to be equipped with full combat readiness as the country marked the 76th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army. In an editorial, the North's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, claimed the KPA is well-equipped with "overwhelming" military capability to deter war schemes by imperialist powers and called on the military to further beef up its combat power against hostile forces. In a separate article, the newspaper said the K

Feb. 8, 2024

US envoy urges N. Korea to begin 'reform' process to improve human rights

The US special envoy for North Korean human rights called on Pyongyang Wednesday to launch a "reform" process to enhance its rights situation, stressing promoting respect for human dignity in the reclusive state remains a "top" priority for Washington. Ambassador Julie Turner made the remarks as she marked the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark UN Commission of Inquiry report that accused North Korean officials of "systematic, widespread and gross" human

Feb. 8, 2024

Criticism of hereditary succession grows in N. Korea: report

Discontent among North Koreans toward the hereditary succession of the country's leadership has grown over time, coupled with a pervasive negative public assessment of the performance of leader Kim Jong-un, according to a report from the Unification Ministry in Seoul. South Korea's Unification Ministry unveiled a 280-page report comprehensively detailing the reality of economic and social conditions in North Korea. This first-ever report of its kind is based on in-depth interviews with

Feb. 6, 2024

US stresses close trilateral coordination with S. Korea, Japan over 'destabilizing' NK actions

The United States highlighted its focus on close trilateral security coordination with South Korea and Japan on Monday, criticizing North Korea's recent cruise missile launches as "deeply destabilizing." Pyongyang has conducted four rounds of cruise missile launches this year, including the test-fire of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, amid questions over how to rein in such cruise missile launches that are not subject to UN Security Council resolutions. "These kinds o

Feb. 6, 2024

Over 60% of S. Koreans lack trust in US nuclear umbrella: survey

Over 60 percent of South Koreans are skeptical that Washington would use its nuclear weapons in the event of a Korean Peninsula contingency, according to a survey conducted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies on Monday. The research institute in Seoul, named after SK Group founder Chey Jong-hyun, released the findings of an in-person interview survey conducted on 1,043 Koreans from Dec. 15 last year to Jan. 10 this year, in collaboration with Gallup Korea. According to the survey results,

Feb. 5, 2024

NK says it conducted 'cruise missile super-large warhead power test'

North Korea said Saturday it conducted what it calls a "cruise missile super-large warhead power test" and test-fired a new-type of anti-aircraft missile the previous day. The tests in the Yellow Sea were carried out for the "rapid development of the technologies in various aspects such as function, performance and operation of new-type weapon systems" and were part of "normal activities," the North's Missile Administration said in a statement carried by the

Feb. 3, 2024

N. Korea fires several cruise missiles off west coast: JCS

North Korea fired several cruise missiles off its west coast Friday, the South Korean military said, in the latest in a series of the North's cruise missile launches this year. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the North's launch at around 11 a.m. from its west coast. It did not specify the number of missiles. "While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea's provocations

Feb. 2, 2024

N. Korean leader calls for bolstering navy's war readiness during visit to shipyard

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for strengthening the country's navy to step up war preparations and protect maritime sovereignty during a visit to a shipyard for warships, state media said Friday. Kim made the remarks as the North has been dialing up tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the new year -- an election year for South Korea and the United States -- with weapons tests and harshly worded rhetoric. North Korea recently conducted three cruise missile launches in a week, in

Feb. 2, 2024

N. Korean delegation to visit Moscow on Feb. 13: Russian lawmaker

A North Korean delegation may visit Moscow later this month and a Russian delegation plans to make a reciprocal trip to Pyongyang in March, a Russian lawmaker said Thursday. The North Koreans are expected to visit the lower house of the Russian parliament on Feb. 13, and Russian lawmakers plan to reciprocate their visit the next month, Kazbek Taysaev, a deputy of the Communist Party, told Russia's Sputnik news agency. The delegations' planned visits come as the two nations have been se

Feb. 1, 2024

Cuba's new envoy to NK assumes post amid Pyongyang's move to resume diplomacy

Cuba's new ambassador to North Korea has begun his duties, according to the North's state media Thursday, as countries having friendly ties with North Korea have ramped up diplomatic activities in the secretive regime since the opening of its border. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was presented with the credentials of Cuban Ambassador Eduardo Luis Garcia Correa from Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The letter of credence was received by C

Feb. 1, 2024

[Graphic News] Number of NK defectors entering S. Korea nearly triples in 2023

The number of North Korean defectors who arrived in South Korea came to 196 last year amid a rise in defections by North Korean diplomats and trade officials, government data showed. The defections by 32 men and 164 women raised the total number of the North’s defectors in South Korea to 34,078, according to the data from Seoul’s Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs. The figure represented a hike from 2021 and 2022, when the number of North Korean defectors entering

Feb. 1, 2024

Unification minister slams NK war rhetoric backers as 'anti-state'

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Wednesday condemned some liberal South Koreans supportive of North Korea's war rhetoric for having an "anti-state" mindset that could undermine the foundation of the South. The minister made the remark at the start of a screening session of "Beyond Utopia," a US documentary film depicting North Korean defectors' desperate escape from their home country. Citing a news report that some liberal experts said during a forum at the Nati

Jan. 31, 2024

N. Korea says it conducted launch of 'Hwasal-2' strategic cruise missile

North Korea said Wednesday it conducted a drill to launch the Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missile the previous day to check its rapid counterattack posture and improve its strategic striking capability. The launch in the Yellow Sea had "no adverse effect on the security of a neighboring country," the Korean Central News Agency said without giving further details, including how many missiles were launched and how far they flew. South Korea had said Tuesday the North fired several cruise m

Jan. 31, 2024

N. Korea shuts missions in Libya and Hong Kong: Seoul

North Korea has shuttered two more diplomatic missions in Hong Kong and Libya, bringing down the global total from 46 to 44, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The additional shutdown, part of a series of such moves, followed the Foreign Ministry's earlier confirmation of Pyongyang's closure of embassies in seven countries: Guinea, Nepal, Bangladesh, Senegal, Spain, Angola, and Uganda, as of early December. The Hong Kong government's official website has officially

Jan. 30, 2024

China's art delegation visits NK, signaling revival in cultural exchanges

A Chinese cultural and art delegation hailing from the northeastern province of Liaoning arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, marking a revival in friendship events commemorating the Lunar New Year's holiday that had been paused the last few years. The cultural mission's visit represents the third publicly disclosed, high-profile exchange between the two countries in less than a week. The significant interactions coincide with the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment o

Jan. 30, 2024

First public center exposing NK human rights to open in Seoul

Seoul will be home to the first-ever government-run center dedicated to shed light on the North Korean regime's human rights abuses and violations and enhance public awareness of the issue, the Unification Ministry announced Monday. The Yoon Suk Yeol government is actively working to establish an inaugural public center, forming a crucial component of its comprehensive strategy for addressing the harsh realities of the human rights situation in North Korea. The Unification Ministry official

Jan. 29, 2024