N. Korea slams Japan's plan to move up US missile purchase as 'arrogant choice'

North Korea on Monday condemned Japan's move to accelerate its planned acquisition of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States as an "arrogant choice," warning that it will heighten regional tensions. Earlier this month, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said Tokyo aims to purchase the missiles as early as fiscal 2025, a year earlier than planned, following talks with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in Washington. He later said Japan is also reviewing speeding up th

Oct. 16, 2023

Pyongyang denies allegations of Hamas using North Korean weapons

North Korea on Friday denied the allegations that the Palestinian militant group Hamas used weapons produced by the country for an unprecedented attack on Israel. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, primarily targeting international audiences, published an article on the war titled "The current crisis in the Middle East portends a greater strategic setback for the United States." The statement, authored by Ri Kwang-song, a commentator on international affairs, notably a

Oct. 13, 2023

S. Korea confirms China’s forced reparation of numerous N. Koreans

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday officially confirmed China has resumed the forced repatriation of North Koreans following the opening of its border last month. The ministry called for an immediate halt to this practice, which breaches international human rights law. "It appears to be the fact that a significant number of North Koreans have been repatriated from three provinces in Northeast China," Koo Byung-sam, the Unification Ministry spokesperson, said during a tel

Oct. 13, 2023

N. Korea threatens to strike US aircraft carrier

North Korea threatened Friday to stage the "most powerful and rapid first strike" against US strategic assets deployed to the Korean Peninsula, in the latest bellicose rhetoric that underscored Pyongyang's concerns about US military capabilities in the region. The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier docked at the southeastern port of Busan on Thursday for a five-day visit -- the first since September 2022 -- in a show of force against North Korea. The visit came soon aft

Oct. 13, 2023

JCS chief says 2018 military accord restricts S. Korea's surveillance of N. Korea

A 2018 military tension reduction agreement with North Korea restricts South Korea's surveillance of the North due to no-fly zones set along the heavily fortified border under the deal, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday. Gen. Kim Seung-kyum made the assessment during a parliamentary audit, as newly appointed Defense Minister Shin Won-shik has been pushing to suspend the 2018 agreement signed when then-President Moon Jae-in traveled to Pyongyang for summit talks w

Oct. 12, 2023

N. Korean hacking groups target defectors group's head: report

A number of North Korean hacking groups were found to have made hacking attempts targeted at a head of a defectors' group in South Korea, according to a report by a U.S. cybersecurity company Thursday. Pyongyang's hacking groups, including APT37, APT43 and hybrid clusters under the Reconnaissance General Bureau, have targeted Lee Min-bok, head of a defectors' group that sends propaganda leaflets to the North, Mandiant, Google's cybersecurity unit, said in the report. Mandiant

Oct. 12, 2023

N. Korea's Kim, Putin exchange congratulatory messages marking 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have pledged to move relations between the two countries further forward as they exchanged messages marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties after a summit last month, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. Kim expressed his firm belief that North Korea-Russia relations will steadily develop to a new level in the future in a letter to Putin to celebrate the anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agenc

Oct. 12, 2023

S. Korea keeping close tabs on reported repatriation of N.K. defectors from China: minister

South Korea's unification minister said Wednesday the government is closely looking into a media report that China forcefully repatriated over 600 North Korean defectors earlier this week. "We are keeping close tabs on the issue," Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said during a parliamentary audit of the ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs. "We are continuing to verify the facts," he said, adding the ministry expressed its position on several occasions via diplomat

Oct. 11, 2023

N. Korea defends military spy satellite as 'indispensable strategic option'

A North Korean official on Tuesday called the country's military spy satellite an "indispensable strategic option" to counter the United States, which is "getting hell-bent on space militarization." Following two botched attempts to launch the military spy satellite, named the Malligyong-1, mounted on the Chollima-1 rocket in May and August, North Korea has announced plans for a third attempt in October without specifying a specific launch date. "The space developme

Oct. 10, 2023

N. Korea touts Kim's leadership on 78th founding anniversary of ruling party

North Korea on Tuesday lauded leader Kim Jong-un for "exceptionally" strengthening the country's combat power as Pyongyang marked the 78th founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party. The Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said Kim "exceptionally strengthened the combat power" over the past decade to "firmly secure the party's future that would successfully carry on for thousands of millions of years." Noting how the Nort

Oct. 10, 2023

NK sports broadcast labels S. Korea ‘puppets'

North Korea’s state media, including Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central Television, dropped the term “Nam Joseon” -- South Joseon -- when referring to South Korea in a recent sports broadcast. Instead, North Korea’s state media used the term “goeroe,” which means “puppets” to indicate South Korea. A score graphic televised by Korean Central Television referred to South Korea as such during a women’s quarterfinal soccer match during the Hangzhou

Oct. 8, 2023

Unification ministry urges NK to immediately send detained S. Koreans back home

The unification ministry on Sunday urged North Korea to immediately send a South Korean pastor and five other nationals back home, condemning their yearslong detention as "illegal and inhumane." The ministry made the appeal in a statement marking 10 years after South Korean pastor Kim Jung-wook was arrested in Pyongyang in 2013 and then sentenced to hard labor for life on charges of spying for South Korea's spy agency. In 2014, two other South Korean missionaries, Kim Kuk-gi and C

Oct. 8, 2023

Satellite imagery highlights 'dramatic' increase in N. Korea-Russia border rail traffic: U.S. monitor

This week's satellite imagery showed a "dramatic" surge in rail traffic along the border between North Korea and Russia, a US monitor said Friday, amid concerns about possible arms transfers following last month's summit between the two countries. Citing imagery captured on Thursday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, reported an "unprecedented" number of freight railcars totaling roughly 73 in number a

Oct. 7, 2023

N. Korea may launch military spy satellite between Oct. 10 and 26: S. Korean think tank

North Korea may launch its military spy satellite between Tuesday and Oct. 26 following its previous two failed launches, as it will likely take into account key political and diplomatic events, a South Korean state-run think tank said Friday. The potential launch window, projected by the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, appears to reflect North Korea's key anniversary and China's hosting of an international forum on its Belt and Road initiative later this month. Nort

Oct. 6, 2023

N. Korea holds Cabinet plenary meeting over grain output, economic issues

North Korea has held an enlarged plenary meeting of the Cabinet to assess economic performances in the third quarter, stressing the need to attain this year's goal of grain output without fail, state media reported Friday. Premier Kim Tok-hun presided over the meeting held via a video link on Thursday to discuss ways to better implement the country's economic plan for this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The North discussed how to seamlessly achieve the goal

Oct. 6, 2023

N. Korea sends arms to Russia following Kim-Putin summit: CBS

North Korea has started sending artillery to Russia as Moscow continues its war in Ukraine, a US broadcaster reported Thursday, after last month's summit between the two countries reinforced concerns about a potential bilateral arms deal. Citing an unnamed US official, CBS reported on the apparent arms transfer that came in the wake of a rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport last month. The s

Oct. 6, 2023

Pro-N. Korea paper touts Pyongyang's nuclear force-building policy in constitution

A pro-North Korean newspaper said Thursday that Pyongyang's status as a nuclear state has become "irreversible" with the recent stipulation of a nuclear force-building policy in its constitution. In a key parliamentary meeting attended by leader Kim Jong-un last week, the North stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution, a year after it enacted a new nuclear law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear arms and called its status as a nuclear stat

Oct. 5, 2023

Defense Ministry warns NK regime over nuclear buildup

South Korea's Defense Ministry on Wednesday issued a stern warning against North Korea that any attempts to use nuclear weapons against South Korea would result in the downfall of the Kim Jong-un regime. Seoul's warning came a week after Pyongyang's decision to incorporate its policy of bolstering its nuclear capabilities into its constitution. The decision was made during a two-day meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's rubber-stamp parliament, which was

Oct. 4, 2023

North reaffirms satellite launch plan

North Korea reaffirmed that it will launch a military reconnaissance satellite this month, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday. The third attempt to put the satellite into orbit after two previous failures, each in May and August, could take place as early as next week when the regime marks the founding of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party. Leader Kim Jong-un has used such events to tout his achievement. The regime -- banned by United Nations Security Council reso

Oct. 3, 2023

Unification minister says N.K.'s vicious cycle of provocations, rewards 'no longer works' under Yoon administration

BERLIN -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho has warned that North Korea's vicious cycle of receiving assistance and breaking off agreements will "no longer work" under the current administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Kim made the remarks at a conference hosted by the Berlin chapter of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Sunday, stressing that North Korea's nuclear threat has persisted for 30 years. "Whenever North Korea has threatened with various provoca

Oct. 2, 2023