N. Korea's Kim touts leadership of China's Xi in birthday greetings

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his 70th birthday, saying that Beijing's national power has "remarkably" strengthened under his leadership, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. In the message, Kim said that Beijing has "built a comprehensively well-off society" and that its "national power and international position remarkably strengthened" under Xi's "energetic" leadership, accordin

June 15, 2023

Foreign ministry condemns N.Korea's missile provocations ahead of ARF

The foreign ministry denounced Wednesday North Korea's recent series of missile provocations at a virtual senior officials' meeting ahead of an annual multilateral forum involving Pyongyang slated for next month. The ministry said it stated its position during the online preparatory meeting of senior government officials for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, due to take place in Indonesia in July. Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Young-sam and Lee Jang-keun, the am

June 14, 2023

Host China confirms N. Korean registration for Asian Games

China has confirmed North Korea's registration for this year's Asian Games to be held in its eastern city of Hangzhou. At a press conference Wednesday in Hangzhou, Zhou Jinqiang, vice chairman of the Asiad organizing committee, said all 45 national Olympic committees in Asia have signed up for the Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 event. Zhou didn't name individual countries, but his figure of 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia includes North Korea. Reports out of Japan last month had cla

June 14, 2023

S. Korea sues NK for blowing up liaison office

The South Korean government on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking damages from North Korea for blowing up the inter-Korean liaison office in June 2020, marking the first case of Seoul taking legal action against the North Korean authorities through a local judicial court. The South Korean government submitted a lawsuit to the Seoul Central District Court at approximately 2 p.m., seeking compensation from North Korea for damages amounting to 44.7 billion won ($35 million) caused by the destruction

June 14, 2023

N. Korea’s Lazarus Group suspected of stealing over $100 million in crypto

North Korea's state-sponsored Lazarus Group is believed to have stolen more than $100 million in cryptocurrency from an Estonian company, marking the latest in a series of high-profile cyberthefts by Pyongyang operatives. London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic on Tuesday disclosed the findings of its analysis, which tracked over 5,500 crypto wallets suspected to have been compromised in the cryptocurrency breach of Atomic Wallet. The estimated total amount of reported losses suffer

June 14, 2023

Congressional commission holds emergency hearing, urges China to protect N. Korean defectors

The Congressional Executive Commission on China held an emergency hearing in Washington on Tuesday to urge China to fulfill its obligations as a United Nations member and protect North Korean asylum-seekers. Members of the commission and key witnesses argued that nearly 2,000 North Korean defectors in China may face forced repatriation once North Korea reopens its border with China, which has been shut during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Close to 2,000 North Korean refugees are reportedly held i

June 14, 2023

Growing bilateral cooperation highlighted on Sweden Day

The Swedish Embassy highlighted the growing bilateral cooperation between the European country with Korea as it celebrated Sweden Day 2023 on Friday. Sweden Day, a national holiday, is observed on June 6. This year marks a double jubilee celebration for Sweden. It commemorates 500 years of independence since the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the 50th year on the throne for Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden’s current and longest-reigning monarch. Delivering remarks at the event, Swedish Am

June 13, 2023

N. Korea's FM reaffirms stronger cooperation with Russia

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a congratulatory message to her Russian counterpart over Moscow's key national holiday and vowed stronger cooperation between the two nations, state media reported Tuesday. In the message sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday on the occasion of Russia Day, Choe said Pyongyang and Moscow have ushered in a new "heyday" in their friendly relationship, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Mutual coope

June 13, 2023

S. Korea to cremate body of presumed N. Korean if no response

South Korea said Monday it will cremate the body of a presumed North Korean man found near the inter-Korean border in May if North Korea does not respond to South Korea's offer to return the body by Friday. "We've requested North Korea to express its intention to receive the body by June 16. If the intention is not confirmed by then, the body will be treated as an unidentified deceased person in cooperation with local government authorities," Koo Byoung-sam, a Unification Min

June 12, 2023

Senior Pentagon official to visit Seoul this week to discuss deterrence against N.K threats

A senior US defense official will visit South Korea later this week to discuss deterrence against growing North Korean threats, Seoul and Washington officials have said, amid joint efforts to curb the recalcitrant regime's provocative acts. The planned trip by Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, comes amid tensions heightened by Pyongyang's hardening rhetoric against the allies and its provocative acts, including the failed launch of a space rocket late last month. While

June 12, 2023

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US to discuss N.K. spy satellite, other provocations

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States will meet in Washington this week to discuss ways to cooperate on countering North Korea's planned launch of a military spy satellite and other pending issues. Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, is scheduled to meet his US counterpart, Sung Kim, on Monday to discuss Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and military threats. "After its botched attempt to launch the satellite, North Korea has been threatening to launc

June 12, 2023

16,000 S.Koreans died since 2018 waiting to reunite with family in North

Over 16,000 elderly South Koreans who had applied for a reunion with their separated families in North Korea have passed away in the absence of reunion events since August 2018. The annual number of South Korean applicants for reunions who have died has ranged from 3,300 to 3,700 since 2018, according to data provided by South Korea's Unification Ministry to Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday. The most recent state-organized in-person reunion eve

June 11, 2023

NK launch window expires, but S. Korea not letting guard down

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said Sunday it is not letting its guard down even though the window for North Korea's satellite launch has expired, as the country can go ahead with a launch at any time. North Korea had set a period between the start of May 31 and the start of June 11 as the window for a satellite-carrying space rocket launch. The country fired the rocket on the first day of the window, but the launch ended in failure with the rocket crashing in the Yellow Sea. At the time,

June 11, 2023

Intl. Red Cross 'ready to reengage' with N. Korea as soon as access granted: official

The International Committee of the Red Cross remains ready to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea and resume projects suspended during the coronavirus pandemic whenever the reclusive country reaches out for aid, an official at the organization has said. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Olivier Ray, the ICRC's director for mobilization, movement and partnerships, also said that the group maintains contact with the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People's Republic

June 10, 2023

N. Korea claims dam collapse in Ukraine occurred with Washington, Kyiv in 'cahoots'

North Korea claimed Friday the latest collapse of a dam in Ukraine was the result of a scheme cooked up by Washington and Kyiv in "cahoots" to shift responsibility for the humanitarian disaster to Russia amid Moscow's war with Ukraine. The North said the US, Ukraine and other western countries are "basely" passing on all responsibility for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam to Russia at a time when the world is concerned about humanitarian and material damage by the inc

June 9, 2023

N. Korea does not send athletes to intl. weightlifting competition in Cuba

North Korea has not sent its athletes to an international weightlifting competition being held in Cuba despite its earlier registration of entries to the event, according to the weightlifting governing body Friday. North Korea had registered a team of 14 athletes for the International Weightlifting Federation Grand Prix I to be held from June 8-18 in Havana, sparking speculation over the North's return to the international sports arena following years of COVID-19-related border shutdown. Bu

June 9, 2023

N. Korea says it 'never recognizes' IMO resolution condemning its missile launches

North Korea said Thursday it "rejects and never recognizes" the latest resolution adopted by an international maritime safety agency denouncing the North's missile launches following its attempt to launch a spy satellite. A spokesperson at the North's Maritime Administration denounced the resolution by the International Maritime Organization as "unfair and illegal" and demanded the agency reflect the North's stance in its official document, according to the off

June 8, 2023

Yoon’s new security strategy identifies NK as most pressing threats

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Wednesday released its first top security guidelines, the National Security Strategy, identifying North Korea's advancing nuclear development as the most pressing threat. The newly revised guidelines, under the theme of a global pivotal state for freedom, peace and prosperity, marks the first update in five years since the previous Moon Jae-in administration published its guidelines envisioning a peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula in 2018. The new g

June 7, 2023

[NK Hunger] Kim Jong-un’s food politics: How food insecurity is leveraged to maintain regime stability

Shortly after taking power, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in 2012 that he wouldn’t have his people “tighten their belts again.” He has pushed to overhaul the agricultural system and enhance crop yields since then, but food shortages have continued. This year, the Kim regime has prioritized enhancing grain production among its 12 major economic goals. The ruling party views agricultural challenges as a “life-or-death matter for the survival and development of the co

June 7, 2023

N. Korean premier sends condolence message to India's prime minister over rail disaster

North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun has sent a message of condolence to India's prime minister over last week's deadly train crash in the country, state media reported Wednesday. Three trains collided in the eastern state of Odisha on Friday, killing at least 288 people, according to foreign media reports. In the message sent to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Kim expressed "deep sympathy and condolences" to the bereaved families and victims, according to t

June 7, 2023