Vietnam reaffirms commitment to international peace, stability on 77th national day

Vietnam reaffirmed its commitment to international peace, stability and cooperation with Korea celebrating National Day and the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-Korea diplomatic relations on Friday at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Vietnam’s Independence Day, which falls on Friday, commemorates Vietnam’s declaration of independence from France and reading of the declarations of independence of Vietnam by Vietnam’s first President Ho Chi Minh at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi in 1945. Vietnam wa

Sept. 1, 2022

N. Korean paramilitary commanders gather in capital amid ‘threat of war’

North Korean commanders of paramilitary and reserve forces gathered for a full-scale meeting in Pyongyang for the first time in three years amid the “constant threat of war,” the state media reported Wednesday. The participants pledged to strengthen their combat capabilities for “all-people resistance.” The sixth “Active Leading Personnel of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards” meeting was held at the April 25 House of Culture for two days on Monday and Tuesday, the

Aug. 31, 2022

N. Korea holds first meeting of civil defense organization commanding officers in 3 years

North Korea has held the first meeting of active commanding officers of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards (WPRG) in three years to review its combat capability, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday. The WPRG is a civil defense organization of around 5.7 million workers and farmers, about a quarter of the country's population. The previous such meeting was held in February 2019. The meeting, held Monday and Tuesday in Pyongyang, was organized to "review the work of the Party organiza

Aug. 31, 2022

After heavy rains, N. Korea stops reenabling tunnel at nuclear test site: satellite imagery

North Korea appears to have temporarily stopped work to reactivate an unused tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, likely due to recent heavy rains, a Washington-based think tank said Monday. Commercial satellite images acquired on Aug. 24 indicated that road construction to Tunnel No. 4 remained suspended at North Korea’s main nuclear testing site in Punggye-ri in Kilju County of North Hamgyong Province, the CSIS Korea Chair, which runs the Beyond Parallel project, said in an onl

Aug. 30, 2022

Unification ministry seeks W751b in 2023 budget for inter-Korean humanitarian cooperation

South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday it has requested a 15.1 percent hike in its 2023 budget, compared with last year, for humanitarian cooperation with North Korea for the new government's "audacious initiative" revolving around plans to offer a set of bold economic incentives to Pyongyang in return for denuclearization steps. According to the ministry's budget proposal reported to the Cabinet, 751 billion won (US$558 million) -- a 15.1 percent increase from

Aug. 30, 2022

Satellite imagery shows flood damage at N. Korea's nuclear test site: Beyond Parallel

WASHINGTON -- Recent satellite imagery suggest that work to repair North Korea's main nuclear test site in Punggye-ri may have been suspended due to flood damage, a US monitor said Monday. The satellite imagery, taken on Wednesday, showed no significant activities at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, according to Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "No significant activity is observed at Tunnel No. 3 of the Pungg

Aug. 30, 2022

N. Korea set for nuke test, but no sign of action yet: S. Korean defense chief

North Korea remains ready to carry out a nuclear experiment, but no "particular" signs have emerged yet that the test is imminent, South Korea's defense minister said Monday. In a parliamentary briefing, Lee Jong-sup also said that the reclusive regime appears to be continuing preparations for a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) launch. Lee's remarks came amid concerns that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts on the p

Aug. 29, 2022

N. Korea claims recent fever outbreak caused by flu, not coronavirus

North Korea's outbreak of suspected COVID-19 cases in the northeastern province of Ryanggang earlier this week was caused by influenza, its state media said Friday. Earlier, the North said four fever cases suspected of carrying "malignant epidemic" were reported Tuesday in Ryanggang Province bordering China, just two weeks after it declared victory over the coronavirus crisis that began in mid-May. "According to information from the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headqua

Aug. 26, 2022

North Korea reports 4 new fever cases after declaring victory over COVID-19

North Korea reported four new fever cases in Ryanggang Province on Thursday, just 13 days after the country claimed victory over the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters, Pyongyang’s state media said four fever cases suspected of being infected with the “malignant epidemic” occurred in Ryanggang Province in the northeastern region on Tuesday. Instead of directly referring to COVID-19, the North has been calling the coronav

Aug. 25, 2022

N. Korea says 4 new fever cases reported after declaring victory over COVID-19

North Korea reported four new fever cases in the northeastern province of Ryanggang, its state media said Thursday, just two weeks after the country claimed victory over the coronavirus crisis. Four fever cases suspected of being infected with "malignant epidemic" occurred in Ryanggang Province on Aug. 23, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. Health authorities immediately locked down the area, urgen

Aug. 25, 2022

NPT members call for N. Korea’s ‘concrete measures’ to abandon nukes in draft final declaration

Member states of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, are seeking to adopt a final declaration that urges North Korea to promptly take “concrete measures” to abandon its missile and nuclear programs and denies its self-claimed status as a nuclear weapon state. The draft of a final statement on the 10th NPT review conference, which kicked off Aug. 1 and continues until Friday in New York, was released this week in the run-up to the closing. North Korea&rsq

Aug. 24, 2022

N. Korea urges heightened alert against new virus found in China

North Korea called Wednesday for heightened alert against a new virus detected in China, just weeks after the country claimed victory over the COVID-19 crisis. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's Workers' Party, carried an article warning that the new zoonotic virus called Langya henipavirus could lead to "another pandemic." "Some experts say the virus could take away lives like the new coronavirus if it is infected among people as the virus can cause severe healt

Aug. 24, 2022

US extends travel ban on N. Korea for another year

The United States has extended its travel ban on North Korea for one more year, a US government notice showed Wednesday. The State Department announced the extension of the ban through Aug. 31, 2023, in the Federal Register notice published Tuesday (US time). The restriction -- initially imposed in 2017 and since renewed every year -- was set to expire at the end of this month. "The Department of State has determined there continues to be serious risk to US citizens and nationals of arrest

Aug. 24, 2022

S. Korea, US ‘entirely’ align on incremental approach toward denuclearization

South Korea and the United States “entirely” align on their plans to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization in stages, the US State Department said Monday, urging North Korea to affirmatively respond to South Korea’s “audacious initiative.” The US State Department on Monday reiterated its endorsement of the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s “audacious initiative,” which seeks to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization through a phased, increm

Aug. 23, 2022

UN expert on North Korea human rights to meet with Lee Dae-jun’s family

The family of Lee Dae-jun, a South Korean government worker who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers at sea in September 2020, will be meeting with Elizabeth Salmon, the United Nations’ newly appointed special rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea. Lee Rae-jin, the deceased official’s older brother, told The Korea Herald that the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul confirmed to him on Monday that the family’s meeting with Salmon would be on Sept. 3. According

Aug. 22, 2022

N. Korea likely to conduct nuclear test before US midterm elections: ex-spy chief

Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won said Monday that North Korea will likely conduct a nuclear test ahead of November's US midterm elections to show off its nuclear capability. "They are going to do it in order to demonstrate a threat that its missile can fly to the US carrying a miniaturized and lighter warhead, and to deal a blow to the Joe Biden administration ahead of the midterm elections," Park said on KBS Radio. Park also said the North could un

Aug. 22, 2022

Lee Dae-jun’s family requests meeting with new UN envoy on North Korea human rights

The family of Lee Dae-jun, a 47-year-old South Korean government official who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers near the sea border in 2020, has requested a meeting with Elizabeth Salmón, the newly appointed United Nations envoy for North Korea human rights. The murdered official’s older brother Lee Rae-jin told The Korea Herald that he has asked to meet with Salmón in person during her official visit to South Korea later this month. Lee said that over the meeting he

Aug. 21, 2022

N. Korea denounces Yoon’s initiative to mend S. Korea-Japan ties

North Korea’s propaganda outlets denounced South Korea’s diplomatic initiative to mend ties with Japan in articles issued this weekend, claiming the Yoon Suk-yeol government is seeking to capitalize on the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The North Korean external-oriented outlets made mention of Abe’s death for the first time, more than six weeks after Abe was shot to death in the Japanese city of Nara on July 8. The North Korean state media notably express

Aug. 21, 2022

NK advises people not to eat dirty food washed away in flood waters

North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried a series of articles last week advising how to act in times of flooding, with one of the directions saying, "Do not eat dirty food washed away in flood waters." The articles were carried from Wednesday to Friday to advise people about what to and not to do in times of typhoon, lightning and flooding, as a series of heavy downpours have battered the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks. Noticeable among them was the advice to stay away

Aug. 21, 2022

NK leader’s sister slams Yoon’s ‘audacious initiative’ road map

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his “audacious initiative,” saying the road map he has offered is the “height of foolishness.” The “audacious initiative” refers to plans for engaging North Korea and providing aid in return for steps toward denuclearization, as revealed by Yoon in his Liberation Day speech on Monday. Through a statement released via the North’s official Korean

Aug. 19, 2022