N. Korea touts 'new heyday' in Russia ties on summit anniversary

North Korea on Monday touted its ties with Russia as entering a "new heyday," on the occasion of the third anniversary of a summit between their leaders. In 2019, the North's leader Kim Jong-un held his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok. "The North Korea-Russia relationship that has continuously strengthened and developed is entering a new heyday today amid special interest from (our) comrade general secretary," rea

April 25, 2022

N. Korea has not staged military parade yet: source

North Korea has not yet held a military parade that is widely expected to take place in Pyongyang to mark a key national anniversary this week, an informed source said Monday. Many had predicted the opening of the parade at midnight on the occasion of the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA) that falls on the day. The KPRA is the anti-Japanese guerilla force known to have been created by national founder Kim Il-sung in 1932. Satellite imagery showed the secr

April 25, 2022

Unification minister nominee calls for bipartisan NK policy

Unification Minister nominee Kwon Young-se on Friday called for a bipartisan policy on North Korea. "Only when a bipartisan North Korea policy is drawn up on the foundation of a national consensus will it be possible to pursue policies in a sustainable and consistent manner," he said at a seminar organized by the national unity committee under President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team. Kwon said the reunification of Germany demonstrated the need to pursue bipartisan policies i

April 22, 2022

N. Korean leader commends Moon’s efforts in rare letter. What’s behind it?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has exchanged letters with South Korea’s outgoing President Moon Jae-in and expressed gratitude toward Moon for his effort to improve inter-Korean relations, the North Korean state media reported Friday. The state-run Korean Central News Agency, which mainly targets the external audience, swiftly reported that Kim on Thursday replied to Moon’s personal letter delivered Wednesday. “Dear respected comrade Kim Jong-un highly appreciated Moon&rsq

April 22, 2022

Crypto theft becomes ‘fundamental’ to N.Korea’s illicit financing activities: UN expert

North Korean state-sponsored cryptocurrency theft has become a “fundamental part” of the country’s illicit financing activities to fund its nuclear and missile programs, a United Nations independent expert said on Wednesday, urging the international community to reinforce its sanctions framework and regulations to block cyber financial crime. Eric Penton-Voak, a coordinator at the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts (PoE) which monitors enforcement of sanctions on No

April 21, 2022

NK propaganda organs slam ongoing S. Korea-US military drills

North Korean propaganda organs on Thursday slammed the annual combined military training between South Korea and the United States, labeling it as preparation for war, while the Kim Jong-un regime has made no formal response yet. Earlier this week, South Korea and the United States kicked off their combined springtime military training that does not include any field troop maneuvers. It is to run through next Thursday. "This is a reckless, dangerous play with fires of war and a clear exerci

April 21, 2022

N. Korea urges effort to attain economic goals 'at all costs' during Cabinet meeting

North Korea has held a Cabinet meeting to assess its economic performance for the first three months of the year and urged officials to make utmost efforts to achieve their goals "at all costs," state media reported Thursday. At the expanded plenary meeting of the Cabinet held via video link the previous day, Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun made a report analyzing the country's economic weaknesses and flaws that dragged down the country's performance for the first quarter, according to the o

April 21, 2022

Brother claims ruling party figures pressured family to accept slain official tried to defect

Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and an ex-naval officer pushed for the family of a fisheries official killed by North Korea to admit that the deceased was attempting to defect to the North, the official’s brother claims. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official went missing during a patrol on Sept. 21, 2020, and was shot dead and set ablaze at sea by North Korean troops the following day. He is the first South Korean civilian to die at the hands of the North in

April 20, 2022

North Korea slams Yoon for keeping mum on Japan’s history distortion

North Korea’s state propaganda outlet slammed President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday for keeping mum on Japan’s approval of school textbooks distorting history of its forceful acts against Korean people during the Japanese colonial period. Citing the Japanese government approving the use of high school history textbooks that distort the facts on wartime forced labor and sexual slavery of Korean people, the North said Yoon is siding with Japan in an article published on Uriminzok

April 19, 2022

US willing to discuss ‘full range’ of NK concerns but only through dialogue

The US said it is willing to discuss the “full range” of North Korea’s concerns only through dialogue, whereas a pro-North Korea newspaper said it will continue weapons development to “subdue” and overpower the US. The US State Department on Monday reiterated the Biden administration’s two-pronged approach to keep the door open for dialogue and hold North Korea accountable for illicitly developing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. S

April 19, 2022

S. Korea, US kick off military drills as N.Korea gears up for massive military parade

South Korea and the US on Monday kicked off their annual combined military exercise, while North Korea has begun its preparation for a massive military parade likely to be held during the training period “in earnest,” South Korean military officials said. Seoul and Washington decided to conduct the nine-day, springtime Combined Command Post Training in light of the overall circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining a combined defense posture. “The trainin

April 18, 2022

N. Korea urges tighter antivirus efforts against prolonged COVID-19 pandemic

North Korea called again for the country on Monday to step up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a message carried by a state-controlled main newspaper, stressing the need for officials to not let their guard down. It came on the day when South Korea removed all social distancing measures with the exception of the mask mandate, in a major move to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the Workers' Party of Korea, urged officials and party members to stay wary o

April 18, 2022

N.Korea tests new guided missiles to reinforce ‘tactical nuclear operation’

North Korea on Sunday said the country test-fired a “new-type tactical guided weapon system” to enhance its capabilities to effectively operate “tactical nuclear weapons,” as part of a five-year defense plan to bolster up its “war deterrent.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the test launch of the new weapons system which has been “developed under special attention of the Party Central Committee,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency

April 17, 2022

S. Korea to hold NSC meeting on NK military activities: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea is set to convene a session of the presidential National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday to discuss North Korea's weekend launch of two projectiles, Cheong Wa Dae said. Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, plans to preside over the NSC session after the North's state media reported the country had test-fired a new tactical guided weapon to improve the efficiency of tactical nuclear operations. South Korea's military said that it had detected the North'

April 17, 2022

N. Korea marks late founder’s birthday with fireworks, large-scale performance

North Korea held celebrations for the 110th birth anniversary of its late founder Kim Il-sung on Friday evening with fireworks and a mass dance performance in its capital, footage from state media showed. Throngs of masked North Koreans staged large-scale dance celebrations at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the Day of the Sun holiday, according to the 20-minute live broadcast from 7:10 p.m. by the North's state-run Korean Central Television. Fireworks were set off over the banks of th

April 16, 2022

N.K. leader visits mausoleum to mark birth anniversary of grandfather

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a mausoleum of his late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung to mark his birth anniversary, state media reported Saturday. Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Friday on the occasion of the 110th birth anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The mausoleum is where the bodies of his late grandfather and father lie in state. He was also accompanied by top aides, including Choe Ryong-hae, c

April 16, 2022

N. Korean defense minister promoted to vice marshal on late leader's anniv.

North Korea's Defense Minister Ri Yong-gil has been promoted to the country's third-highest military rank of vice marshal in a major reshuffle, its state media said Friday. The latest shakeup appears intended to boost morale and unity among top-echelon officers as the North marks the 110th birth anniversary of its late national founder Kim Il-sung. "A relevant decision was issued by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea on April 14," the official Korean Central

April 15, 2022

Inter-Korean relations cannot be normalized without denuclearization efforts: nominee

The unification minister nominee said Thursday that progress toward denuclearization was essential to normalizing inter-Korean relations, but he would strive to create new momentum for dialogue to that end. Rep. Kwon Young-se, the four-term lawmaker of the People Power Party, said the denuclearization process by itself is the “same path to normalize inter-Korean relations,” reiterating that the steps should be taken simultaneously and in parallel. The unification minister nominee e

April 14, 2022

N. Korea marks late founder's birth anniv. with completion of riverside apartments

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of a construction project of riverside apartments in Pyongyang ahead of its late founder's birth anniversary, state media said Thursday. During the ceremony held the previous day, Kim said that he misses his late grandfather Kim Il-sung "more than ever" as the luxurious residential district has been built at a site related to him on the occasion of his birth anniversary, according to the official Korean Ce

April 14, 2022

N. Korea promotes six commanding officers to 'general' for late founder's birth anniversary

Six North Korean military officials have been promoted to the rank of four-star general at the order of leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of the 110th birth anniversary of late national founder Kim Il-sung, state media reported Thursday. The announcement came on the eve of the anniversary, one of the country's biggest celebrations, apparently aimed at rallying unity within the military amid heightened regional tensions. Kim has conferred the title of general to former Defense Minister Kim Jong-

April 14, 2022