‘Truth will be concealed’: Family of man killed by N. Korea fights plan to block record release

In an escalating legal battle, the family of a South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korean troops filed an appeal asking the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to stop the Moon Jae-in administration’s plan to archive information related to the case as part of the presidential record.  Once archived, the information would not be released to the public for as long as 15 years.　 The official, 47, was shot dead and his body set ablaze near the western sea border at around 9:

April 13, 2022

Unification minister nominee is veteran lawmaker & former Ambassador to China

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday nominated Rep. Kwon Young-se, a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker with four National Assembly terms and former ambassador to China, as Unification Minister. Kwon is a close and trusted confidant of Yoon and was named vice-chairman of the presidential transition committee after he took the helm of Yoon’s campaign team as the leader. They also studied law together at Seoul National University. The appointment has been largely viewed as Yoon’s reso

April 13, 2022

Drones, cyberattacks suggested as deterrence against NK nukes at Seoul forum

A South Korean government researcher on Wednesday floated the idea of using drones, cyberattacks and high-power microwave (HPM) weapons to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Speaking at a security forum, Cho Nam-hoon of the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses stressed the need to devise various contingency measures, including building "left-of-launch" capabilities to defeat a North Korean attack even before its launch. His proposal followed a recent report by

April 13, 2022

N. Korea uses space program to disguise ballistic missile development: US military intelligence

WASHINGTON -- North Korea uses its space program as a disguise to test and advance its ballistic missile capabilities, a US military intelligence report said Tuesday. The report also noted the North may be trying to acquire space and weapons technologies by hacking into aerospace companies. "North Korea has placed two satellites in orbit and has articulated further space ambitions. Its space program has also enabled testing of technology used in ballistic missiles under the guise of peacefu

April 13, 2022

N. Korean leader celebrates completion of major housing project in Pyongyang

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of a major housing project in the country's capital, state media reported Tuesday. The event was to mark the completion of 10,000 apartments and an 80-floor skyscraper in the Songsin and Songhwa areas of Pyongyang, and a major street with "public catering facilities," according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim did not deliver a speech in person while warmly waving to the cheering crowd

April 12, 2022

N. Korea says forest fire broke out in Mount Kumgang area over weekend

North Korea said Tuesday a forest fire broke out on Mount Kumgang in the eastern Kangwon Province over the weekend, damaging hundreds of hectares of forests and facilities. The fire started at about 3:20 p.m. Saturday on a hill near Kuryong Pool of Mount Kumgang and the Kosong Port Golf Course in the border county of Kosong, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). All available firefighters were immediately mobilized, and the fire was extinguished the next day at 11:

April 12, 2022

N. Korea opens new exhibition hall to mark 10th anniv. of Kim's leadership

North Korea opened a new exhibition hall at a major museum in Pyongyang to mark the 10th anniversary of its leader Kim Jong-un's rise to power, state media reported Monday, amid efforts to tout his leadership. At the Korean Revolution Museum, the North displayed photos and videos of Kim's major "achievements of immortal leadership" since his pledge to build a responsible nuclear weapons state at a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May 2016, the official Korean Central News Agenc

April 11, 2022

China warns that US-led sanctions campaign could add ‘fuel to fire’

China’s top nuclear envoy criticized the US-led initiative to use UN sanctions as a tool to hold North Korea responsible for continuing banned ballistic missile launches, warning that it could be “adding fuel to the fire.” Liu Xiaoming, special representative of the Chinese government on Korean Peninsula affairs, voiced opposition in a series of talks with the US senior officials over the situation on the Korean Peninsula during a rare trip to Washington between April 4 to 7.

April 10, 2022

Restoration work ongoing at N.Korea's nuclear test site: report

North Korea appears to be continuing restoration work at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, including the construction of a tunnel entrance, a new report said, amid concerns that the secretive state may be pushing for another nuclear experiment. Commercial satellite imagery taken between March 24 and April 6 indicates continued activity at the site's Tunnel 3, such as new spoil piles and a newly uncovered entrance, according to the report released by the Vienna-based Open Nuclear Network. "T

April 8, 2022

Jim Rogers hopes for open inter-Korean border

US investor Jim Rogers is in the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which includes a portion of the Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea, where he was previously tapped to become an inter-Korean project cooperation adviser. Rogers arrived in South Korea on Tuesday and was scheduled to sign the related agreement the following day. In an email interview Wednesday, Rogers expressed hopes for possible peace and exchanges despite the ongoing tug-of-war between the two countries, in

April 7, 2022

S. Korea views N. Korea’s warning to use nuclear weapons as ‘existential threat’

South Korea’s Unification Ministry views North Korea’s recent warning that it would strike South Korean conventional forces with nuclear weapons as an “existential threat,” while keeping close tabs on potential accidental conflicts between the two Koreas. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful younger sister, on Tuesday warned that the country will inevitably use nuclear weapons to “annihilate” South Korean conventional forces if South

April 6, 2022

N. Korea warns it will ‘annihilate’ S. Korea with nuclear weapons if attacked

North Korea warned that it will inevitably use nuclear weapons to “annihilate” South Korean forces if South Korea chooses a military confrontation and launches a preemptive attack. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister, issued another but detailed press statement on Tuesday to censure South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook’s remarks at an event marking the reinforcement of the Army Missile Strategic Command. Suh said the South Korean military &

April 5, 2022

N. Korea has large arsenal of 'theater-class' missiles: US commander

North Korea has a large number of "theater-class" missiles with a desire to develop a "credible" missile threat, a US commander has said, casting the recalcitrant regime as a strategic security challenge. Adm. Charles Richard, head of the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), made the assessment in a written statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense prior to a closed-door hearing on Tuesday (US time). "The DPRK previously tested ICBM class missiles desig

April 5, 2022

US to cultivate options in waters near Korea over Pyongyang's provocation: Pacific commander

The United States has more room to maneuver in waters around the Korean Peninsula to help deter further provocations by North Korea and will continue to cultivate such options, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet said Monday. Adm. Samuel Paparo also said North Korea's recent missiles launches are "deeply, deeply concerning." "We are cultivating some options for a demonstration of our bilateral commitment to the security, the stability and the well being of the Republic of Korea,

April 5, 2022

Two Koreas hold daily liaison call despite Pyongyang's renewed threat

The South Korean government called Monday on North Korea to refrain from escalating tensions in the region, responding to the latest statement, directed at Seoul, by Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korea's leader. "The Ministry of Unification clearly points out that North Korea should not cause additional tension on the Korean Peninsula in any case," the ministry's spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told a regular press briefing. The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs,

April 4, 2022

North Korea warns Seoul of ‘serious threat’ at defense minister’s remarks

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, denounced South Korea’s defense chief, Suh Wook, for his remarks over the nation’s missile capabilities, warning that Seoul may face “serious threats.”　 Kim, the vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, is a key figure in the Kim family regime, serving her brother Kim Jong-un closely. “(Suh) is a confrontation maniac,” Kim said in an English-la

April 3, 2022

Kim Yo-jong slams S. Korean minister's talk of 'preemptive strike,' warns of serious consequence

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lambasted South Korea's defense chief for talk of "preemptive strike" capabilities and warned that the South may face a "serious threat" for such a "senseless" remark, according to Pyongyang's state media Sunday. In her rare press statement issued the previous day, Kim Yo-jong called South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook a "senseless and scum-like guy" for mentioning a preemptive strike at a "nuclear wea

April 3, 2022

N. Korea continues to develop nuclear capability while evading UN

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to advance its nuclear capabilities last year despite its border closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to "historically low levels" of goods and people entering or leaving the country, a UN Security Council panel of experts said in its annual report, released Friday. The panel, however, said Pyongyang also continued to seek materials and technology for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs from overseas by evading UN Security C

April 2, 2022

COVAX cuts all COVID-19 vaccines allocated for N. Korea: global charity

North Korea no longer has COVID-19 vaccines allocated for its people under the COVAX Facility initiative, an international group co-leading the vaccine-sharing program confirmed Friday. The announcement came amid a protracted setback in shipment-related efforts apparently attributable to lack of cooperation from the country's reclusive regime. "COVAX has no concrete allocations for DPRK currently," a spokesperson for the Gavi vaccine alliance told Yonhap News Agency, using the acronym

April 1, 2022

NK leader urges 'ideological offensive' by propaganda officials

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took a commemorative photo in person with the participants of a workshop of the ruling party's propaganda officials and called for accelerated "revolution through a powerful ideological offensive," according to the country's state media Friday. Apparently, Kim paid keen attention to the workshop, which opened in Pyongyang on Monday and brought together officials in the "information field" of the Workers' Party of Korea. He sent a letter to the

April 1, 2022