North Korea has shuttered two more diplomatic missions in Hong Kong and Libya, bringing down the global total from 46 to 44, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The additional shutdown, part of a series of such moves, followed the Foreign Ministry's earlier confirmation of Pyongyang's closure of embassies in seven countries: Guinea, Nepal, Bangladesh, Senegal, Spain, Angola, and Uganda, as of early December. The Hong Kong government's official website has officially

North Korea Jan. 30, 2024

The South Korean government on Tuesday urged Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa to "immediately retract" her claim of territorial sovereignty over Dokdo, which are South Korea's easternmost sovereign islets, in her parliamentary speech. "The government strongly protests against the repeated unjust territorial claims by the Japanese government regarding Dokdo, which is undeniably our distinct territory —historically, geographically, and under international law,"

Foreign Affairs Jan. 30, 2024

A Chinese cultural and art delegation hailing from the northeastern province of Liaoning arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, marking a revival in friendship events commemorating the Lunar New Year's holiday that had been paused the last few years. The cultural mission's visit represents the third publicly disclosed, high-profile exchange between the two countries in less than a week. The significant interactions coincide with the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment o

North Korea Jan. 30, 2024

Seoul will be home to the first-ever government-run center dedicated to shed light on the North Korean regime's human rights abuses and violations and enhance public awareness of the issue, the Unification Ministry announced Monday. The Yoon Suk Yeol government is actively working to establish an inaugural public center, forming a crucial component of its comprehensive strategy for addressing the harsh realities of the human rights situation in North Korea. The Unification Ministry official

North Korea Jan. 29, 2024

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday, marking the first high-level exchanges of the year as both countries commemorate the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. North Korea's state-run media on Friday reported the arrival of the delegation of the Chinese Foreign Ministry led by Sun via the city of Sinuiju, the capital of North Pyongan Province, but did not share any further details. The meeting notably followed a one-month interval since the

North Korea Jan. 26, 2024

North Korea-linked hackers carried out the largest number of cryptocurrency thefts in 2023, despite a decrease in the overall amount stolen, a US blockchain analysis firm reported Wednesday. The number of hacks surged to 20 in 2023, marking the "highest number on record" since 2016, according to an online report released by Chainalysis, headquartered in New York. The trend of cryptocurrency theft has steadily increased since 2020, with North Korea-associated hackers conducting five, ni

North Korea Jan. 25, 2024

South Korea and Russia are currently in a "turbulent" place, but the future will be different if Seoul takes steps to stabilize bilateral ties, according to the new Russian Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev. "We perceive that the ball is in the (South) Korean court. So, we are ready when our (South) Korean partners are ready," the ambassador in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Monday. "But, we are not going to enforce or try to impose any goodwill on our

Foreign Affairs Jan. 24, 2024

Kim Gunn, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, said North Korea's plan of severing inter-Korean exchanges would only hurt itself, as he attended a meeting with his counterparts from the United States and Japan in Seoul on Thursday to address a laundry list of urgent security issues. "Most recently, North Korea announced the plan to abolish agencies for inter-Korean exchanges. It also clings to the old playbook to shift blame to the ROK and the US," Kim said, referring to South Ko

Foreign Affairs Jan. 18, 2024

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States on Thursday pledged to resolutely counter the continuing illicit military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, emphasizing bilateral alignment and close coordination with the international community. South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn, and US Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak, met in Seoul, two days after a publicly disclosed meeting between Russian President Vladim

Foreign Affairs Jan. 18, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with the North Korean foreign minister in Moscow raised the possibility of his trip to Pyongyang, Wednesday, intensifying concerns about deepening bilateral military cooperation posing challenges to the international order. North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, on her first solo overseas trip since her promotion to the position in June 2022, made a three-day trip to Russia that began Monday. The Kremlin announced that Choe and Russia�

North Korea Jan. 17, 2024

Inter-Korean relations hit a new low as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the removal of all symbols of reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas, a highly volatile and intricate relationship that endured for over 50 years, despite changes in South Korean governments and hereditary power succession in North Korea. South Korea will also be designated as the "primary foe and invariable principal enemy" in the North Korean constitution by Kim's order on Monday, Nort

North Korea Jan. 16, 2024

North Korean state media on Monday claimed that the country had successfully test-fired a solid-fuel hypersonic missile with an intermediate-range for the first time on Sunday, the same day the country's foreign minister arrived in Russia. The South Korean military said it was evaluating North Korea's claim. Hypersonic missiles fly at lower altitudes, offering greater maneuverability up through the terminal phase, and travel at speeds of at least Mach 5, equivalent to five times the sp

North Korea Jan. 15, 2024

The primary strategic focus of the South Korean Foreign Ministry is to strengthen diplomatic capabilities to enhance economic security, especially at a time when security and the economy are intricately entwined amid the US-China tech rivalry, said newly appointed Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Friday. "I will seek to strengthen the capabilities of economic and security integrated diplomacy, aligning with the contemporary context where the US-China competition for technological hegemony ha

Foreign Affairs Jan. 12, 2024

South Korea raised the alarm at the UN Security Council that Russia's use of North Korean missiles has opened the door for North Korea to use Ukrainian territory as a "testing site of its nuclear-capable missiles," posing new security challenges. The 15-member Security Council convened Wednesday to discuss the grinding war in Ukraine after the US disclosed North Korea's illicit transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles t

Foreign Affairs Jan. 11, 2024

A united front of 48 countries, alongside the European Union, unequivocally expressed their condemnation in the "strongest possible terms" against North Korea's export of ballistic missiles and Russia's recent use of the ballistic missiles in the assault on war-torn Ukraine. The joint statement, featuring endorsements from foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, Japan, Ukraine, and other participating countries, was issued on Wednesday, Seoul time. "Our gove

Foreign Affairs Jan. 10, 2024