North Korea has reported to the World Health Organization that the country has seen no cases of the coronavirus after more than 56,000 people have undergone tests so far, WHO data showed Tuesday. The North has claimed it has remained coronavirus-free since the pandemic began two years ago. According to the latest WHO statistics, 56,227 North Koreans have been tested for COVID-19 so far, but none of them were found to be infected. Of the about 1,300 people tested between Jan. 11-17, 110 showed sy

The United States and nine other member countries of the UN Security Council on Monday condemned North Korea's recent missile launch while urging Pyongyang to engage in sustained dialogue. The call came in a joint press conference that followed a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss issues including North Korea's latest missile test. "The DPRK's February 27 (local time) launch of a ballistic missile is yet another example of the DPRK's recent pattern of destabilizing be

Pyongyang seems to move closer to launching an ICBM or satellite, analysts say

North Korea's ballistic missile launch this week appears aimed at demonstrating its policy line of "power for power" and grabbing global attention amid the armed conflict in Ukraine, South Korea's defense minister said Monday. Suh Wook made the remarks during a hastily assembled meeting of top commanders, following Sunday's missile launch that the North claimed to be a test for developing a "reconnaissance satellite." Pyongyang unveiled its policy principle of "power for

Participants in an ongoing gathering of North Korea's ruling party officials have acknowledged "shortcomings" in implementing party tasks and pledged to improve them, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday. The 2nd Conference of Secretaries of Primary Committees of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the first since late 2016, opened Saturday, as the North appears intent to tighten discipline and unity among party ranks amid economic woes aggravated by sanctions and pandemic-driven res

North Korea claimed Monday to have carried out an "important test" for developing a "reconnaissance satellite" despite South Korea's characterization of it as a ballistic missile launch. Sunday's test came amid concerns the North could fire a long-range rocket under the disguise of a satellite launch or conduct other provocative acts following its veiled threat last month to suspend its voluntary moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests. &qu

Senior South Korean and US government officials handling North Korea affairs had phone consultations Sunday on Pyongyang's latest missile test, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his American counterpart Sung Kim shared their assessments of the North's move and expressed "deep concern and regret," it said. Earlier in the day, the North lobbed a ballistic missile into the East Sea in its eighth show of

The presidential National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday expressed grave regret over North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile, calling for Pyongyang to immediately stop acts that threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula. National security adviser Suh Hoon presided over the NSC meeting, shortly after North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile that marked the North's eighth show of force this year. NSC members "expressed deep concern and grave regret over North Korea's launch of a b

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, in the recalcitrant regime's eighth show of force this year. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:52 a.m., and that the missile flew about 300 kilometers at a top altitude of 620 km. The latest launch, the first in just under a month, came 10 days ahead of South Korea's presidential election and amid the armed conflict in Ukraine

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has expressed gratitude for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's messages about the Beijing Winter Olympics and voiced hopes for developing the two nation's friendly ties, the North's state media said Saturday. Xi sent a letter Monday to the North's leader to deliver his thanks to Kim for having sent congratulatory messages for the opening and the "successful" closing of the Winter Games, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Xi said Kim's

North Korea has been rated as one of the worst countries in terms of freedom, a recent report by a US-funded freedom watchdog showed Friday. In an annual Freedom House report titled, "Freedom in the World 2022," the North received a combined freedom score of 3 out of 100 -- zero points for political rights and 3 points for civil liberties. It ranked only above Turkmenistan at 2 points, and South Sudan and Syria with just 1 point each among 195 countries assessed by the organization. Th

The Vietnamese government is closely monitoring bank accounts of North Koreans in the country as part of efforts to implement UN sanctions against Pyongyang, an international organization's report showed Thursday. The Southeast Asian country has taken proactive measures against Pyongyang's activities prohibited under UN Security Council sanctions, according to an evaluation report on Vietnam's steps to combat money laundering released by the Financial Action Task Force. Based in Paris, the organ

UN rapporteur calls for providing 60 million COVID vaccine doses to N. Korea

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province — Four years ago this week, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics came to a grand finale. During the Games, South and North Korea enjoyed a moment of peace, with athletes from either side of the Demilitarized Zone marching together during the opening and closing ceremony. It was here in Gangwon Province that the two Koreas also fielded a unified team for the first time in Olympics history, with their joint women’s hockey team. 　 Preceded by a year of nuclear

The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has reduced the amount of COVID-19 vaccines allocated for North Korea, a UN website showed Tuesday, apparently canceling a batch of jabs developed by a US company, in a move seen attributable to the lack of a response from Pyongyang. A total of 1.29 million vaccines have been allocated to the North, according to the UN Children's Fund's COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard, down 252,000 from the previous 1.54 million doses as of earlier th