North Korea on Monday celebrated the sixth anniversary of what it claims to be a major satellite launch, its state media said, highlighting Pyongyang's resolve for the "conquest of space." The commemoration of the 2016 Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite launch came amid concerns that the North could conduct provocative acts, such as a long-range rocket test disguised as a satellite launch, following its veiled threat last month to lift a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. &q

North Korea stayed mum on a much-anticipated meeting of the country's rubber-stamp parliament Monday, a day after it was supposed to take place, spawning speculation the event might have been delayed. The 6th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) was to be held Sunday to discuss issues that included the state budget and tasks for this year, according to Pyongyang's state media, but they have yet to report on the opening of the event as of Monday morning. The North's official medi

North Korea continued to expand its nuclear and missile programs last year despite international sanctions, while the regime relied on cryptocurrency heists as its key revenue source, according to a news report Sunday. 　 A United Nations panel of experts monitoring sanctions on Pyongyang said the regime “continued to develop its capability for production of nuclear fissile materials,” despite no reported nuclear tests or launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles last year, in

North Korea might be indirectly supplied with Iranian crude oil through China, the US Congressional Research Service said in a recently published report, without further details. The report identified that North Korea “has not pledged to abide by international sanctions against Iran,” adding Pyongyang has similarly been “subject to significant international sanctions.” The CRS notably pointed to potential illicit connections between Tehran and Pyongyang in the “

North Korea has convened a national response committee to prepare emergency measures against natural disasters, including typhoons and floods, according to its state media Friday, as the impoverished country stated plans to focus this year on developing its agriculture sector. In the session chaired by Premier Kim Tok-hun the previous day, the members of the ad hoc committee for natural disaster prevention and response reviewed last year's related measures and analyzed what can be improved, the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to congratulate China on the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, highlighting the "invincible strategic relations" between the two countries, Pyongyang's state media reported. An opening ceremony for the Feb. 4-20 competition was to be held in the Chinese capital later in the day, although North Korea is not taking part in the Winter Games following the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s

Galloping through forest atop a white horse, Kim Jong-un stars in a new North Korean propaganda video that touts his economic leadership but ignores a recent spate of sanctions-busting missile launches. Pyongyang started the year by conducting a record seven weapons tests, including firing its most powerful missile since 2017, raising fears Kim could restart long-range or nuclear testing. But the government-produced documentary released this week highlights Kim's struggle to right the country'

The South Korean government is seeking to establish a new office in a city along the China-North Korea border to facilitate inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, amid signs that the North may relax its pandemic border closure soon. 　 The South-North Korea Exchanges and Cooperation Support Association, which is run by the Unification Ministry, plans to open its first overseas bureau in a Chinese city near the border with North Korea, the ministry said Thursday. 　 “There are many private

South Korea is keeping close tabs on an upcoming session of North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature over possible messages from its leader Kim Jong-un, a Seoul official said Thursday, following Pyongyang's barrage of missile tests since the start of the year. The North's official Korean Central News Agency earlier reported the country will convene the 6th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on Sunday to discuss issues including "the work of the Cabinet" and the state bu

A United Nations Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions has approved a sanctions exemption for a civic organization here to send anti-coronavirus equipment to the impoverished nation, according to its website Thursday. Under the decision, the first of its kind for the North this year, the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Research Center will be exempt from UN sanctions in place for a shipment of 20 thermal imaging cameras there as part of efforts to help Pyongyang stave off the sp

US requests UN Security Council to hold consultations on IRBM missile launch

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, have attended an art performance marking Lunar New Year's Day, Pyongyang's state media reported Wednesday. It marks Ri's first public appearance since last September when the couple visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim's late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung, and his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il lie in state. Kim and Ri, along with senior North Korean officials, watched the performance

North Korea announced on Monday it had employed a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile in its test a day earlier. “The test-fire of Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate and long-range ballistic missile was conducted under a plan of the Academy of Defense Science, the Second Economy Commission and other related institutions,” said the North‘s official Korean Central News Agency.  “The launch was to verify the overall accuracy of the weapon syst

The Lunar New Year or Seollal is one of the two most important and celebrated traditional holidays in South Korea. But, though both halves of the peninsula share many aspects of culture, nearly 77 years of division between the two Koreas have led to divergent holiday traditions. In North Korea, the significance of socialist holidays, including the birth anniversaries of the late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the national foundation day on Sept. 9, and the party foundation day on Oct.

President Moon Jae-in has said that North Korea’s launch of an “intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)” on Sunday morning amounts to a “breach of UN Security Council resolutions" and a “challenge” to the international community’s efforts to ensure peace on the Korean peninsula. In an emergency National Security Council meeting, Moon made the remarks as he called on Pyongyang to stop adding pressure and tension and return to the dialogue table,