The North Korean defector who is presumed to have crossed the tense inter-Korean border to return home last week had received due resettlement support from the South Korean government, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday, amid reports he suffered economic difficulties after his defection. The man crossed the heavily fortified eastern border into the North over the weekend, about a year after he reached the South, also using an eastern front-line route in November 2020, according to the mi

Seoul has not yet found any indication of espionage

A former national security adviser to Donald Trump slammed Joe Biden’s foreign policy, saying North Korea is a year closer in perfecting its nuclear and ballistic missile technology as a result of Biden’s diplomacy on Pyongyang -- or lack thereof. 　 In an op-ed published by Washington-based news outlet the Hill on Sunday, John Bolton identified Iran and North Korea as the Biden administration’s nuclear proliferation failures in 2021. 　 Bolton, who championed a hawkish policy

South Korea's defense ministry said Monday the person that crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea over the weekend is presumed to be a North Korean defector. The ministry's statement came amid reports the man appears to be the one who crossed a barbed wire fence on the heavily fortified border to enter the South in November 2020. "Regarding the border crossing, the authorities presume the person is a North Korean defector and are in the process of verifying related facts

North Korea remains unresponsive after South Korea sent it a message about an unidentified person having crossed the eastern inter-Korean border over the weekend, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. On Sunday, South Korea sent the message through a western military communication line "in light of protecting our citizen," though it has yet to verify details about the person who crossed the heavily fortified border on Saturday night. The fate of the person was not immediately confirm

Pyongyang’s silence on S. Korea, US could indicate its agony, internal difficulties

South Korea’s military said Sunday that an unidentified person crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said an individual was spotted crossing the Military Demarcation Line at around 9:20 p.m. Saturday, through surveillance equipment installed in the border region. The JCS added it confirmed the person crossed the border at 10:40 p.m., some 80 minutes after the military immediately deployed its unit to locate the person. The J

The state human rights watchdog has rejected a petition accusing the government of a human rights violation over its decision to revoke the license of an anti-North Korea group of defectors for sending propaganda leaflets across the border, sources said Sunday. The petition was filed with the National Human Rights Commission in June last year after the unification ministry decided to revoke the license of Fighters for a Free North Korea and to file a criminal complaint against its head, Park Sa

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the mausoleum of his late grandfather and father in his first reported public activity this year, Pyongyang's state media said Sunday. Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of state founder and his grandfather Kim Il-sung and his father, Kim Jong-il, are enshrined, on the occasion of the start of the new year, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The visit to the mausoleum came after he unveiled this ye

North Korean officials noted the "growing instability" of the military situation on the peninsula and emphasized the importance of boosting the country's defense capabilities, as they had a major Workers' Party plenary earlier this week, according to Pyongyang's state media Saturday. The North, however, stopped short of providing the outside world with fresh clues to its key policies related to inter-Korean ties and denuclearization talks with the United States.  During the fiv

North Korea has discussed a draft resolution expected to be adopted at the close of an ongoing key party meeting, its state media reported Friday, amid expectations the document could include its foreign policy line for the new year. The North convened a fourth day of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's 8th Central Committee on Thursday, during which participants "concluded sectional workshops and consultative sessions," according to the official Korean Central News

North Korea had high-profile discussions on key policy issues for 2022 during a year-end plenary session of the Workers' Party, with senior officials, including those in charge of inter-Korean relations and foreign affairs in attendance, according to its state media Thursday. The North convened a third day of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the party's 8th Central Committee on Wednesday, during which "sectional workshops" continued from the previous day to "map out plans according to

Number of defectors contacting their families fell by almost a third

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over the second-day session of a key party plenary to discuss rural development measures, Pyongyang's state media reported Wednesday amid its drive to tackle nagging economic woes. During the meeting held Tuesday, Kim "set forth medium- and long-term development strategies and major tasks for attaining the grand goal of rural development in line with the realistic conditions and the requirement of the times," according to the North's offici

Pyongyang is likely to celebrate this year’s achievements in five-year plan