Spy agency rules out health issues with Kim Jong-un

The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday called for international cooperation to improve North Korea's food situation, raising concerns over a "growing threat" from extreme weather caused by climate change. WFP Executive Director David Beasley made the remarks in a video keynote speech at a seminar in the northeastern county of Yanggu, referring to a series of droughts and floods that impacted North Korea's crop yields last year. "We stand ready to respond to these

North Korea rebuked the United States and other western nations Thursday for having double standards on human rights and racism, taking issue with their absence from a recent symbolic UN meeting. In a note posted on the foreign ministry's website, North Korea criticized the US, Britain and others for not taking part in a high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly last month to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action that calls for racial justice.

North Korea has completed building 1,000 more houses in the northwestern city of Samjiyon near the border with China, state media reported Thursday, as part of a major development project under way at the birthplace of leader Kim Jong-un's late father. "Shock brigade" members of the 216 Division "made the shining achievements of concluding the construction of all the dwelling houses they were tasked to fulfill," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (K

Washington and Seoul appear to be on different trajectories on the matter of declaring a formal end to the Korean War, with a top US security official saying the allies could have “different perspectives” on the timing and conditions. 　 US national security adviser Jake Sullivan made the remarks Tuesday (US time) amid Seoul’s renewed push to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, as a way to nudge Pyongyang back to talks and ultimately to convince the regime to aband

South Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday it will host a forum this week on the peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. The event will take place at a hotel in the northeastern county of Yanggu on Thursday, with World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley set to deliver a keynote speech by video, according to the ministry. The DMZ, which is about 250 kilometers long and 4 km wide, is one of the world's most heavily fortified borders, with the r

North Korea has held a Cabinet meeting and urged officials to put utmost efforts to accomplish the country's five-year economic development plan, state media reported Wednesday. The enlarged plenary meeting of the Cabinet took place via video links the previous day, chaired by Premier Kim Tok-hun, with Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun making a report on the country's economic performance, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During the meeting, Pak analyzed deficiencie

North Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on around 42,000 people but found no infections, a World Health Organization (WHO) report showed Tuesday. A total of 678 North Koreans underwent testing for the virus from Oct. 8-14, but all were found negative, according to the WHO's COVID-19 weekly situation report Of the newly tested North Koreans, 113 people had flu-like illness or acute respiratory infections, while the rest were healthcare workers, it said. The latest testing brings the total

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said the North's close ties with China are "sealed in blood" and will further strengthen for generations as he marked the anniversary of China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, state media reported Tuesday. Kim sent a remembrance wreath to a cemetery of fallen Chinese soldiers in Hoechang, South Pyongan Province, on Monday on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of China's dispatching of troops to the three-year war, according to the Korea

A declaration to formally end the Korean War is the most symbolic move that Seoul could take to show Pyongyang that neither Washington nor Seoul have a “hostile policy” toward the regime and revive the stalled denuclearization talks, South Korea‘s chief nuclear envoy said Monday. 　   　 Noh Kyu-duk, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark at a forum organized by the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank a

Donald Gregg, a former US ambassador to South Korea, stressed that the United States should take a more proactive approach to resume talks with North Korea and break the impasse in the Korean peace process. Gregg, who served in the South Korean embassy from 1989 to 1993 and is known for expertise on regional security issues, said the Joe Biden administration is in a more advantageous position than the Kim Jong-un regime and that's why Washington should first reach out to Pyongyang. "I hop

North Korea and China will continue their "invincible" friendly relations for a "common cause," the North's official newspaper said Monday, marking the 71st anniversary of China's participation in the Korean War. Rodong Sinmun, an official newspaper of the North's Workers' Party of Korea, vowed for the continuation of the ties between the two socialist countries forged during the three-year war. "The invincible friendship (between the North and China) established by bl

South Korea's spy agency said Sunday media reports of North Korean leader's sister succeeding coup against her brother are not true at all. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) dismissed reports that claimed Kim Yo-jong ousted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after a coup. A separate government official also said such reports are not true. Citing a report from US-based tabloid "Globe," some news outlets here said Kim Yo-jong staged a coup between May 6 and June 5, and removed Kim

A North Korean media outlet on Sunday slammed the United States for its recent proposal to create a new working-level defense dialogue with South Korea, accusing Washington of seeking to raise military pressure on Pyongyang. The US floated the idea of instituting the unofficial dialogue platform during the allies' regular defense talks in Seoul last month, sources have said, as Washington is pushing to rally its democratic allies to counter China's growing assertiveness. Meari, a North Korean

North Korea on Saturday blasted the United States for causing military tension with China by meddling in Taiwan affairs. Pak Myong-ho, the North’s vice foreign minister, also accused the US of trying to topple both Beijing and Pyongyang. “This year alone, the US dispatched all kinds of battleships into the Taiwan Straits on the plea of ‘freedom of navigation’ whenever occasion called. Some time ago, it even mobilized a battleship of its ally only to escalate tension in