North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun made field inspection visits to economic sites, state media said Tuesday, confirming that he has been spared from a recent reshuffle carried out to fire officials responsible for causing a "crucial case" in the country's fight against the coronavirus. Kim, also a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, "inspected several units concerning the national economy" and saw preparations to pre

North Korea is faced with greater volatility in foreign exchange rates and prices of goods, the unification ministry said Monday, amid economic challenges fueled by the protracted coronavirus pandemic. "The government is keeping an eye on the volatility of major economic indices, including the prices of goods and currency exchange," Lee Jong-joo, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "We believe that such indices have become more volatile recently," sh

North Korea has not been cooperating with a United Nations-led global vaccine distribution program, failing to complete necessary paperwork to receive help against the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Sunday. Citing an anonymous source, Voice of America (VOA) reported on talks between North Korea and Gavi, a vaccine alliance that helps run COVAX, an international initiative aimed at global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. According to the report, North Korea has completed only two of the

North Koreans surpassed South Koreans in the Test of English as a Foreign Language, one of the leading English language proficiency tests, last year, a report showed Saturday. According to a report from the U.S.-based Education Testing Service, the administrator of TOEFL, the average score in the internet-based TOEFL by North Korean nationals was 87 out of 120 in 2020. North Koreans' average TOEFL score, up four points from 2019, was the same as the global average and one point higher than S

The unification ministry on Friday said it is not aware of anything in connection with a news report that President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanged letters to discuss the possibility of a video summit. On Friday, a local newspaper reported that Moon and Kim exchanged personal letters and discussed ways to resume inter-Korean talks via a virtual summit around the time of Moon's summit meeting with US President Biden in May. "We do not know in regard to the conten

North Korea's No. 2 leader Choe Ryong-hae presided over a key Workers' Party meeting, state media said Friday, confirming that he survived a recent reshuffle carried out to sack officials responsible for causing a "crucial case" in the country's fight against the coronavirus. Choe, president of the presidium of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), convened the 15th plenary meeting of the standing committee at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, the official Korean Central News Agenc

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have carried out a reshuffle of top officials at a recent politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, a unification ministry official said Thursday. State media earlier reported that Kim discussed "an organizational issue," including the election of new politburo members and a secretary of the party's Central Committee, at the extended politburo meeting of the party on Tuesday. It did not provide details on those newly elected. "The

WASHINGTON -- The United States is aware of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's remarks about a serious incident with regard to the North's fight against the new coronavirus, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, however, offered no immediate US plans to provide humanitarian assistance, including COVID-19 vaccine, to the impoverished North. "We are certainly aware of the report -- what Kim Jong-un has said -- but we

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to elevate relations with China to a new strategic point as he sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, state media said Thursday. In an apparent reference to the deepening Sino-US rivalry, Kim also said in the message that "hostile forces" are engaged in "vicious slander and all-round pressure" upon China, but they can "never check the on-going adva

Fifty-seven newly arrived North Korean defectors were admitted to the government-run resettlement education center in the first half of the year, an 85 percent drop from a year earlier amid the North's anti-coronavirus border closure, an official said Wednesday. During the same period last year, 380 North Korean defectors entered the Hanawon resettlement center. "The number of people entering Hanawon fell sharply as countries took antivirus measures, including blocking arrivals and restri

North Korea's state-run radio called Wednesday for greater efforts to minimize damage from flooding and heavy rains as the country braces for the summer monsoon season that wrought havoc on major farming areas last year. "All sectors in all areas must come up with preemptive measures to cope with the upcoming rainy season to prevent even the slightest damage," the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said. This year's monsoon season is expected to start affecting Nort

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said a "crucial case" has happened that could threaten the safety of his people and country in nationwide anti-epidemic efforts, state media reported Wednesday, spurring speculation that a coronavirus outbreak could have hit parts of the country. Kim made the remarks as he presided over an extended politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on Tuesday, accusing senior officials of neglecting their duties in carrying out measures needed to fight the

The United Nations provided $5.9 million to North Korea last year to tackle the country‘s severe food shortage and for its COVID-19 response, UN data showed Tuesday. 　 The Central Emergency Response Fund, a global humanitarian fund established by the UN, said it allocated $5 million to the North in June last year to “tackle severe food insecurity and undernutrition,” in its 2020 annual report. The amount is earmarked for 3.59 million people in the country, it said. 　 

North Korea's official newspaper said Tuesday that the site for riverside apartments now under construction in Pyongyang is where a special residence was once located for late state founder Kim Il-sung. In March, North Korea unveiled a plan to build around 800 "terraced apartments" along the Pothong River running through Pyongyang as "gifts" to "working people, including labor innovators and persons of distinguished services in all sectors, scientists, educators and wri

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is continuing his quest to tighten his grip on his country, and to create an image of it as a “normal state.” His new title as of 2021, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, reflects this. On June 29, 2016, Kim was named chairman of the newly established State Affairs Commission, the regime’s top branch of government and policymaking. The SAC replaced the National Defense Commission, the all-powerful