North Korea's state media said Sunday that it has lifted the quarantine placed on some 3,600 people over new coronavirus concerns. Around 3,650 people under quarantine have been released as of Thursday, including some 1,020 in Kangwon Province and 2,630 in Chagang Province, according to the North's radio broadcaster, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station. In mid-February, North Korea doubled the quarantine period for people at risk of being exposed to the virus to a month as it stepped up

North Korea on Saturday slammed five European nations for taking issue with its recent projectile firings, saying that it is "unreasonable" to criticize a sovereign country's ordinary military training. On Thursday, Belgium, Britain, Estonia, France and Germany issued a statement, calling North's firings of two projectiles, presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles, on Monday a provocation that violated UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea's media claimed that the launche

North Korean media have not reported yet on a personal letter that leader Kim Jong-un sent to South Korean President Moon Jae-in this week in a surprise conciliatory gesture amid long-stalled relations between the two sides. Kim sent the letter on Wednesday to express his support for South Korea's fight against the new coronavirus, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the following day. In return, Moon sent a response letter to thank Kim for his support, the office added. But North Kore

WASHINGTON -- The United States stands ready to resume denuclearization negotiations with North Korea as soon as possible and hopes to hear back from the regime, a senior US official said Thursday. Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, made the comment during a press briefing marking the 50th anniversary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Despite three meetings between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, denucl

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a personal letter to President Moon Jae-in to express his support for South Korea to overcome the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. In the letter, delivered to Moon on Wednesday, Chairman Kim consoled South Koreans fighting the virus and wished for their good health, according to Yoon Do-han, Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication. "The North's leader said he will quietly support South Korea's fight a

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, denounced the South Korean government for its “grave concerns” over the North’s recent rocket launches, saying they were part of routine self-defense exercises. It was the first time she had publicly addressed the South. She called Cheong Wa Dae “mentally challenged” and likened it to a “frightened dog” in a statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday. Cheong Wa Dae

Pyongyang’s propaganda media outlets lashed out at South Korea’s latest hit TV drama series and a film dealing with North Korea, calling them an “unacceptable and atrocious provocation.”   　 “Recently, South Korean authorities and film producers are releasing anti-republic films and TV dramas that are deceptive, fabricated, absurd and impure, putting all their efforts on making strategic propaganda,” the North said via an editorial published by online p

The two short-range projectiles North Korea fired into the East Sea on Monday were super-large-caliber rockets, a test Kim Jong-un oversaw with “great satisfaction,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday, releasing the launch photos. In Monday’s launch, the North revealed improved rockets in its fifth run since an initial test in September the previous year. The two projectiles were fired some 20 seconds apart, as compared with 17 minutes in September. 

North Korea fired two short-range projectiles into the East Sea between South Korea and Japan on Monday afternoon, the Ministry of National Defense said. They flew approximately 240 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 35 kilometers from Wonsan, along the North’s eastern coast. Pending further analysis, the projectiles could be ballistic missiles. The launches were an extension of the annual strike drills Pyongyang conducted Friday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “We

North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the first such launches since it warned of "a new strategic weapon" earlier this year. The projectiles were fired from areas near its eastern coast city of Wonsan on Monday afternoon, the JCS said in a brief release. Other details, including their type, flight range and altitude, were not immediately available. "Our military is monitoring the situation in

North Korea's main newspaper warned senior officials against corruption Monday, just days after leader Kim Jong-un fired a top Workers' Party official in a move seen as aimed in part at allaying public grievances amid deepening economic woes. On Saturday, state media reported that Kim had presided over an expanded politburo meeting and dismissed Ri Man-gon and another official from the vice chairman posts of the Party Central Committee while disbanding the committee's cadre training base over

North Korea has placed an additional 3,900 people under medical monitoring for apparently showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, its official newspaper said Sunday, raising the number of suspected patients to nearly 7,000 in the country that has yet to confirm a case. The Rodong Sinmun said about 2,420 people in South Pyongan Province and 1,500 more in Gangwon Province are being medically monitored to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. Last Monday, the Korean Central Broadcas

  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised a joint strike drill of his military, expressing his firm conviction that the armed forces will steadily develop its combat capability, state media said Friday. Kim attended the drill held Friday "to judge the mobility and the fire power strike ability of the defense units on the front and in the eastern area," according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim expressed "his admiration for the combat capability of the units

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and discussed coronavirus prevention measures, including strengthening testing and quarantine efforts, state media said Saturday. North Korea has yet to report a case of COVID-19 but has intensified its preventive efforts across the country, calling its fight against the virus is a "political matter" that will determine the fate of the country. "In case the infectious disease spreadin

Provided the COVID-19 outbreak is under control by October, North Korea could stage a military provocation, such as a satellite launch, to mark the founding anniversary of its Workers’ Party, said Ankit Panda, a senior editor at The Diplomat. Speaking on Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Panda said October would be a critical moment for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who appears eager to insert himself onto the US political agenda ahead of the 2020 US presidential election in November. Pan