North Korea is on high alert to contain the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus and is stepping up quarantine efforts, as the deadly respiratory virus that originated in China continues to spread across Asia and the world. 　 Pyongyang’s official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday said the government has taken emergency measures to prevent the virus from spreading in the country, as it shares a border with China. The newly identified respiratory virus has killed over 100 people in mainl

Satellite imagery has shown vehicle activity at a North Korean missile site on the outskirts of Pyongyang, which could signal the imminent launch of missiles or missile engine tests, CNN said Sunday, citing US defense officials familiar with the latest assessment. Vehicles have been spotted at the missile research center in recent days, but they are not believed to be fueling missiles. The US officials were uncertain whether the North was preparing to launch short or medium-range missiles or en

A total of 1,047 North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea last year, the lowest number in 18 years, according to data from the unification ministry on Monday. The total includes 202 males and 845 females. By quarter, 229 arrived in the first three months of the year, 320 in the second quarter, 226 in the third and the remaining 272 in the fourth, according to the data. The number of defectors arriving in the South rose after 2000 before peaking in 2009 at 2,914 people. Since current lead

Kim Kyong-hui, a once-powerful aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has made her first public appearance in more than six years, Pyongyang's state media showed Sunday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong-un attended a concert celebrating Lunar New Year's Day on Saturday at the Samjiyon Theater in Pyongyang with his wife, Ri Sol-ju. The KCNA, monitored in Seoul, added that Kim Kyong-hui, widow of Kim Jong-un's late uncle Jang Song-thaek, joined the leader and his wife

South Korea is considering providing financial support for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War to visit North Korea, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Saturday.Kim‘s remarks are in line with the government’s broader push to allow South Koreans to make individual trips to the North as a way to ease tensions and facilitate stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington.“The government is considering helping the elderly people with the cost of visit

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies spent $267,700 on one of its projects last year to help North Korea fight food shortages amid unfavorable weather conditions, the federation said in a recent report.The money was spent on deploying mobile water pumps, training farmers on the use and maintenance of the device and procuring spare parts in the face of little rainfall, it said in the final report on the operation to combat North Korea’s drought and food insec

North Korea placed last in a world democracy index in 2019 as it scored zero in electoral process and civil liberties, a report showed Saturday.The communist state ranked at the bottom among the 167 countries surveyed with the lowest score of 1.08 out of 10.00, according to the Democracy Index 2019 published this week by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of the British weekly The Economist.The North‘s ranking in the EIU index has not changed since the London-based age

The Global Fund, an organization set up to fight epidemic diseases, will provide $42 million to help North Korea fight tuberculosis and malaria, according to the Voice of America on Friday. In an email sent to the VOA on Thursday (US time), the Global Fund said it has agreed with Pyongyang over the financial support, and it began to make the payment of the fund to the North. The Switzerland-headquartered Global Fund has provided more than $100 million to North Korea to help cure those diagn

North Korea will send a delegation to the Munich Security Conference for the first time in the 56-year history of the top diplomatic gathering, organizers said Thursday.An MSC spokesperson confirmed that North Korean vice foreign minister Kim Son-gyong would attend next month's event.The announcement comes a month after Pyongyang declared it was abandoning moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.The self-imposed ban on tests had been the centerpiece of two years of nu

South Korea is keeping a close watch on North Korea over a possible meeting of its overseas diplomatic mission chiefs, a unification ministry official said Thursday, amid speculation Pyongyang could discuss its nuclear strategy during the session.Last week, top North Korean envoy to China Ji Jae-ryong and Ambassador to the UN Kim Song returned home. The North Korean ambassadors to Angola and Singapore were also seen at the Beijing airport on the same day, indicating a possible meeting scheduled

WASHINGTON -- The United States will continue "patient" diplomacy with North Korea to make clear that the regime needs to return to denuclearization talks, a senior State Department official said Wednesday.The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss last week's meetings involving the top diplomats of South Korea, the US and Japan. His remark suggests Washington is not willing to offer concessions to get Pyongyang back to the negotiation table."On North Kor

 Seoul appears to be looking to resume a joint railway project with Pyongyang as it seeks a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, amid halted nuclear negotiations between the US and North Korea. 　South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week called for a renewed drive on various inter-Korean projects, such as cooperation on the border area, a joint bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, an inter-Korean railway and road project and individual tourism. 　Ever since he floated plans for Seou

North Korean state media confirmed Wednesday the appointment of a military official who directed the construction of key tourism facilities as the country’s new defense minister.Kim Jong-gwan, vice minister of the People’s Armed Forces, was assumed to have replaced No Kwang-chol as the minister, as he was named an alternate member of the Workers’ Party politburo during a party meeting at the end of last month.The North’s Korean Central News Agency had disclosed a photo of

North Korea's official newspaper reported Wednesday on the outbreak of a new type of pneumonia-like illness in China, as a tour agency reported that the North has temporarily shut down its borders with China as a precaution.The new strain of coronavirus, also known as "Wuhan pneumonia," has killed at least six people and infected about 300 others in China alone, with countries such as the United States, Thailand, Japan and South Korea reporting its outbreak. North Korea has not reporte

North Korea's official news agency on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of a military official spearheading leader Kim Jong-un's key pet construction projects as the country's new defense minister.Kim Jong-gwan, vice minister of the People's Armed Forces, has been believed to have replaced No Kwang-chol as minister since he was named an alternate member of the politburo of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea during a key party meeting held at the end of December.On Wednesday, Pyongyang's offici