North Korea has the capability to genetically engineer biological military products, an annual US report showed Monday, noting Pyongyang has a "dedicated, national-level offensive" biological weapons program. The State Department issued the report, titled "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments." It was prepared in consultation with the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Diplomats from South Korea and the United States held a new session of their bilateral dialogue on North Korean human rights in Washington on Monday, as the two sides see a close link between Pyongyang's weapons programs and its rights conditions. Chun Young-hee, director general for the Korean Peninsula peace regime at Seoul's foreign ministry, and Julie Turner, the US special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, led the second session of the dialogue that was relaunched in Nov

North Korean state media referred to the birthday of North Korean late founder Kim Il-sung as the Day of the Sun on Monday after stopping using the term in recent weeks while calling it "the April holiday." Kim's birthday, April 15, has been revered as the Day of the Sun in North Korea and celebrated as one of the secretive country's most important national holidays, along with the birthday of his late son and successor Kim Jong-il in February. The North's founder died

North Korea has been intensifying high-level diplomatic exchanges with China and Russia, as evidenced by the visit of China's third-highest-ranking official to Pyongyang and the dispatch of ministers to Russia this week. China's No. 3 official, Zhao Leji, who arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday for a three-day visit to the neighboring country, met for a luncheon with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday. Th

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with China's top legislator, Zhao Leji, in Pyongyang and discussed ways to further deepen bilateral ties, the North's state media said Sunday. During the luncheon meeting held Saturday, Kim said Zhao's visit to Pyongyang is "of very weighty significance in demonstrating the invincibility of the DPRK-China friendship and further developing the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries as required by the times,&

China's top legislator Zhao Leji met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Saturday as they move to further strengthen bilateral ties, according to foreign news media. Zhao is the first high-ranking Chinese official to visit the North since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. In his meeting with the No. 3 official in the Chinese Communist Party, Kim said Pyongyang is "unwaveringly" committed to cementing and further developing its cooperative ties with B

High-ranking officials from North Korea and China attended the opening ceremony of the "year of DPRK-China friendship" in Pyongyang to bolster their ongoing relations, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday. Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress of China, attended the ceremony at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre on Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to mobilize all means to deal a "death-blow" to the country's enemy without hesitation should it opt for military confrontation with the North, state media said Thursday. Kim made the remark during his visit to the Kim Jong-il University of Military and Politics on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency said, calling the university named after Kim's late father a military training school for core commanding officers. "He said

Zhao Leji is highest-ranking Chinese official to travel to NK since COVID-19

North Korea has held a photo exhibition and a youth art festival to celebrate the upcoming 112th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung, state media reported Tuesday. Kim died of heart failure in 1994 at age 82, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong-il, to take over in communism's first hereditary succession of power. Despite the senior Kim's death, his birthday, April 15, is revered as the Day of Sun and is celebrated as one of the communist country's most important national holida

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message consoling Russian President Vladimir Putin over heavy floods that hit Russia's southern region, state media said Monday. Kim's message came in response to media reports that Russia declared a federal emergency after heavy floods in the country's Orenburg region forced thousands of people to evacuate. "Kim Jong-un, on behalf of the DPRK government and people and on his own behalf, extended deep consolation to the Russian presi

Regular communication between the two Koreas through cross-border hotlines has remained severed for one year as the North continues to be unresponsive to calls from the South amid increasingly frosty ties. The two Koreas used to hold routine calls twice a day -- once in the morning and the other in the afternoon -- via liaison and military hotlines, but the North has stopped answering calls from the South since April 7, 2023. The move came a day after Seoul called on Pyongyang to stop its unauth

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss an array of issues, including North Korean threats and the two countries' trilateral cooperation with South Korea, during their summit next week, a White House official said Wednesday. The two leaders are set to hold the summit on April 10 as Washington and Tokyo are stepping up defense cooperation amid growing security uncertainties stemming from North Korea's evolving military threats, China's growing assertiveness and

North Korea said Wednesday it has successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead, saying that all missiles the country has developed are now solid-fuel and nuclear capable with warhead control capability. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided the testing of the Hwasong-16 missile Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The South Korean military said Tuesday it detected the firing of an IRBM from the Pyongyang region and the miss

North Korea vowed Monday to push for space development and reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year after putting its first spy satellite into orbit in November. Following the launch of the Malligyong-1 last year after two failed attempts in May and August, respectively, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced during a year-end meeting the country plans to place three more spy satellites into orbit this year. "The successful launch of the reconnaissance s