North Korea called Monday for loyalty to its leader Kim Jong-un and touted the monolithic leadership system as it marked the 50th anniversary of the announcement of the country's key guiding principle. In an editorial piece, the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, highlighted late leader Kim Jong-il's announcement in 1974 of the monolithic ideological principle of "Kimilsungism." "The sole leadership system bolsters our revolution and is also the dignity and

South Korea, the United States and Japan urged North Korea on Saturday to take "immediate" steps to end "all" human rights violations as they marked the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark UN report on the reclusive state's rights abuses. The three countries' missions to the United Nations released a joint statement commemorating the anniversary of the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry report that accused the North Korean regime of "systematic, widespread

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have skipped a visit to a mausoleum for his late father, Kim Jong-il, for yet another year on the occasion of the former leader's 82nd birthday. The North's Korean central News Agency reported Saturday that key officials, including Premier Kim Tok-hun and Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun the previous day. It did not carry any report on Kim's at

North Korea on Saturday accused South Korea and the United States of heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula with aerial reconnaissance activities. In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the North said that Seoul and Washington have been stepping up their "spying activities" this month, calling such a move a "stern provocation" against the country. The North claimed the countries attempted to secure information on the North's inner regions by con

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday said the regime is open to improving its relationship with Japan, including inviting the Japanese leader to Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong's remark came after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a speech last week that he feels a "strong need" to change the current relationship between Tokyo and Pyongyang, and that he is currently making related activities. In a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency, the si

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised the test-firing of a new surface-to-sea missile and ordered a tighter defense posture near the western maritime border, state media reported Thursday. North Korea test-launched the new missile, named Padasuri-6, on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency said. A day earlier, South Korea's military said the North fired several cruise missiles off the eastern port city of Wonsan. The KCNA said the missile hit a target after flying over waters i

NIS busts North Korean cyber criminal ring working for Pyongyang’s spy agency

North Korea's ruling party chief delegate has held talks with Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Russian media said, amid deepening bilateral ties in the military and other sectors. Kim Su-gil, an alternate member of the political bureau of the Workers' Party, met with Zyuganov on Tuesday at the Russian State Duma, the lower house of Russia's legislature, the RIA Novosti news agency said. During their meeting, Kim was quoted as saying that Pyongyang pays special atte

North Korea could undertake localized provocations this year, such as suddenly occupying a South Korean border island, a former senior Seoul official said Tuesday, amid concerns over the possibility of the North's saber-rattling ahead of the April parliamentary elections in the South. Speaking at a forum, Kim Sung-han, who served as President Yoon Suk Yeol's national security adviser from 2022-2023, noted that Pyongyang might undertake "peacetime" provocations that would fall

An estimated six million North Koreans have cellular phones as of 2021, a recently published report by a state-run think-tank said, indicating a wave of change among the people living under the oppressive regime. The Korea Institute for National Unification conducted a study on how distribution of mobile phones is affecting North Koreans' quality of life, in which they presumed that a little over 23 percent of some 25.7 million North Koreans own smartphones. The consensus was based on estim

In fresh threats, North Korean leader vows to wipe out enemies if provoked

North Korea said Monday it has newly developed controllable shells for a multiple rocket launcher and its ballistic control system as part of its push to expand its weapons arsenal. The Academy of Defence Science conducted a test firing of 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells on Sunday in a bid to evaluate their accuracy and prove their advantages, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "The development of 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher she

North Korea appears to be setting its sights on Fourth Industrial Revolution technology, such as artificial intelligence, in a bid to explore ways to expand its applications. The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper, reported Dec. 24 that global competition for science and technology has been intensifying, citing efforts to apply AI to the education sector and the increased use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology. The Korean Central Broadcasting Station, the

South Korea's point man on North Korea said Saturday the government will keep pushing for the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, saying Pyongyang's provocations will not deter Seoul's drive. Kim made the remark after attending an annual gathering of separated families and others who were born in North Korea but ended up south of the border following the war. To mark the Lunar New Year, they came to pay their respects to their ancestors and family members in N

The US special envoy for North Korean human rights will visit South Korea and Japan this month to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark UN report on the North's rights violations, the State Department said Friday. Ambassador Julie Turner's two-nation trip from Monday through Feb. 22 comes as activists and government officials in Seoul and Washington have paid renewed attention to the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that accused North Korean officials of &quo