Putin's first trip in 24 years could potentially occur after Russia's March presidential election, say experts

Yoon vows to harshly 'punish' North Korea in the event of any provocations

N. Korean foreign minister departed for Russia on same day as missile launch

North Korea is pressing ahead with measures to disband its inter-Korean organizations, apparently stopping a radio station previously used to send encrypted messages to its spies in South Korea. As of Saturday, the North appears to have stopped broadcasting the state-run Pyongyang Radio and cut off access to its website. The latest move comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered "readjusting and reforming" its organizations in charge of inter-Korean affairs during a key Worker

North Korea has discussed ways to enhance the Cabinet's role in implementing this year's economic goals, state media reported Thursday, amid the country's protracted economic difficulties caused by UN sanctions imposed due to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. Premier Kim Tok-hun presided over a plenary meeting of the Party Committee of the Cabinet from Monday to Wednesday in a follow-up to a year-end key party meeting, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called South Korea the country's "principal enemy" and said he has "no intention of avoiding war," state media said Wednesday. Kim also threatened to annihilate the South if it attempts to use force against the North, as he inspected major munitions factories Monday and Tuesday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. "Predicating that the ROK clan is our principal enemy, he said what the DPRK should prioritize in t

North Korean state media outlets remained silent on the presumed 40th birthday of their leader Kim Jong-un on Monday. The Korean Central News Agency, Rodong Sinmun, Korean Central Television and Korean Central Broadcasting Station have yet to make any report on Kim's birthday. Kim is known to have been born on Jan. 8, 1984, though the North has not officially confirmed the date. Earlier in the day, state media outlets carried reports on Kim's visit to a newly built chicken factory wh

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a newly built chicken factory and called for increasing poultry production for a "substantial change" in the people's standards of living, state media reported Monday. Kim visited Kwangchon Chicken Farm in Hwangju County of North Hwanghae Province on Sunday, accompanied by his daughter, known as Ju-ae, according to the Korean Central News Agency. He underscored the need to "constantly increase the production capacity so as to provid

North Korea fired some 60 artillery shells into waters off its western coast Saturday, South Korea's military said, conducting live-fire drills near the tensely guarded western border for the second consecutive day. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the artillery firings in the North's southwestern coastal areas for an hour from 4 p.m. The shells splashed into the maritime buffer zone north of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, the JCS said. The buf

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un appears to have taken a more offensive policy stance toward South Korea to divert internal attention from economic difficulties and discontent over the hereditary power succession, Seoul's top point man on inter-Korean relations said Saturday. Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made the remarks in an interview with broadcaster KBS when asked about the intentions behind the North's leader defining inter-Korean ties as relations "between two state

North Korea appears to have rebuilt some of its destroyed guard posts inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas with concrete structures, a military source said Friday. Last November, the North began rebuilding the guard posts with wooden material after scrapping a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce tensions along the border, according to Seoul's defense officials. "We have detected that North Korea has built concrete guard posts at the destroyed guar

North Korea recently provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles as well as ballistic missile launchers, a US official said Thursday, as Moscow seeks to replenish its weapons stockpiles amid its protracted war in Ukraine. The shipment came in defiance of repeated warnings by Washington, Seoul and other governments that such arms transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow would run afoul of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. "Due in part to our sanctions and export controls,

South Korea has decided to disband the sole government-run foundation tasked with handling matters concerning the now-shuttered Kaesong industrial park, once a pivotal inter-Korean cooperation project, amid simmering tensions between the two Koreas. The Unification Ministry issued a public announcement on Thursday regarding the dissolution of the Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation, which was first established in 2007 under the auspices of the ministry, announcing the decision nearly eight y

A statement by the Unification Ministry on Thursday has raised concerns as it urged South Korean voters to remain vigilant against North Korea's attempts to interfere in the upcoming April legislative elections. This remark seems inappropriate for the ministry, the primary role of which is to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula, and is supposed to maintain political neutrality, according to political commentators here. Stressing that North Korea has consistently sought to interfere in So

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended an exhibition featuring agricultural machinery, such as an unmanned helicopter, and called for the development of farming technology, state media said Wednesday. Kim's remark came as he visited the exhibition at the Three-Revolution Exhibition House showcasing "more than hundreds of kinds of farm machines" the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency. During the visit, Kim said it is "most important" to "make