No. of full-time private tutors on rise amid economic hardship, according to Unification Ministry survey

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Controls on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three entities involved in illicit arms deals between North Korea and Russia, amid speculation that the countries may be seeking to bolster their illegal arms trade. OFAC imposed sanctions on Verus LLC, Defense Engineering LLP and Versor SRO, all of which are owned or led by Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev. Mkrtychev was designated on March 30 for "attempting to facilitate arms de

North Korea’s dependency on China for foreign trade hit its highest level in 2022 since leader Kim Jong-un took the helm of the reclusive country 10 years earlier, a report showed. Pyongyang’s trade with Beijing came to $1.53 billion last year, up about 125 percent from the previous year, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The amount took up 96.7 percent of North Korea’s overall trade, up from 95.6 percent a year earlier. Exports stood at

Pyongyang likely to utilize Travis King's case to counter US-led human rights campaigns, say experts

Pyongyang on Tuesday opposed the United States' request for a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting to address human rights abuses in North Korea, calling the move "a violent infringement upon its dignity and sovereignty." The US, which holds the 15-nation UNSC's rotating presidency this month, requested a formal meeting on human rights abuses in North Korea along with Japan and Albania. If held on Thursday, it will be the first such meeting since December 2017. &quo

South Korea and the United States will kick off a major combined military exercise next week to beef up their joint defense, both sides said Monday, amid North Korea's hardening rhetoric adding to the prospects of it undertaking new provocations. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise based on an all-out war scenario is set to take place from Aug. 21-31, featuring various contingency drills, such as the computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and Ulchi civil

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has berated local officials as being "irresponsible" and "insensitive" over their failure to prevent damage from Typhoon Khanun that recently swept through the Korean Peninsula, state media said Monday. Kim made the remarks during a visit to Anbyon County, Kangwon Province, in the North, where river banks were toppled and some 200 hectares of farmland were flooded due to heavy rains brought by last week's typhoon, according to the North�

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for a "drastic boost" of the country's missile production capacity, the North's state media said Monday, as South Korea and the United States plan to stage joint military drills later this month. Kim made the remarks during a two-day visit to major factories that produce strategic missiles, rocket launchers and other military weapons on Friday and Saturday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The visit came less than

A 2.3 magnitude natural earthquake struck near North Korea's nuclear test site Sunday, the latest in a series of natural earthquakes to hit the region in recent months, South Korea's state weather agency said. The tremor occurred about 42 kilometers north-northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, at 7:55 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The epicenter was at a latitude of 41.31 degrees north and a longitude of 129.16 degrees east at a depth of 5 km, it said

North Korea is expected to officially reopen its border "very soon" after years of lockdown, a travel agency specializing in tourism to North Korea announced on Friday. But the opening of the North Korean border would initially be for North Korean citizens only, Koryo Tours, headquartered in Beijing, said on its website, citing multiple unnamed North Korean sources. "No official date has been given," the agency added. If North Korea were to reopen its border, it would be the

WASHINGTON -- The United States remains concerned about potential provocations by North Korea, a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday, after the recalcitrant country noted that it may soon launch a space rocket. North Korea unsuccessfully launched a space launch vehicle carrying what it claimed to be its first military reconnaissance satellite in late May. The US strongly condemned the failed launch, noting that space launch vehicles use the same technologies used in ballistic missiles, which the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for proactive military readiness in a move seen as a show of willingness to respond to an upcoming joint South Korea-US military exercise scheduled from Aug. 21 to 24. In response, the South Korean government has accused the North of making false claims and insisted that the nation's resources be directed toward the livelihood of its people, instead of military pursuits. The state news agency, the Korean Central News Agency, reported Thursday t

The United States will continue to enforce its sanctions and impose new ones on North Korea if necessary, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday when asked about possible illegal exports of North Korean products from a joint industrial complex. The department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, added the US will also continue to crack down on efforts to evade sanctions by North Korea and its friendly nations. When asked about North Korea's possible operation of the now defunct Kaesong ind

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday the military should prioritize building its deterrence capability against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Yoon made the remark while presiding over the second meeting of the presidential defense innovation committee at his office, saying the asymmetric threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, and cyber and drone capabilities, is an "imminent" threat. "Through a rational and effective distribution of fin

The Yoon Suk Yeol government is set to strengthen legal consequences aimed at preventing unauthorized interactions between South and North Korean individuals. A new center will be launched this month to strengthen monitoring of such illicit exchanges, the Unification Ministry said Tuesday. The Unification Ministry plans to issue a legislative pre-announcement of the proposed amendments to the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act in September. The amended legislation delineates restrictions