Yoon calls for international solidarity to condemn NK provocation at NATO summit

NATO allies condemn NK nuclear ambitions in joint statement for 1st time in 5 years

Change indicates N. Korea recognizing S. Korea as separate sovereign state, though as an adversary

Approximately 16,000 elderly South Koreans are presumed to have died over the past five years while awaiting reunions with family members in North Korea who were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, data showed. According to data from the Unification Ministry, around 3,400 to 3,700 people have died every year since August 2018, when the last face-to-face family reunion event was held, with the estimated total number of deaths coming to around 16,000. The data was released by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Monday claimed US reconnaissance aircraft intruded in the country's airspace. Kim issued a statement alleging that a US spy aircraft intruded in the North's eastern airspace twice at around 5 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., respectively, on the same day. In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, she said the US is "engaging in a serious military provocation by conducting aerial surveillance." Kim Yo-j

No. of defectors declines from 1,047 in 2019 to 67 in 2022, following prolonged COVID-19 border closure

North Korea on Monday accused US spy aircraft of intruding in its airspace recently, warning that there is no guarantee that such aircraft will not be shot down, state media reported. A spokesperson for North Korea's defense ministry claimed "provocative" flights were made by US reconnaissance aircraft, such as the RC-135, the U-2S and the RQ-4B, over the East Sea and the Yellow Sea from July 2 to Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. "Especially in th

North Korea's mask imports from China tumbled 78 percent in May from a month earlier, trade data showed Sunday, as it appears to have recently eased strict COVID-19 restrictions. The North's mask imports from China stood at $28,746 in May, the lowest level in seven months, according to the trade data by China Customs Statistics. Pyongyang's mask imports from China began at $523 in August 2022 and peaked at $385,887 in October, but the trade volume has steadily decreased to $198,96

North Korean university students swept top places at a hacking contest run by US-based software company HackerEarth in May, US broadcaster Radio Free Asia said on Thursday. Students of the Kim Chaek University of Technology won first, third and fourth places with perfect scores in a coding marathon for developers called May Circuits 2023 in which some 1,700 people participated. A student of the Kim Il Sung University won second place. Another Kim Chaek student finished 10th. The HackerEarth webs

S. Korea plans to introduce an integrated defense system to counter hostile unmanned aircraft at key military and government facilities for the first time, officials said Thursday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration recently put up a notice for the 48.5 billion-won ($37.2 million) project on its procurement website as Seoul has sought to bolster anti-drone capabilities after N. Korea's drone incursions late last year. Under the project, DAPA seeks to purchase the counter-drone s

N. Korea held a Cabinet meeting earlier this week to review economic plans in the first half of the year and discuss follow-up measures for policy goals put forth in a recent key party meeting, state media said Thursday. Last month, Pyongyang held a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, attended by leader Kim Jong-un, to discuss key agenda items, including economic policy. Premier Kim Tok-hun presided over the videoconference meeting Wednesday,

North Korean state media reports suggest that the country has lifted its COVID-19 mask mandate across the country, effective from this month. The state-run Korean Central Television, primarily catering to North Korean audiences, began broadcasting news showing people working at factories and going about their daily lives mask-free on Sunday. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, also began featuring photographs of unmasked North Korean people on Monday. Six indi

The Yoon Suk Yeol government is seeking to restructure the Unification Ministry to focus on human rights issues in North Korea and analysis of the Kim Jong-un regime, de-emphasizing its role of facilitating inter-Korean dialogue and other projects aimed at the reconciliation of the two Koreas. Yoon, following his unconventional, concurrent appointments of a hard-liner on Pyongyang as the minister and a veteran diplomat as the vice minister, reiterated on Sunday that the ministry should not prima

The chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group has withdrawn an application to visit North Korea's Mount Kumgang, after the North said it has "no intention to examine" the application, an official at Seoul's unification ministry said Monday. Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, which had run sightseeing programs at the North Korean mountain, had been seeking to visit the North in August to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of her husband and former chairman of the

North Korea has completed the renovation of a tower symbolizing its friendship with China as the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War approaches, the North's state media said Thursday. A ceremony marking the completion of the project, which was carried out upon North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's order, took place in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The event came as the North has been seeking to str