South Korea plans to carry out its first in-depth inquiry into forced labor practices in North Korea through interviews with defectors who have arrived in South Korea over the past five years, sources said Sunday. North Korean Human Rights Records Center will conduct the interviews through the end of the year to learn details of the forced labor practices taking place at North Korea's detention facilities, schools and various social organizations, according to the sources. The inquiry by th

North Korea has convened a key party meeting to discuss the country's diplomatic and defense strategies in response to the "changed international situation," with its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media reported Saturday. Kim took part in the eighth "enlarged plenary meeting" of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) that opened Friday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The meeting will discuss &q

South Korea's unification minister voiced confidence Friday in winning a damages suit the government has filed against Pyongyang over its 2020 demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea's border city of Kaesong. The remarks by Kwon Young-se, who is in charge of Seoul's inter-Korean affairs, came two days after the government lodged a 44.7 billion-won ($35 million) damages suit against North Korea for blowing up the liaison office on June 16, 2020. It marked the fi

The United States imposed sanctions on two North Korean nationals based in China on Thursday for assisting North Korea's illegal weapons development programs, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The move came hours after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles, resuming its missile provocation after a brief pause. "Today, the United States is designating two Beijing-based Democratic People's Republic of Korea nationals connected to the DPRK's weapons of mass de

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, the military authorities said Thursday. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that it detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Sunan area of North Korea from around 7:25 p.m. to 7:37 p.m. towards the East Sea. The authorities confirmed that the missiles landed in the East Sea after flying about 780 km each, adding that the details and any additional provocations are being monitored by th

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his 70th birthday, saying that Beijing's national power has "remarkably" strengthened under his leadership, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. In the message, Kim said that Beijing has "built a comprehensively well-off society" and that its "national power and international position remarkably strengthened" under Xi's "energetic" leadership, accordin

The foreign ministry denounced Wednesday North Korea's recent series of missile provocations at a virtual senior officials' meeting ahead of an annual multilateral forum involving Pyongyang slated for next month. The ministry said it stated its position during the online preparatory meeting of senior government officials for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, due to take place in Indonesia in July. Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Young-sam and Lee Jang-keun, the am

China has confirmed North Korea's registration for this year's Asian Games to be held in its eastern city of Hangzhou. At a press conference Wednesday in Hangzhou, Zhou Jinqiang, vice chairman of the Asiad organizing committee, said all 45 national Olympic committees in Asia have signed up for the Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 event. Zhou didn't name individual countries, but his figure of 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia includes North Korea. Reports out of Japan last month had cla

Legal action taken mainly to prevent expiration of S. Korea's right to claim compensation

North Korea's state-sponsored Lazarus Group is believed to have stolen more than $100 million in cryptocurrency from an Estonian company, marking the latest in a series of high-profile cyberthefts by Pyongyang operatives. London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic on Tuesday disclosed the findings of its analysis, which tracked over 5,500 crypto wallets suspected to have been compromised in the cryptocurrency breach of Atomic Wallet. The estimated total amount of reported losses suffer

The Congressional Executive Commission on China held an emergency hearing in Washington on Tuesday to urge China to fulfill its obligations as a United Nations member and protect North Korean asylum-seekers. Members of the commission and key witnesses argued that nearly 2,000 North Korean defectors in China may face forced repatriation once North Korea reopens its border with China, which has been shut during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Close to 2,000 North Korean refugees are reportedly held i

The Swedish Embassy highlighted the growing bilateral cooperation between the European country with Korea as it celebrated Sweden Day 2023 on Friday. Sweden Day, a national holiday, is observed on June 6. This year marks a double jubilee celebration for Sweden. It commemorates 500 years of independence since the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the 50th year on the throne for Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden’s current and longest-reigning monarch. Delivering remarks at the event, Swedish Am

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a congratulatory message to her Russian counterpart over Moscow's key national holiday and vowed stronger cooperation between the two nations, state media reported Tuesday. In the message sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday on the occasion of Russia Day, Choe said Pyongyang and Moscow have ushered in a new "heyday" in their friendly relationship, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Mutual coope

South Korea said Monday it will cremate the body of a presumed North Korean man found near the inter-Korean border in May if North Korea does not respond to South Korea's offer to return the body by Friday. "We've requested North Korea to express its intention to receive the body by June 16. If the intention is not confirmed by then, the body will be treated as an unidentified deceased person in cooperation with local government authorities," Koo Byoung-sam, a Unification Min

A senior US defense official will visit South Korea later this week to discuss deterrence against growing North Korean threats, Seoul and Washington officials have said, amid joint efforts to curb the recalcitrant regime's provocative acts. The planned trip by Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, comes amid tensions heightened by Pyongyang's hardening rhetoric against the allies and its provocative acts, including the failed launch of a space rocket late last month. While