N.Korean media steps up criticism of Washington Declaration, boasts greater alignment with China, Russia

North Korea will step up its "military deterrence" against South Korea and the United States, state media said Sunday, blasting this week's summit agreement between the two sides on strengthening the US extended deterrence as a "product of heinous hostile policy" against Pyongyang. The Korean Central News Agency ran a commentary criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the US this week as "the most hostile, aggressive and provocative trip and a dang

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slammed a new South Korea-US agreement bolstering Washington's nuclear deterrence efforts against North Korean threats on Saturday, saying the allies' plan will only result in "more serious danger." In North Korea's first response to the Washington Declaration adopted during President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the US, Kim Yo-jong said that the agreement reflects "the most hostile and aggressive will of

Following its energy transition strategy, the European Union has announced that the production of petrol cars within the EU market will be halted after 2035, as confirmed by the European Parliament last week. Overall adherence to this goal among EU member states has thus far been encouraging. In 2021, 19 percent of all newly registered passenger vehicles in the EU were electric, with more than 1.2 million EV cars sold. In some countries, such as Norway, 75 percent of all newly registered cars we

Ukraine is hoping for South Korea's defense support in its fight against Russia, said the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul on Monday. The comments came after President Yoon Suk Yeol said that South Korea could provide aid beyond humanitarian or financial support if Ukraine comes under large-scale attacks against civilians in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. Korea can support Ukraine by providing state-of-the-art Korean-made defense equipment, said the embassy. "The continuation of tim

South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday it plans to release the English version of its report on North Korea's human rights situation within a few days. In late March, the government made public its report on the North's human rights violations for the first time, highlighting widespread rights abuses, such as public executions and torture. "We are preparing to release the English report within a few days," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anony

South Korea and the US sanctioned a North Korean believed to be linked to cybercrimes meant to bankroll North Korea’s nuclear and weapons programs -- the first ban the two allies have jointly rolled out on a single individual. Sim Hyon-sop, the North Korean in question, worked for a North Korean bank already sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and was responsible for “creating fake accounts, money laundering and other illegal financial activities,” th

About 56 percent of South Koreans support developing nuclear weapons to counter North Korea's escalating nuclear threats, a survey showed Sunday. The survey of 1,008 adults, conducted by pollster Realmeter last week, found that 56.5 percent of respondents say they support building own nuclear weapons and the issue needs to be discussed at an upcoming summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden. In contrast, 40.8 percent said they oppose developing nuclear weapons.

North Korea's foreign minister said Friday that the United States and the West have no right to argue about its status as a nuclear weapons power, slamming a recent joint statement by the Group of Seven (G-7) diplomats as interference in internal affairs. In a statement, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui took issue with the G-7 Foreign Ministers that condemned the North's unlawful ballistic missile launches and said Pyongyang "cannot and will never" have the status of a nuclear w

Pyongyang may conduct a satellite launch before Yoon-Biden summit, says experts

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Pyongyang has completed building its first military spy satellite and ordered final preparations to launch the satellite as planned, the North's state media reported Wednesday, in a move that is expected to further heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Kim made the remarks during an on-site inspection to the North's space development agency a day earlier, as Pyongyang has vowed to complete preparations of the launch of a military spy satellite by the end

Hacking group exploited vulnerabilities in security software for online banking installed on over 10 million computers

Infrared thermal cameras picked up signs that North Korea could have been unilaterally resuming factory operations at the suspended inter-Korean industrial park, a breach of an agreement that South Korea says will have consequences. At least four factories in the Kaeseong Industrial Complex seem to be in operation, according to Radio Free Asia. It said Tuesday that factory activity at one of those plants, which makes rice cookers, looks exceptionally high, citing an expert on satellite images. T

NEW YORK -- South Korea's top envoy at the United Nations called Monday on permanent members of the UN Security Council to take "extraordinary responsibility" to curb North Korea's nuclear provocations. Addressing a session of the council, Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook stressed that Pyongyang is the "first and only case" that has flouted the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) regime and openly developed nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Hwang

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna reiterates French government priorities and solidarity with Korea during a reception aboard Prairial, the French Navy's Floreal-class frigate docked in Incheon on Saturday. The Floreal-class frigate is the French Navy's light surveillance warship, designed after the end of the Cold War in 1989.