N. Korea slams US over Pentagon document calling regime 'persistent' threat

North Korea on Wednesday rejected a Pentagon document labeling Pyongyang a "persistent" threat, saying the world's biggest threat of weapons of mass destruction comes from none other than the United States. In a recently updated version of the Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD), the US Department of Defense described China as a pacing challenge, Russia as an acute threat, and the North and Iran as persistent threats. It also warned that the North's mil

Oct. 4, 2023

North reaffirms satellite launch plan

North Korea reaffirmed that it will launch a military reconnaissance satellite this month, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday. The third attempt to put the satellite into orbit after two previous failures, each in May and August, could take place as early as next week when the regime marks the founding of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party. Leader Kim Jong-un has used such events to tout his achievement. The regime -- banned by United Nations Security Council reso

Oct. 3, 2023

Unification minister says N.K.'s vicious cycle of provocations, rewards 'no longer works' under Yoon administration

BERLIN -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho has warned that North Korea's vicious cycle of receiving assistance and breaking off agreements will "no longer work" under the current administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Kim made the remarks at a conference hosted by the Berlin chapter of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Sunday, stressing that North Korea's nuclear threat has persisted for 30 years. "Whenever North Korea has threatened with various provoca

Oct. 2, 2023

N. Korea slams IAEA's adoption of resolution on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program

North Korea on Monday denounced the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for criticizing Pyongyang's nuclear development, calling it a "conspiracy between the US and its followers." At the 67th IAEA General Conference in Vienna, Austria, last week, IAEA member states adopted a resolution urging the recalcitrant regime to suspend its nuclear weapons program and abide by its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions. "We vehemently denounce and reject the abnormal

Oct. 2, 2023

N. Korea spurs efforts to raise crop production during fall harvest season

North Korea has been ramping up efforts to boost crop production during the fall harvest season amid expectations that the impoverished country's food shortages have improved, compared with the first half of the year. The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, recently carried a report that a "critical" time has come in attaining the goal of this year's grain production, while urging officials to lead efforts to produce satisfactory outcomes in the agricultural secto

Oct. 2, 2023

NK leader sends congratulatory message to Xi on Chinese founding anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday to mark the 74th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, state media said. "Over the last 10-odd years, the CPC with you, the general secretary, as its core has made remarkable successes in the cause of the party and state building by uniting and inspiring the entire party and people under the banner of the socialist idea with Chinese characteristics in the new era,&q

Oct. 1, 2023

N.Korea could use nuclear weapons at any stage of conflict: Pentagon

North Korea's advancements in nuclear and missile capabilities have enabled the country to deploy its nuclear weapons "at any stage of conflict," the US Defense Department said in a new defense strategy revealed Thursday. The Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction has been updated for the first time since 2014. This update reflects the current and emerging challenges and threats associated with WMD, including the trend of actors that pose a threat to the US. The Penta

Sept. 29, 2023

N. Korea stipulates nuclear force-building policy in constitution

North Korea has stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution at a key parliamentary meeting, as leader Kim Jong-un said trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan poses "the worst actual threat." The decision was made at the ninth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) held on Tuesday and Wednesday, with leader Kim's attendance, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). At the

Sept. 28, 2023

N. Korean envoy vows stronger 'self-defense' capabilities, mentions 'imminent danger' of nuclear war

North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday his country is "urgently" required to bolster its self-defense capabilities, claiming the Korean Peninsula faces the "immediate danger of nuclear war breakout." Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Ambassador Kim Song attributed the "current dangerous situation" to South Korea and the United States, lambasting a series of steps that the allies have taken to bolster deterrence against evolvin

Sept. 27, 2023

Court finds ban on leafleting into NK unconstitutional, ban on praise for NK constitutional

A South Korean court on Tuesday found a law banning private entities from sending leaflets or other items by balloon into North Korea unconstitutional. In a 7-2 decision, the Constitutional Court found the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, promulgated in 2020 during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, unconstitutional. Scores of North Korean human rights groups filed the complaint with the Constitutional Court immediately after the law came into effect. After the conservative Presid

Sept. 26, 2023

N. Korea scheduled to hold key parliamentary meeting following Kim-Putin summit

North Korea is scheduled to convene a key parliamentary meeting Tuesday amid keen attention over whether its leader Kim Jong-un will attend it to deliver any message related to his latest summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea earlier announced its plan to hold the ninth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly on Tuesday to discuss organizational matters and the issue of reviewing and adopting various laws. The secretive regime's state media has not reported wh

Sept. 26, 2023

N.Korea blasts Yoon for denouncing military ties with Russia at UN

North Korea released scathing criticism filled with abusive language on Monday in response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's denunciation of internationally prohibited, potential military transactions between Moscow and Pyongyang during his speech at the UN General Assembly. South Korea, however, has opted to disregard the criticism, considering it unworthy of a response. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, primarily oriented toward an international audience, re

Sept. 25, 2023

S. Korea calls on Russia to 'transparently explain' its dealing with N. Korea amid suspected arms supply agreement

South Korea's foreign ministry on Friday called on Russia to "transparently explain" its recent dealings with North Korea amid growing speculation of an arms supply deal at last week's bilateral summit. "If it (Moscow) will not engage in such worrisome military cooperation with North Korea, Russia should transparently explain (its dealings with North Korea) so that the international community could find it acceptable," a ministry official said. The comments were m

Sept. 22, 2023

N. Korea's Politburo discusses implementing Kim's Russia trip outcomes

North Korea held a Politburo meeting on Wednesday to discuss leader Kim Jong-un's recent visit to Russia and subsequent actions required to put the trip's outcomes into effect, state-run media reported Friday. Kim made his first public appearance following his extensive 10-day overseas trip by participating in a Political Bureau meeting at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. During the meeting, Kim Song-nam, the director of the In

Sept. 22, 2023

[News Focus] What are the implications of Yoon naming Russia before NK?

President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday raised the possibility that Yoon has made it official that North Korea now stands behind Russia in terms of Seoul's priority in foreign relations, which could signal a downturn ahead in the inter-Korean relationship. As the South Korean leader warned North Korea not to pursue information and technology from Russia needed to enhance its weapons-of-mass-destruction capabilities, in ret

Sept. 21, 2023

Kim Jong-un’s car escorted by Hyundai van in Russia

North Korean state-run media on Wednesday broadcast a documentary that featured North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's motorcade in Russia, notably escorted by vans manufactured by South Korea's auto giant, Hyundai Motor. The state-controlled Korean Central Television, which primarily targets the North's domestic audience, unveiled an hour-and-a-half-long documentary titled "A Historical Moment: Setting a New Milestone in North Korea-Russia Relations," providing a comprehensi

Sept. 21, 2023

Australian wife of Korean War veteran to be buried beside husband

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that it will bury the Australian wife of an Australian Korean War veteran next to her husband at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. The burial ceremony, which the Australian Embassy in Seoul will hold the next day, came four years after Olwyn Green died at 96, leaving behind her wishes that she be reunited with her husband, Lt. Col. Charles Green. The COVID-19 pandemic had prompted the wait. Green, commanding officer of the 3rd batta

Sept. 20, 2023

N. Korea's Kim arrives in Pyongyang after Russia trip: state media

A special train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Pyongyang after traveling to Russia for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Wednesday. The train reached Pyongyang on Tuesday evening, after completing "external revolutionary activities" that will shine in the history of strengthening friendly relations between North Korea and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim was welcomed by top party and

Sept. 20, 2023

Mosaic of N. Korean leader erected in Pyongyang as part of personality cult

A mosaic mural depicting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was erected in Pyongyang, state media reported Tuesday, as North Korea has been bolstering its leader's personality cult. The North held a ceremony unveiling the mosaic Sunday at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, a school for children of the privileged class, on the occasion of its 75th founding anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The painting described Kim, wearing a red scarf around his neck, as smiling while b

Sept. 19, 2023

N. Korean leader returns home after trip to Russia: state media

Leader Kim Jong-un has crossed back into North Korea after a trip to Russia that "opened a new chapter" for the development of the bilateral relations between the two nations, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday. Kim passed through the Tumangang Railway Station on the border between the two countries on early Monday morning, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim, who left Pyongyang on his armored train on Sept. 10, held a summit with Russian President Vlad

Sept. 19, 2023