North Korea will lead the United Nations' Conference on Disarmament in a rotational one-month presidency later this year, the world body has said. North Korea is among six countries -- along with China, Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ecuador -- that will assume this year's chairmanship for four weeks each in alphabetical order. This first session began Monday under China's presidency, with North Korea's turn set for May 30 to June 24. The North's presidency is expect

The Seoul government is keeping tabs on North Korea following reports it was hit by a suspected cyber attack the previous day, an official said Thursday. On Wednesday, Reuters said the North's internet appears to have suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, citing cybersecurity researchers. Major North Korean websites, such as its foreign ministry and the Rodong Sinmun sites, appeared to be experiencing partial failure in connections but were operating normally as of Thursday m

Low-altitude flight test could aim to penetrate missile defenses

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Russia talked over the phone Wednesday to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, spoke with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov amid rising tension after the North last week hinted at lifting its yearslong self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. "Th

North Korea has decided to upgrade its agricultural ministry to a state commission, according to Pyongyang's media Wednesday, as the country has tapped agricultural development as one of its top policy priorities for the new year amid chronic food shortages. The Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's rubber-stamp legislature, made the decision to better "lead the country's agricultural production in a unified manner," the North's official Korean Central Broad

US continues appeal to China on holding N. Korea accountable for missile launches

The US’ push to impose UN sanctions on five North Koreans responsible for the regime’s recent missile launches could be delayed for at least six months, after China and Russia blocked the move. 　 Norway, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in January, confirmed that China and Russia have put a hold on a US initiative to impose additional UN sanctions on the regime, according to a Voice of America report Tuesday. It added that the block period can last up

South Korea has detected no signs of North Korea trying to restore underground tunnels at its purportedly demolished Punggye-ri nuclear test site despite indications of maintenance work there, a Seoul official said Tuesday. The official's assessment came after Olli Heinonen, a former deputy director-general at the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Voice of America (VOA) earlier this week that the North is maintaining the site as evidenced by "trails of the cars and cleaning of s

The United States continues to call on North Korea to stop its provocations and instead return to dialogue to find ways to de-escalate tension, US Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby said Monday. Kirby also said the US remains concerned about the North's advancing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. "We've been very clear about our concerns over the advancing nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile capabilities of Pyongyang," Kirby said in a press briefing. &quo

South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it is keeping tabs on North Korea's nuclear and missile activities after Pyongyang hinted last week at lifting its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. On Wednesday, North Korea held a politburo meeting of its ruling Workers' Party, presided over by leader Kim Jong-un, and decided to consider restarting "all temporally-suspended" activities, citing Washington's "hostile policy" against its regime. As

North Korea's foreign ministry on Sunday criticized Japan's moves to revise a set of key security documents as "extremely dangerous" steps away from its long-held defense-oriented policy. Japan has reportedly been moving to revise its national security strategy and other key defense documents this year as it confronts an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-ambitious North Korea. "What is extremely dangerous is that Japan is poised to include in these documents capabilitie

China, Russia block US proposal, while US says opponents give N.Korea “blank check”

Pyongyang simultaneously aims to rally public support for military and nuclear buildup

The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea dropped to double digits last year apparently due to the North's strict border restrictions against the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an official here Thursday. A total of 63 North Koreans -- 40 men and 23 women -- settled in the South during the year, compared with 229 in 2020 and 1,047 in 2019, the unification ministry official told reporters on background. The decline seems attributable mainly to the North Korea-China border controls

US Rep. Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed support for South Korea’s proposal to declare a formal end to the Korean War, but stressed that the declaration on its own is “meaningless” if Pyongyang is reluctant to talk or makes no progress toward denuclearization. 　 “I commend the Biden and Moon administrations for taking steps to engage North Korea and urge North Korea to return to the negotiating table,” Meeks said in a statemen