North Korea will hold a nationwide politically charged event for its “War Victory Day” to mark the anniversary of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. High-ranking US and South Korean officials will have in-person meetings in Seoul and Washington this week to discuss mounting threats from North Korea. The eighth national conference of war veterans will be held in the capital ...

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said its focus is on mapping out an “audacious plan” to provide economic compensation and security guarantees in return for North Korea’s “substantial measures for denuclearization.” Unification Minister Kwon Young-se on Friday briefed President Yoon Suk-yeol on the vision of North Korea and unification policy as well as three principles and five core tasks to ...

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it would strengthen special operations forces’ infiltration and strike capabilities and step up large-scale South Korea-US field training exercises to deal with North Korea’s escalating threats. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup directly briefed President Yoon Suk-yeol on the overall direction and priorities of defense policy and plans to implement major tasks Fri...

South Korea’s first homegrown KF-21 fighter jet successfully completed its inaugural test flight Tuesday afternoon, the country’s arms procurement agency announced. A KF-21 Boramae fighter prototype took off for its maiden flight at 3:40 p.m. at the base of South Korea’s Air Force 3rd Training Wing in the city of Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration ...

South Korea and the United Kingdom committed to expanding “substantial” defense cooperation in multifaceted areas, including combined exercises, cyber domain and outer space, at the first vice-ministerial defense consultative meeting. South Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul and his UK counterpart Annabel Goldie held a bilateral defense strategic dialogue on Monday afternoon in London,...

North Korea should further reinforce its military strength against mounting threats and pressure from the US, the state-run media said Monday, in line with North Korea’s recent move to step up anti-American propaganda. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, said that “a series of fierce confrontations with enemies has continued” for 70 years after the 1950-53 Korean W...

F-35 stealth fighters from the South Korean and the US air forces teamed up for the first time for four days of combined aerial drills, as the allies move to enhance interoperability and combined defense posture against North Korea’s escalating threats. South Korea and the US conducted combined military exercises involving fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets in South Korean airspace from Monday ...

North Korea has formally recognized two Russian-supported breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent states and pledged to develop “state-to-state relations” with them. In response, Ukraine has severed diplomatic relations with North Korea. North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui announced the country’s decision to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s R...

North Korea fired suspected artillery shots two days in a row earlier this week, a South Korean military source confirmed Wednesday. The South Korean military detected one trajectory presumed to be a North Korean artillery piece being launched toward the western seas on Monday morning, the source -- who requested to remain anonymous -- said. The official declined to share further details, inclu...

Satellite imagery shows that North Korea’s main plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex is in operation, a Washington-based think tank reported Tuesday. The 5-megawatt reactor has continued to operate to produce weapons-grade plutonium despite heavy rains over the past several weeks, according to 38 North, a US website monitoring North Korea, based on commercial satel...

North Korea appears to have operated South Korean facilities at the Kaesong Industrial Complex without permission, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Tuesday. The Unification Ministry has found indications that the North Korean authorities have operated the factories built and owned by South Korean companies at the inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea, an official -- who wished to re...

New excavation activity was detected at a nuclear waste storage facility within the Yongbyon nuclear complex for the first time since 2016, which could be part of North Korea’s preparations to produce plutonium. Commercial satellite images acquired on July 3 showed the new excavation activity on the west side of the waste storage building leading to an unused bay door, the Washington-based Cente...

South Korea and the US have been discussing the resumption of yearslong suspended field training exercises in the second half of the year, the South Korean military said Monday. The discussion has been underway as the South Korean and US military tentatively agree to conduct their annual combined military exercises between Aug. 22 and Sept. 1, according to military sources who wished to remain a...

China and North Korea will constantly strengthen and develop their bilateral relations to a new and higher level in “unprecedented harsh circumstances,” including the US-led campaign to encircle China, the North Korean media said Monday. It also highlighted the significance of the close bond between North Korea and China. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, publish...

From mental health care to special school North Korean defectors under the age of 19 are educated at the Hanadul special school before they are transferred to a mainstream school in South Korea. A school official said around 2,600 defector students have attended since the school opened in September 2009. The Hanadul school aims to help its students “establish an identity as a citizen of the Rep...