N. Korea reaffirms plan to bolster space reconnaissance capabilities

North Korea on Saturday reiterated its commitment to launching more reconnaissance satellites into orbit this year after putting its first spy satellite into orbit in November. Pyongyang "will carry out an important mission to enhance its space reconnaissance capabilities as planned to monitor and control the US and other hostile forces' military movements and aggressive attempts," an unnamed spokesperson of the North's National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) said

April 27, 2024

N. Korea denounces US condemnation of human rights violations

North Korea on Saturday lashed out at the recent release of the United States' annual report on human rights situations in the reclusive country, calling it an act of interfering in the country's "internal affairs." Earlier this week, the US State Department released the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, pointing out that North Koreans remained exposed to various types of human rights abuses last year, including forced repatriations, extrajudicial killings, fo

April 27, 2024

Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.

A Russian vessel, reportedly implicated in North Korea's arms transfers to Russia, is moored in China, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday, adding to speculation about Beijing's support for Moscow's war efforts in Ukraine. The spokesperson made the remarks as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently in China, where he plans to discuss with senior Beijing officials a range of regional and global issues, including the war in Ukraine and North Korean threats. Citing B

April 26, 2024

N. Korea warns of 'practical actions' over US seeking new mechanism to monitor sanctions

North Korea on Thursday decried the United States over efforts to build a new mechanism for the monitoring of sanctions enforcement against the North and warned of "powerful practical actions" to build up its military strength. The US has pledged to work with South Korea and other countries to establish an alternative with the mandate of a UN expert panel monitoring sanctions enforcement that's set to expire at the end of April following Russia's veto to extend it last month.

April 25, 2024

N. Korean minister embarks on trip to Iran amid Mideast crisis

A North Korean minister has embarked on a rare public visit to Iran, drawing scrutiny over the potential expansion of illicit cooperation between the two countries that have been under comprehensive international sanctions, especially amidst simmering tensions in the Middle East. North Korean state media confirmed Wednesday that Yun Jong-ho, minister of external economic relations, departed Pyongyang the previous day to lead a North Korean government economic delegation to Iran. North Korean sta

April 24, 2024

North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy

North Korea said Tuesday that its leader Kim Jong-un has overseen the country’s first nuclear drills against a potential attack by an enemy. The Workers’ Party of Korea-owned daily Rodong Sinmun said the live-fire drills involving “new” and “super large” rocket launchers were held a day prior on Monday under Kim’s guidance. According to the report, Monday’s drills are the first demonstration of North Korea‘s central nuclear weapons management

April 23, 2024

US decries latest NK missile launches

The United States condemned North Korea's latest round of ballistic missile launches as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, a State Department spokesperson said Monday. Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, also noted that Pyongyang's provocative activities will be on the agenda for talks that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will have during his trip to Shanghai and Beijing from Wednesday to Friday. On Monday, Pyongyang fired multiple projectiles, presumed to be shor

April 23, 2024

Top N. Korean agriculture official departs for Russia

North Korea's top agriculture official has embarked on a trip to Russia, Pyongyang's state media said Sunday, amid chronic food shortages in the North. A state agriculture commission delegation led by chairman Ri Chol-man, who doubles as a cabinet vice premier, left for Russia by plane Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In a Facebook post, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said Ri is scheduled to hold talks with Russia's Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev and

April 21, 2024

Seoul envoy for N.K. human rights urges solidarity in Argentina, Mexico

South Korea's envoy for North Korean human rights visited Argentina and Mexico for discussions on improving the rights situation in Pyongyang, the foreign ministry said Friday. Ambassador Lee Shin-wha met government officials, experts and activists from nongovernmental organizations during her four-day trip to the Latin American countries, according to the ministry. In Buenos Aires, she called for the international community's support and attention to the North's human rights viol

April 19, 2024

N. Korea, Belarus agree to strengthen cooperation, high-level contacts

The vice foreign ministers of North Korea and Belarus, both key allies to Russia, agreed Thursday to strengthen high-level contacts and cooperation across various sectors, encompassing the economy and cultures, as well as on global affairs, North Korean state media reported on Friday. The bilateral talks in Pyongyang between North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il and his Belarusian counterpart took place amid closer alignment with Russia and their provision of support in its war against U

April 19, 2024

N. Korea slams US envoy's Asian tour as 'aid-begging' trip to enliven anti-Pyongyang sanctions

North Korea on Friday denounced the recent visit to South Korea and Japan by the top US envoy to the United Nations, calling it an "aid-begging" trip to invigorate the "weakened illegal" sanctions against Pyongyang. Late last month, the UN Security Council failed to extend the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the enforcement of sanctions against the North's nuclear and missile programs due to Russia's veto. The operation of the panel is set to expire on Ap

April 19, 2024

North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South

North Korea recently removed streetlights and other facilities along roads connecting to the South, according to South Korean military authorities on Thursday. The South Korean military said its surveillance caught North Korea taking down streetlights lining the roads leading from the South to the Kaesong industrial park, a now-defunct inter-Korean manufacturing complex launched as a part of Seoul’s past pro-rapprochement policy, and to Kumgangsan, the mountain that is one of the North&r

April 18, 2024

S. Korean parliamentary chief calls for stronger S. Korea-US efforts to address NK threats

South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo stressed the need Wednesday to beef up joint deterrence efforts by Seoul and Washington to address evolving North Korean military capabilities, which he said pose a "direct" threat to the continental United States. Kim made the remarks during a forum hosted by the Institute for Korean Studies at George Washington University, urging Pyongyang to cease its nuclear threats and return to the "path of denuclearization." &quo

April 18, 2024

NK leader celebrates completion of 10,000 new homes in Pyongyang

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony marking the completion of building another 10,000 new homes in Pyongyang, state media said Wednesday. Kim attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for the completion of new apartments in the Hwasong district of Pyongyang as part of a housing project to build a combined 50,000 new homes in the capital by 2025, the Korean Central News Agency said. Kim called for workers to attain the remaining goals for the five-year project to "turn

April 17, 2024

Senior US officials discuss N. Korea, Taiwan, South China Sea in talks with Beijing officials

Senior US officials discussed with Beijing officials a range of regional and global issues, including North Korea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea during their visit to China this week, the State Department said Monday. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran met with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and Yang Tao, director general of the North Ameri

April 16, 2024

N. Korea has capability to genetically engineer biological military products: US report

North Korea has the capability to genetically engineer biological military products, an annual US report showed Monday, noting Pyongyang has a "dedicated, national-level offensive" biological weapons program. The State Department issued the report, titled "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments." It was prepared in consultation with the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

April 16, 2024

S. Korea, US hold NK human rights talks in Washington

Diplomats from South Korea and the United States held a new session of their bilateral dialogue on North Korean human rights in Washington on Monday, as the two sides see a close link between Pyongyang's weapons programs and its rights conditions. Chun Young-hee, director general for the Korean Peninsula peace regime at Seoul's foreign ministry, and Julie Turner, the US special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, led the second session of the dialogue that was relaunched in Nov

April 16, 2024

'Day of Sun' reference over N. Korean late founder's birthday reemerges in state media

North Korean state media referred to the birthday of North Korean late founder Kim Il-sung as the Day of the Sun on Monday after stopping using the term in recent weeks while calling it "the April holiday." Kim's birthday, April 15, has been revered as the Day of the Sun in North Korea and celebrated as one of the secretive country's most important national holidays, along with the birthday of his late son and successor Kim Jong-il in February. The North's founder died

April 15, 2024

N. Korea elevates high-level exchanges with China, Russia

North Korea has been intensifying high-level diplomatic exchanges with China and Russia, as evidenced by the visit of China's third-highest-ranking official to Pyongyang and the dispatch of ministers to Russia this week. China's No. 3 official, Zhao Leji, who arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday for a three-day visit to the neighboring country, met for a luncheon with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday. Th

April 14, 2024

N. Korea's Kim vows to further develop ties with China

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with China's top legislator, Zhao Leji, in Pyongyang and discussed ways to further deepen bilateral ties, the North's state media said Sunday. During the luncheon meeting held Saturday, Kim said Zhao's visit to Pyongyang is "of very weighty significance in demonstrating the invincibility of the DPRK-China friendship and further developing the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries as required by the times,&

April 14, 2024