N. Korea rebuilds destroyed guard posts inside DMZ with concrete

North Korea appears to have rebuilt some of its destroyed guard posts inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas with concrete structures, a military source said Friday. Last November, the North began rebuilding the guard posts with wooden material after scrapping a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce tensions along the border, according to Seoul's defense officials. "We have detected that North Korea has built concrete guard posts at the destroyed guar

Jan. 5, 2024

N. Korea recently sent several dozen ballistic missiles to Russia: US official

North Korea recently provided Russia with several dozen ballistic missiles as well as ballistic missile launchers, a US official said Thursday, as Moscow seeks to replenish its weapons stockpiles amid its protracted war in Ukraine. The shipment came in defiance of repeated warnings by Washington, Seoul and other governments that such arms transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow would run afoul of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. "Due in part to our sanctions and export controls,

Jan. 5, 2024

S. Korea to disband foundation for Kaesong industrial park

South Korea has decided to disband the sole government-run foundation tasked with handling matters concerning the now-shuttered Kaesong industrial park, once a pivotal inter-Korean cooperation project, amid simmering tensions between the two Koreas. The Unification Ministry issued a public announcement on Thursday regarding the dissolution of the Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation, which was first established in 2007 under the auspices of the ministry, announcing the decision nearly eight y

Jan. 4, 2024

Unification Ministry's NK election interference warning raises concerns

A statement by the Unification Ministry on Thursday has raised concerns as it urged South Korean voters to remain vigilant against North Korea's attempts to interfere in the upcoming April legislative elections. This remark seems inappropriate for the ministry, the primary role of which is to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula, and is supposed to maintain political neutrality, according to political commentators here. Stressing that North Korea has consistently sought to interfere in So

Jan. 4, 2024

N. Korean leader attends farm machinery exhibition

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended an exhibition featuring agricultural machinery, such as an unmanned helicopter, and called for the development of farming technology, state media said Wednesday. Kim's remark came as he visited the exhibition at the Three-Revolution Exhibition House showcasing "more than hundreds of kinds of farm machines" the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency. During the visit, Kim said it is "most important" to "make

Jan. 3, 2024

N. Korean leader's sister raps Yoon over his New Year's Day speech

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unleashed a sarcasm-filled tirade over South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's New Year's Day address that unveiled a plan to complete a studier deterrence system with the United States to counter North Korean threats this year. In a statement late Tuesday night, Kim Yo-jong, a vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, said that the deterrence plan has again given justification for the

Jan. 3, 2024

N. Korea's Kim attends student performance on New Year's Day

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a New Year's Day performance by young students and emphasized the importance of education, state media said Tuesday. Kim made the remarks as he attended the performance at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace in Pyongyang the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "He called for renovating the contents and methods of education to make sure that schoolchildren acquire practical knowledge for socialist construction,&quo

Jan. 2, 2024

Defense chief warns N. Korea's reckless provocations will become 'prelude to destruction'

North Korea should be made to realize that provocative acts threatening South Korea will only serve as a prelude to its own destruction, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in a New Year's Day message Monday. Shin made the remark after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as those of "two states hostile to each other" and called for stepped-up preparations to "suppress the whole territory of South Korea." Kim also said it is a mistake to regard the So

Jan. 1, 2024

NK leader says Korean Peninsula inching closer to armed conflict

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for perfecting the military's readiness posture, saying the Korean Peninsula is "inching closer to the brink of armed conflict" and a clash could happen at any time, state media said Monday. Kim made the remark during a meeting with major commanding officers of the Korean People's Army at the office building of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. During the meeti

Jan. 1, 2024

US warns N. Korea's space rocket launches flout UN Security Council resolutions

North Korean space rocket launches violate UN Security Council resolutions, a US State Department spokesperson said Sunday, after Pyongyang announced a goal of launching three more military spy satellites in 2024. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un put forward the goal among others as the five-day Central Committee gathering of the ruling Workers' Party concluded on Saturday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. "Space launch vehicles incorporate technologies

Jan. 1, 2024

Sacked N. Korean military official returns to No. 2 post of military

North Korean Marshal Pak Jong-chon, who was sacked earlier this year, has returned to the second most powerful position of the country's military after the country's leader Kim Jong-un as part of a year-end ruling party reshuffle, according to state media Sunday. Pak was named the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea in the reshuffle from the five-day plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee that ended Saturday, according to

Dec. 31, 2023

N. Korea to launch 3 more military spy satellites next year: state media

North Korea aims to launch three additional spy satellites next year, the North's state media reported Sunday, after the successful launch of the country's first military reconnaissance satellite last month. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set forth the goal as he wrapped up five days of the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Based on the experience of successfully launching

Dec. 31, 2023

US reaffirms 'no hostile intent' to N. Korea after Kim calls for stronger war preparations

The United States has "no hostile intent" toward Pyongyang and remains committed to diplomacy, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for beefed-up war preparations. During a plenary session of the ruling Workers' Party on Wednesday, Kim made the call, pointing to the security situation on the Korean Peninsula that he claimed has become "extremely dangerous" due to "unprecedented" US-led confrontational moves

Dec. 29, 2023

N. Korean leader calls for stepped-up war preparations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for stepped-up efforts to prepare for war, saying the United States is engaged in "unprecedented" acts of confrontation against the country, state media reported Thursday. In the second-day session of the plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on Wednesday, Kim also presented a goal of strengthening cooperation with "anti-imperialist" countries, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "He set forth the militant t

Dec. 28, 2023

N. Korean officials show up for year-end party meeting in luxury sedans

Key North Korean officials arrived for a year-end meeting of the ruling Worker's Party in luxury vehicles, state media footage showed Wednesday, despite international sanctions banning the supply of luxury goods to the North. Footage from the North's Korean Central Television showed Premier Kim Tok-hun; Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizations affairs at the ruling Workers' Party; and Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, using M

Dec. 27, 2023

S. Korea slaps sanctions on NK foreign intelligence chief

The South Korean government on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the head of North Korea's primary intelligence agency responsible for overseas operations, along with seven other North Koreans. The announcement on unilateral economic sanctions was in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Dec. 18, contravening multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry. A total of eight designated North Korea

Dec. 27, 2023

N. Korea convenes year-end party meeting with leader Kim in attendance

North Korea has convened a key year-end meeting of the ruling Workers' Party with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss next year's policy direction, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday. Kim presided over the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea the previous day to review state policies for this year and discuss those for 2024, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Kim defined 2023 as a "year of gre

Dec. 27, 2023

US expresses serious concern over signs of NK commissioning light-water reactor

The United States has expressed serious concern over North Korea showing signs of starting the operation of a new light-water nuclear reactor in a possible attempt to produce nuclear weapons fuel. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Thursday that the agency has detected more signs of the North commissioning the light-water reactor at the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, such as warm water being discharged from it. The North's "commissioning

Dec. 24, 2023

N. Korea to hold key parliamentary meeting on Jan. 15 to discuss budget

North Korea plans to convene a key parliamentary meeting next month to discuss the state budget for 2024, state media said Friday. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly made a decision to hold the 10th session of the 14th SPA on Jan. 15, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. "The session will discuss the settlement of the implementation of the state budget" for 2023 and the issue of next year's state budget, the KCNA said. The announcement came

Dec. 22, 2023

NK leader vows to launch nuclear attack without hesitation in event of enemy's nuclear provocations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country will launch a nuclear attack without hesitation in event of nuclear provocations from the enemy, state media said Thursday. Kim made the remarks in an event held Wednesday to praise a missile unit for the successful launch of a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this week. Kim said the launch "clearly" showed enemies the North's "offensive countermeasure" to "launch a nuclear attack withou

Dec. 21, 2023