North Korea on Saturday reported 21 additional COVID-19 deaths, with more than 174,400 people nationwide feverish, as its leader Kim Jong-un stated that his country is faced with "great turmoil" due to the spread of the virus. Pyongyang's state media released the updated tally compiled the previous day, after Kim presided over an early-morning politburo meeting to review the nation's "maximum em...

North Korea appears to be ready to conduct a nuclear test, and may conduct further missiles tests beforehand, South Korea’s presidential office said Friday. The government is also trying to figure out the reason for Pyongyang’s movements, a presidential official told reporters. If conducted, it will be Pyongyang’s seventh nuclear test. “North Korea has already staged six nuclear tests, and we a...

North Korea reports 6 deaths amid ‘explosive’ spread of COVID-19

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday offered to send COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea, his spokesperson said, a day after Pyongyang acknowleged an outbreak for the first time since the pandemic began. After claiming for over two years that it was coronavirus-free, the North reported its first case of COVID-19 on Thursday, saying the country declared the implementation of the "maximum emergency" vir...

The United States has no immediate plans to provide COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea but supports international efforts to help vaccinate the people of the reclusive country, a White House spokesperson said Thursday. Jen Psaki, however, accused Pyongyang of exploiting its people by denying or diverting international assistance to pursue unlawful weapons programs. "The United States does not cur...

North Korea may be ready to conduct a nuclear test before the end of the month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. Her remarks come less than a week after a state department spokesperson hinted at a possible resumption of nuclear tests by North Korea in the near future. "The United States assesses that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea could be ready to conduct a test ...

North Korea fired another ballistic missile into the East Sea on Thursday, continuing a series of launches that have raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, a projectile suspected of being a ballistic missile was fired into the East Sea. Thursday’s launch is North Korea’s 16th show of force this year. The most recent was a submarine-launched ba...

Nominee says Moon administration’s inter-Korean agreements still valid

The emergency situation would not hold Pyongyang back from its nuclear ambitions, experts say

JENIN, Palestinian Territories -- Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh was shot dead Wednesday as she covered an Israeli army raid on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The Qatar-based TV channel said Israeli forces shot Abu Aqleh, 51, deliberately and "in cold blood" while Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it was "likely" that Palestinian gunfire killed her. Abu...

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday security conditions are tough amid talk of a possible North Korean nuclear test and called for a close monitoring of the situation. Yoon made the remark during his first meeting with his senior secretaries after taking office the previous day. "The security situation is tough," he said. "Foreign countries are worried and there's talk of a resumption of nuc...

New South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup took office Wednesday, vowing to "sternly" respond to North Korea's possible provocations and cement the alliance with the United States. In his inauguration speech, Lee, a retired three-star Army general, stressed his commitment to ensuring a "robust" defense as he pointed to the "very grave" security context marked by the North's evolving nuclear ...

North Korea is expected to continue advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities this year to increase its leverage in any potential negotiations with the United States, the top US military intelligence official said Tuesday. The remarks by Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, come amid speculation that Pyongyang may conduct a nuclear test as early as this mo...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his country's "firm solidarity" with Russia in a congratulatory message sent to President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's celebration of its "Victory Day" holiday, the North's state media reported Tuesday. In the message sent the previous day, Kim congratulated Putin on the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, accordi...

North Korea again called Monday for stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid growing cases of fever patients there, while the secretive nation has claimed to be coronavirus free. South Korea's spy agency said earlier that a temporary lockdown imposed in the North last Wednesday is suspected to have been related to COVID-19, though it also raised the possibility of an outbreak of...