N. Korean leader's sister vows to 'limitlessly' bolster nuclear war deterrent over US submarine arrival

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, vowed Tuesday to "continuously and limitlessly" bolster the North's nuclear war deterrent against what it called US threats, denouncing the arrival of a US nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea. The remark came a day after the 7,800-ton USS Vermont entered a major naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to replenish supplies and provide rest for crew members. "The DPRK's nuclear

Sept. 24, 2024

North Korea sends more trash balloons toward South Korea

North Korea sent more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Sunday, the South's military said, just four days after the prior similar launch. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North resumed its balloon campaign and warned the balloons may float toward Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by North Korean defectors and acti

Sept. 22, 2024

Allies urge NK to free detainees as S. Korean missionary marks 4,000 days in captivity

Seoul and Washington issued concurrent statements condemning North Korea’s unlawful detention of six South Korean nationals and demanding their immediate, unconditional release, timed to mark missionary Kim Jung-wook's 4,000th day in captivity. South Korea released the statement from Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Friday, while the US simultaneously issued the press statement Thursday from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. In his statement, Kim decried, "North Korea

Sept. 20, 2024

NK newspaper 'unusually' silent on new missile tests: Seoul

While North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, primarily targeting international audiences, reported missile test launches under Kim Jong-un's supervision on Thursday, the country's primary domestic newspaper unusually omitted the coverage. Kim supervised the tests of tactical ballistic missiles fitted with "super-large" warheads and modified cruise missiles on Wednesday, according to the KCNA. But the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s most widely circulated

Sept. 19, 2024

N. Korea again sends suspected trash balloons toward S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has launched balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea, the South's military said Wednesday. "North Korea is once again launching balloons likely carrying trash directed towards the South," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, noting the balloons could travel toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, and the Seoul metropolitan area. Citizens are advised not to touch any balloons if found. Instead, the JCS urged people to report sightings to the nearest military

Sept. 18, 2024

N. Korea apparently modifying Russian plane to possibly build airborne warning aircraft

North Korea appears to be making progress in converting a Russian heavy transport plane into what could be the country's first airborne early warning platform, a report showed Wednesday, citing commercial satellite imagery. Joseph Dempsey, a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, made the analysis based on recent satellite imagery taken of the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. In the report, Dempsey identified the aircraf

Sept. 18, 2024

N. Korea launches missiles in latest show of military, nuclear strength

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles Wednesday in its latest show of force, just days after an unprecedented public release of photos showing its uranium enrichment facilities capable of producing nuclear weapons material. The missile launches came on the heels of last week's launches which marked the end of a more than two-month pause in Pyongyang's missile provocations. The South Korean military detected North Korea launching several short-range ballistic missiles northea

Sept. 18, 2024

N. Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles: JCS

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles in a northeastern direction on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, further ratcheting up tensions already heightened by its rare disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility last week. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches at about 6:50 a.m. from the North's Kaechon area in South Phyongan Province, north of Pyongyang, and the missiles flew about 400 kilometers. It did not provide further details, such as the

Sept. 18, 2024

North Korea sends top envoy to Russia as it girds for friction with Seoul

North Korea sent its foreign minister to Russia for her second trip in less than a year to the major backer of Kim Jong-un’s regime. The move comes as Pyongyang readies for a parliamentary meeting that will likely approve measures that raise tensions with South Korea. Choe Son-hui led a delegation taking part in women’s conferences, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday in a two-sentence dispatch. The foreign minister who rarely travels abroad last went to Moscow i

Sept. 17, 2024

N. Korea to hold key parliamentary meeting on Oct. 7 to revise constitution

North Korea will hold a key parliamentary meeting next month to mainly amend the country's constitution, state media reported Monday, after its leader Kim Jong-un called for the constitutional revision to define South Korea as its primary foe. The 11th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly will be convened in Pyongyang on Oct. 7, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In an SPA meeting in January, the North's leader called for revising the constitution to define Sout

Sept. 16, 2024

N. Korea launches trash balloons toward S. Korea for 2nd day: JCS

North Korea on Sunday launched balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea for the second straight day, the South's military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the latest launches, noting the balloons could travel toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, and the broader capital area. The launch came after the North flew around 50 trash-carrying balloons toward the South from Saturday night to early Sunday, with about 10 trash bundles landing

Sept. 15, 2024

N. Korea launches more trash balloons toward S. Korea: JCS

North Korea sent more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Saturday, the South's military said, just three days after it floated similar balloons southward. In a message sent to reporters at 10:26 p.m., the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North's balloons could travel to Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul, warning the public of falling objects and asking people to report balloons to the military or police. On Wednesday, North Korea sent around 20 balloons likely carrying

Sept. 15, 2024

N. Korea pledges deeper ties with Russia as security chief visits

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to deepen ties with Russia as he held talks with visiting security chief Sergei Shoigu, state media reported Saturday. Western powers have accused cash-strapped North Korea of selling ammunition to Russia in defiance of sanctions over the more than 30-month war in Ukraine. North Korea has recently bolstered military ties with Russia, with President Vladimir Putin making a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, where he signed a mutual defence agreement with Kim.

Sept. 14, 2024

NK leader meets top Russian security official on 1st anniv. of Vostochny summit: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met with the head of Russia's Security Council in Pyongyang and vowed to deepen the bilateral ties between the two countries, state media said Saturday. The meeting came on the anniversary of a rare summit between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin last year at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in Russia's Amur region, during which Kim pledged his "full support" for Moscow. During their talks Friday, Kim and Sergei Shoigu, secreta

Sept. 14, 2024

US stresses reconnaissance efforts for Korean Peninsula after NK uranium enrichment site disclosure

The United States on Friday highlighted it has "devoted" more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets for security on the Korean Peninsula, after North Korea made a rare disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility this week. White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby commented on the North's nuclear facility, saying that the US continues to monitor developments in the recalcitrant regime's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The North&#

Sept. 14, 2024

N. Korea publicly discloses uranium enrichment facility for 1st time

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for increasing the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment in order to increase its nuclear weapons for self-defense, the state media said Friday. Kim made the call during a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the "production base of weapon-grade nuclear materials," according to the Korean Central News Agency. The dispatch did not release the location of the facility or date of the visit. "He went round the control room of the

Sept. 13, 2024

Why is NK back to firing missiles after monthslong hiatus?

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from the Pyongyang area Thursday morning, the South Korean military said, marking its first missile launch since July 1 and breaking a more than two-month lull in missile provocations. The timing -- coinciding with weeklong Russia-China military exercises, just one day after the US presidential debate, and as North Korea shifts its focus from flood recovery back to weapons development -- signals what analysts view as a c

Sept. 12, 2024

N. Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, the South Korean military said, a week after Pyongyang warned that South Korea and the United States will have to pay a "dear price" for their joint drills. "The North Korean missiles flew about 360 kilometers and landed in the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said it detected the missiles launched from the Pyongyang area at 7:10 a.m., but it did not provide any further det

Sept. 12, 2024

N. Korea appears to have discharged border dam water: environment ministry

North Korea appears to have discharged a "considerable" amount of water from the upstream of its dam near the inter-Korean border, Seoul's environment ministry said Wednesday. Satellite imagery taken at 3 p.m. showed the downstream of the Imjin River had significantly broadened in width, according to the ministry. The water level of South Korea's northernmost Pilseung Bridge on the Imjin River had reached 1 meter as of 5 p.m., up from 0.3 meter recorded three hours before. Th

Sept. 11, 2024

Harris and Trump spar over Kim Jong-un, alliances

US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump traded sharp barbs on Tuesday, spotlighting their sharply contrasting views on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, treaty alliances and a host of pivotal foreign policy issues. The televised presidential debate, the first between these two candidates, continued past the original 90-minutes scheduled, notably sidestepping North Korea and rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including Pyongyang's illicit nuclear buildup and it

Sept. 11, 2024