Kim Yo-jong's reference to South as 'Republic of Korea' may indicate change

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday referred to Seoul as the "Republic of Korea," South Korea's official name, in two statements, signaling a change in its decadeslong strategy to unify the Korean Peninsula under North Korea's lead, according to observers. The name change in Kim Yo-jong's statements -- which were issued in both Korean and English -- may indicate that Pyongyang has started to recognize Seoul as a separate state in a hostil

July 11, 2023

[Graphic News] 16,000 died awaiting reunions with cross-border family in 5 years

Approximately 16,000 elderly South Koreans are presumed to have died over the past five years while awaiting reunions with family members in North Korea who were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, data showed. According to data from the Unification Ministry, around 3,400 to 3,700 people have died every year since August 2018, when the last face-to-face family reunion event was held, with the estimated total number of deaths coming to around 16,000. The data was released by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook

July 11, 2023

Kim Yo-jong claims US reconnaissance aircraft intruded in N. Korean airspace

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Monday claimed US reconnaissance aircraft intruded in the country's airspace. Kim issued a statement alleging that a US spy aircraft intruded in the North's eastern airspace twice at around 5 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., respectively, on the same day. In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, she said the US is "engaging in a serious military provocation by conducting aerial surveillance." Kim Yo-j

July 10, 2023

Amid declining number of NK defectors, Hanawon turns to vocational training

ANSEONG, Gyeonggi Province – Hanawon has proactively expanded its primary role by offering a diverse array of vocational training programs in order to empower North Korean defectors and equip them with the skills necessary to pursue in-demand careers as baristas, estheticians, manicurists and pet groomers. Before embarking on their journey of assimilation in South Korea, a destination once distant but deeply yearned for, every North Korean defector must pass through a crucial checkpoint: t

July 10, 2023

N. Korea slams US reconnaissance aircraft for intruding in airspace

North Korea on Monday accused US spy aircraft of intruding in its airspace recently, warning that there is no guarantee that such aircraft will not be shot down, state media reported. A spokesperson for North Korea's defense ministry claimed "provocative" flights were made by US reconnaissance aircraft, such as the RC-135, the U-2S and the RQ-4B, over the East Sea and the Yellow Sea from July 2 to Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. "Especially in th

July 10, 2023

N. Korea's mask imports from China plunge 78% in May

North Korea's mask imports from China tumbled 78 percent in May from a month earlier, trade data showed Sunday, as it appears to have recently eased strict COVID-19 restrictions. The North's mask imports from China stood at $28,746 in May, the lowest level in seven months, according to the trade data by China Customs Statistics. Pyongyang's mask imports from China began at $523 in August 2022 and peaked at $385,887 in October, but the trade volume has steadily decreased to $198,96

July 9, 2023

NK students take top spots in hacking contest by US firm

North Korean university students swept top places at a hacking contest run by US-based software company HackerEarth in May, US broadcaster Radio Free Asia said on Thursday. Students of the Kim Chaek University of Technology won first, third and fourth places with perfect scores in a coding marathon for developers called May Circuits 2023 in which some 1,700 people participated. A student of the Kim Il Sung University won second place. Another Kim Chaek student finished 10th. The HackerEarth webs

July 7, 2023

S. Korea to introduce anti-drone defense system at key military, govt. facilities

S. Korea plans to introduce an integrated defense system to counter hostile unmanned aircraft at key military and government facilities for the first time, officials said Thursday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration recently put up a notice for the 48.5 billion-won ($37.2 million) project on its procurement website as Seoul has sought to bolster anti-drone capabilities after N. Korea's drone incursions late last year. Under the project, DAPA seeks to purchase the counter-drone s

July 6, 2023

N. Korea discusses economic plans in follow-up measures after key party meeting

N. Korea held a Cabinet meeting earlier this week to review economic plans in the first half of the year and discuss follow-up measures for policy goals put forth in a recent key party meeting, state media said Thursday. Last month, Pyongyang held a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, attended by leader Kim Jong-un, to discuss key agenda items, including economic policy. Premier Kim Tok-hun presided over the videoconference meeting Wednesday,

July 6, 2023

Reports suggest COVID-19 mask rule lifted in NK

North Korean state media reports suggest that the country has lifted its COVID-19 mask mandate across the country, effective from this month. The state-run Korean Central Television, primarily catering to North Korean audiences, began broadcasting news showing people working at factories and going about their daily lives mask-free on Sunday. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, also began featuring photographs of unmasked North Korean people on Monday. Six indi

July 4, 2023

Unification Ministry to shift focus to N.Korean human rights

The Yoon Suk Yeol government is seeking to restructure the Unification Ministry to focus on human rights issues in North Korea and analysis of the Kim Jong-un regime, de-emphasizing its role of facilitating inter-Korean dialogue and other projects aimed at the reconciliation of the two Koreas. Yoon, following his unconventional, concurrent appointments of a hard-liner on Pyongyang as the minister and a veteran diplomat as the vice minister, reiterated on Sunday that the ministry should not prima

July 3, 2023

Hyundai Group chief withdraws application to visit Kumgangsan after N. Korea's refusal

The chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group has withdrawn an application to visit North Korea's Mount Kumgang, after the North said it has "no intention to examine" the application, an official at Seoul's unification ministry said Monday. Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, which had run sightseeing programs at the North Korean mountain, had been seeking to visit the North in August to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of her husband and former chairman of the

July 3, 2023

Pyongyang renovates N. Korea-China friendship tower ahead of armistice anniversary

North Korea has completed the renovation of a tower symbolizing its friendship with China as the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War approaches, the North's state media said Thursday. A ceremony marking the completion of the project, which was carried out upon North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's order, took place in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The event came as the North has been seeking to str

June 29, 2023

N. Korea discusses grain output in follow-up measure after key party meeting

North Korea held a Cabinet meeting earlier this week to discuss follow-up measures for policy goals laid out in a recent key party meeting, such as increasing agricultural production, the North's state media said Thursday. A two-day plenary meeting of the Cabinet's Party Committee wrapped up Wednesday, attended by participants, including Premier Kim Tok-hun and Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The meeting came less than two weeks after th

June 29, 2023

Seoul, Washington moving to hold inaugural meeting of Nuclear Consultative Group: ambassador

South Korea and the United States are working to hold their inaugural meeting of the new Nuclear Consultative Group, South Korea's ambassador to the US Cho Hyun-dong said Wednesday. Cho also said the allies have made "progress" toward holding the first meeting of the consultative body created under the Washington Declaration, signed by their leaders in late April. "With North Korea's threat actually materializing, the discussion for the inaugural meeting of the NCG proposed by Sou

June 29, 2023

Korean Russian sanctioned over NK weapons programs

South Korea unveiled sanctions on a Russian citizen of Korean descent and his company, as well as on a separate North Korean citizen and a joint venture run by the two individuals, the latest efforts to crack down on North Korea’s attempts to fund its weapons programs. Choi Chon-gon set up Hanne Ulaan, a company in Mongolia, to bankroll Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. He also founded a joint venture called Epsilon with a North Korean citizen, according to the South Korean F

June 28, 2023

N. Korea slams Japan for continued demand for resolution of abducted Japanese issue

North Korea condemned Japan on Wednesday for continuing to demand Pyongyang resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North decades ago, claiming that such a stance runs counter to Tokyo's hope for a summit with the North without preconditions. Ri Pyong-dok, a researcher at the Institute for Japan Studies of the North's foreign ministry, said the abductee issue has been "completely, finally and irreversibly" settled, accusing Japan of bringing the "unfeasib

June 28, 2023

Defector group sends propaganda leaflets to N. Korea on Korean War anniversary

A North Korean defectors' group said Monday it has sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets and medicine by balloons to the North, as they marked the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Park Sang-hak, head of the Fighters for a Free North Korea, told Yonhap News Agency that the organization sent 20 balloons carrying some 200,000 leaflets, 10,000 face masks, Tylenol pills and booklets from Gimpo, west of Seoul, at 10 p.m. on Sunday. Sunday marked the 73rd anniversary of the Korean War th

June 26, 2023

Mass rallies in N. Korea against US held on Korean War anniversary

More than 120,000 people participated in mass rallies in the North Korean capital Pyongyang to denounce what they claim is a "war provocation of aggression" by the United States on the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the North's state media said Monday. The Sunday rallies were attended by workers and youth, as well as secretaries of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea Ri Il-hwan and Pak Thae-song, according to the official Korean Central News A

June 26, 2023

N. Korea warns Korean Peninsula close to 'brink of nuclear war'

North Korea's foreign ministry on Monday accused Seoul and Washington of pushing tensions to "the brink of a nuclear war" akin to the 1950-53 Korean War, saying it will continue to bolster its self-defensive capabilities. In a research report released by the foreign ministry's Institute for American Studies, North Korea likened the current military tensions in the region to the night before the outbreak of the Korean War as it slammed the United States and South Korea for the

June 26, 2023