S. Korean military vets presumed N.Korean propaganda leaflets

South Korea's military said Tuesday it is vetting objects assumed to be propaganda leaflets distributed by North Korea. "The military is taking measures after unidentified objects assumed to be North Korean propaganda leaflets were found in border areas in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a notice sent to the press. The JCS advised residents in the areas to refrain from accessing the objects and report to nearby military or police authorities in

May 29, 2024

N. Korea says spy satellite launch failed due to midair blast during first-stage rocket flight

North Korea said Tuesday that its latest attempt to launch a new rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure due to the midair explosion of the rocket during the first-stage flight this week. The vice general director of the North's National Aerospace Technology Administration said the rocket carrying the satellite, the Malligyong-1-1, exploded after it lifted off from the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the country's northwest coast on Monday, according to

May 28, 2024

N. Korea decries S. Korea's commitment to 'denuclearization' after trilateral summit

North Korea denounced South Korea on Monday for stating its commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a joint declaration with Japan and China following their trilateral summit, casting it as a "mockery" of the region and the international community. The North's foreign ministry issued the statement hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held the trilateral summit in Seoul and reaffirmed their commitm

May 27, 2024

N. Korea notifies Japan of plan to launch satellite before June 4: Kyodo

North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite between Monday and midnight of June 3, Kyodo News reported, citing Japan's coast guard. The notice on the eight-day window came as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are set to hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Monday, where evolving North Korean threats are likely to figure prominently. It designated three areas where debris will f

May 27, 2024

US girding for possibility of N. Korea taking most provocative military actions in decade near election: NBC

WASHINGTON -- US officials are bracing for North Korea to potentially take its "most provocative" military action in a decade ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, possibly at the urging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, NBC News reported Friday. Citing six senior US officials, the broadcaster also said that the United States has contingency plans to respond in the event of Pyongyang taking aggressive action in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, or shelling South

May 25, 2024

N. Korea to convene key party meeting next month

North Korea has decided to convene a key ruling party meeting next month to review progress in its ongoing projects for the first half of the year, state media reported Saturday. The North's leader Kim Jong-un led a politburo meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on Friday, which decided to convene a plenary meeting of the party's central committee late next month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Kim Jong-un referred to the necessity to convene the

May 25, 2024

Kim's portrait is publicly displayed in North Korea. Here's a look at what it means

The portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was publicly displayed along with those of his father and grandfather for the first time, sparking speculation about the message it sends. Portraits of leaders are at the core of North Korea’s state-sponsored cult of personality that has buttressed the Kim family’s rule since the country’s foundation in 1948. Almost all homes and public offices in North Korea must have portraits of Kim’s father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Ki

May 22, 2024

Russia likely offering N. Korea technology aid to expand threats to US, others: Pentagon official

Russia has likely given technology assistance to North Korea and Iran in return for their arms transfers to Moscow, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday, casting it as an apparent move to expand security threats to the United States and others. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense John Hill made the remarks in response to a senator's question over how Washington is handling emerging space security cooperation between Tehran and Moscow as he attended a Senate sub

May 22, 2024

High-ranking military officials' e-mail hacked, possibly by N. Korea

South Korean police on Tuesday said they were investigating a hacking attack on the personal email accounts of high-ranking military officials, with North Korea the likely suspect. The Cyber Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency recently found that the email accounts of several military generals and officials of the Defense Ministry have been hacked. Officials declined to reveal the number or specific posts of the victims, but it has been reported that vice minister-level officials

May 21, 2024

South Korea bans viral North Korea propaganda video praising Kim

South Korea's media regulator said on Monday it was banning access to a North Korean propaganda music video that it said idolised and glorified leader Kim Jong Un as a "friendly father" and "great leader." South Korea's National Security Act blocks access to the North's government websites and media to restrict exposure to the efforts by Kim's autocratic regime to "praise, incite or propagate" its activities. The two Koreas are still technically

May 20, 2024

Minister warns against trusting NK stated intentions, says Moon misguided

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Monday issued a warning of the severe adverse security consequences that South Korea could face if it relies on the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's professed intentions of denuclearization. The minister's remarks directly contradict the memoir of former President Moon Jae-in, in which he wrote that Kim Jong-un "earnestly explained his commitment to denuclearization." "Placing complete trust in North Korea's intentions would only

May 20, 2024

North Korea selling ICBM-themed fireworks

North Korea is selling fireworks that look like its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to its state broadcaster Korean Central Television. In a news report broadcast late Sunday, the KCTV said more than 90,000 fireworks in 20 different types were being sold at a shop in Pyongyang. One of the workers at the shop said in the interview with the state broadcaster that the latest range of fireworks that they carry included ones that were modeled after Hwasong, the name of the ICBM series

May 20, 2024

N. Korea slams US subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence

North Korea threatened Monday to take powerful deterrent action against what it claims is the US nuclear threat, denouncing Washington for its recent subcritical nuclear test. The US carried out a subcritical nuclear test in Nevada last week, the third of its kind under President Joe Biden. The US said it was designed to collect "essential data" about its nuclear warheads. An unnamed spokesman at the North's foreign ministry said North Korea cannot but reconsider the measures necessary

May 20, 2024

NK delegation returns home from visit to Russia's Far East

A North Korean delegation from the country's border city of Rason has returned home after a weeklong visit to Russia's Far East, state media reported Sunday. The Korean Central News Agency said the delegation led by the chief of the Rason Municipal People's Committee arrived back home on Saturday. The delegation had left for the trip on May 12. The one-sentence dispatch did not provide further details, but the delegation is believed to have discussed resuming passenger train servi

May 19, 2024

N. Korea slams US over redesignation as uncooperative country in counterterrorism efforts

North Korea denounced the United States on Saturday over its recent redesignation as a country not cooperating fully with US counterterrorism efforts, insisting that no area in which the two countries can cooperate exists. Kwon Jong-gun, director-general of the department of US affairs at the North's foreign ministry, issued the criticism after the United States kept the North on its list of countries not fully cooperating with its counterterrorism efforts earlier this week. "The DPRK

May 18, 2024

North Korea confirms missile launch, vows bolstered nuclear force

North Korea has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a "new autonomous navigation system," state media said Saturday, with leader Kim Jong-un vowing to boost the country's nuclear force. Kim oversaw the Friday test-launch into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on a mission to evaluate the "accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said. The launch was the latest in a st

May 18, 2024

HRNK report sheds light on human rights abuse of N. Korean nuclear scientists

WASHINGTON -- South Korean and US officials have stressed the need to address an "inextricable" link between North Korea's human rights and security issues, claiming Pyongyang's repressive political climate has led it to divert its scarce resources to its weapons programs without public pushback. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, a US-based nongovernmental institute, issued a report Friday to further substantiate the claim as it sheds light on how the reclusive r

May 18, 2024

N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology

  North Korea said Saturday it has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a new "autonomous" navigation system in a bid to advance its weapons capabilities. The North's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the weapons test on Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The report did not reveal further details such as how many missiles were fired. "The accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system were verified through the test fire," the rep

May 18, 2024

Ex-president Moon recalls in memoir NK leader voiced will not to use nukes

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had voiced frustration over global skepticism on his will for denuclearization, stressing he had no intention to use nuclear weapons, a memoir written by former President Moon Jae-in showed Friday. The details of exchanges between Moon and Kim during their first summit held in April 2018 were shared in the book, of which the title translates into "From the Periphery to the Center." It recounts significant diplomatic events, such as Moon's summit mee

May 17, 2024

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

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Friday, the South Korean military said, a day after South Korea and the United States staged combined aerial drills involving advanced stealth jets. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected what are presumed to be short-range missiles fired off the eastern coastal city of Wonsan at 3:10 p.m. toward the East Sea. "The North Korean missiles flew about 300 kilometers and landed in the East Sea," the JCS said

May 17, 2024