N. Korea discharges border dam water without notice: environment ministry

North Korea appears to have started discharging water from the upstream of a dam near the inter-Korean border in the early hours of Thursday without giving prior notice to South Korea, the environment ministry said. Satellite imagery taken at 3 a.m. showed the downstream of the North's Hwanggang Dam on the Imjin River had broadened in width, a change not visible from photos taken at 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the environment ministry. However, the amount of water released is not presum

July 18, 2024

Ex-CIA official indicted on suspicion of working with S. Korean spy agency

Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA official and renowned expert on Korean Peninsula issues, has been indicted on charges of acting as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government since at least 2013 and receiving bribes that included luxury handbags and financial support. Terry "advocated ROK policy positions, including published articles and during media appearances, disclosed nonpublic US government information to ROK intelligence officers, and facilitated access for ROK government offic

July 17, 2024

Forced labor system in NK shows features of 'servitude, slavery': UN

North Korea's institutionalized and extensive system of forced labor, spanning prisons, schools, military conscription, and overseas dispatches, "exhibits features of servitude and slavery" in some instances, the UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday. The report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is based on sources, including 183 in-depth interviews conducted from June 2015 to May 2023 with victims and witnesses of forced labor who have fled Nor

July 16, 2024

N. Korean senior diplomat in Cuba defected to S. Korea last year: Seoul

Ri Il-kyu, who was serving as a counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, defected to South Korea in November of last year, South Korea's spy agency confirmed Tuesday. This confirmation followed a report by the Chosun Ilbo daily, which interviewed the 52-year-old former diplomat who had fled to South Korea with his wife and children. This is the first confirmed defection of a North Korean diplomat since 2019, when Jo Song-gil, then the acting ambassador to Italy, defected in July, foll

July 16, 2024

N. Korea's Kim calls for developing offshore aquaculture during Sinpho visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for nurturing offshore fish farming in the port city of Sinpho, state media said Tuesday, as the North seeks to develop backward provinces to narrow widening economic gaps among regions. Kim visited a construction site for an offshore fish farm in the coastal city in South Hamgyong Province on Monday and presided over a meeting where developing the envisioned farm "into a new fine model of shallow-sea culture" was discussed, according to the Korea

July 16, 2024

N. Korean leader's powerful sister slams anti-Kim leaflets

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slammed South Korean "scum" on Sunday for launching anti-regime propaganda leaflets across the border via balloon, warning they would pay "a very high price." The Korean peninsula has seen tit-for-tat balloon campaigns in recent weeks, with Pyongyang floating trash-filled balloons southward in protest of ones carrying propaganda leaflets sent northward by South Korean activists. Kim Yo-jong, a key regime spokesperson, sai

July 14, 2024

N. Korea condemns NATO statement as 'illegal document'

North Korea on Saturday vehemently objected to the declaration adopted by the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last week, labeling it an "illegal document." The declaration "violates the legitimate rights of independent sovereign states and a confrontational program that incites new Cold War and military confrontation on a global scale," according to a statement released by North Korea's foreign ministry through the Korean Central News Agency. On Wedne

July 13, 2024

60% of N. Korean defectors advocate for changing official term: survey

Nearly 60 percent of North Korean defectors believed it necessary to change the official terminology labeling them as "North Korean defectors," according to a survey released Friday by the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification. The KINU reported that 58.9 percent of 505 North Korean defectors aged 18 and above, who were surveyed online, believed the term "should be changed," while 28.9 percent felt it "doesn't need to be changed." The remai

July 12, 2024

N. Korea expands inter-Korean railway demolition to Gyeongui line: Seoul

Signs that North Korea has been dismantling part of a western inter-Korean railway have been detected, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday, the latest in Pyongyang's apparent move to eliminate routes once seen as symbols of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. The military has detected the North removing ties and rails on the northern side of the Gyeongui line that connects the military demarcation line to the North Korean border city of Kaesong since late June, according to the

July 11, 2024

Seoul Forum spotlights roles of China, Russia in NK human rights

The inaugural Seoul Forum on North Korean Human Rights 2024 was held Thursday to illuminate egregious human rights violations in North Korea and seek ways for improvement particularly in coordination with all UN member states, including China and Russia. The event notably coincided with the 10th anniversary of the UN Commission of Inquiry report on North Korean human rights, which highlighted the "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" by the North Korean regime, dra

July 11, 2024

US top envoy for NK steps down without successor

Jung Pak, who served as the United States' top diplomat for North Korea issues, has recently resigned, leaving the position vacant again amid stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang since the Biden administration's inauguration in January 2021. Pak's resignation is noteworthy in light of the Biden administration's trend of downgrading similar positions. The trend led to the US special representative for North Korea position within the State Department remaining unfille

July 10, 2024

N. Korea-Russia relationship will end when Ukraine war is over: ex-Trump official

The growing alignment between Russia and North Korea will end when the war in Ukraine is over, and bringing the conflict to a stop will be a priority if ex-U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, a former U.S. official said Tuesday. Fred Fleitz, a former chief of staff of the National Security Council under the previous Trump administration, also said it will be a "bad precedent" for South Korea if it were to acquire its own nuclear weapons. "This relationship show

July 9, 2024

NK military delegation in Russia after Putin-Kim pact

North Korea has dispatched a military training delegation to Russia, marking the first military exchange since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty in mid-June. The move has drawn warnings from Seoul that any action aiding North Korea's military buildup contravenes UN sanctions. The delegation, comprising military training officials from the Korean People's Army and led by Kim Kum-chol who serves as the president of Kim Il Sung Military University, departed Pyongyang for Ru

July 9, 2024

NK leader's sister slams S. Korea's resumption of live-fire drills as 'suicidal hysteria'

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday denounced South Korea's resumption of live-fire artillery drills near the border as "suicidal hysteria" and warned of possible military actions against such acts. The South has conducted live-fire artillery exercises near the land and sea borders in recent weeks after fully suspending an inter-Korean 2018 military tension reduction agreement that bans such maneuvers and other acts deemed hostile against each other. K

July 8, 2024

N. Korea call for loyalty to leader ahead of late founder's death anniversary

North Korea's state media on Sunday called for loyalty to its leader Kim Jong-un ahead of the death anniversary of the founder of the country, Kim Il-sung, later this week, amid tensions over the North's weapons testing and defense pact with Russia. The North's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, made the call as the nation is set to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung, who ruled the country from 1948 to 1994 and is the grandfather of the current ruler, Kim Jong-un, o

July 7, 2024

Top nuclear envoy discusses NK-Russia threats with foreign diplomats in Seoul

South Korea's top nuclear envoy discussed the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia in meetings on Korean Peninsula issues with foreign diplomats in Seoul, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Lee Jun-il, director general for Korean Peninsula policy, invited ambassadors and diplomats from 30 countries to two separate roundtable sessions on North Korean issues on Monday and Wednesday, the ministry said. The participating countries either have a diplomatic presence in

July 3, 2024

NK leader inspects munitions factory after key party meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited major munitions and machinery factories, calling for efforts to expand production in the overall economic sector, according to state media Wednesday. The inspection took place Tuesday, a day after North Korea wrapped up four days of a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Accompanied by party officials, Kim visited a defense industrial enterprise, which the North s

July 3, 2024

N. Korea's sending of trash-filled balloons is 'form of soft terrorism': CSIS report

North Korea's obnoxious sending of trash-filled balloons to South Korea is a "form of soft terrorism," a US think tank report said Tuesday, stressing it should not be taken lightly though it reflects the recalcitrant regime's "weakness" and "insecurity." Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Andy Lim, an associate fellow with the CSIS Korea Chair, released the report that analy

July 3, 2024

Vietnam PM voices support for denuclearization of Korean Peninsula

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday reaffirmed his country’s stance backing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, stressing its consistent support for peace and stability. “It is Vietnam’s consistent stance to support the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, alongside peace, stability and cooperation,” Chinh said in an opening speech ahead of a closed-door meeting with his counterpart, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, at the Government Complex Se

July 2, 2024

N. Korea says it test-fired new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying super-large warhead

North Korea has test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a super-large warhead, state media reported Tuesday, a day after South Korea said the North fired two missiles and one of them could have failed. North Korea successfully launched the Hwasong-11Da-4.5 missile capable of carrying a 4.5 ton-class super-large warhead on Monday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "The test-fire was conducted with a missile tipped with a simulated heavy warhead to verify fl

July 2, 2024