No exchange between Koreas' separated families since Feb. of last year

South Koreans with relatives in North Korea have not been in contact with their kin across the border for over a year, government data showed Tuesday, highlighting the increasingly worsening relations between Seoul and Pyongyang. According to the Ministry of Unification, there has been no contact between the separated families of the Koreas at the civilian level since February of last year. This refers to individuals connecting with their relatives through a non-government broker, which must b

July 30, 2024

NK trash balloons disrupt Incheon Int'l Airport operations on 12 occasions: lawmaker

North Korea's recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South's main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing government data. According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent f

July 30, 2024

N. Korea's Kim attends events marking 71st anniversary of armistice signing

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with war veterans and attended celebrations marking the 71st anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, the North's state media said Sunday. The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when tank-led North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the UN flag. The conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, on July 27, 1953. Kim attended a

July 28, 2024

N. Korean leader says 'kindred' ties with China to be 'firmly' carried forward

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said "kindred" relations with China will be "firmly" carried forward as he visited a monument symbolizing bilateral ties, state media reported Saturday, amid suspected signs of strain between the traditionally friendly countries. On Friday, Kim visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, which was erected to commemorate China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and paid tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers during the war, a day ahe

July 27, 2024

N. Korea sends some 500 trash balloons into S. Korea earlier this week

North Korea's latest round of its balloon campaign involved around 500 balloons carrying scrap paper and plastic sheets, including those that fell on the presidential office compound in the capital, South Korea's military said Thursday. In what marked the second of its kind this week alone, North Korea launched the trash-carrying balloons the previous day, as the South Korean military blared anti-Pyongyang broadcasts in full scale through its border loudspeakers in response to the repe

July 25, 2024

US sanctions China-based individuals, entities accused of supporting NK missile, space programs

The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on a China-based network of six individuals and five entities for their alleged involvement in the procurement of items supporting North Korea's ballistic missile and space programs. The Treasury Department issued the sanctions after Pyongyang's persistent launches using ballistic missile technology, including a failed attempt at a military spy satellite launch in May, in breach of UN Security Council resolutions. The department stressed

July 25, 2024

Koreas in 'fierce' cultural battle to win hearts of N. Koreans: minister

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Tuesday emphasized that South Korea's cultural wave is fiercely battling the cultural indoctrination of the Kim Jong-un regime to win the hearts and minds of North Koreans. "With the influx of external culture and information such as South Korean soap operas and K-pop, many North Koreans are consuming Juche culture by day, South Korean culture by night," Kim said in his keynote speech at the 2024 International Dialogue on North Korean Human Righ

July 24, 2024

N. Korea again sends trash-carrying balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be traveling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul, and advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. North Korea has launched more than 3,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May, including some 500 such balloons Sunday, in a tit-for-tat move against

July 24, 2024

N. Korea denies Trump's boasts on bond with Kim

North Korea on Tuesday dismissed former US President Donald Trump's repeated boasts about his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a "lingering desire," stating that their personal bond did not bring about "any substantial positive change." The statement, delivered through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, which is tailored more to external audiences than domestic ones, marked Pyongyang's first official reaction to Trump's campaign

July 23, 2024

Unification minister asks US support to free S. Korean detainees in NK

South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Monday asked for the United States' support to repatriate South Korean nationals forcibly detained in North Korea and called for enhanced cooperation between the allies in addressing human rights abuses in North Korea. Kim conveyed his appeal during a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell in Washington, as part of his six-day visit that began Sunday, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday. Kim's visit mark

July 23, 2024

Kim may try to reignite 'bromance' with Trump if he returns to White House: ex-Trump official

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may try to rekindle his "bromance" with former President Donald Trump if he returns to the White House, a former US official said Monday, predicting Kim could propose a deal to limit his regime's nuclear program in return for American troops' pullout from South Korea. H.R. McMaster, who served as national security advisor for Trump from 2017-2018, made the remarks amid speculation that the GOP presidential nominee, if reelected, could seek dire

July 23, 2024

What's driving Seoul back to DMZ loudspeaker broadcasts?

South Korea entered its second day of renewed loudspeaker broadcasts along its border with North Korea on Monday, a retaliatory response to Pyongyang's recent barrage of trash-laden balloons sent southward. Hours after North Korea floated hundreds of balloons toward the South, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that "full-scale" broadcasting began Sunday afternoon and would continue on Monday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. As of 8 a.m., Monday, the South Korean military iden

July 22, 2024

N. Korea slams US-S. Korea joint military drills ahead of 71st anniversary of armistice signing

North Korea said Monday the United States and South Korea have never stopped their joint military drills against the North since the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, claiming that they are crossing a red line of a new nuclear war. The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, raised public awareness against the US ahead of the 71st anniversary of the signing of the armistice on July 27, celebrated as Victory Day in North Korea. "The enemies' madness of

July 22, 2024

S. Korea begins full-scale anti-NK broadcasts against trash balloons

The South Korean military announced Sunday it has switched from rotational anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts to full-scale broadcasting, simultaneously blaring from all border speakers as of Sunday afternoon. The action comes in response to North Korea's continued launch of trash-laden balloons into South Korea, despite repeated warnings to stop, especially during the monsoon season. "As previously warned multiple times, our military will begin full-scale loudspeaker broadcasting t

July 21, 2024

N. Korea again sends trash-carrying balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday, just three days after a similar launch. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be traveling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul and advised the public not to touch fallen balloons and to report them to the military or police. With the latest launch, North Korea has sent more than 2,000 trash-filled balloons into the South over nine occasio

July 21, 2024

S. Korea blares propaganda broadcasts for 3rd day against NK balloons

South Korea's military on Saturday continued to send propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea in response to the North's repeated launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border, sources said. The anti-Pyongyang broadcasts started from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the sources said. The South Korean military had warned it could increase the number of loudspeakers and switch to a full-scale broadcast if the North stages further provocations, including sending trash balloons across

July 20, 2024

N. Korean leader discusses military ties with visiting Russian vice defense minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has discussed the "importance and necessity" of military cooperation with Russia's vice defense minister, state media reported Friday, amid Pyongyang's deepening military alignment with Moscow. Kim met with a Russian military delegation, headed by Aleksey Krivoruchko in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He has become the first known ranking Russian military official to visit North Korea since Russian Pre

July 19, 2024

N. Korea resumes sending trash-carrying balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be travelling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul. It advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. North Korea is estimated to have launched more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent

July 18, 2024

Detained ship carrying 4,500-ton of N.Korean coal: Seoul

South Korean authorities have concluded that a detained cargo ship was carrying 4,500 tons of North Korean-produced anthracite coal in breach of UN sanctions, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced on Thursday. The unflagged cargo ship DE YI has been docked in South Korean waters since March 30 for investigation, following intelligence obtained by the South Korean government implicating the vessel in actions contravening UN Security Council resolutions. "Our government has decided to take

July 18, 2024

Seoul on alert over N. Korea's land mines floating into South with heavy rains

Authorities were on heightened alert Thursday over the possibility of land mines planted by North Korea troops floating into South Korean territory with the heavy rainfall. There is also a possibility that North Korea could intentionally float land mines toward the South via shared waterways to protest anti-North Korea leaflet-carrying balloons, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. North Korean troops have been newly planting land mines on the northern part of the Demilitarized Zone separatin

July 18, 2024