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South Korean FM says no rewards for North Korea in peace talks, pledges aid for Ukraine
South Korea, Poland vow united stance on North Korea, Ukraine war, defense cooperation South Korea’s top diplomat stressed that North Korea must not be compensated for its illicit support of Russia’s war efforts in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, while also pledging Seoul’s continued humanitarian and financial assistance to Kyiv. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reaffirmed this stance during his meeting with his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, on Wednesday in Polish capit
March 6, 2025 -
Captured N. Korean soldier says mockups of Seoul, Jeju facilities in North's training camps
A North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine said that the North has military training camps that feature mockups of facilities and buildings in Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island, according to a South Korean lawmaker who recently met the soldier on Thursday. Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party made the remarks in an interview with SBS radio, as he released an audio clip of the North Korean soldier, identified only by his surname Ri. Ri is one of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukra
March 6, 2025 -
S. Korea's aid to North Korea drops to zero in 2024
Korea provided no humanitarian assistance to North Korea in 2024 at both government and private levels, marking the first-ever complete halt since Seoul began its aid efforts in 1995, data from the Unification Ministry showed Wednesday. The cessation follows a steady decline over the past five years. According to the ministry, aid amounted to 10 billion won ($6.9 million) in 2023, down from 26 billion won in 2022 and 31 billion won in 2021. The steepest drop occurred in 2020, when support was ne
March 5, 2025 -
About 1,500 more N. Korean soldiers in Russia on front lines in battle against Ukraine: lawmaker
Around 1,500 North Korean soldiers who were believed to be additionally deployed to Russia have been already on front lines to aid Russia's war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker who recently visited Kyiv said Wednesday, citing Ukraine's defense intelligence agency. Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party shared the information during a CBS radio interview after his trip to Ukraine on Feb. 23-26, North Korea reportedly sent around 11,000 troops to Russia in October last year and
March 5, 2025 -
S. Korea's humanitarian aid to North comes to zero last year
South Korea's humanitarian assistance to North Korea reached zero last year for the first time in nearly 30 years, amid Pyongyang's continued antagonistic stance toward Seoul, the unification ministry said Wednesday. Not a single humanitarian assistance program for North Korea was carried out last year, either at the government or private level, according to the ministry. It marked the first time that such aid to North Korea has come to zero since South Korea began providing humanitarian assista
March 5, 2025 -
Why N. Korea’s denuclearization is fading from Trump’s agenda
Key foreign, security policy officials hint at shift to risk reduction, positioning dialogue as a crucial tactical tool US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has reignited a lingering question over his North Korea strategy: Will he once again pursue high-stakes summitry with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in pursuit of denuclearization, or will he take a fundamentally different course in a vastly changed strategic landscape? Early signals from Trump's key foreign and security ad
March 4, 2025 -
South Korea warns North Korea against provocation
South Korea's Defense Ministry on Tuesday urged North Korea to abandon its fixation on nuclear weapons development in response to Pyongyang’s criticism of the recent deployment of the USS Carl Vinson, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea’s nuclear ambitions will never be tolerated. The only path to survival for the regime is to abandon its delusions and obsession with nuclear weapons,” the ministry said in a press statement. Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong
March 4, 2025 -
IAEA chief notes indications of NK uranium enrichment plants at Kangson, Yongbyon in operation
The International Atomic Energy Agency chief said Monday there are signs of North Korea continuing to operate uranium enrichment plants in two different locations, as he stressed further development of its nuclear program is a "clear" breach of UN Security Council resolutions. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi made the remarks in reference to the plants in Kangson near Pyongyang, and Yongbyon, north of the capital, as he delivered an introductory statement during the agency's Board of Governor
March 4, 2025 -
N. Korea warns of stepped-up actions against arrival of US aircraft carrier in S. Korea
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday warned of a stepped-up action against the arrival of a US aircraft carrier in South Korea, claiming the US move justifies the North bolstering its nuclear forces. Kim Yo-jong made the condemnation as the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class US aircraft carrier, arrived at a key naval base in the southeastern city of Busan on Sunday, in the US commitment to providing extended deterrence against North Korean threats. She said the United
March 4, 2025 -
North Korea fires strategic cruise missiles from its west coast this week
Missile launch addresses N. Korea policy taking shape under second Trump administration, says expert North Korea test-fired strategic cruise missiles aimed to showcase the reclusive regime’s “powerful striking ability” against its enemies from its west coast earlier this week, Pyongyang’s state media said Friday. The launch was supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and was conducted by a missile unit of the Korean People’s Army in the western region, according to the Korean Central News
Feb. 28, 2025 -
N. Korea completes construction of general hospital in Pyongyang, eyes its opening in Oct.
North Korea has completed the building of a general hospital in Pyongyang after five years of construction and plans to open it in October to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, according to state media Friday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Pyongyang General Hospital the previous day, expressing his satisfaction that a "solid springboard" has been laid for developing the public health sector, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In Marc
Feb. 28, 2025 -
N. Korea launched strategic cruise missiles this week to prove nuclear deterrence: KCNA
North Korea said Friday it launched strategic cruise missiles in waters off its west coast earlier this week, with its leader Kim Jong-un calling for thorough war preparedness with the country's nuclear forces and readiness for their use. A missile unit of the Korean People's Army in western areas conducted the launch drills Wednesday morning, overseen by Kim, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The exercise was aimed at informing the country's enemies of the KPA's counterattack capabil
Feb. 28, 2025 -
FBI accuses North Korean-backed hackers of stealing $1.5b in crypto from Dubai-based firm
The FBI has accused North Korean-linked hackers of conducting one of the largest thefts of cryptocurrency publicly known , seizing some $1.5 billion worth of ethereum from a Dubai-based firm. The theft earlier this month targeting Bybit, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, represents yet another involving a team of hackers identified by the US government by the names TraderTraitor and the Lazarus Group. The hackers steal cryptocurrency “through the dissemination of cryptocurrency tradin
Feb. 27, 2025 -
North Korea sends more troops to aid Russia in Ukraine: NIS
North Korea appears to have deployed additional troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to South Korea’s spy agency Thursday. The National Intelligence Service stated in a message to the press that North Korean forces were redeployed to the Kursk front in early February following a roughly one-month lull. “The exact number is still being assessed, but there have been additional deployments,” the agency added. On Feb. 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian
Feb. 27, 2025 -
Ruling parties of N. Korea, Russia agree to expand cooperation: KCNA
A high-ranking official from North Korea's ruling Workers' Party has held talks with the secretary general of Russia's ruling United Russia party and signed a protocol to expand cooperation between their parties, the North's state media reported Thursday. Ri Hi-yong, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee Politburo, and Vladimir Yakushev, the secretary general of the Russian party, held talks Tuesday in Moscow, the Korean Central News Agency said. They discussed measures to
Feb. 27, 2025