Chinese officials managing Korean War memorial facility return to N. Korea after 5 yrs

Chinese officials tasked with managing a memorial facility for troops who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War returned to North Korea for the first time in five years, the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang said Monday. According to the embassy's website, 14 Chinese officials arrived in North Korea last Monday via the border between Dandong in China's Liaoning Province and the North Korean city of Sinuiju. They were welcomed by Kim Chul-young, director of foreign cooperation at North Korea's Ministry of

April 7, 2025

First foreign runners since 2019 hit Pyongyang, stirring hopes of North Korea reopening

North Korea opened its doors to foreign participants at the Pyongyang International Marathon on Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a six-year hiatus. The event has drawn attention to whether the opening is a symbolic gesture toward a broader move to reopen the country to foreign tourism on a full scale. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon was held to mark the anniversary of the country's la

April 7, 2025

N. Korea reports on court ruling to remove Yoon from office

North Korea on Saturday reported on the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol under a Constitutional Court ruling this week. North Korea's state media said the court upheld the impeachment of Yoon in a unanimous vote Friday over his brief martial law declaration in December, immediately removing him from office. Without making its own commentary, the North's official Korean Central News Agency cited major foreign news outlets' headlines on Yoon's ouster. Yoon has become the nation's second pr

April 5, 2025

N. Korean leader inspects special operation units' training on day of Yoon's ouster

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected training activities of special operations units earlier this week, stressing strengthening their capabilities is the key to building a strong army, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday. Kim visited a training base of the special operation units on Friday -- the day when South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, removing him from office. Kim oversaw the general tactical training and small-arms shooti

April 5, 2025

N. Korean troops suffer over 5,000 casualties in Kursk region: British defense ministry

North Korean troops have incurred more than 5,000 casualties while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's western front-line region of Kursk, Britain's defense ministry has said. As of last month, approximately a third of the total casualties had been killed in action, according to an intelligence update posted on the ministry's X account Friday. The casualty figure amounts to nearly half of the initial 11,000 troops North Korea sent to Russia last year in support of its war against Ukraine. "Sig

April 2, 2025

N. Korea denounces US, Japan's munitions cooperation, vows to bolster deterrence

North Korea on Wednesday denounced the United States and Japan's latest agreement to co-produce an advanced air-to-air missile for raising strategic instability in the Asia-Pacific region, vowing to bolster its powerful deterrence against such a threat. The North's defense ministry issued the condemnation after the US and Japan on Sunday announced the early launch of a co-production project for the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile during US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's visit

April 2, 2025

South Korea, US should go beyond rhetoric, get real on Taiwan contingency: report

Allies should clarify expectations for role of alliance in event of US-China conflict South Korea and the United States should initiate concrete, practical — and largely nonexternal — discussions on the intractable, long-avoided question of their alliance’s role in a Taiwan contingency, moving beyond rhetorical alignment on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a report released by a Washington-based think tank said Monday. The Korea Economic Institute of America pointed out the two allies r

April 1, 2025

Trump floats outreach to Kim Jong-un, calls N. Korea ‘big nuclear nation’

US President Donald Trump on Monday suggested the possibility of renewing diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying the two would “do something at some point” and acknowledging communication with North Korea, which he described as a “big nuclear nation.” “We met, and we have a great relationship. And there is communication. I think it's very important,” Trump told the media when asked whether he plans to reach out to Kim, as he did with the leaders of Russia, China and Iran. “It's a

April 1, 2025

Russia's party delegation arrives in N. Korea amid deepening bilateral cooperation

A delegation of Russia's Communist Party has arrived in North Korea, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, as both nations have been deepening cooperation in the military and other fields. The delegation, led by Kazbek Taysaev, secretary of the Russian party's central committee, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, the Korean Central News Agency said, without disclosing other details, including the purpose of the visit. The visit came as North Korea and Russia have expanded the scope of cooperation i

April 1, 2025

[Contribution] Missionary's son moved UN. Now North Korea must release South Korean detainees

By Won Jae-chun, professor of International Law and Director of International Law, Handong Global University Behind every international decision lies a story of struggle, faith and solidarity. The recent opinion by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), declaring the imprisonment of South Korean missionaries Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil as arbitrary detention, is not just a legal milestone — it is a testament to the power of collaboration between victims

March 31, 2025

N. Korea holds 1st large-scale gathering of instructors for children's union

North Korea has hosted the first large-scale gathering of instructors for a nationwide children's union, emphasizing their role in fostering young people's loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Monday. The large-scale lecture for instructors from across the country was held in Pyongyang from Wednesday to Saturday for the first time in history to urge them to fulfill their responsibilities in nurturing "youth revolutionaries and patriots," the Korean Central News Agency said. The re

March 31, 2025

International community doubted North Korea’s future after founder Kim Il-sung's death: dossier

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Friday declassified several diplomatic dossiers from 1994, revealing that the international community expressed doubt about North Korea’s future after the sudden death of the regime’s founder, Kim Il-sung. The death of Kim Il-sung on July 8, 1994, sent the international diplomatic community scrambling to predict the future of the reclusive state, as well as who would be the next in line to rule, the dossier read. Kim died of a heart attack at the age of 82, after ruli

March 28, 2025

Acting president slams North Korea’s ‘illegal arms trade’ with Russia

Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday said that North Korea’s ongoing illegal arms trade with Russia has allowed the “degenerate” regime to plot new forms of provocations. “Through illegal arms trade with Russia, (North Korea) has been plotting new forms of provocations by upgrading its weapons system aimed to threaten us,” Han said in a speech marking the 10th West Sea Defense Day. Friday’s ceremony was held at the national cemetery in Daejeon to honor and remember the 55 s

March 28, 2025

N. Korean drones unveiled this week likely use AI to identify, strike S. Korean, US equipment: lawmaker

North Korean drones unveiled this week likely incorporate artificial intelligence technology to identify and autonomously strike South Korean and US military equipment, a South Korean lawmaker said Friday. Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party made the analysis after the North's state media reported Thursday the country's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw tests of "suicide attack" drones equipped with new AI technology earlier this week. State media photos showed the drones striking target

March 28, 2025

Arrangements for North Korean leader Kim's visit to Russia underway: report

North Korea appears to have deployed 3,000 more troops to Russia: JCS Arrangements are currently being made by Pyongyang and Moscow for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia by the end of the year, local media reported Thursday, citing a Russian state-run news agency. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said that on top of preparations for Kim's Moscow visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Pyongyang is also being arranged, according to Tass. If the visi

March 27, 2025