Colleges in North Korea are providing online programs for students amid an extended vacation, as the country is making all efforts to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, state media showed Monday. North Korea has not officially confirmed any coronavirus infections, but it has reportedly extended the winter vacation for all schools as a precaution. "Classrooms nationwide have been suspended and vacation periods extended as part of efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus t

A super-large multiple rocket launcher that North Korea claimed to have test-fired the previous day appears to be similar to its large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system unveiled last year, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. The military is scrutinizing photos North Korean state media released earlier in the day of the super-large multiple rocket launcher tested Sunday as the system looks different from the North's existing weapon of the same name, a JCS official said.

The two short-range projectiles North Korea fired into the East Sea on Sunday were super-large rockets, Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency said Monday, calling the test a “success." Unlike previous launches, leader Kim Jong-un was reportedly not there to guide the latest weapons test. This was North Korea’s fourth weapons test of the year, all in March. Pyongyang tested super-large rockets March 2 and 9 and ballistic missiles March 21 in an unprecedented flurry of la

North Korea has tested "super-large" multiple rocket launchers, state media reported Monday, a day after South Korea's military said the communist state fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles. Seoul's military said Sunday that the missiles were fired from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, flying 230 kilometers with a maximum altitude of 30 km. The launches marked the latest in a series of weapons tests or artillery firing drills the North has conducted this ye

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Sunday gave its first reaction to a high-profile online sex crime case in South Korea, condemning the South as a society where corruption is rampant. Referring to the "Nth room case," Meari reported that South Korea has been shocked by an online sex abuse case involving minors. At least 74 people, including 16 underage girls, are known to have been exploited in the Nth room case, in which the arrested prime suspect, Cho Ju-bin, allegedly l

North Korea fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, urging the regime to halt the “inappropriate” military act amid the coronavirus pandemic. It was the North’s fourth weapons test of the year, all in March. 　 The missiles flew approximately 230 kilometers from Wonsan on the North’s eastern coast and reached a peak altitude of 30 kilometers. South Korea’s national securi

A US surveillance aircraft flew over South Korea on Sunday on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea as the communist nation fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles the same day. The US Navy's EP-3E was spotted in skies above South Korea at 25,000 feet, Aircraft Spots tweeted. The exact time of its operation was not immediately clear. Earlier in the day, North Korea fired two projectiles from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan toward the East Sea, marking the fourth

South Korea's national security adviser and other top security officials held an emergency videoconference Sunday to discuss North Korea's firing of two projectiles believed to be short-range missiles, the presidential office said. Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office, presided over the session held at around 7 a.m., shortly after the North fired the projectiles into the East Sea from the coastal city of Wonsan. Participants, including Defense Minister Jeong Kye

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the latest in a series of projectile launches even as the country is on high alert against the coronavirus. Both were fired northeastward from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan at 6:10 a.m. within a 20-second interval and flew around 230 kilometers at a maximum altitude of around 30 km, the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US intelligenc

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres advised loosening sanctions on some countries so that they can better counter the coronavirus pandemic, during a teleconference with G-20 countries Thursday. “I also appeal for the waiving of sanctions that can undermine countries’ capacity to respond to the pandemic,” he said. The UN chief reiterated advice he earlier gave to those countries that countries under sanctions should be guaranteed the imports of vital medical equipment and s

A pair of missiles North Korea fired Saturday had a payload capacity sufficient to carry nuclear warheads, Washington-based website 38 North said Wednesday. The firings on March 21 marked Pyongyang’s third weapons test of the year, following rounds earlier in the month. The missiles launched were similar to Washington’s surface-to-surface, close-range Army Tactical Missile System used to support battlefield operations. Thirty-Eight North said it suspected that the North Korean mi

A coronavirus-related aid project to North Korea planned independently by the Gyeonggi Province government was suspended, as it failed to meet the requirements necessary for government approval, a unification ministry official said Thursday. Local media outlets reported earlier that the Gyeonggi provincial government approved a motion last month to provide North Korea with medical supplies, such as masks and test kits, worth 1.2 billion Korean won ($980,000) to help with Pyongyang's preventive

Officials of two key departments at North Korea's ruling Workers' Party visited a western military unit to congratulate soldiers after they won a recent artillery fire competition overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Thursday. The group visit to the artillery battalion of the 3rd Corps of the Korean People's Army is seen as unusual as it came amid intensified efforts to prevent the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus since the North declared a national emergency system in late Janua

North Korea on Wednesday advised its people against going to crowded areas, saying the coronavirus can be transmitted even through eye infections. Introducing a medical study conducted abroad, the Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North's ruling Worker's Party, highlighted social distancing measures as the COVID-19 virus was found to be more contagious than previously known. "There is a risk of transmission of the coronavirus through the eyes ... the respiratory system is not the only rout

Michelle Bachelet, UN high commissioner for human rights, said Tuesday that North Korea needs UN sanctions relief because its health care system lacks the resources to counter the coronavirus pandemic. “Obstacles to the import of vital medical supplies, including over-compliance with sanctions by banks, will create long-lasting harm to vulnerable communities,” she said in reference to the detrimental effects the sanctions could pose to Pyongyang’s anti-virus efforts. Bachele