N. Korea refuses all contact, including summit, with Japan

North Korea will refuse all contact with Japan, after Tokyo took issue with the problem of Japanese abductees and the North's nuclear program, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, made the remark in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, a day after she said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had expressed a willingness to hold a summit with her brother

March 26, 2024

NK leader visits tank unit credited for being first to enter Seoul during Korean War

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a tank unit bearing "Seoul" in its name for being the first to enter the South Korean capital during the Korean War, praising the unit as a "model for the entire army," state media said Monday. Kim visited the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division and the affiliated First Tank Armored Infantry Regiment on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency said. "The division ... was the first to charge into Seoul and fly the flag o

March 25, 2024

Govt. agencies probed for alleged neglect in NK guard post verification

The South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection has initiated an inquiry into allegations that the Defense Ministry and other government agencies neglected to verify the demolition of front-line guard posts, which North Korea was supposed to undertake according to the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement. According to both the BAI and the Defense Ministry on Friday, an inspection began Monday, following an earlier audit request from the nonprofit organization Korean Retired Generals and Admirals

March 22, 2024

N. Korea's ruling party delegation embarks on trip to China, Vietnam, Laos

North Korea's ruling party delegation has arrived in Beijing on a three-nation tour, state media reported Friday, in a move seen aimed at strengthening ties with countries sharing the socialist ideology. The delegation, led by Kim Song-nam, director of the international department at the Workers' Party, was greeted by the assistant to the head of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party at an airport Thursday, the Korean Central News Agency said, without prov

March 22, 2024

N. Korea conducts ground engine test for new hypersonic missile

North Korea said Wednesday it has successfully conducted a ground jet test of a solid-fuel engine for a new type of intermediate hypersonic missile amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Hypersonic missiles are on the list of sophisticated weapons North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to develop during a key party congress in 2021, along with nuclear-powered submarines, spy satellites and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles. Hypersonic missiles travel at a speed of at least

March 20, 2024

Russian cultural delegation visits N. Korea amid deepening ties

A Russian delegation led by Moscow's vice culture minister has arrived in Pyongyang, state media said Tuesday, as the two nations have been strengthening their ties following a rare summit of their leaders in September. The delegation led by Russia's Vice Culture Minister Andrei Maluishev arrived in the North the previous day on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of a bilateral agreement on economic and cultural cooperation, the North's Korean Central News Agency said. The deleg

March 19, 2024

NK leader guides firing drills involving super-large multiple rocket launchers

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has guided firing drills involving super-large multiple rocket launchers and called for perfecting readiness to collapse the capital of the enemy with the "core striking means," state media said Tuesday. On the previous day, Kim oversaw the "salvo" drills of artillery units in the country's western region using the 600mm multiple launch rocket system, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The South Korean military said Monday it det

March 19, 2024

N. Korean leader congratulates Putin on reelection

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin for being reelected as Moscow's leader, state media said, amid deepening military cooperation between the two nations. Putin won a landslide victory in Russia's election Sunday for a fifth term in office, which will extend his 24-year rule for another six years. "I am firmly convinced that, under your energetic and correct guidance, the Russian people will surely win victory in the cause of ..

March 18, 2024

4 out of 10 Korean youths say 'reunification not necessary'

Four out of 10 students in South Korea believe that reunification between the divided Koreas is no longer necessary, a government survey showed. The survey conducted in October last year by the Ministry of Unification involving 73,991 students aged 6 to 18 across the country comes amid escalating inter-Korean tensions. Pyongyang has conducted five rounds of cruise missile tests so far this year. Some 38.9 percent of the respondents responded that reunification is "not necessary," marki

March 18, 2024

US condemns N. Korea's ballistic missile launches

The United States on Sunday condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches this week as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and called for the recalcitrant regime to return to dialogue. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Monday morning, days after Seoul and Washington concluded their major springtime military exercise. "The United States condemns the DPRK's March

March 18, 2024

Son of S. Korean pastor detained in N. Korea to urge repatriation at UN session

A son of Choe Chun-gil, a South Korean pastor detained in North Korea, plans to call for international cooperation for North Korea's repatriation of his father and other detainees at a UN session in Switzerland, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday. Choe is one of six South Koreans currently detained in North Korea for years, including two other pastors, Kim Jung-wook and Kim Kuk-gi, with their whereabouts or fates unknown. Choe's son will visit Geneva for a four-day trip thro

March 18, 2024

N. Korea replacing ambassador to Cuba after establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul, Havana

North Korea's ambassador to Cuba has paid a visit to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel before concluding his mission, the Cuban presidential office said, as Pyongyang is preparing to replace the envoy after Cuba's surprising establishment of diplomatic ties with South Korea. Diaz-Canel shared a brief video of Friday's meeting with Ambassador Ma Chol-su on X, the former Twitter platform, saying he reassured the ambassador that Pyongyang could always rely on Cuba's support, sol

March 17, 2024

N. Korean leader guides military drills of paratroopers, calls for war preparations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has guided military drills involving the country's paratroopers and called for full preparations for war, state media said Saturday, in an apparent protest of the latest joint military exercise staged by South Korea and the United States. The training of air-borne military units held Friday was aimed at inspecting paratroopers' readiness to be mobilized for any military operation plan in "surprise wartime circumstances," according to the Korean

March 16, 2024

N. Korean leader uses car gifted by Putin in public event: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un used a Russian-made private car, gifted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a public event for the first time this week in "clear proof" of the two nations' friendly ties, his sister said Saturday. Last month, North Korea said Putin sent a Russian-made car for personal use to the North's leader as a gift demonstrating special bonds between the two leaders. Russia said the car is the Aurus Senat limousine. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful siste

March 16, 2024

US general voices concerns over 'increasingly advanced' long-range NK missiles

A US general took note of military threats from "increasingly advanced" long-range North Korean missiles on Thursday, while highlighting evolving security challenges from China, Russia and Iran. Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, attended a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify about the posture of his commands and discuss security risks facing the United States. "North Korea continues its be

March 15, 2024

S. Korea says it does not recognize N. Korea as nuclear state

South Korea on Thursday renewed its stance that it does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. The foreign ministry made the comments in response to Putin's remarks that the North has its "own nuclear umbrella" and has not asked for Russia's help during a recent interview with Russia's RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television. "There is no change in the government's position that it does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state," a f

March 14, 2024

N. Korea unveils new battle tank with leader Kim boasting their striking power

North Korea has unveiled a new battle tank during training exercises, state media reported Thursday, amid ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drove a new tank himself during the "training match" between tank units Wednesday in a bid to inspect tank troops' actual combat capabilities, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Calling them "the most powerful tanks in the world," Kim expressed satisfact

March 14, 2024

US intel downplays NK full-scale war risks, noting Putin as influencer

The US intelligence community currently assesses that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely to escalate tensions into a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, even as concerns persist over the potential for his closer alignment with the Russian president to embolden his aggressive actions. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines provided the assessment during Tuesday's House Intelligence Committee hearing while noting that Kim's recent rhetoric and actions have been incre

March 13, 2024

US intel believes NK leader has no intentions of negotiating away nuclear program

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "almost certainly" has no intentions of negotiating away his nuclear program and aims to use his defense ties with Russia to achieve acceptance as a nuclear state, a US intelligence report said Monday. The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment also noted that Kim will continue to pursue nuclear and conventional military capabilities that threaten the United States and its allies. "Kim almost certainly has no intentions of negotiating away his nuclear progra

March 12, 2024

N. Korea attempted to disrupt GPS signals on S. Korean border islands

North Korea attempted to disrupt the reception of Global Positioning System signals on the front-line islands of South Korea in the West Sea for three consecutive days from Tuesday, coinciding with annual combined military drills between Seoul and Washington, the South Korean military confirmed on Friday. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected signals sent from North Korea, which were assessed as attempts to interfere with the reception of GPS signals on the Five West Sea Islands mult

March 8, 2024