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Pyongyang slams monitoring group's report on N. Korea-Russia military cooperation
North Korea on Monday denounced a monitoring group on the enforcement of UN sanctions against Pyongyang for issuing a report on military cooperation between the North and Russia, calling the move a violation of a state's sovereign rights. The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on Thursday issued the first report detailing illegal military cooperation carried out between North Korea and Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. Th
June 2, 2025 -
N. Korea's Kim demotes director of military's general political bureau
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has demoted the director of the military's general political bureau in an apparent sweeping reshuffle of senior military officials following the recent warship accident. The decision came as North Korea held an enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on Wednesday, presided over by the North's leader, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday. The commission "newly appointed six commanding officers
May 30, 2025 -
North Korea sent heavy guns for 3 brigades, 8,000 workers to Russia in 2024 — more planned: report
North Korea provided enough heavy artillery to arm three Russian brigades and dispatched around 8,000 workers to Russia in 2024 alone, with plans to send thousands more in 2025, according to a report by a Seoul-led multilateral sanctions monitoring group released Thursday. The first-ever topic-specific report penned by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team since its launch in Seoul in October 2024 offered the detailed government-level official confirmation of illicit military cooperation an
May 29, 2025 -
Vice ministers of N. Korea, Russia discuss closer cooperation: KCNA
Deputy chiefs of North Korea's public security ministry and Russia's interior ministry have discussed pursuing closer cooperation during their talks in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Thursday. The talks were held the previous day in the North Korean capital between Vice Public Security Minister Ri Song-chol and Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika, attended by officials from the two ministries, the Korean Central News Agency said. "During the talks, issues to expand and develop exc
May 29, 2025 -
N. Korea's Mount Kumgang likely to win UNESCO World Heritage status after 4-year bid
North Korea's Mount Kumgang is likely to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site following a four-year application process, according to UNESCO on Tuesday. Mount Kumgang has long been regarded as one of Korea's most scenic mountains for its breathtaking beauty that changes with the seasons. The International Council on Monuments and Sites and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which serve as advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, have recommended the inclusion of Mou
May 27, 2025 -
N. Korea says damaged destroyer under repair
North Korea's state media said Monday its new destroyer that was damaged last week during a launch attempt was under repair, adding that the North detained another official in connection with its investigation into the warship accident. The investigation group reported its work to the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea on Sunday, and the law enforcement organ summoned and detained Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the party's Munitions Industry Department, over th
May 26, 2025 -
N. Korean officials detained in probe into warship accident
North Korea has detained key officials involved in a recent accident that saw a new warship capsize during a launch ceremony. The Korean Central News Agency said Sunday the investigation into Wednesday's accident "is being intensified." Part of a newly built 5,000-ton destroyer was damaged during the ceremony in the eastern port city of Chongjin, an accident that the North's leader Kim Jong-un blasted as a "criminal act" that cannot be tolerated. A satellite image later showed the warship lying
May 25, 2025 -
N. Korea urges US to stop military threats
North Korea on Sunday called on the United States to abandon its military threats against others if it has concerns about its mainland safety. The head of the policy office at the North's defense ministry released a statement, carried by the Korean Central News Agency, claiming that "the security guarantee of the US mainland" depends on giving up "military threats and aggressive attempts" against other nations. "Recently, the US military is hell-bent on inciting the 'threat' from the DPRK to its
May 25, 2025 -
N. Korea in 'strongest strategic position' in decades: US intel report
North Korea stands in its "strongest strategic position" in decades, a US intelligence report showed Friday, as the recalcitrant regime has been doubling down on its pursuit of advanced weapons that can threaten US forces and allies in Northeast Asia, and the US mainland. The Defense Intelligence Agency under the US Department of Defense offered the analysis in the "2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment" that covered a wide range of security challenges from North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, and other
May 24, 2025 -
Satellite photo shows N. Korea's new warship capsized at shipyard
North Korea's new warship that failed to properly launch into the sea this week lies partially submerged on its side while being draped over with tarpaulins, a British research organization has said, citing commercial satellite imagery. The Open Source Centre posted the image taken Thursday of the warship at a shipyard in North Korea's northeastern city of Chongjin on X, a day after the 5,000-ton naval destroyer's failed launch ceremony. "High resolution satellite imagery from @AirbusSpace shows
May 23, 2025 -
N. Korea says 'serious accident' occurred on new destroyer during launch ceremony
North Korea said Thursday a "serious accident" occurred the previous day during a ceremony to launch a new warship, with its leader Kim Jong-un calling it a "criminal act" that could not be tolerated. The accident took place Wednesday at a shipyard in the eastern port city of Chongjin during a ceremony to launch a newly built 5,000-ton destroyer, attended by the North's leader, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Citing "inexperience command and operational carelessness" in the course o
May 22, 2025 -
N. Korea's Kim pays tribute to prominent military figure
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has paid respects at the tomb of Hyon Chol-hae, who is known to have played a key role in grooming him for leadership, to mark the third anniversary of his death, the North's state media reported Monday. Kim visited the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Sinmi-ri the previous day and laid a flower to mark the third anniversary of Hyon's death, the Korean Central News Agency said. Hyon, marshal of the Korean People's Army, died at 87 on May 19, 2022. He is known to have
May 19, 2025 -
Kim Jong-un oversees anti-air combat, air raid drills, calls for stronger war preparations
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw anti-air combat and air raid drills by an air force flight group this week, stressing the need for constant and stronger war preparations across all military units, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday. Kim gave the guidance during his visit Thursday to the flight group under the Guards 1st Air Division of the Korean People's Army, calling on "all the units of the entire army to bring about a radical turn in the preparations for war in constant war po
May 17, 2025 -
Panmunjom tourism to partially resume in form of special tour
Designated civilian tours of the Panmunjom truce village — suspended amid heightened military tensions between the two Koreas — are set to partially resume this week. According to the Ministry of Unification, 17 trained employees of the National Institute for Unification Education will participate in a special tour of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone on Friday. Located approximately 50 kilometers north of Seoul, the area has long been used as a venue for inter-Korean talks. "We'
May 15, 2025 -
How Lee Jae-myung wants to reshape foreign policy
Recasting himself as a foreign policy pragmatist grounded in national interest, South Korea’s presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung is signaling a reset of the strategic compass for the country’s foreign and North Korea policy. On the Korean Peninsula, Lee prioritizes reducing military tensions and reviving long-stalled dialogue with North Korea — a step he sees as essential to ensuring that Seoul is not sidelined in what he views as an inevitable US bid to thaw relations with the Kim Jong-un
May 14, 2025