66 h. ago South Korea reopens bitter debate on lifting ban on North Korean state media

A group of lawmakers from South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is seeking to relax a decades-old ban on North Korean websites like the online Rodong Sinmun, reigniting debate over national security and freedom of information. The proposed revision, drafted by Representative Han Min-soo and 11 other lawmakers, would allow people in South Korea to freely visit North Korean websites, while maintaining existing bans on distributing or actively promoting content that violates the National Security...

Politics

4 d. ago What North Korea’s war dead tribute reveals about Kim’s endgame

Kim Jong-un has publicly mourned nine North Korean soldiers killed in Russia, in a rare display of grief analysts say belies a harder message of military solidarity with Moscow and rising expectations of compensation. North Korean state television broadcast scenes of Kim greeting wounded soldiers in wheelchairs and consoling relatives of the fallen during a welcome ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday. The event honoured engineering units that had recently returned from Russia’s western Kursk region,...

Events

4 d. ago Martial law plot was Yoon’s plan all along, South Korean prosecutors say

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol began plotting to impose martial law barely a year after taking office, aiming to cling to power by provoking a military confrontation with North Korea, special investigators have found. Announcing the results of a 180-day investigation on Monday, special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk said Yoon and his closest aides had devised a scheme to form a military junta, suspend democratic institutions, seize control of the legislature and judiciary and eliminate all...

Events

4 d. ago Kim’s sister spotted with suspected luxury Chinese foldable phone

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s supreme leader, has been spotted with what appears to be a Chinese-made foldable phone. Images released by state media on Sunday showed Kim holding the phone in her right hand during a trip to a hospital opening alongside her brother, Kim Jong-un. Although the brand name cannot be seen in the picture, the phone closely resembles the Chinese brand Honor’s “Magic” line, advertised as “the world’s thinnest foldable smartphone”. The V3 model of the...

Politics

7 d. ago North Korea’s Kim reveals soldiers cleared mines for Russia, in rare public statement

North Korea sent troops to clear mines in Russia’s Kursk region earlier this year, leader Kim Jong-un said in a speech carried on Saturday by state media, in a rare acknowledgement of the deadly tasks assigned to its soldiers there. Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to fight for Moscow as it presses ahead with its nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies. Analysts say Russia is giving North Korea financial aid, military technology,...

Events

9 d. ago North Korea beckons Chinese tourists with beach resort in 2026 calendar

A 2026 calendar issued by a North Korean publisher for Chinese tourists features a new beach resort on the country’s east coast, a copy obtained by Kyodo News showed on Wednesday. The Wonsan Kalma tourist area with hotels and leisure facilities was launched in the summer, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visiting there in July for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Before North Korea shut its borders in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many Chinese tourists had...

Society

1 week ago Trump drops North Korea denuclearisation goal, hinting at talks with Kim

US President Donald Trump’s new global security road map has dropped any reference to denuclearising North Korea as a goal, fuelling speculation that Washington may be angling to boost the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough with Pyongyang in 2026. The target of ending North Korea’s nuclear threat had been a constant in the National Security Strategy of every US president since the emergence of Pyongyang’s programme in 2003, but was conspicuously absent in Friday’s document. The omission of any...

Politics

1 week ago Is China shifting its policy and accepting North Korea as a nuclear

Beijing’s omission of the term “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” from a new white paper suggested its “tacit acceptance” of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state while prioritising its strategic competition with Washington, analysts said. Last week, China released a white paper on the country’s arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, outlining its policies on national defence and nuclear policy and updating a previous paper from 2005. One notable shift in Beijing’s position on...

Events

1 week ago Is China changing tack and accepting North Korea as a nuclear

China’s omission of the term “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” from a new policy paper suggests its “tacit acceptance” of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, as Beijing gives priority to its strategic rivalry with Washington, according to analysts. Late last month, China released a white paper on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, outlining its national defence and nuclear policies. The document was an update of a 2005 white paper and contained a notable shift – within...

Events

2 w. ago A diminished Russia risks losing control of Far East territory as China and North Korea expand influence

A diminished Russia risks losing control of Far East territory as China and North Korea expand influence  Milwaukee Independent

Events

2 w. ago North Korea’s Kim flaunts daughter, air power in hunt for Russian fighter jets

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles. Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

Politics

2 w. ago Kim flaunts daughter, missiles as North Korea eyes Russian jets

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles. Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

Events

2 w. ago North Korea unveils new missiles, angles for Russian jets amid Ukraine war deal

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles. Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Could be a decoy’: North Korea’s nuclear upgrades are visible from space

New satellite imagery suggests North Korea has spent the past year steadily enlarging and modernising its main fissile material site, in what analysts call a concrete response to leader Kim Jong-un’s demand for his nuclear arsenal’s “exponential growth”. Commercial satellite images of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre from October and November show renovation and large-scale expansion across the complex, according to 38North, a website from US think tank the Stimson Centre devoted...

Events

3 w. ago North Korea’s nuclear arsenal shows ‘exponential growth’ in new satellite images

New satellite imagery suggests North Korea has spent the past year steadily enlarging and modernising its main fissile material site, in what analysts call a concrete response to leader Kim Jong-un’s demand for his nuclear arsenal’s “exponential growth”. Commercial satellite images of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre from October and November show renovation and large-scale expansion across the complex, according to 38North, a website from US think tank the Stimson Centre devoted...

Events

3 w. ago Chanel cosmetics, fur coats expose North Korea’s widening wealth chasm

North Korea’s wealth gap is reportedly widening, as luxury goods circulate among affluent border residents while ordinary citizens face growing extreme poverty. Economic disparities in areas near the Chinese border have become more pronounced compared with the period before trade resumed, according to Daily NK on Friday. In cities such as Hoeryong in North Hamgyong province and Hyesan in Ryanggang province, cross-border commerce through customs offices has increased, and the number of high-end...

Politics

3 w. ago How South Korea’s nuclear sub deal with US could torpedo inter

South Korea, under President Lee Jae-myung, has repeatedly proclaimed its desire to improve relations and re-engage in diplomacy with North Korea. Yet a landmark agreement with Washington formalised last week reveals a starkly different priority: advancing military capabilities that will almost certainly drive the two Koreas further apart. The United States has officially approved South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines while supporting Seoul’s efforts to secure uranium enrichment...

Events