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North Korea vows to match US ‘hostility’ with patience after new sanctions
North Korea denounced the latest US sanctions as evidence of Washington's “unchanging hostility” toward the country, vowing to respond with patience and corresponding measures for as long as such a policy continues. North Korea’s Vice Minister for US Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Kim Un-chol issued a press statement titled "We clarify our clear stance as we confirmed again the US ulterior intention to be hostile towards our state to the last" on Thursday morning. The press statement came after
Nov. 6, 2025 -
N. Korea holds state funeral for late ex-ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam
North Korea has held a state funeral for former ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, attended by the North's leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Thursday. The ceremony for Kim Yong-nam, former president of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, took place at the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang's Sinmi-ri the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim Yong-nam died Monday at the age of 97 from multiple organ failure while battling colorectal c
Nov. 6, 2025 -
US tightens sanctions on N. Korea after Trump-Kim summit snub
The Trump administration has announced new sanctions on North Korea, tightening pressure after US President Donald Trump’s trip to South Korea ended without a long-sought meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The US Treasury Department on Tuesday announced sanctions on two North Korean financial institutions and eight individuals for helping the regime launder funds obtained through illicit schemes, including cybercrime and overseas IT worker fraud. “North Korean state-sponsored hackers
Nov. 5, 2025 -
Doubts grow over ‘world-class’ claims of Pyongyang General Hospital
North Korea’s newly opened Pyongyang General Hospital, hailed by state media as a facility at the “world's best level,” is drawing skepticism after Seoul officials and observers said it appears to lack even basic modern medical equipment. The hospital, which began admitting patients Monday, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, after more than five years of construction, was touted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the heart of national health modernization. Yet phot
Nov. 5, 2025 -
N. Korea mourns death of former ceremonial leader, joined by Chinese, Vietnamese envoys
North Korean officials have mourned the death of the country's former ceremonial leader, Kim Yong-nam, joined by the Chinese and Vietnamese ambassadors, according to state media Wednesday. Kim, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, died Monday at the age of 97 from multiple organ failure while battling colorectal cancer. North Korean officials from the ruling party, government, armed forces and other state organizations visited the funeral facility in Pyongy
Nov. 5, 2025 -
N. Korea's Kim reprimands officials for delay in education material factory construction
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected building sites for school supply and teaching tool factories and reprimanded cabinet and education officials over delays in the construction, state media reported Wednesday. Kim visited the sites the previous day to inspect construction progress and tour the factories, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the material foundation of the education sector and improving educational conditions and the environment, the Korean Central News Agency sai
Nov. 5, 2025 -
Kim Jong-un appears open to talks with US: NIS
North Korea appears willing to engage in talks with the United States despite the North's silence during last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in South Korea, Seoul’s intelligence agency told lawmakers Thursday. According to Reps. Park Sun-won of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Lee Seong-kweun of the main opposition People Power Party — executive secretaries of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee — the National Intelligence Service reported in a closed-door b
Nov. 4, 2025 -
Hegseth backs Trump’s green light for S. Korea’s nuclear-powered subs
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday backed US President Donald Trump’s recent approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines, saying Washington will coordinate closely with the State and Energy departments to move the plan forward — a development seen as marking a major shift in the allies’ defense cooperation. “We are going to work closely with the Department of State and the Department of Energy to fulfill President Trump’s commitment in a deliberate manner,” Hegseth tol
Nov. 4, 2025 -
North Korea test-fires artillery rockets during Hegseth’s JSA visit
North Korea fired a barrage of artillery rockets toward the West Sea this week in what appeared to be another show of force timed to coincide with key security events in South Korea, including a joint visit by the South Korean and US defense chiefs to the Demilitarized Zone. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday that the North launched about 10 rockets from a multiple launch rocket system at around 4 p.m. Monday toward the northern part of the West Sea. The launch occurred less than an
Nov. 4, 2025 -
Lee vows to achieve self-reliant defense, efforts for dialogue with N. Korea
President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that South Korea will step up plans to build a self-reliant military by significantly bolstering its defense capabilities, while continuing efforts to resume talks with North Korea. "We will significantly strengthen our national defense capabilities and make sure to realize our hope for self-reliant defense," Lee told a budget speech, saying "our people's pride" will be undermined if South Korea continues to rely on foreign nations over its defense capabiliti
Nov. 4, 2025 -
N. Korea says ex-titular head of state, Kim Yong-nam, dies at 97
North Korea's state media reported Tuesday that the North's former titular head of state, Kim Yong-nam, who had led Pyongyang's diplomacy for decades, has died at the age of 97, with leader Kim Jong-un expressing deep condolences over his death earlier in the day. Kim Yong-nam, former chairman of the North's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly, died the previous day from multiple organ failure related to cancer-linked poisoning, the North's Korean Central News Agency reported. Kim Yong-nam ha
Nov. 4, 2025 -
S. Korea bolsters space surveillance with 5th satellite launch
South Korea on Sunday launched its fifth military reconnaissance satellite, completing the nation’s space-based surveillance network designed to strengthen its independent intelligence and early-warning capabilities against North Korean threats. The satellite — referred to as the “final eye” of South Korea’s Kill Chain preemptive strike system — lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:09 a.m. — 2:09 p.m. in South Korea — according to Seo
Nov. 2, 2025 -
N. Korea's Kim inspects special operations unit's war readiness
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the combat readiness of a military special operations unit and gave instructions for its development, the North's state media reported Sunday. Kim visited the headquarters of the 11th Corps of the Korean People's Army the previous day and watched a training session, expressing "great satisfaction" with its perfect war posture, the Korean Central News Agency said. The 11th Corps is the North Korean military's most elite special forces unit, which depl
Nov. 2, 2025 -
Lee, Xi agree to reboot high-level dialogue, turn thaw into economic gains
GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — The leaders of South Korea and China agreed Saturday to reboot a regular high-level dialogue to strengthen strategic coordination on regional and global issues, pledging to turn their thaw into tangible economic cooperation and work toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul’s presidential office said. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a 100-minute, in-person summit Saturday — their first since Lee took office — on t
Nov. 1, 2025 -
N. Korea says to hold key party meeting in mid-December
North Korea will convene a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in mid-December to discuss preparations for a key party congress, state media reported Saturday. The WPK's political bureau has decided to hold the 13th party plenary meeting of the eighth central committee in mid-December, according to the Korean Central News Agency. At the upcoming meeting, the North will review the execution of this year's party and state policies and "decide on a series of important issues inclu
Nov. 1, 2025