DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Sketches from US animation studios found on North Korean computer server
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The revelation comes from a trove of documents recently discovered by US researchers inside a computer server housed in North Korea. Logs from the North Korean computer server showed multiple visits from internet connections in northeast China, the US cybersecurity firm Mandiant told CNN. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects an artillery firing drill of the Korean People's Army on March 7, 2024. Barnhart, the Mandiant researcher, said any company that hires a North Korean IT worker runs the risk of being targeted by North Korean hackers because of the close relationship between the two. Heinz Insu Fenkl, an expert in North Korean comics, said that animation and comics have been prominent in North Korean society since the country’s founding in 1948.

Persons: “, Nick Roy, Roy, Mandiant, Michael Barnhart, ”, Max ., Hannah Cosgrove, ” Cosgrove, Max, Lion Forge, Martyn Williams, Williams, ” Williams, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Barnhart, ” Barnhart, CNN wouldn’t, Heinz Insu Fenkl, ” Fenkl, CNN’s Alex Marquardt, Mike Conte Organizations: CNN, North, US, Amazon Prime, Max, Warner Bros ., Korean, Stimson, FBI, Treasury, North Korean, Entertainment, Amazon, ”, Skybound, YouNeek Studios, Forge Entertainment, Lion Forge Entertainment, South Korean, South, US Treasury Department, Treasury Department, Korean People's Army, State, United Nations, North Korean Embassy Locations: North Korea, Korean, Boston, Washington, State, North Korean, China, CNN , California, Maryland, South Korea, Koreans, Pyongyang, Korea, California, New York, London, cybercrime

☆ China is sending its highest-level delegation to North Korea since 2019 to kick off a ‘friendship year’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The three-day visit, at North Korea’s invitation, shows the “great importance” China attaches to those relations, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. The delegation will also arrive amid heightened global concern about North Korea, which has in recent months ramped up its bellicose rhetoric and continued its weapons testing. The trip could also be an important opportunity for the upper echelons of China’s political establishment to better understand the circumstances in North Korea today. Balance of powerChina has long walked a thin line in its relations with North Korea. It is a critical economic lifeline for a North Korea crippled by international sanctions over its illegal weapons testing.

Persons: Zhao Leji, ”, KCNA, Zhao, Xi Jinping, China’s, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Li Qiang, Liu Dongshu, …, ” Liu, Kim, Li Mingjiang, Vladimir Putin, Yun Sun Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — China’s, Beijing, Foreign Ministry, Japanese, CNN, Communist, North Korea –, Hong Kong’s City University, North, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, “, United Nations Security, Stimson Locations: China, Hong Kong, North Korea, Pyongyang, Beijing, Moscow, United States, North, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Asia, Washington, Philippines, Russia, North Korean, Covid, Pacific, American

Kishida made the remarks days ahead of his Wednesday meeting with Biden in Washington, where he will also address a joint session of Congress and participate in the very first trilateral summit between Japan, the United States and the Philippines. Partnership with Japan has long been central to US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, but the defense relationship has expanded under Kishida, who has raised Japan’s profile in global and regional security. That move is not without controversy, especially in China and other parts of Asia that suffered hugely under Japan’s World War II era militarism. Building Japan’s deterrence and response capability is also “essential” for the alliance with the United States, he argued. Since taking office, Kishida has also positioned Japan as a partner to the US not only in Asia, but more globally.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, ” Kishida, ”, Kishida, “, Biden, Donald Trump, White, Trump, Kim Jong Organizations: Tokyo CNN, CNN, Biden, Partnership, East China, South Korea –, North, South Locations: Japan, Ukraine, East Asia, Tokyo, United States, Washington, Philippines, Russia, South, Taiwan, China, Asia, East, South China, South Korea, America’s, Europe, North Korea, Moscow, Pyongyang

☆ North Korea tests missile, Seoul says, ahead of vote seen as gauge of support for hardline South Korean leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea test-fired a presumed intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, its latest military maneuver since leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year declaration that he was ending a policy seeking reconciliation with the South. Pyongyang’s shows of power included long-range artillery and multiple rocket launchers, which pose a threat to the South Korean capital Seoul and other key areas near the border. But Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said Tuesday’s suspected missile test by North Korea won’t have much effect on the vote. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui last week quashed recent speculation that Kishida could meet with North Korea’s Kim. North Korea “will not allow any attempt of Japan to contact” Pyongyang, he said, according to KCNA.

Persons: Kim Jong, Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim, Yoon’s, Democratic Party –, Yoon, Leif, Eric Easley, ” Easley, Easley, Tuesday’s, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s Kim, CNN’s Yoonjung Seo Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, South, Korean Central News Agency, CNN, Yoon’s People Power Party, Democratic Party, Ewha Womans University, Assembly, Korean, Philippine, North Korean Foreign, North Korea “ Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, United States, North, Japan, Washington, China

☆ North Korea Missile Test Hints at Greater Menace to U.S. Bases
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile off its east coast on Tuesday, an indication that the country was continuing to develop missiles capable of targeting American military bases in the Western Pacific. The missile, launched from near Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, did not fly over Japan, as have some of the IRBMs that North Korea has launched in the past. Instead, it fell in waters between the two countries after flying for 372 miles, the South Korean military said. South Korean and American officials were analyzing data collected from the test to learn more about the missile, the military said. Last month, North Korea said it had tested one such engine on the ground.

Organizations: Western Pacific, South Korean Locations: Korea, Western, Pyongyang, North Korea, Japan, United States

International sanctions and UN investigations into North Korea’s illegal weapons program have previously been backed by Russia. North Korea has also gained a powerful backer at the UN which wields veto power. While UN sanctions prohibit arms transfers to or from North Korea, the Kim regime has become a big supplier of weapons to Putin’s war effort in Ukraine. The vote in the 15-member Security Council on Thursday was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining. But as Russia holds veto power, the resolution to continue the panel of experts’ work failed.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Nebenzia, Kim, Barbara Woodward, “, ” Woodward, ”, Robert Wood, ” Wood Organizations: United Nations CNN, United Nations, Korean, UN, Security Council, CNN, North, Security, South Korea’s Foreign Locations: Russia, Pyongyang, Ukraine, United States, Moscow, Korea, Russian, North Korea, South, Korean, China, ”

☆ Russian veto points to 'grim future' for North Korea sanctions enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region on Sept. 13, 2023. Russia's move to effectively disband the panel of experts monitoring longstanding United Nations sanctions against North Korea points to a "grim future" for the sanctions enforcement, three former members of the panel told Reuters. Russia vetoed the annual renewal of the multinational panel of experts on Thursday, which has spent the last 15 years monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Beijing and Moscow have denied breaking sanctions but have blocked new measures at the UN Security Council and advocated lifting some existing sanctions on North Korea, blaming the West and its allies for exacerbating tensions. "Russia's vote, along with its blatant violation of sanctions by buying conventional arms from North Korea, years long history of ignoring their obligations, and at least tacit support from China suggest that the future is grim for the DPRK sanctions regime," he said, using the initials of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Russia's, Aaron Arnold Organizations: North, Vostochny, United Nations, Reuters, UN Security Council, West, Diplomats, Korean, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Democratic People's Locations: Amur, North Korea, Russia, China, North, Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang, Ukraine, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

☆ Why Russia Is Protecting North Korea From Nuclear Monitors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Through the most tense encounters with President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia over the past decade, there has been one project in which Washington and Moscow have claimed common cause: keeping North Korea from expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons. On Thursday, Russia used its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to kill off a U.N. panel of experts that has been monitoring North Korea’s efforts to evade sanctions over its nuclear program for the past 15 years. Moscow once welcomed the panel’s detailed reports about sanctions violations and considered Pyongyang’s nuclear program to be a threat to global security. But more recently, the panel has provided vivid evidence of how Russia is keeping the North brimming with fuel and other goods, presumably in return for the artillery shells and missiles that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is shipping to Russia for use against Ukraine. The group has produced satellite images of ship-to-ship transfers of oil, showing how the war in Ukraine has proved to be a bonanza for the North.

Persons: Vladimir V, Kim Jong Organizations: Putin’s, United Nations Security Council, North Korean, Ukraine Locations: Putin’s Russia, Washington, Moscow, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Abandoned Building in North Korea Known As 'Hotel of Doom'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, is one of the tallest unoccupied buildings in the world. Construction on the "Hotel of Doom" began in 1987 and has stopped and started several times. AdvertisementAt 1,080 feet, North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang is one of the tallest unoccupied buildings in the world. The 105-story "Hotel of Doom," which is also North Korea's tallest building, has never hosted a single guest. Still, Ryugyong Hotel remains a subject of international fascination.

Persons: — Organizations: Service Locations: Pyongyang, North Korea, city's

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missiles as Blinken visits Seoul
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People are seen watching television at Seoul's Yongsan Railway Station showing North Korea's first test-firing of the new strategic cruise missile Pulhwasal-3-31. North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday for the first time in two months, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol on advancing democracy. North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday for the first time in two months, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol on advancing democracy. Japan later said that it had detected what appeared to be a second ballistic missile launch by the North, and that both fell outside its exclusive economic zone area. North Korea's military has been conducting exercises using conventional weapons in recent weeks, often personally overseen by the isolated state's leader, Kim Jong Un.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Yoon Suk, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Kim Jong Un Locations: Yongsan, Korea, Seoul, North Korea, Pyongyang, United States, Japan, Japanese

☆ Putin scores a resounding win, but what’s next for Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018. Getty Images Putin speaks with American right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson during an interview in February 2024.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Dmitry Kiselyov, Mikhail Mishustin, Ukraine –, Kiselyov, “, Maria Putina, Archivio GBB, ZUMA Press Wire Putin, Laski, Maria, Vladimir, Anatoly Sobchak, Lyudmila, Yekaterina, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Reuters Putin, George W, Bush, Stephen Jaffe, Camp David, Brooks Kraft, Alexey Druzhinin, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Sekretarev, AP Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Dmitry Astakhov, Buffy, Angela Merkel, Jochen Lübke, Thomas Bach, Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Alexei Chalyi, Sergei Aksyonov, Sergei Ilnitsky, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Alexander Lukashenko, Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko, Mykola Lazarenko, Barack Obama, Ban, Chip Somodevilla, Turkey Andrei Karlov, Karlov, Donald Trump, Chris McGrath, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LUDOVIC MARIN, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Eliot Blondet, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Biden, Sergey Lavrov, Denis Balibouse, Macron, Sergey Ponomarev, Mikhail Gorbachev, —, Alexander Nemenov, Alexey Danichev, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Pavel Bednyakov, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Tucker Carlson, Zuma Press Putin, Maxim Shemetov, – what’s, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, coy, Kremlin, Getty, Russian, ZUMA Press, Putin, KGB, ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Reuters, US, White House, Camp, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, RIA Novosti, AP, AFP, International Olympic, Crimean, Ukrainian, United Nations, UN, Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry, Sputnik, World, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Macron, SPUTNIK, New York Times, Central Clinical Hospital, AP Putin, Belarus, State Russian Museum, AP North Korean, Vostochny, Tucker Carlson Network, Zuma Press Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Putin Russia, Russian, Bakhmut, St . Petersburg, Leningrad, Germany, Moscow, AFP, Kazan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Southern Siberia, Russia's Tver, Novo, Ogaryovo, Hanover, Sevastopol, Crimea, Belarusian, Minsk, Belarus, France, Turkey, Helsinki, Finland, Buenos Aires, Ukrainian, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland, Taganrog, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Tsiolkovsky, Russia's, North Korea, United States

☆ Six more years of Putin will worry many countries. But not China
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

A stable relationship with Moscow, too, allows Beijing to focus on other areas of concern such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. “Xi sees Putin as a genuine strategic partner,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, ahead of the Russian election results, adding that anything less than a landslide win for Putin would be “a disappointment” for Beijing. The Russian leader has weathered an apparent miscalculation that what his government still calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine would be a swift success. Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesWatchful BeijingBut that doesn’t mean countries tied to Moscow aren’t also watching the conflict in Ukraine carefully. That may be especially true for China, Russia’s most powerful strategic partner.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Vladimir Putin’s, Xi Jinping, Xi, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, ”, Steve Tsang, Mao Zedong, won’t, Putin’s, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Kim Jong, Sergei Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, he’s, Alexey Navalny, –, BRICS, Jose Colon, Moscow aren’t, “, Eurasia Li Hui, Wang Yiwei, Putin –, Li Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ukraine grinds, Kremlin, NATO, Washington, SOAS China Institute, University of London, Putin, Russia's, KCNA, Reuters, United Arab Emirates, Russian, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Moscow, Renmin University, Beijing, CNN Locations: China, Hong Kong, Russia, Taiwan, Beijing, Moscow, South China, North Korea, Russia’s Far, Washington, Pyongyang, South Korea, Iran, India, Ukraine, Vladivostok, Russian, United States, Brazil, South Africa, UAE, Ethiopia, Egypt, Russia’s Kazan, Crimea, Sochi, West, Israel, Gaza, Ukrainian, Eurasia, Europe, Beijing –

☆ North Korea showcases artillery that poses a deadly threat to the South
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea on Thursday showed off its long-range artillery systems, thousands of weapons that it could use to strike the South with little warning while causing tens of thousands of casualties, according to experts. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed both drills and was seen in photos provided by state media. North Korean artillery fires during large-scales exercises on March 7. Even retaliatory strikes by South Korea and the US would be difficult to execute, the report said. In January, Kim called the South the North’s “primary foe and invariable principal enemy” and ordered a reunification monument in the North Korean capital to be demolished.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Jong Un, Kim, “, KCNA Kim, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN, South Korean, Korea’s Defense, Monday, North, Korean Central News Agency, Korean People's Army, South Korean Defense Ministry, Peninsula . Artillery, RAND Corp, RAND, ROK, DPRK, U.S, South Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, United States, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Russia, Korean, Republic of Korea

☆ Hot on the trail of cherry blossoms — peak times for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Editor’s note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. CNN —In travel news this week: Circling the calendar for peak cherry blossoms, a very rare peek at post-pandemic North Korea and the insightful confessions of a Vegas habitué. While peak bloom can still be up in the air, the dates for the National Cherry Blossom Festival are solidly locked down: March 20-April 14. Meanwhile, Japanese forecasters are out with their own cherry blossom, or sakura, predictions. 02:06 - Source: CNNIn the best of times, a visit to communist North Korea was a rarity.

Persons: Brandon Griggs, He’s, Willy Wonka Organizations: CNN, Washington , D.C, Bloom Watch, National Cherry Blossom, –, Air Albania, AAA Locations: Korea, Netherlands, France, Washington ,, Japan, Wharf, Kochi, Tokyo, wintry Sapporo, Dubai, Atlanta, Air, London, India, United States, North Korea, Russia, Pyongyang, Masikryong, North, Las Vegas, Sin

☆ The US mocked Russia for its motley cast of allies in Ukraine. It's not laughing any more.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

They didn't have the defensive positions prepared," RAND defense researcher Bruce W. Bennett told Business Insider. To work with North Korea, Putin has contravened UN Security Council resolutions he himself signed onto. "If Russia failed to achieve success in Ukraine, meaning it got pushed out of Ukraine, is Putin going to survive physically?" Operating like this "really emboldens North Korea, Iran, and any other autocratic state," said Sanner. AdvertisementIn supplying weapons, Kim Jong Un's regime is unlikely to be driven by a dislike of Ukraine, Bennett said.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Bruce W, Bennett, Putin, State Anthony Blinken, Mark Milley, Grant Shapps, Beth Sanner, that's, Joseph Byrne, Kim Jong Un, John Herbst, Byrne, ALEXANDER KAZAKOV, Kim, Sergei Lavrov, Kim Jong, would've, Russia's, it's, we're Organizations: Service, RAND, Business, State, Joint Chiefs of Staff, UK Defence, Trump, Biden, Atlantic, Royal United Services Institute, REUTERS, Atlantic Council, Putin, Ukraine —, US, UN, New York Times, North Locations: Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russia, Komsomolsk, Khabarovsk Region, South Korea, Korea, Moscow, KCNA

☆ North Korea's twice-failed spy satellite is now up and running, aerospace experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A North Korean spy satellite was spotted adjusting its orbit in space, experts said. AdvertisementA North Korean spy satellite has made maneuvers in orbit that show it is very much "alive," contrary to previous assessments that suggested it was inactive, experts said on Tuesday. North Korea announced it had launched Malligyong-1 into orbit in November, after two failed attempts. The launches drew condemnation from the US, which viewed them as cover for North Korea testing missile technology. The latest findings come as South Korea warned that Pyongyang could launch a new spy satellite as soon as March, The Korea Times reported.

Persons: Marco Langbroek, —, Korean Defense Minister Shin Won, sik, Langbroek, Jonathan McDowell Organizations: Service, Delft University of Technology, Korean Defense Minister, Korea Times, Harvard - Smithsonian Center, Astrophysics, NK News, White, Pentagon, US, Guardian, The Korea Times Locations: Korean, South Korea, Leiden, Netherlands, North Korea, Pyongyang

☆ North Korea's arms factories are going full-tilt making weapons and ammo for Russia's war, says South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewNorth Korean weapons factories are "operating at full capacity" making arms and ammunition for Russia, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said on Monday. That's enough cargo space for 3 million rounds of 152 mm artillery shells or 500,000 rounds of 122 mm artillery shells, Shin said. AdvertisementIn exchange, Russia has been sending North Korea food and raw materials needed to create munitions, Shin said. Overall, Moscow is shipping about 30% more goods to Pyongyang than it's receiving from North Korea, Shin added. Meanwhile, the US State Department estimates that North Korea has sent some 10,000 container shipments to Russia since September.

Persons: —, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won, sik, Shin, it's, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Grant Shapps, Russia's, Kyiv's, Kyrylo Budanov Organizations: Service, South Korean Defense Minister, Yonhap News Agency, Business, US State Department, State Department, UK, GOP Locations: Russia, North Korea, Moscow, Pyongyang, Korea, Vostochny, Ukraine, Russian, Korean

☆ North Korean factories making arms for Russia are ‘operating at full capacity,’ South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea’s munitions factories are “operating at full capacity” to produce weapons and shells for Russia, according to South Korea’s defense minister, as Moscow’s devastating war in Ukraine grinds into a third year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a munitions factory at an undisclosed location on January 10, 2024. CNN has reached out to South Korea’s defense ministry for comment on the US’ estimate but has not yet received a response. The White House confirmed last month that Russia has been firing North Korean missiles at Ukrainian cities. The US and its allies are also concerned about the technology North Korea is seeking from Russia in return for weaponry.

Persons: Korean Defense Minister Shin Won, sik, Kim Jong Un, ” Shin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Avdiivka, Zelensky, Joe Biden’s, Vladimir Putin Organizations: South Korea CNN, South, Korean Defense Minister, KCNA, Reuters, US State Department, CNN, Ukraine, Kyiv, West, North, Intelligence, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, White House, Korean Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Russia, South, Ukraine, Korea, Washington, Pyongyang, North, Russian, North Korea, Avdiivka, Moscow, Russia’s

☆ Tourists have returned to North Korea for the first time since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Mayumi Maruyama | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

American college student Otto Warmbier was detained on a North Korea trip in 2016, allegedly for stealing a propaganda poster. Courtesy Elena BychcovaRussia and North Korea’s relationshipBefore the pandemic, the largest source of inbound tourists to North Korea wasn’t Russia – it was China. The Russian ski trippers were the first tourists allowed into the hermit kingdom since the pandemic, a sign of Russia’s increasing popularity in North Korea. Now, both say they would consider going to North Korea again someday – but only if the political situation changes. “I hope traveling will save the world.”Another Russian ski trip in North Korea is slated for March 2024.

Persons: Lena Bychcova couldn’t, —, kingdom’s, Kim Jong Un, Otto Warmbier, Bychcova, Ilya Voskresensky, grandpa, Voskresensky, “, KIM, JIN, Kim Won Jin, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, ” Bychcova, Lena Bychcova, Elena Bychcova, Vladimir Putin, –, Bychcova doesn’t, ”, Kim, Putin, Anna Chernova, Mariya Knight Organizations: CNN, Koryo, ”, Getty, Intelligence, Ukraine, Korean, United, Russia, North Locations: Korea, Russian, North Korea, Tourism, United States, Pyongyang, Korean, Vladivostok, Soviet Russia, AFP, Elena Bychcova Russia, North, Russia, China, United Nations, Ukraine, Yekaterinburg, Ukrainian

☆ Putin gifts car to Kim Jong Un in sign of ‘special personal relations,’ North Korean state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Russian-made car for Kim’s personal use was delivered Sunday by a Russian delegation, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS the car was an Aurus, the luxury automaker founded in 2018 to produce Russia’s official state cars. In January, high-ranking North Korean and Russian diplomats met in Moscow in advance of what North Korean state media says is a forthcoming visit to Pyongyang by Putin — his first in more than 20 years. The North Korean leader is often seen being chauffeured in what’s believed to be a Mercedes-Maybach Pullman Guard armored limousine, worth upwards of $1 million. During Kim’s visit to Russia last September, Putin showed his Aurus limousine to the North Korean leader.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Dmitry Peskov, –, Kim Yo Jong, Putin, Putin —, Kim, “, ”, what’s, Royce, Donald Trump Organizations: South Korea CNN —, Korean, Korean Central News Agency, TASS, Pyongyang, CNN, Putin, North, Maybach Pullman Guard, Maybach S600 Guard, Washington -, Advanced Defense Locations: Seoul, South Korea, United States, Russian, North Korea, Russia, Moscow, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Netherlands, Washington, Singapore

☆ Report: North Korean missile fired by Russia against Ukraine contained US and European components
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A North Korean ballistic missile fired last month by the Russian military in Ukraine contained hundreds of components that trace back to companies in the US and Europe, according to a new report. Last year, as CNN previously reported, CAR determined that 82% of components inside Iranian-made attack drones fired by Russia inside Ukraine were made by US companies. Courtesy Conflict Armament ResearchThe research also shows that North Korea was able to produce the missile and ship it over to Russia quickly. More evidence of Russia, North Korea tiesThe White House confirmed last month that Russia has been firing North Korean missiles at Ukrainian cities. North Korea has also likely provided Russia with “millions of artillery rounds” over the last year, according to a report published last week by the Pentagon’s inspector general.

Persons: Biden, North Korea —, ”, Korea “, Kim Jong Un, John Kirby Organizations: CNN, Research, National Security Council, North, Congress, White House, Korean, Intelligence, CAR, North Korean, United Nations Security, “, National Security Locations: Korean, Russian, Ukraine, Europe, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Kharkiv, United States, Asia, US, China, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, American, Korea, Washington, Pyongyang

☆ South Korea jails former hero pastor for sexually abusing North Korean teenage defectors
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A South Korean pastor once hailed as a hero for helping North Korean defectors escape to safety has been jailed for sexually abusing minors. Refugees fleeing North Korea often make the perilous journey across the border into China, before attempting to reach South Korea. China, a close ally of Pyongyang, doesn’t consider North Korean defectors refugees, instead seeing them as illegal economic migrants. Under a border agreement with North Korea, it forcibly deports them. Once returned to North Korea, defectors face possible torture, sexual violence, hard labor, imprisonment in political or re-education camps, or even execution by the state, according to activists.

Persons: Chun Ki, Chun, ”, “, Durihana Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, Seoul Central, Court, ” CNN, Children, doesn’t, Underground Railroad, Korea Future Initiative, CNN Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean, North Korea, China, Pyongyang, China’s, London, Durihana

☆ Kim Jong Un has broken with decades of North Korean policy – does it mean he’s planning for war?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The two sides have been cut off from each other since 1953, when an armistice ended the Korean War, and remain technically at war. Yoon and Biden have sharpened their countries’ deterrence plans and coordination in the face of North Korea’s threats and weapons development. If anything, some analysts believe, North Korea’s public statements signal that North Korea is abandoning its reunification policy in pursuit of peace on the peninsula. Vladimir Smirnov/AFP/Getty ImagesAn ‘emboldened’ KimThe North Korean leader may also feel more confident about his arsenal and his options as he watches a shifting global landscape. “Kim Jong Un is wary of a full-scale provocation by the South Korean military disguised as a military exercise and has vowed to occupy South Korean territory without hesitation,” said Lim in Changwon.

Persons: Kim Jong, South Korea –, ” Kim, ”, Kim, ’, Robert Carlin, Siegfred Heckler, Chul Lim, “, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Edward Howell, Yoon Suk Yeol, Ayse, ” He’s, Yoon, Biden, Seoul . Kim, Trump, Lim, “ That’s, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Smirnov, ’ Kim, “ Kim Jong, …, Rachel Minyoung Lee, Howell, “ Kim Jong Un, Lee, Japan – Organizations: CNN, South, Korean Central News Agency, Reuters, North Korea Research Center, University’s Institute, Far Eastern, University of Oxford, Japan, Ewha Womans University, US, North, Russia's Vostochny, Getty, Stimson, –, White, United Nations Security Council, West, South Korean Defense Ministry, ”, Trump, North Korean Locations: Ukraine, Gaza, North Korea, South Korea, Korea, Republic of Korea, Kim, Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, United States, Korea’s, Changwon, Pyongyang, Russia, United Kingdom, Japan, Guam, Gon, Seoul ., Russian, Russia's, China, Iran, denuclearization, Western, North, Moscow, Beijing, Oxford, Jeju, South, “

☆ North Korea Leader's Sister Says Japan PM's Comments Positive - KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL (Reuters) - The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said there is no impediment to closer ties with Japan and there may come a day Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Pyongyang, state news agency KCNA said on Thursday. Kishida, whose nation has no formal diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, has said he was exploring possibilities to meet North Korea's leader to resolve the matter of Japanese civilians abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. Kim Yo Jong, a deputy department director in the ruling Workers' Party, said Kishida's comments could be considered positive if meant to advance relations. Japan has been critical of North Korea's pursuit of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, often drawing harsh rebukes from Pyongyang, especially as Tokyo stepped up its security alliance with South Korea and the United States. Kim is widely considered the closest confidant and adviser to her brother on external policy matters.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Fumio Kishida, KCNA, Kishida, Kim Yo Jong, Kim, Jack Kim, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: North, Workers ' Party Locations: SEOUL, Japan, Pyongyang, Tokyo, South Korea, United States

Some experts say Kim may seek to further dial up pressure in an election year in South Korea and the United States. He also accused South Korea of frequently violating what he decried as North Korean territorial waters with its maritime patrols and interdiction of third-party ships. He ordered his navy to strengthen its defense posture in waters near the South Korean border islands of Baekryeong and Yeonpyeong, where a North Korean artillery bombardment killed four people in 2010. North Korea insists upon a boundary that encroaches deeply into waters currently controlled by South Korea. Following a separate, year-end political conference at which Kim accused South Korea of hostility, North Korea in early January fired hundreds of artillery rounds on three consecutive days near the western sea boundary with South Korea.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim, KCNA Organizations: North, Korean Central News Agency, Command, Supreme People’s Assembly, Washington Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Wonsan, United States, Korea, Baekryeong, Korean, U.S, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Beijing

Search resuls for: "Pyongyang"

25 mentions found