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☆ The North Korean refugees sold to Chinese husbands
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

China considers North Korean refugees to be economic migrants, and forcibly deports them back to North Korea – where, as alleged defectors, they face imprisonment, possible torture or worse, activists say. During that period, she also met other North Korean refugees in the same situation – with their status public knowledge in the village, she said. According to the KFI report, the buying of a North Korean wife is “always known to the local community” but rarely reported to authorities. The other North Korean refugees she’d met in town had connections to brokers who could help them escape, while church organizations and non-profit groups discreetly helped raise funds for the journey. Brokers who remain have raised their prices due to increased risks and surveillance, while newcomers to the business are inexperienced, making it a risky gamble for North Korean refugees.

Persons: South Korea CNN — Chae, –, she’s, Yoonjung Seo, She’d, didn’t, “, ”, Chae, ” didn’t, Kim Jeong Ah, Kim, she’d, we’ll, ” Chae, Seo, Unification Ministry –, She’s, – she’s Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, CNN, North Korea –, Korea Future Initiative, KFI, US State Department, Human Rights Watch, Female North, United Nations, Liberty, Korean, Koreans, Unification Ministry, Brokers Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, China, Laos, Thailand, North Korean, Hebei, Beijing, London, Korea, Korean, North, ”, South, South Koreans

☆ Signs of Rare Unrest Among North Korean Workers in China, Researchers Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

By Ju-min ParkSEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's intelligence agency says poor conditions for North Koreans working overseas have led to "incidents and accidents", while researchers report rare protests and unrest in China among workers from a North Korean military-linked trading company. Fed up with unpaid wages and lingering pandemic lockdowns, as many as 3,000 North Korean workers in China staged protests last month, according to two South Korean government-affiliated researchers, including a former North Korean diplomat. The North Korean embassy in Beijing and its consular office in the Chinese border city of Dandong did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment. South Korea's unification ministry said in a report last year that China and Russia were hosting North Korean workers despite the sanctions. That's not easy now, given the North Korean regime wants to keep them in China to raise money for the government."

Persons: Cho Han, Cho, Ko Young, Ko, Jimin Jung, Josh Smith, Eduardo Baptista, Antoni Slodkowski, Laurie Chen, Gerry Doyle Organizations: North, . State, Korea Institute for National, South, Korea's National Intelligence Service, Security, Koreans, U.S . State Department, NIS Locations: SEOUL, China, North Korean, Beijing, Dandong, North Koreans, North Korea, Pyongyang, Korean, Helong, Jilin province, Jilin, Russia, Seoul

☆ South Korea says number of North Korean defectors nearly triples in 2023, including ‘elite’ diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Gawon Bae | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea nearly tripled in 2023 compared to the previous two years, authorities said Thursday – including a higher number of youth and members of the North Korean elite. North Korea slammed its already tight borders shut in 2020, plunging the hermit nation into even greater isolation. Only 63 defectors entered South Korea in 2021, and 67 in 2022, according to government data. China, a close ally of Pyongyang, doesn’t consider North Korean defectors to be refugees, instead seeing them as illegal economic migrants. Once back in North Korea, defectors face possible torture, sexual violence, hard labor, imprisonment in political or re-education camps, or even execution by the North Korean state, according to activists.

Persons: ”, Kim, –, Kim Jong Un Organizations: South Korea CNN, North Korean, Korea’s Unification Ministry, Ministry, North, South, North Koreans, doesn’t Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, China, Russia, Pyongyang, North Korea’s, Laos, Myanmar, South Korean, Thailand, North, Korea, North Korean

☆ North Korea cites rare dissent in elections even as 99% back candidates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un casts his ballot during a local election, in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, in this picture released on November 27, 2023. The North's parliament and regional councils serve as a rubber stamp to the ruling Workers' Party, with their elections usually registering over 99% voter turnout. This month's election marks the first time North Korea has referred to dissenting votes in local polls since the 1960s, an official at South Korea's unification ministry handling relations with the North said. Held every four years, the latest regional election was also the first polls since North Korea revised its election law in August to allow multiple candidates. "The portrayal of a more democratic society, particularly in comparison to South Korea and the U.S., is aimed at reinforcing the regime's legitimacy and authenticity on the world stage," think tank, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said in a report.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Soo, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Ed Davies, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Workers ' Party, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Thomson Locations: South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, North, Korea, South Korea, U.S, Pyongyang

☆ We've been calling Kim Jong Un's daughter by the wrong name, and it's all because of Dennis Rodman, Korean ex-spy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kim Jong Un's daughter has been known to the world as Kim Ju Ae since North Korea debuted her in 2022. But a former South Korean spy veteran says her name is actually Kim Eun Ju, per The Korea Times. AdvertisementA retired South Korean spy said the world has been giving the wrong name to daughter of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, The Korea Times reported. Advertisement"I heard that Kim introduced his daughter to Rodman during his visit to North Korea, saying in Korean that 'jeo-ae' is his daughter. South Korean officials and intelligence services have since referred to Kim's daughter as "Kim Ju Ae," and a year later, she continues to feature heavily in North Korean propaganda.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Ju, Kim Eun Ju, Dennis Rodman, Kim Jong Un, —, Choe Su Yong, Choe, Rodman, Kim . Choe, Kim Organizations: Korea Times, Service, The Korea Times, South Korea's National Intelligence Service, NBA, Times, Guardian, Business Insider, South, The Times, Radio Free Asia, Korea's Unification Ministry Locations: North Korea, South Korean, Korean

☆ North Korea media urges stronger nuclear force after U.S. missile test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A North Korean military commentator said despite the failure of the test, the presence of South Korean "puppet military gangsters" showed that U.S. nuclear weapons were targeted at North Korea. The commentary also criticised the U.S. and South Korea for various recent military steps including the deployment of U.S. nuclear strategic bombers to South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea also held air exercises involving 130 warplanes from both countries to simulate 24-hour wartime operations last month. South Korea and the United States say their exercises are aimed at maintaining combat readiness to respond to North Korea. North Korea denounces the exercises as preparations by the United States and its South Korean ally to invade it.

Persons: Kim, Hyunsu Yim, Hyonhee Shin, Robert Birsel Organizations: Minuteman, Daylight, Vandenberg Air Force Base, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S, U.S . Air Force, South, North, Democratic People's, DPRK, Korea's Unification Ministry, Thomson Locations: California, U.S, Rights SEOUL, North Korea, United States, Korean, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Korea, North, Korea, Japan

☆ North Korea closes multiple embassies around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The North Korean flag flutters at the North Korea consular office in Dandong, Liaoning province, China April 20, 2021. Both Angola and Uganda have forged friendly ties with North Korea since the 1970s, maintaining military cooperation and providing rare sources of foreign currency such as statue-building projects. "This can be a sign of North Korea's difficult economic situation, where it is difficult to maintain even minimal diplomatic relations with traditionally friendly countries." North Korea has formal relations with 159 countries, but had 53 diplomatic missions overseas, including three consulates and three representative offices, until it pulled out of Angola and Uganda, according to the ministry. Correspondence with the Spanish Communist Party released on the party's website showed the North Korean embassy announcing the closing in a letter dated Oct. 26.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, KCNA, Chad O'Carroll, Kim Jong, Hyonhee Shin, Hyunsu Yim, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Gerry Doyle, Ed Davies Organizations: North, REUTERS, Rights, NK Pro, Spanish Communist Party, North Korean, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Dandong, Liaoning province, China, Rights SEOUL, Spain, Hong Kong, Africa, Korean, Angola, Uganda, Korea, Italy, Madrid, Pyongyang, United States

☆ North Korea's closure of Africa embassies a sign of economic hardships - South's ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The North Korean flag flutters at the North Korea consular office in Dandong, Liaoning province, China April 20, 2021. Both Angola and Uganda have forged friendly ties with North Korea since the 1970s, maintaining military cooperation and providing rare sources of foreign currency such as statue-building projects. Seoul's unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the pullout reflected the impact of international sanctions aimed at curbing funding for the North's nuclear and missile programs. "This can be a sign of North Korea's difficult economic situation, where it is difficult to maintain even minimal diplomatic relations with traditionally friendly countries." Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported last week, citing unnamed sources, that North Korea was planning to shut down at least 10 diplomatic missions, including a consulate in Hong Kong, largely because of economic difficulties.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Hyonhee Shin, Hyunsu Yim, Gerry Doyle Organizations: North, REUTERS, Rights, Yomiuri Shimbun, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Dandong, Liaoning province, China, Rights SEOUL, Angola, Uganda, Korea, Hong Kong

A cartoon soldier is depicted on part of a warning sign on barbed wire on the Chinese side of the border between Russia, China and North Korea near the town of Hunchun, China, November 24, 2017. Any forced repatriation of North Koreans goes against international norms and South Korea viewed it as regrettable, Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry, told a media briefing. "It appears to be true that a large number of North Koreans in China's three northeast provinces have been repatriated to the North," Koo said. South Korea had been unable to determine the number of people involved and whether there were defectors among them. China has never recognised fleeing North Koreans as defectors and instead calls them "economic migrants".

Persons: Damir Sagolj, Koo Byoung, Koo, Tae Yong, Kim Hyuk, Kim Cheol, Jack Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Eduardo Baptista, Ed Davies, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Koreans, South Korea's Unification Ministry, Former North, Korean, Rights Watch, The North, Thomson Locations: Russia, China, North Korea, Hunchun, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, North, Korea, China's, Former North Korean, Korea's, Beijing, North Koreans, Koreans, The, The North Koreans, Korean, Jilin province

☆ Who is accompanying North Korea's Kim on trip to Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departs Pyongyang, North Korea, to visit Russia, September 10, 2023, in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on September 12, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Top military commanders, arms industry officials and diplomats accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his trip to Russia, hinting at a potentially defence-heavy agenda for meetings with President Vladimir Putin. North Korea did not name the members of the delegation, but analysts identified several key figures who appear to be accompanying Kim in photos released by state media on Tuesday. Overseeing North Korea's defence industry including its nuclear and missile programmes, Ri travelled to Russia with Kim's late father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011. An official at Seoul's Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Kim and Putin could explore ways to return North Korean labourers to Russia, banned under the U.N. Security Council sanctions.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Ri Pyong Chol, Ri, Kim's, Kim Jong Il, Marshal Pak Jong Chon, Pak, Jo Chun Ryong, Michael Madden, Putin, Jo, Kang Sun Nam, Madden, Choe Son Hui, Choe, Donald Trump, Kim Yo Jong, Su Yong, Pak Hun, Han Kwang Sang, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith, Gerry Doyle Organizations: North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Central Military Commission, Marshal, Munitions Industry Department, Stimson, Jo . Defence, U.S, Seoul's Unification Ministry, . Security, Thomson Locations: Pyongyang, North Korea, Russia, Rights SEOUL, Washington, Vietnam

Kim’s delegation likely includes his foreign minister, Choe Sun Hui, and his top two military officials – Korean People’s Army Marshals Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon. Other officials identified in North Korean state media photos may hint at what Kim might seek from Putin and what he would be willing to give. U.S. officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia were arranging a meeting between their leaders. After decades of a complicated, hot-and-cold relationship, Russia and North Korea have been drawing closer since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Both Russian and North Korean officials denied such claims.

Persons: —, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Jeon Ha Gyu, Choe Sun Hui, Ri, Pak Jong Chon, Putin, Pak, Song, Adm, Kim Myong Sik, it's, Kim Jong, Jo Chun Ryong, Putin’s, Dmitry Peskov, ”, Adrienne Watson, “, Matthew Miller, Wagner, Sergei Shoigu, Jim Heintz, Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee, Dake Kang, Ng Han Guan Organizations: Korean Central News Agency, Korea’s Defense Ministry, Korean People’s, Korea’s Unification Ministry, TASS, Associated Press, White, National Security, North, Democratic People’s, ”, Washington, United, Korean, Russian Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, North, North Korean, Korea, Russian, Vladivostok, Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday ., Ukrainian, DPRK, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Washington, Japan, Moscow, Beijing, United States, Korean, Tallinn, Estonia, Fangchuan, China, russia, ukraine

KCNA via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - North Korea conducted a simulated "scorched-earth" nuclear strike on targets across South Korea, state media reported on Thursday, in reaction to allied exercises that it said amounted to plans for a preemptive nuclear attack by the United States. ROK is the initials of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, hours after the U.S. deployed B-1B bombers for allied air drills. South Korea's presidential office convened a security meeting after North Korea's late-night launch, which followed its second failed attempt last week to put its first spy satellite into orbit. Japan will intercept North Korea's missiles if they fly over Japan's territory, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

Persons: North Korea's, Fumio Kishida, Hirokazu Matsuno, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Kim Jong, Kim, Soo, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Kantaro Komiya, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Satoshi Sugiyama, Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Korean People's Army, North, Korean Central News Agency, Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, ROK, U.S, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Republic of Korea, Japan, Pyongyang, U.S, Korea, Seoul, Kantaro, Tokyo

North Korea's state media has made no mention of the incident. North Korea has been testing increasingly powerful missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week. Forces Korea, said the military was "working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident," referring to North Korea's People's Army. NORTH KOREA FIRES MISSILESThe soldier was on a tour of the Panmunjom truce village with other visitors when he crossed a Military Demarcation Line, U.S. officials say. The launch came hours after the South Korea and the United States held the first round of talks on Tuesday on upgrading coordination in the event of a nuclear war with North Korea.

Persons: Travis T, King, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Isaac Taylor, Taylor, Kim Hong, Panmunjom, Tae Yong, Josh Smith, Hyonhee Shin, hyang Choi, David Brunnstrom, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Nobuhiro Kubo, Jack Kim, Lincoln Organizations: U.S, The U.S . Army, Security Area, U.S . Defence, United Nations, U.S . Forces, Korea's People's Army, Command, UNC, North Koreans, KOREA, REUTERS, Ji, U.S ., Korea's Unification Ministry, South, United, Thomson Locations: North North Korea, Pyongyang, U.S, South Korea, WASHINGTON, American, North Korea, Washington, The, New York, U.S . Forces Korea, Paju, Ji U.S, United States, Korean, Korea's, Seoul, Tokyo

“I’m getting to know how to live in South Korea at Hanawon.”A Hanawon instructor in an IT education center for North Korean defectors on July 10, 2023. This approach is “outdated,” ineffective and overly restrictive, said Sokeel Park, South Korea country director for international nonprofit Liberty in North Korea (LINK), which helps North Koreans resettle in the South. North Korean defectors attend a computer class at the Hanawon facility on July 10, 2023. In 2022, the remains of a North Korean woman wrapped in winter coats found in her Seoul home. After their arduous journey, he said, North Korean defectors should have the chance to begin this new chapter on their own terms – with the freedom they risked their lives to seek.

Persons: ”, “, “ I’ve, “ I’m, Jeon Heon, Seokyong Lee, Hanawon, SeongJoon Cho, Kim, Kwon Young, ” B, Park, they’d, Kwon, he’d, she’d Organizations: South Korea CNN, South Korea –, Unification, National Intelligence Service, Liberty, CNN, Bloomberg, Getty, North, NIS, Hanawon, Authorities, South Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Korea, China, Hanawon, North, Anseong, South, Pyongyang, North Korean, Korean

☆ South Korea's Yoon tells unification ministry to be less soft on North
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 2 (Reuters) - Having appointed a new unification minister days earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Sunday that the ministry had focused too much on providing aid for North Korea in the past and needed to change. "The Unification Ministry has been acting like the ministry of North Korea aid and it is wrong," Yoon was quoted as telling staff in a statement issued by his press secretary. "It's time for the unification ministry to change." Yoon also urged the ministry to stand up for liberal democratic values and said unification should bring a "better and more human life" to people in the South and North. In 2019, Kim wrote in an online column that the path to unification would open once North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's "regime is overthrown and North Korea is liberated."

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Yung, Yoon, Kim, Kim Jong, Hyunsu Yim, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, South, Korean

☆ A North Korean stunned world soccer when he scored in Serie A. Then Han Kwang Song went missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Gawon Bae | Andrew Mcnicol | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

But the Covid-19 pandemic led to North Korea fully sealing its borders, making it impossible for Han and fellow repatriated North Korean nationals to return home. PyongyangHan was born in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in 1998. The opening of North Korea through sport seemed like a door that would not be closed any time soon. They followed the Olympics and soccer,” former North Korean men’s soccer national team head coach Jørn Andersen told CNN Sport, adding that he had limited contact with the North Korean public during his time in Pyongyang between 2016 and 2018. Holding a North Korean passport, Han was no exception to these sanctions, despite his preternatural soccer talent.

Persons: Han Kwang, Qatar’s, Han, –, Hahn, hea, Kim Jong, Pyongyang Han, Kim Jong Un’s, Kim, Alberto Mier, Jørn Andersen, ” Andersen, Han Kwang Song, Enrico Locci, YuMi, Rome –, Choe, “, Mario Berreta, ” Cagliari’s, Max Canzi, ” Canzi, ‘ Tell Mario, ”, Canzi, Nicholas Pennington, Tullio M, Pennington, ” Han, Juventus –, Duhail, Sandro Stemperini, Qatar Han’s, Andersen, hasn’t, he’s, ” Anderson, regretfully Organizations: CNN, Juventus, Little North, South, CNN Sport, United Nations Security Council, North, Pyongyang International Football School, CNN North Korea, Korean, soccer, team, North Korean, Bundesliga, Liga, KCTV, FIFA, Cagliari's Serie, Chievo Verona, Academy, ISM Academy, AC Perugia Calcio, Cagliari, Canzi, Serie A, Perugia, Getty, AC Perugia, Juventus ’, Serie, ISM International Scouting Center, UNSC, North Korea, DPRK, Democratic People’s, Al, Qatar’s, Qatar Stars, Qatar, UN, Fiorentina, Sport, Qatar Stars League, “, Qatar Airways, – Locations: Korean, Italian, Pyongyang, South Korean, North Korea, Qatar, London, South Korea, Germany, Italy, England, Spain, Perugia –, Italy’s, Umbria, Rome, Europe, “, Cagliari, Puglia, Seoul, North Korean, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Qatari, Korea, North, Ahli, ”, Doha, China, Russia

☆ North Korea: "No intention to examine" Hyundai Group chief's bid to visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - North Korea has no intention to "examine" South Korea's Hyundai Group chief's plan to visit the North's Mount Kumgang, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun has been seeking to visit North Korea in August and submitted applications to South Korea's unification ministry, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday, citing an unnamed official at the ministry. Hyundai's late founder, Chung Ju-Yung, was born in North Korea. Mount Kumgang is on North Korea’s east coast near the demilitarised zone separating the two countries. North Korea has long rejected criticism of its rights conditions as part of a plot to overthrow its rulers.

Persons: Kumgang, Hyun Jeong, Chung, Yung, Yoon Suk, Heekyong Yang, Sandra Maler, William Mallard Organizations: Korea's Hyundai, Hyundai, DPRK, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, North Korea’s, Kaesong, Pyongyang

REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File PhotoSEOUL, June 29 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday picked a conservative scholar and an outspoken critic of North Korea's human rights record as the country's new unification minister handling relations with Pyongyang in a cabinet reshuffle. Kim, 63, served as a presidential secretary for unification and a human rights envoy under the conservative Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations. North Korea has long rejected criticism of its rights conditions as part of a plot to overthrow its rulers. Kim is the right person to pursue a "principle-based" and consistent North Korea policy, said Yoon's chief of staff, Kim Dae-ki. The unification ministry's role ranges from cross-border dialogue and exchanges to studying human rights abuses in North Korea and helping defectors resettle in the South.

Persons: Kim Hong, Yoon Suk, Kim Yung, Yoon, Kim, Lee Myung, Kim Jong, Kim Dae, Jang Mi, Soo, hyang Choi, Hyunsu Yim, Jack Kim, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: South, REUTERS, Sungshin Women's University, North, Thomson Locations: Korean, South Korean, Paju, South Korea, SEOUL, Pyongyang, North Korea, North Korean, Korea, United States

☆ North Korea says botched satellite launch was 'gravest failure'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, June 19 (Reuters) - North Korea has said its botched military satellite launch last month was the "gravest failure" at the ruling party's latest key meeting, state media KCNA reported on Monday. The enlarged plenary meeting was held between Friday and Sunday, ordering workers and researchers to analyze the failed military satellite launch and prepare for another in the near future. Those in charge of the satellite launch were "heavily criticized," the report said. It marked the eight enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the country's ruling party. North Korea also vowed it will continue to develop its nuclear capability and strengthen solidarity with other countries that oppose what it called the "U.S. strategy for world supremacy."

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Hyunsu Yim, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: 8th Central Committee of, Workers ' Party of, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS, Workers ' Party of Korea, North Korean, Korea's Unification Ministry, Thomson Locations: Workers ' Party of Korea, Pyongyang, North Korea, REUTERS SEOUL, U.S

☆ North Korea criticises G7 over call for denuclearisation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The quoted remarks by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui came in a statement criticising the United States and other Group of Seven countries. Tension has flared in recent weeks as North Korea has ramped up military activities, and threatened "more practical and offensive" action as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct annual springtime military exercises. North Korea has been reacting furiously to those exercises, calling them a rehearsal for "an all-out, nuclear war." Choe accused the G7 countries of illegally interfering in North Korea's internal affairs by demanding denuclearisation, saying Pyongyang would respond if they attempt to violate its sovereignty and fundamental interests. "North Korea will never get what it wants through nuclear and missile development, and it will only become more isolated from the international community," ministry deputy spokesperson Lee Hyo-jung told a briefing.

☆ North Korea executes people for South Korean videos, drugs - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoSEOUL, March 30 (Reuters) - North Korea executes people for drugs, sharing South Korean media, and religious activities as it stifles its citizens' human rights and freedom, its rival, South Korea, said in a report on Thursday. "Executions are widely carried out for acts that do not justify the death penalty, including drug crimes, distribution of South Korean videos, and religious and superstitious activities." Reuters could not independently verify the South Korean government's findings but they were in line with U.N. investigations and reports from non-governmental organisations. Nearly 34,000 North Koreans have settled in South Korea but the number of defectors has fallen sharply because of tighter border security.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders 'fundamental transformation' of agriculture amid food shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a "fundamental transformation" in agricultural production, state media reported on Tuesday, amid fears that the country's food shortage is worsening. The report did not elaborate on what measures North Korea would take, but Kim said the changes need to happen in the next few years. His remark comes amid reports of growing food shortage woes in the country. Earlier this month, South Korea's Unification Ministry said the food situation in the North "seemed to have deteriorated." North Korea is under strict international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

☆ North Korea paper calls outside aid 'poisoned candy', urges self-reliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - North Korea's official newspaper said on Wednesday that relying on external aid to cope with food shortages would be equal to taking "poisoned candy", urging economic self-reliance despite deepening hardships amid sanctions and coronavirus lockdowns. Most U.N. agencies and Western relief groups have since left North Korea, with China remaining one of the few sources of external food assistance. "It is a mistake to try to boost the economy by accepting and eating this poisoned candy," the commentary said. "Food production dropped from last year, and there is a possibility of distribution issues due to a change in their food supply and distribution policy," a ministry official told reporters. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se has said Pyongyang had asked the U.N. food agency, the World Food Programme, to provide support but there was no progress because of differences over monitoring issues.

☆ Groundwater carries radiation risk for North Korean cities near nuke test site, rights group says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea secretly conducted six tests of nuclear weapons at the Punggye-ri site in the mountainous North Hamgyong Province between 2006 and 2017, according to the U.S. and South Korean governments. It also said that neighbouring South Korea, China and Japan might be at risk due partly to agricultural and fisheries products smuggled from the North. When North Korea invited foreign journalists to witness the destruction of some tunnels at the nuclear test site in 2018, it confiscated their radiation detectors. The ministry said, however, that it could not establish a direct link with the nuclear site. The rights group urged a resumption of testing and an international enquiry into the radiation risks for communities around Punggye-ri.

☆ North Korean food shortage seems to be worsening, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 15 (Reuters) - A North Korean food crisis appears to have deteriorated, South Korea said on Wednesday, as a newspaper reported that North Korea has cut rations to its soldiers for the first time in more than two decades. North Korea has effectively acknowledged serious food shortages, South Korea's unification ministry said, referring to a North Korean state media report this month about plans for an "urgent" ruling party meeting on agriculture. "Its food situation seems to have deteriorated," the South's unification ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said in a statement. South Korea's DongA Ilbo newspaper said on Wednesday that North Korea has reduced daily food rations to its soldiers for the first time since 2000, citing an unidentified senior South Korean official. The WFP, which has helped North Korea over the years, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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