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☆ 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

☆ 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

CNN —After more than three years of going missing from world soccer, North Korean striker Han Kwang Song has reappeared, playing for his country in two recent World Cup qualifiers and scoring in the 6-1 win over Myanmar on Tuesday. Attempting to qualify for the World Cup for a third time, North Korea lost 1-0. The North Korea football federation, the Asian Football Confederation and world soccer governing body FIFA didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment on Han’s return to international football. The return of the North Korean wunderkind has surprised soccer pundits and fans, who worried about his safety and promising career being cut short. 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.

Persons: Han Kwang, Han, Duhail, –, Korean wunderkind, Max Canzi, ” Canzi, Han’s, Nicholas Pennington, Kwang, Choe, Pölten, Alberto Mier, Qatar’s, ”, Kim Jong, Kim, Tullio M Organizations: CNN, North, Myanmar, North Korean, Qatar, Al, Asian Football Confederation, FIFA, Korean, Serie, CNN Sport, Syria, Cagliari, Austria’s SKN, Italy’s, UN, Juventus, United Nations Security Council, Qatar Stars, Qatar Stars League, UNSC, Qatar Airways, Perugia, Getty, Tokyo, Beijing Winter Games, International Olympic Committee Locations: North Korean, Syria, Saudi Arabian, Jeddah, North Korea, Yangon, Rome, Qatar, Korean, Pyongyang, Myanmar, Austria’s SKN St, Arezzo, Qatari, Korea, Ahli, Doha, Puglia, Beijing, Asia

☆ South Korea, U.S. mark alliance with rap song, fashion and beer
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A banner commemorating the 70th anniversary of the ROK-U.S. alliance hangs at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, October 24, 2023. The information campaign is intended to "heighten the public's understanding of the South Korea-US alliance", the culture ministry told Reuters. The South Korean embassy in the United States staged a fashion show last month marking the anniversary, with models in traditional Korean dresses featuring South Korean and U.S. flags. SOFT POWERSouth Korea's showcasing of its U.S. ties comes after rival North Korea has been making much of its relations with its old partner, Russia. Lee Gyu-tag, an associate professor of global affairs at George Mason University Korea, said South Korea was trying to tap into pop culture to bolster support for the alliance but it risked a backlash.

Persons: Kim Soo, Donald Trump, Yoon Suk Yeol, Joe Biden, Kim Jong Il, Vladimir Putin, Lee Gyu, Lee, Hyunsu Yim, Robert Birsel Organizations: ROK, U.S, Embassy, REUTERS, Rights, South, Reuters, Korean, . U.S, George Mason University Korea, Gallup, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, South Korean, United States, Korea, Russia, South, Ukraine, ., Gallup Korea

☆ 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

☆ A Korean woman in Japan says she was hospitalized after being served a cup with bleach in it. She's accusing the restaurant of a hate crime.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Korean woman said she was the victim of a hate crime in a Tokyo restaurant, per local media. She said she was served a cup of water with bleach in it and had to be taken to the hospital. The Korean Embassy has asked local police to investigate the incident, per local reports. The woman, surnamed Kang, told the South Korean broadcaster JTBC that the incident happened at an unnamed high-end restaurant in Tokyo's Ginza district on August 31, according to the English-language South Korean newspaper The Korea Times. "We apologize to the customer who was food poisoned and her family for causing great pain and inconvenience," the restaurant said in a written statement, per the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Daily.

Persons: Kang, JTBC Organizations: Korean Embassy, Service, South, JTBC, Korean, The Korea Times, South Korean, Embassy, United States Institute of Peace, Japan Times Locations: Tokyo, Wall, Silicon, South Korean, Ginza, Japan, South Korea, Korean, Kyoto Prefecture

☆ North Korea's Kim inspects cruise missile test as South Korea-US military drills begin
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. The latest missile test came as South Korea and the United States began the Ulchi Freedom Shield summer exercises on Monday, designed to enhance their joint responses to North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. South Korean lawmakers have said the North could seek to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile or take other military action to protest the allies' drills or last week's summit of South Korea, the United States and Japan. North Korea has been constantly testing what it calls "strategic cruise missiles" since late 2021. While modernising and bolstering its naval power, North Korea showcased a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in March.

Persons: Edgar Su, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Lisa Shumaker, Diane Craft Organizations: North, REUTERS, Rights, United States, Command, Navy, Thomson Locations: Korea, North Korean, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, Pyongyang, United States, Japan, North Korea

☆ North Korea denounces US arms aid to Taiwan as 'dangerous' provocation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File PhotoSEOUL, Aug 4 (Reuters) - North Korea on Friday criticised a U.S. weapons aid package to Taiwan, state media reported on Friday, accusing the United States of driving tensions in the region to "another ignition point of war". The United States unveiled an aid package for Taiwan worth up to $345 million on Friday as Congress authorised up to $1 billion worth of weapons for the island as a part of the 2023 budget. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met a Chinese delegation in Pyongyang last week and vowed to develop the two countries' relations to a "new high".

Persons: Edgar Su, Kim Jong Un, Soo, hyang Choi, Gerry Doyle Organizations: North, REUTERS, United, U.S, Thomson Locations: Korea, North Korean, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, Taiwan, United States, Yong, China, Beijing, Washington, Taipei, Asia, Pacific, Pyongyang

☆ Japan protests to S.Korea over military drill on disputed islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, July 7 (Reuters) - Japan lodged a protest with South Korea over military drills it conducted on disputed islands, saying it was "extremely regrettable", the foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Friday. "Takeshima is indisputably an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based on international law," the ministry said in the statement. "The drills by the South Korean military are unacceptable and extremely regrettable." "The East Sea territory defence exercise was carried out to conduct our mission to protect our territory, people and property," a South Korean military official said. The South Korean military has conducted the military drill routinely every year, the official added.

Persons: Kaori Kaneko, Hyunsu Yim, Kim Coghill Organizations: South, South Korea, East, Korean, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, South Korea, South Korean, Tokyo, Seoul, Dokdo, Korea

☆ 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

☆ Christians caught with a Bible in North Korea have faced death and had their families, including children, thrown in prison for life, a new report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

North Korea offers freedom of religion to its citizens on paper but not in practice. A recently released Department of State report notes that while North Korea constitutionally allows for religious freedom, there is no such thing in practice. One NGO, Open Doors USA, has reported that for Christians in North Korea, life is a "constant cauldron of pressure" and "capture or death is only a mistake away." The North Korea flag flutters next to barbed wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That report found that North Korea "denied the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion" and engaged in "crimes against humanity."

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - The Global Times, a hawkish Chinese state media tabloid, on Monday criticised a letter of protest sent to it by South Korea's embassy in China, the latest public spat amid worsening ties between the Asian neighbours. The South Korean embassy "expressed strong regret over a series of unreasonable slanderous articles" from the Global Times, in a letter of protest published Friday on its website. In its editorial, the Global Times slammed the embassy's "brutal interference in (its) independent reporting". South Korea's embassy in China did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a similar incident last December, China's ambassador in South Korea criticised Korean media for stoking anti-China sentiment.

☆ China lodges serious representations with South Korea over joint statement with U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" to South Korea over its joint statement with the United States about the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a foreign ministry statement said on Friday. Department of Asian Affairs Director-General Liu Jinsong met with South Korean Embassy Minister Kang Sang-wook on Thursday evening to emphasise China's stance on Taiwan and urged South Korea to strictly adhere to the "One-China" principle, the ministry said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a six-day visit to the United States, during which Yoon and President Joe Biden held talks that covered tensions between China and Taiwan and Chinese military activities in the South China Sea. In a South Korea-U.S. joint statement, the presidents stressed the need for peace in the Taiwan Strait and said they opposed "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, including through unlawful maritime claims, the militarization of reclaimed features, and coercive activities." Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea slams U.S. for protecting raiders of Spain embassy in 2019 case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 4(Reuters) - North Korea criticized the U.S. for refusing to extradite a man who was accused of staging a break-in at North Korea's embassy in Spain in 2019, saying Washington was protecting terrorism, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. The North Korean embassy in Madrid issued a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the raid, during which a group of men bound and gagged staff for hours before driving off with computers and other devices. "But the U.S. is openly protecting and encouraging acts of terrorism against our citizens abroad based on groundless claims," it added. The embassy called Washington's behaviour "daylight robbery" and "gangster," demanding it provide a formal apology and compensation and arrest and extradite the raiders. The FBI gave the items to Spanish authorities who eventually returned them to the embassy.

☆ North Korea confirms it tested ICBM, touts 'fatal nuclear counterattack' capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 19 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Sunday it had tested a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day in a "sudden launching drill" that confirmed its readiness for "mobile and mighty counterattack" against hostile forces. North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan's west coast on Saturday afternoon after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States. A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. Analysts say North Korea is likely to conduct more weapons tests, including a possible new solid-fuel missile, which could help the North deploy its missiles faster in the event of a war. North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter "hostile policies" by Washington and its allies.

☆ North Korea fires missile amid tension over Russia arms aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A North Korean flag flies above the North Korean embassy in Beijing on February 12, 2013. North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Friday, the South Korean military said, the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests this year. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were fired from the Sunan area of North Korean capital Pyongyang. Pyongyang's foreign ministry on Friday also denied a Japanese media report on munitions shipments to Russia, calling it "groundless". Tokyo Shimbun reported that North Korea had shipped artillery shells and other munitions to Russia via train last month, with additional shipments expected in coming weeks.

☆ ‘The Rebel and the Kingdom’ Review: Rebel With a Righteous Cause
▼ + stars: | 2019-02-22 | by ( Geoffrey Cain | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

On Feb. 22, 2019, a man calling himself Matthew Chao knocked on the door of the North Korean embassy in Madrid, with a gift for the embassy’s highest-ranking official. The North Korean worker who answered the door escorted the visitor inside and went to fetch his boss. The North Korean captives probably thought the vigilantes were paramilitary operatives on a mission to kidnap or kill them. But “Matthew Chao” was an activist and human-rights campaigner, not an assassin. His real name was Adrian Hong Chang, and his plan was to fake a kidnapping of North Korean diplomat So Yun-suk, who had asked for his help defecting.

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