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☆ US sounds alarm over Chinese and North Korean support for Russia’s war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But the reality is that China’s fueling the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II,” Stoltenberg said at The Wilson Center. The idea of an anti-US front among Russia, China, North Korea and Iran has long preoccupied foreign policy experts in Washington. In March, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress that Russia’s need to replenish its military supplies had forced it to grant “long-sought concessions” to North Korea. “What is Russia going to provide in exchange to North Korea, hard currency? So, we know that they are using DPRK ammunition to threaten Ukraine and kill Ukrainians,” he said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, Zelensky, Xi Jinping, ”, Jens Stoltenberg, “, Xi, ” Stoltenberg, Putin, Kremlin, Kim Jong Un, of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Kurt Campbell, Kim, ” Campbell, Matthew Miller, John Kirby, ” Kirby, “ We’re, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, NATO, Washington, “ Publicly, The Wilson, “, of National Intelligence, Stimson, ”, House Locations: Ukraine, Russian, China, Ukrainian, Italy, Russia, Beijing, Moscow, Europe, North Korea, Iran, Washington, Pyongyang, Korea, Northeast Asia, Korean, North

☆ A US supersonic bomber dropped 500-pound bombs in its first live-fire bombing drill on the Korean peninsula in 7 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewA US supersonic bomber joined South Korea's Air Force for a live-fire training exercise, conducting runs with 500-pound bombs. The bomber, along with the South Korean military aircraft, "successfully released live GBU-38, 500-pound joint direct attack munitions, simultaneously striking multiple simulated targets." U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer from the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron receives a bird bath at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, June 3, 2024, in support of a Bomber Task Force mission. At that time, North Korean weapons testing and provocations prompted US and South Korean forces to regularly fly in the area, conducting training exercises to deter North Korea. A year earlier, North Korea twice tested a nuclear weapon, and then it did so again in 2017.

Persons: —, 17uKEhOJTG, H8KoOFOKks, Guy Plopsky, Christian Hoover, Audree Campbell, Donald Trump, PACOM, 1Bs Organizations: Service, South Korea's Air Force, Business, US Air Force, 37th Expeditionary Bomb, Anderson Air Force Base, South, South Korean, ROK, US Marine Corps, KC, 7th Air Force, . Air Force, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, Bomber Task Force, North, US Pacific Command, US, Korean, Lancer Locations: Guam, Republic of Korea, South Korea, North Korea, South Korean, Korean, Japan, South

☆ North Korea sends balloons filled with waste into the South
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Stella Kim | Michael Fiorentino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

South Korea sent out a government emergency disaster alert urging citizens to refrain from touching the objects and to report any more incidents to the military. South Korea's defense ministry told NBC News that no human waste was found, but said that North Korea did send human waste via balloon in 2016. According to the Yonhap news agency, this is the largest number of balloons from North Korea since similar incidents between 2016 and 2018. "These acts by North Korea violate international law and threaten our people's safety," said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, urging North Korea to cease its "inhumane and vulgar behaviors" immediately. In early May, North Korean defector-turned-human rights activist Park Sang-hak sent 20 balloons carrying 300,000 leaflets condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Persons: Park, hak, Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong, — Stella Kim, Michael Fiorentino Organizations: NBC News, South Korean, Chiefs of Staff, South, North Locations: North Korea, Cheorwon, South Korea, SEOUL, It's, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, South Gyeongsang, Korea, Pyongyang, North Korean, Seoul, London

☆ North Korean trash balloons are dumping ‘filth’ on South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea has adopted a new strategy to contend with its southern neighbor: sending floating bags of trash containing “filth” across the border, carried by massive balloons. South Korean authorities said the balloons, which landed in several locations, were filled with "filth and garbage." “All responsibility arising from the North Korean balloons lies entirely with North Korea, and we sternly warn North Korea to immediately stop its inhumane and low-level actions.”Local governments also sent messages to residents in the northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces to warn of the “unidentified objects,” and advised against outdoor activities. Earlier this year a South Korean research group has released rare footage that it claimed showed North Korean teenagers sentenced to hard labor for watching and distributing K-dramas. But the situation in North Korea deteriorated in the following years and diplomatic talks fell apart – prompting strict rules to snap back into place in the North.

Persons: ”, Kim Kang Il, KCNA, Staff “, ” Kim, Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Organizations: South Korea CNN, South Korean, country’s, Chiefs of Staff, United Nations Command, Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, North Korea’s, National Defense, South, South Korea’s, Reuters, North, Fighters Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, North Korea, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Korean, South, China

☆ ‘Friendly Father’: Why South Korea is banning a song that recently went viral on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The song was unveiled in April during a nighttime concert to mark the completion of a housing project in the capital Pyongyang, according to North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency. “This isn’t Gen Z suddenly declaring allegiance for the regime,” said Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar conducting research on North Korean music. “They’re laughing at the regime not with the regime.”Nonetheless, South Korean security officials came down on the parodies. The music video of "Friendly Father" went viral on TikTok. North and South Korea have been cut off from each other since the Korean War in 1953 ended with an armistice.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim –, Kim “, ”, TikTok, Z, Alexandra Leonzini, “ They’re, Kim, “, Ha Seung, it’s, ” Ha Organizations: CNN, Korean Central News Agency, North, Cambridge University, Korea Communications Standards, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, country’s National, Dongguk University, North Koreans Locations: Korea, Pyongyang, Korean, South Korean, South Korea, North Korea, KCTV

☆ A massive remote-work scam fooled 300 US companies into hiring North Koreans, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to prosecutors, the scheme began sometime in 2020 and used the stolen identities of about 60 US citizens. According to prosecutors, the scheme saw overseas workers apply for remote jobs at well-known US companies, including Fortune 500 companies. In exchange, prosecutors said in the indictment that Chapman charged the workers monthly fees for her services. In 2016, the US passed the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which aimed to improve the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea. The assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, Kevin Vorndran, said in the press release that although the allegations may seem like "typical white-collar" crime, they represent a broader trend.

Persons: —, Christina Marie Chapman, Chapman, Oleksandr Didenko, Nicole M, Argentieri, Kevin Vorndran Organizations: Service, US, Office, District of Columbia, Business, Fortune, Prosecutors, Social Security Administration, Department's, North Korea Sanctions, North, FBI's Counterintelligence Division Locations: Arizona, North Korea, Valley, American, Ukrainian

☆ 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

☆ North Korean TV censors British gardening show host’s jeans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —North Korea’s state broadcaster, KCTV, has blurred out a pair of jeans worn by veteran British TV host Alan Titchmarsh as part of the country’s censorship of foreign fashion and culture. Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University in Seoul, told CNN that the censorship shows North Korea is strictly implementing the newly adopted Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act. “The act aims to prohibit North Korean residents from imitating foreign countries in various aspects, including how they’re dressed and speak,” he said. “They have had campaigns against anti-socialist culture since at least the early 1990s,” said Ward. Foreign materials like books and movies are banned, often with severe punishments for those caught with black market contraband.

Persons: Alan Titchmarsh, KCTV, ”, Titchmarsh, “ I’ve, Nam Sung, Peter Ward, Kim Jong Il, “ Organizations: CNN, BBC, North Korean Studies, Korea University, Sejong Institute, “, Korean Central News Agency, United Nations Locations: Korea’s, British, Seoul, Korea, South Korea, Soviet Union, North Korea

☆ How Fake Eyelashes Help Fund Kim Jong Un's Regime
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Lilian Manansala | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

North Koreans making false eyelashes generate millions for their country. The cheap, high-quality product is lucrative for the secretive country. Here's how it's sidestepping international sanctions.

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ Is Kim Jong-un Really Planning an Attack This Time?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two veteran analysts of North Korea — the former State Department official Robert L. Carlin and the nuclear scientist Siegfried S. Hecker — sounded an alarm this past week in an article for the U.S.-based website 38 North, asserting that Mr. Kim was done with mere threats. “Kim Jong-un has made a strategic decision to go to war,” they wrote. But there is still stark disagreement over where Mr. Kim’s new tack might be leading. “The North Koreans won’t start a war unless they decide to become suicidal; they know too well that they cannot win the war,” said Park Won-gon, a North Korea expert at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “But they would love their enemies to believe that they could, because that could lead to engagement and possible concessions, like the easing of sanctions.”

Persons: Robert L, Carlin, Siegfried S, Hecker —, Mr, Kim, “ Kim Jong, ”, Donald J, Kim’s Organizations: North, State Department, U.S, Trump, Koreans, Ewha Womans University Locations: North Korea, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, United States, Seoul

☆ Haley to air New Hampshire ad with mother of student who died after North Korea detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Nikki Haley’s campaign will begin airing a three-minute TV ad in New Hampshire on Monday featuring the mother of an American college student who died in 2017 after being detained by North Korea the previous year. “My son, Otto, was invited to North Korea on an organized tour. He was taken hostage, tortured, and murdered by the government of North Korea,” Warmbier’s mother says in the ad. Otto Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo on March 16, 2016. Cindy and Fred Warmbier, parents of Otto Warmbier, in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2019.

Persons: Nikki Haley’s, Otto Warmbier’s, Cindy Warmbier, “, Otto, ”, Otto Warmbier, Reuters “, Haley, ” Warmbier, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Cindy, Fred Warmbier, Sarah Silbiger, Warmbier, Kim Jong Un, Kim, ” Trump Organizations: CNN, North, New, United Nations, Kyodo, Reuters, White, South Locations: New Hampshire, North Korea, Pyongyang, North Koreans, “, South Carolina, Washington ,

☆ A rare North Korean video shows teenagers sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean 'K-dramas'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A video shows two North Korean teenage boys being sentenced to hard labor for watching K-dramas. AdvertisementRare video footage shows two teenage boys being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching K-dramas, which are South Korean TV shows. In North Korea, viewing or distributing foreign media, especially from South Korea, is considered a serious offense. 🚨🇰🇵RARE FOOTAGE FROM NORTH KOREA: TEENS PUNISHED FOR WATCHING SOUTH KOREAN TVChilling footage from North Korea allegedly shows two teenage boys handcuffed in front of hundreds of students and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean 'K-dramas.' One North Korean defector told the BBC that punishment is harsher for watching South Korean media compared with other foreign media.

Persons: —, 🚨🇰, CnEO6HL —, sy Organizations: Service, South, BBC Locations: Korean, North Korea, South Korean, South Korea

☆ 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

☆ S.Korea, US and Japan Nuclear Envoys Condemn North Korea Over Arms Trade With Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL (Reuters) - The nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States, and Japan condemned North Korea for its recent missile tests, arms trade with Russia and increasingly hostile rhetoric at a meeting in Seoul on Thursday. "The United States is also deeply concerned by the recent uptick in hostile rhetoric particularly toward the Republic of Korea from the DPRK (North Korean) regime," Pak said. The three countries have increased joint efforts to deter North Korea in recent years including trilateral meetings and launching a missile warning data sharing system in December. South Korea on Wednesday announced sanctions on two individuals, three entities and 11 ships linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes, days after North Korea fired a new intermediate-range, solid-fuel hypersonic missile. Japan's envoy, Hiroyuki Namazu, condemning Pyongyang's ballistic missile launch and said there must be close monitoring of what Russia might be providing to North Korea in return for armaments.

Persons: Jung Pak, Pak, Kim Jong, Kim Gunn, Hiroyuki Namazu, Hyunsu Yim, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Ukraine, North, DPRK, Wednesday, Korean, Peace, Security Affairs, South Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Japan, North Korea, Russia, Seoul, North Koreans, U.S, Republic of Korea, Korea, Pyongyang

☆ North Korea's Kim calls for South to be seen as 'primary foe,' warns of war
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the 5th National Meeting of Mothers in Pyongyang in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on December 5, 2023. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday called for the constitution to be changed to ensure that South Korea is seen as the "primary foe" and warned his country did not intend to avoid war should it happen, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. In a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, Kim said he had concluded that unification with the South was no longer possible, and accused Seoul of seeking regime collapse and unification by absorption. Kim said the constitution should be amended to educate North Koreans that South Korea is a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy" and define the North's territory as separate from the South. "We don't want war but we have no intention of avoiding it," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Jong Un, Kim, KCNA Organizations: Korean Central News Agency, Supreme, Assembly, North Locations: Pyongyang, Korea, North, Seoul, North Koreans, South Korea

☆ North Korea's Kim Calls for South to Be Seen as 'Primary Foe', Warns of War
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Kim said the constitution should be amended to educate North Koreans that South Korea is a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy" and define the North's territory as separate from the South. "We don't want war but we have no intention of avoiding it," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, at a cabinet meeting, said Pyongyang was being "anti-national" for calling the South a hostile country. Analysts have said North Korea's foreign ministry could take over relations with Seoul, and potentially help justify the use of nuclear weapons against the South in a future war. Ruediger Frank, professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna, said Kim's new policies "will trigger a cascade of changes across inter-Korean relations and regional dynamics".

Persons: Hyunsu Yim, Kim Jong Un, Kim, KCNA, Yoon Suk, Ruediger Frank, Frank, Josh Smith, Lisa Shumaker, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Supreme, Assembly, North, East Asian, Society, University of Vienna, U.S Locations: Hyunsu Yim SEOUL, Korea, North, Seoul, North Koreans, South Korea, KCNA . North Korea, South, Pyongyang

☆ A Spanish man accused of teaching North Korea how to evade US sanctions using crypto says his passport was confiscated more than 7 years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Spanish man accused of teaching North Korea to use crypto rejected the accusations. Alejandro Cao de Benós said his passport was confiscated 7 years ago, preventing foreign trips. AdvertisementA Spanish man pushed back against accusations that he was teaching North Koreans how to evade US sanctions using cryptocurrencies. In a strongly worded statement , Alejandro Cao de Benós said his passport was confiscated seven and a half years ago by Spanish authorities, making any foreign trips, and therefore his presence in North Korea, impossible. During the conference, Griffiths and co-conspirator Christopher Emms provided advice and instructions on how North Korea "could use blockchain and cryptocurrencies to evade US sanctions," the indictment read.

Persons: Alejandro Cao de Benós, —, Cao, Benós, Virgil Griffiths, Cao de Benós, Griffiths, Pyongyang's, Christopher Emms, Griffith, Virgil Giffin, Virgil Griffith Organizations: Service, North, Spanish, Business, Interpol, Spain's National Police, Cryptocurrency, Trump -, Economic, Public Affairs, FBI, BI, Korean Friendship Association Locations: North Korea, Spain, Spanish, Totana, Murcia, Madrid, Korea, Día

☆ A Spanish man faces 20 years in prison for teaching North Korea how to evade US sanctions using cryptocurrencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Spanish man faces 20 years in prison for teaching North Korea cryptocurrency, according to police. Alejandro Cao de Benós is wanted by the FBI for helping North Korea evade US sanctions. He was arrested at a Madrid train station last week, Spanish police said. AdvertisementA Spanish man is facing 20 years in prison in the US for teaching North Koreans how to evade US sanctions using cryptocurrencies, according to Spain's National Police . And hackers with ties to North Korea stole $630 million in crypto last year, their biggest haul ever, Reuters reported in February, citing a confidential UN report.

Persons: Alejandro Cao de Benós, —, National Police didn't, Cao de Benós, Virgil Griffiths, Griffith, Cao de, Virgil Griffin Organizations: North Korea cryptocurrency, FBI, Service, North, Spain's National Police, Interpol, National Police, Korean Friendship Association, Trump -, Economic, Public Affairs, Street, Reuters, UN Locations: North Korea, Madrid, Barcelona, Spanish, blockchain, Pyongyang, United States, Korea, North

☆ North Korea says interference in its satellites would be declaration of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Heekyong Yang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on as a rocket carrying a spy satellite Malligyong-1 is launched, as North Korean government claims, in a location given as North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on November 21, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Dec 2 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday it would consider any interference with its satellite operations a declaration of war and would mobilise its war deterrence if any attack against its strategic assets were imminent. Pyongyang would respond to any U.S. interference in space by eliminating the viability of U.S. spy satellites, state media KCNA reported, citing a statement from North Korea's defence ministry spokesperson. North Korea says it successfully launched its first military spy satellite on Nov. 21, transmitting photos of military installations in the U.S. mainland, Japan and the U.S. territory of Guam. The United States on Thursday targeted North Korea with fresh sanctions after the launch, designating foreign-based agents it accused of facilitating sanctions evasion to gather revenue and technology for its weapons of mass destruction programme.

Persons: Kim Jong, Washington, Heekyong Yang, Josh Smith, Lincoln, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS, Rights, Democratic People's, U.S . Space Command, Korean, Thomson Locations: North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, Pyongyang, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, U.S, Japan, Guam, United States, Korea, South Korea

☆ US, partners target North Korea with sanctions following satellite launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The list includes senior officials from the National Aerospace Technology Administration, which oversaw the satellite launch, and the munitions industry department. Since the launch of the satellite, North Korea said that its leader, Kim Jong Un, has reviewed spy satellite photos of the White House, Pentagon and U.S. aircraft carriers at the naval base of Norfolk. Kimsuky's hacking operation has been historically focused on South Korea, Japan and the United States. The RGB is a North Korean intelligence agency that is involved in cyber warfare activities, according to analysts, and is under U.S. sanctions. Two Russia-based representatives of North Korean banks and one China-based representative were also hit with sanctions, among others.

Persons: Kim Jong, Brian Nelson, Nelson, Kimsuky, Daphne Psaledakis, David Brunnstrom, Christopher Bing, Hyonhee Shin, Sandra Maler, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS, U.S . Treasury Department, North, Terrorism, Financial Intelligence, Democratic People's, National Aerospace Technology Administration, United Nations, White House, Pentagon, U.S, North Korea sparred, Security Council, Treasury, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Agency, Security, U.S . National Security Agency, Korea's, Bureau, UN, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, SEOUL, United States, Korea, U.S, Australia, Japan, North Korea, Korean, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South, New York, Norfolk, South Korea, Guam, Italy, Washington, Europe, Russia, North Korean, Iran, China, North, Seoul

☆ North Korea's Kim calls for military readiness against any 'provocation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Korean People's Army Air Force headquarters on the occasion of Aviation Day in North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 1, 2023. On Thursday, the United States targeted North Korea with fresh sanctions over the satellite launch, designating foreign-based agents it accused of facilitating sanctions evasion. Local media reported that North Korean soldiers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) inside the DMZ had started carrying firearms again after the North withdrew from the inter-Korean military deal. The DMZ tours had restarted last week; they had been halted after a U.S. soldier's unauthorised crossing into North Korea while on a tour in July. Private Travis King was later handed back by the North and returned to the United States, where he faces charges.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong, Kim, KCNA, Travis King, Soo, hyang Choi, Richard Chang, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Korean People's Army Air Force, Aviation, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, United Nations, United, Local, Joint Security Area, Korean, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Rights SEOUL, Pyongyang, Seoul, United States, Korea, South Korea, U.S

☆ North Korean special economic zone poised for revival in new Russia trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

China accounted for 97% of North Korea's overall trade in 2022, according to South Korea's Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). But Russia resumed oil exports to North Korea in December 2022 and had exported 67,300 barrels of refined petroleum to North Korea by April, United Nations data shows, the first such shipments reported since 2020. "Assuming North Korea and Russia's honeymoon period becomes a long one, North Korea could get Russian support on food, energy and infrastructure through Rason," Cho said. Those ships are suspected of military supplies from North Korea to Russia, the reports said. From Rason's port, North Korea has sent Russia an estimated 2,000 containers suspected of carrying artillery shells, and possibly short-range missiles, South Korean military officials have told reporters.

Persons: Rason, Jeong Eunlee, Jeong, Lee Chan, Cho Sung, Cho, Alexander Kozlov, Chung Songhak, Chung, Kim Jong Un, Kozlov, Kim Il Sung, Abraham Choi, Choi, Rason . Lee, Lee, Josh Smith, Gleb Stolyarov, Gerry Doyle Organizations: North, South, Korea Institute for National Unification, Russian Federal Customs Service, South Korea's Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency, United, Teikyo University, North Korean, Korean, Kremlin, Korea Institute for Security, South Korea's National Institute for Unification Education, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean, Russia, Ukraine, China, North Korea, Rason, Korea, South Korea’s, Russian, South Korea's Korea, United Nations, Tokyo, South Korean, Pyongyang, Rason's, Soviet, North, South

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