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☆ Tokyo says it 'lodged a protest' after North Korea fired missiles toward Sea of Japan
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Zenith Wong | In Zenithwong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

North Korea fired multiple short range ballistic missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula on September 12, Seoul's military reported, days after the nuclear-armed North marked a state anniversary. After North Korea fired several ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that he "strongly condemns" the move, adding that Tokyo has already "lodged a protest" with the Hermit Kingdom. Needless to say, the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions," Kishida said. North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast towards the Sea of Japan Thursday morning local time, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a statement, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command also condemned the launch, calling on North Korea to "refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts."

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Kim Jong Un Organizations: Korean, North, UN, South Korean Joint Chiefs, Staff, Korean Central News Agency, Pacific Command, ROK, Command Locations: Seoul, North Korea, Japan, Japanese, Tokyo, Hermit, U.S, South Korea, Korea, Pyongyang, East Sea

The echoes of well-known North Korean songs celebrating friendship spilled into nearby neighborhoods, as families filled booths serving both North and South Korean treats such as the deep-fried confection yakgwa, and fruit punch, or hwachae. A booth at the Defectors' Day festival sells North Korean styles of traditional treats, including watermelon punch (hwachae) and the deep-fried sweet yakgwa. Maybe there (are) many thousands of thousands of North Korean defectors who want to come to (South) Korea and have a prosperous life. “We express our respect and applause to the 34,000 North Korean defectors who are pioneering new lives every day (in South Korea), he said. “I didn’t know that a day like Defectors’ Day would happen, but now that it has been established, I feel like I have to work harder,” she said.

Persons: ’, Kim Jong Un, Mike Valerio, ”, resettling, –, Daeheyon, ‘, ’ ”, “, Kwon Ji, Yoonjung Seo, Yoon Suk Yeol, ” Yoon, “ It’s, Han Bong, he’d Organizations: South Korea CNN —, North, South, CNN, ”, Sunday, Blue House Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, North, South, Korean, China, Asia, South Koreans, Korea, North Koreans

☆ What it’s like to go to summer camp in North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Will Ripley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Yuri’s fascination with North Korea began with a TV documentary that portrayed the country as besieged by capitalist neighbors. This curiosity led him to join a “Solidarity with North Korea” group on VKontakte, Russia’s Facebook equivalent. Before the pandemic, the largest source of inbound tourists to North Korea wasn’t Russia – it was China. Video Ad Feedback Student who visited a North Korea children's camp reveals what happens there 03:02 - Source: CNNThe camp offered typical summer activities like beach outings and sandcastle-building competitions but also included peculiar rituals. Yuri Frolov’s story is a powerful reminder of the lengths to which North Korea will go to shape perceptions and cultivate loyalty.

Persons: Yuri Frolov, Frolov, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, I’ve, “, ”, wasn’t, Yuri Frolov’s Organizations: CNN, Democratic People’s, North Korea, Facebook, Songdowon, Communist Party, North Locations: Democratic People’s Republic, Korea, North, Solidarity, North Korea, Wonsan, North Korea’s, St, Petersburg, Vladivostok, Pyongyang, Moscow, Russia, China, Laos, Nigeria, Tanzania, United States, Burger, Communist, Korean

☆ Video: See North Korean defector’s unique way of getting information into hermit kingdom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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For many years, South Korean activists and North Korean defectors have sent balloons to the North, loaded with propaganda material criticizing dictator Kim Jong Un and USB sticks filled with K-pop songs and South Korean television shows – all strictly prohibited in the impoverished, highly isolated nation. Choi, co-founder of the Committee for Reforming and Opening North Korea, is among the North Korean defectors who have vowed to continue sending balloons to their homeland. The leaflets include declarations of freedom for the North Korean people, and propaganda messages against dictator Kim Jong Un. Charles Miller/CNNFitted with GPS trackers, the activists can monitor these next generation “smart” balloons in real time on journeys that often span hundreds of kilometers. Relations between the two countries thawed somewhat in 2017 and 2018, allowing some South Korean elements, including parts of its pop culture, to seep into the hermit nation.

Persons: Choi, Kim Jong, Kim Yo Jong, North, Yoonjung Seo, Kim Jong Un, Charles Miller, ” Choi, “ It’s, ‘, ’ ”, Kim ramped, Vladimir Putin, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN, CNN, South, North, South Korean, North Korean, GPS, Workers ’ Party, Nations, Chiefs of Staff Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, South Korea’s, South Korean, Korean, Pyongyang, Korea, China, “ North Korea, North Korean, Japan, United States

☆ Russia and North Korea’s Defense Pact Is a Told-You-So Moment in Asia
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Motoko Rich | Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With ballistic missiles regularly flying nearby, Japan and South Korea need little reminder of the threat that North Korea and its nuclear arsenal poses to its neighbors. But the pledge, along with indications that Russia could help bolster North Korea’s continuing quest to build its nuclear capabilities, rattled officials in Tokyo and Seoul. Mr. Kim has grown increasingly hostile toward South Korea and this year abandoned a longtime goal of reunifying with the South, however unlikely that might have been. Now he describes the South solely as an enemy that must be subjugated, if necessary, through a nuclear war. And he has often tested his ballistic missiles by flying them toward Japan, demonstrating North Korea’s provocative stance toward its former colonizer.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Kim Organizations: Korean Central News Agency, Analysts Locations: Japan, South Korea, Korea, Russia, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Tokyo, Seoul

☆ Putin may need arms from North Korea’s Kim for Ukraine war, but what is he willing to give in return?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

North Korea launched its first spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, in November. The arrangement may also enable North Korea to gain real-world intel on the functioning of its weaponry and help it ramp up exports more broadly. Such satellites can help North Korea improve its ground-based military capabilities, for example enabling it to more accurately target opponents’ forces with its own missiles. Both countries in recent years have blocked movement in the council related to North Korea as they grew skeptical of US-backed sanctions. He pointed to his experiences during the former US President Barack Obama administration working on nonproliferation efforts related to North Korea and Iran.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin ramped, Kim Jong, Putin, ”, Edward Howell, Xi Jinping, Kim, ” Putin, “ Kim Jong, he’ll, Ankit, Sofiia Gatilova, Putin –, “ Putin, –, John Erath, Erath, Xi, it’s, Michael McFaul, Barack Obama, ” McFaul, … we’re Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, University of Oxford, KCNA, intel, South, United Nations, North, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Kremlin, UN Security Council, Center for Arms Control, Observers, UN, National Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies Locations: Hong Kong, North Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Pyongyang, Moscow, Eurasia, United Kingdom, United States, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Seoul, Washington, North Korean, Korea, Russian, Kharkiv, Kyiv, China, Iran

☆ World’s nuclear powers strengthening arsenals as geopolitical tensions grow, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —Nuclear-armed countries are strengthening their arsenals and several have made ready new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapons systems amid rising geopolitical tensions, a new report has found. “While the global total of nuclear warheads continues to fall as Cold War-era weapons are gradually dismantled, regrettably we continue to see year-on-year increases in the number of operational nuclear warheads,” the institute’s director Dan Smith said. “Accordingly, there is a growing concern that North Korea might intend to use these weapons very early in a conflict.”Protesters against nuclear weapons outside the US mission to the UN. Moscow has continued to make threats involving the use of nuclear weapons in light of Western aid for Ukraine, and in May 2024 carried out tactical nuclear weapons drills close to the Ukrainian border, SIPRI said. “We have not seen nuclear weapons playing such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War,” said Wilfred Wan, the director of SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.

Persons: Israel –, “, Dan Smith, Jung Yeon, ” SIPRI, ”, Hans M, Kristensen, Matt Korda, Erik McGregor, SIPRI, Wilfred Wan Organizations: London CNN —, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, ”, Korean, Getty, “, SIPRI’s, Ukraine, Hamas, Conference, Nuclear Weapons Locations: United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Stockholm, Seoul, South Korea, Swedish, Ukraine, saliency, ”, “, “ China, Korea, Gaza, Moscow, Ukrainian, Iran, Iraq, Syria

☆ Weapons from longtime foes North and South Korea have been fueling opposite sides of the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Read previewNorth Korea and South Korea have been fueling opposite sides of the war in Ukraine, positioning themselves as players in this conflict. Coming out of pandemic lockdowns, North Korea is navigating international relations to find the situations that are most advantageous for it. The agreement details are not clear, but it appears that South Korea sent ammo to replenish US stockpiles, which was then sent to Ukraine. STR via Getty ImagesBoth North Korea and South Korea also have ideological reasons to be involved in the war in Ukraine. South Korea has long had close trade relationships with China in particular and remains concerned about how Russia could influence or empower North Korea, risking war on the peninsula.

Persons: —, aren't, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Yoon, Chris Park, Burke, it's, Caesar, LIONEL BONAVENTURE, Getty Images Kim, Putin's, Kim, Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Putin, Wolfgang Schwan, Mark Cancian, Cancian, Kim Il, Park Organizations: Service, Business, North, Arleigh, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CSIS, South, Getty Images, Russia, Getty, Marine, Korean Central News Agency, North Korea — Locations: Korea, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Pyongyang, Russian, United States, North Korea, Europe, Ukrainian, Tarbes, France, North, Hanoi, China, Taiwan, Moscow, Korean, Donetsk Oblast, Anadolu, Park, Iran

Balloons possibly sent from North Korea seen off the coast of Incheon, South Korea on June 9, 2024. Yonhap News Agency/ReutersThe broadcasts inform North Korean soldiers and residents of the “reality of North Korea,” and the development of South Korea, and Korean culture, according to the JCS. As of Monday morning, the South Korean military has found “around 50 balloons” that fell into its territory overnight Sunday. Many of the other balloons are believed to have flown back into North Korea due to the wind, the JCS spokesman added. 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 Jong, Kim Yo Jong, Kim, “, ” Kim, Kim Jong Un Organizations: CNN, North, Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, Yonhap News Agency, Reuters, South, South Korean Locations: Korea, Seoul, South Korea, North Korean, Korean, North Korea, “, Incheon, South Korean, China

☆ North Korea sends 600 more trash balloons into South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Soldiers inspect debris from a balloon sent by North Korea that landed in Incheon, South Korea on June 2, 2024. She compared North Korea’s actions to South Korea’s years-long practice of sending balloons with anti-North Korea leaflets the other way. North Korea is almost completely closed off from the rest of the world, with tight control over what information gets in or out. Earlier this year a South Korean research group 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.

Persons: Kim Jong Un’s, Kim Yo Jong –, –, ” Organizations: CNN, Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, United Nations Command, Korean Central News Agency, North Locations: Korea, Seoul, South Korea, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, North Korea, Incheon, Korean, China

☆ This retirement planning gap is 'hidden in plain sight,' Harvard professor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Yet, there's a notable lack of attention and concern given to the social aspect of retirement, experts said. It's a facet of retirement planning that's almost "hidden in plain sight," said Robert Waldinger, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Money is the "obvious" focus when it comes to retirement planning, Waldinger said. Put another way: "Social connections are really good for us" and "loneliness kills," Waldinger explained in a 2015 TED Talk titled "What makes a good life?" "Some people say, 'It's too late for me'" to make new social connections, Waldinger said.

Persons: Jose Luis Pelaez, there's, that's, Robert Waldinger, Waldinger, General, David Sbarra, Sbarra, It's, Yochai Shavit, Shavit, it's Organizations: Social Security, Finances, Allianz Life, Harvard Medical School, Waldinger, Harvard, TED, U.S, Laboratory, University of Arizona, Finance, Stanford University Center, Longevity, CNBC Locations: People

☆ 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

☆ The next North Korea crisis could come this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewTensions are flaring between North Korea and South Korea, and it could lead to conflict sooner rather than later. If such a clash between North Korea and South Korea occurred, it could quickly spiral into wider conflict. SOPA Images via Getty ImagesA notable shift came earlier this year, when North Korea declared South Korea "our principal enemy" and threatened to "thoroughly annihilate" it along with the US if provoked. The move was alarming and likely partially influenced by the Yoon administration's harder stance against North Korea than South Korea's previous president, Moon Jae-in. Military members salute during a military demonstration involving tank units in North Korea.

Persons: —, Sue Mi Terry, Terry, Yoon Suk, Yoon, Kim Jong, Kim's, Moon Jae, Victor Cha, Andy Lim, Biden, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Kim, Allison Hooker, Hooker Organizations: Service, South Korea's, Council, Foreign Relations, Foreign Affairs, Business, US, North, National Reunification, Government, KCNA, Reuters, Center for Strategic, Studies ' Capital, CSIS, REUTERS Times, Trump, National Security Council Locations: Korea, South Korea, North Korea, Korean, South, Japan, Asia, CSIS Korea, Hanoi, Russia, China, Ukraine, Taiwan

☆ Rare photos show life inside North Korea's top-secret military
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Nina Godlewski | Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea's military, the fourth-largest in the world, remains shrouded in mystery. Both men and women are required to serve in the military in North Korea. Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea, has no formal military training. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementLittle is known about life inside the "hermit kingdom" of North Korea.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, — Organizations: Service, Business Locations: North Korea, China, India, United States

☆ Opinion: The magic art of changing your mind
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Opinion Tess Taylor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The poem shows a human speaker in the vulnerable act of changing their mind. Keats doesn’t want to be in the sky, eternally (and probably uncomfortably) unblinking, or even to be an “Eremite,” — which is just a fancy word for hermit. Keats doesn’t want to be distant at all, it turns out. It was the poem’s role to change its mind out loud, by setting out one way and then changing course. I’m not saying that poetry doesn’t have a place to hold our rage.

Persons: Tess Taylor, John Keats, Tess Taylor Adrianne, Keats, Keats doesn’t, he’d, He’s, what’s, certainties, ”, —, WB Yeats, I’m Organizations: “, CNN, Hulton, Twitter, WB Locations: absolutes

☆ 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

☆ Alphabet's Gemini AI misstep is the latest reason Cramer is getting fed up with the stock
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Jim thinks Google has lost focus as it struggles to shake off the narrative that it's lagging in the AI race. With all these things lining up against Google, Jim has been becoming increasingly wary of the stock. Even though Alphabet stock keeps getting dinged for AI misses, Bernstein analysts "don't subscribe to the generative AI risk to Google Search" for now. At the Club, we believe Google's AI chatbot Gemini could be competitive in attracting users, but the advertising opportunity may not be the same. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Jim, Google, Bard, Gemini —, —, Axel Springer, they're, Bernstein, playbook, Meta, haven't, Jim Cramer's Organizations: Google, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, The Club, Politico, U.S, Club, NFL, YouTube, National Football League, Management, Sunday, Meta, Walmart, CNBC, Future Publishing, Getty Locations: U.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

☆ US raises concerns about cozying relations between Russia and North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

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 Russian President Vladimir Putin himself — his first in more than 20 years. Trade with Russia could also further weaken the sanctions regime the US has placed on North Korea, also accelerating its economy and potentially bolstering its arms development program. As always with North Korea, deciphering how the hermit kingdom may respond is like reading chicken bones. For weeks, a blog post on an influential North Korea watchers website written by two former analysts circulated within the US government. 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.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, —, Biden, Jake Sullivan, Kim, ”, “, ” Jeffrey Lewis, Lewis, ” Lewis, Sydney Seiler, Seiler, ” Kim doesn’t, “ That’s, “ Kim, it’s, We’re, ” Seiler, we’ll Organizations: CNN, North, Russia, Intelligence, White House, DPRK, Democratic People’s, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, North Korean, National Intelligence Council, US Locations: North Korea, Washington, South Korea, Russia, Moscow, Pyongyang, Russian, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic, Soviet Union, United States, North, China, Beijing, Japan, Korean

☆ North Korean teens punished for watching South Korean dramas in rare footage, research group claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A South Korean research group has released rare footage that it claims shows North Korean teenagers sentenced to hard labor for watching and distributing K-dramas – which are banned in the hermit nation. SAND INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER/ReutersThe Seoul-based South and North Development Institute (SAND Institute), which works with North Korean defectors, obtained the recording and distributed it to media outlets. Meanwhile, living standards are far higher in South Korea, which has become one of world’s top economies. “You can see how wary the North Korean regime is about spreading and watching Korean dramas. For instance, South Korean women often use the term “oppa” for their romantic partners – it’s now forbidden in the North.

Persons: “, Kim, Choi Kyong, ” Choi, – it’s Organizations: South Korea CNN, North Development, North, Korea’s National Intelligence Service, CNN, South, NIS Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean, North Korea, China, South, South Korean, Pyongyang, North Korean

☆ 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

☆ After a rough run, North Korea could at last find itself 'sitting pretty' in the new year with both Russia and China courting it, Korea watcher says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The result could be a very fortunate 2024 for North Korea, one in which Russia and China are both chasing after its attention. In that case, North Korea could be "sitting pretty," a top Korea watcher said last week. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un observes artillery fire competition in North Korea. North Korean military cadets hold a North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's flag during a perform of the Arirang festival which is a part of commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the Workers' Party of North Korea on October 6, 2005, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea, on the other hand, has criticized, sometimes openly, China's disapproval of its testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Victor Cha, Cha, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Kim, North, Kim Jong, SAUL LOEB, Chung Sung, there's, Xi Jinping, Xi, Donald Trump's, Trump, Putin, MIKHAIL METZEL Organizations: Service, Business, Democratic People's, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CSIS, The Capital, North, Trump, Asian Affairs, White, National Security Council, REUTERS, Metropole, Getty, White House, Putin, Korean, Workers ' Party of North, Vostochny Locations: Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, China, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, COVID, Asia, Hanoi, North, Korean, Workers ' Party of North Korea, Pyongyang, Beijing, Amur

☆ France's new prime minister is 34 years old. Here are the youngest national leaders in the world, ranked by age.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Elana Klein | Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 40, has held the position of supreme leader of North Korea since 2011. Kim Jong Un. API/Getty ImagesThe supreme leader of North Korea has been groomed for power for most of his life, and he took control of the hermit kingdom in 2011. A diehard basketball fan who was educated at a private school in Switzerland, Kim has had a life unlike any other world leader. His nuclear ambitions and bellicose rhetoric also mean he occupies a place on the world stage completely out of proportion with his nation's power.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong, Kim, Ellen Cranley Organizations: US Treasury Department Locations: North Korea, Switzerland

☆ I moved to NYC right after college to work in fashion — but people were unfriendly and my dream turned into a nightmare
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Julia Fernsby moved to New York City from Ireland right after college to work in fashion. Her dream job was not what she envisioned, and the city felt overwhelming and unfriendly. Right after college, I moved to take what I thought was my dream job in New York City. My New York dream had turned into a nightmareI was alone when I woke up, alone when I ate lunch, alone at work, alone at home. My college mentor and I went out for a coffee and she suggested I do extensive research on what kind of job I'd enjoy.

Persons: Julia Fernsby, —, It's, who'd, Regina George, I'd Organizations: Service, Vogue, Central Park, Skype Locations: New York City, Ireland, Cohasset , Massachusetts, I've, Boston, New York, Central, Howth, Dublin, Brooklyn, Manhattan, York, Central Park

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