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☆ North Korea wants to turn around its dismal space launch record, saying its first military spy satellite is ready for liftoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

North Korea said on Wednesday that it's ready to launch its first military spy satellite this month. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and his daughter visit the National Aerospace Development Administration in North Korea Tuesday. If successful, this launch would be the first officially conducted by North Korea for military purposes. North Korea first tried launching a satellite in 1998, but the rocket failed to reach orbit and burned up in the atmosphere. But just eight months later, North Korea finally pulled off a successful launch, sending the "Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3" into space.

☆ North Korea claims it’s ready to launch first spy satellite: state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Seoul CNN —North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. During his visit to the National Aerospace Development Administration on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un said the country’s military reconnaissance satellite production has been completed and ordered the dispatching of “several reconnaissance satellites,” KCNA reported. Last December, North Korea claimed it had conducted an “important final stage test” for the development of a spy satellite. The country’s space development agency announced that it would finish preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023. On Tuesday, Kim stressed the role of military satellites as to protect national safety and territorial stability in the midst of escalating military threats and challenges by the US and South Korea.

☆ North Korea fires missile into sea off east coast, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, April 13 (Reuters) - North Korea has fired a missile into the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday. Japan's coast guard also said North Korea had fired what could be a ballistic missile. The launch comes two days after North Korean state media KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the country's war deterrence in a "more practical and offensive" manner to counter what it called moves of aggression by the United States. North Korea has criticized the recent series of joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea as escalating tension. Reporting by Hyunsu Yim Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kim Jong Un digitally erased an actor he doesn't like from the re-run of a popular North Korean TV show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea has wiped all record of an out-of-favor actor from a popular TV show, per NK News. The actor was digitally replaced with another actor in the re-run of the series, per the outlet. Choe Ung Chol, an actor known for his good looks, has been digitally replaced with actor Pak Jong Taek in the show "The Taehongdang Party Secretary." The series was otherwise completely unchanged, per Prof. Tatiana Gabroussenko, a North Korea specialist writing for the outlet. Jang, once considered the most powerful person in North Korea beyond Kim himself, was denounced as "despicable human scum."

☆ Kim Jong Un Says He Will Expand Production of Nuclear Material
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Dasl Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanding the production of nuclear material to boost the country’s arsenal exponentially, saying his weapons program was aimed at defending the country. Photos released by North Korean state media on Tuesday showed Mr. Kim inspecting new tactical nuclear warheads, called “Hwasan-31,” for the first time. Around 10 red and green nuclear warheads were displayed alongside short-range ballistic missiles and long-range cruise missiles. He also reviewed plans for a nuclear counterattack and was briefed on a nuclear-weapons management system called “Haekbangashoe,” which means nuclear trigger, state media said.

☆ North Korea's showing off an underwater nuclear attack drone it says can cause a 'radioactive tsunami,' but the threat is likely 'exaggerated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea has tested an underwater nuclear attack drone, similar to Russia's Poseidon torpedo. "This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," state media boasted. "There have been signs that North Korea has been developing unmanned submarines, but we assess that they are still at an elementary level," South Korea's JCS added. "There are good reasons to maintain skepticism that North Korea will widely produce or deploy the Haeil system," he wrote in an NK Pro analysis. A screen grab shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location in this undated still image used in a video.

☆ North Korea claims it can unleash a 'super-scale radioactive tsunami' with an underwater drone that detonates near ships or ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea claims it tested an underwater drone that can create a radioactive tsunami. It was designed to strike both naval assets and coastal targets, North Korean state media outlet KCNA reported. Friday's announcement was the first time that North Korea has publicly mentioned such a weapon. North Korea has in the last year aggressively ramped up its testing of long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. These tests have often been framed as a response to the US and South Korea for North Korea says is unprovoked aggression.

☆ North Korea Launches Two Cruise Missiles From Experimental Submarine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL—North Korea launched two underwater cruise missiles from a submarine, the regime said Monday, ahead of the start of large-scale joint U.S. and South Korea military drills this week. The missiles, which were fired early Sunday morning into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, demonstrated the reliability of a system that constitutes one of the country’s nuclear deterrents, North Korean state media said Monday. The missiles were fired from the 8.24 Yongung submarine and traveled for about 932 miles before hitting the target, state media said.

☆ North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 14 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years. The missiles were fired at around 7:40 a.m. (2240 GMT on Monday) from the South Hwanghae province, near the country's west coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The South Korean military was on high alert and maintaining full readiness posture under close coordination with the United States, the JCS added in a statement. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion. On Sunday, North Korean state media KCNA reported the country has decided to take "important practical" war deterrence measures, saying, "War provocations of the U.S. and South Korea are reaching the red-line."

☆ North Korea's state media backs Russian call for probe into pipeline blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Moscow has maintained, without providing evidence, that the West was behind the blasts that damaged the pipelines in September and has called for an international investigation. North Korea has publicly supported Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago and expressed support for Russia's proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine, which most countries have rejected. The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia as well. The ruptured Nord Stream pipelines are set to be sealed up and mothballed as there are no immediate plans to repair or reactivate them, sources familiar with the plans have told Reuters. Reporting by Josh Smith and Jihoon Lee Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korean media blames U.S., allies for Ukraine war ahead of invasion anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - North Korean state media marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by blaming the crisis on NATO and calling America's involvement a "trail to self-destruction." The Ukraine war, the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two, has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. North Korea has forged closed ties to Russia since the war began, publicly supporting Moscow in statements as well as at the United Nations. "The current situation in Ukraine once again proves that there can be no peace in the world at any time unless the United States' policy of force, tyranny, and greedy aggression... is ended." The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia, which both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied.

☆ Kim Jong Un attended a soccer match with his daughter, sparking fresh rumors that she will be North Korea's next ruler
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's daughter is making increasingly frequent public appearances. North Korean state media said that Kim Jong Un had attended the match in Pyongyang Friday to mark the North Korean Day of the Shining Star holiday, which commemorates his father, Kim Jing Il's, birth. In pictures of the event, Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be about 10, sits beside her father. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reacts as he watches sport games in Pyongyang, North Korea on February 17, 2023. KCNA via ReutersAlso pictured at last week's soccer match was Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is also rumored to be a potential successor to the dictator.

☆ North Korea and Russia are ramping up trade in oil, coal and weapons as Ukraine war sanctions send Moscow to pariah state
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new CSIS report analyzed satellite imagery that suggests significantly increased trade between Russia and North Korea. Wartime sanctions have pushed Moscow to turn to railroad trade with Pyongyang, the researchers wrote. Trade between North Korea and Russia hit roughly $48 million in 2019, International Trade Centre data compiled by the Wall Street Journal shows. That dropped to nearly zero in 2021, with North Korea closing off its borders during the pandemic. Similarly, over recent years, Russia has sided with North Korea in geopolitical conversations over sanctions on the Kim Jong-un's regime.

☆ 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.

☆ North Korean Parade Puts Missile Production Prowess on Display
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Dasl Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

North Korea has never showcased that many nuclear missiles at one time. The Wednesday parade suggested North Korea was expanding its stockpile of nuclear missiles that threaten the U.S. and its allies’ missile defense systems. North Korea has been developing solid-fueled ICBMs that require less preparation time to launch. North Korean state media didn’t report on any remarks by Mr. Kim, who has skipped speeches at previous military parades. “The main objective of Wednesday’s military parade is to show North Korea’s growing missile capability to strike the U.S. mainland,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

☆ Kim Jong Un showed off his rarely-seen daughter — a possible sign he's grooming her to be North Korea's next dictator
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter is being prepared as his successor, analysts say. Kim Jong Un is believed to have three children, including a son who is older than Kim Ju Ae. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Kim Ju Ae at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea February 8, 2023. North Korea is a hereditary dictatorship, and Kim Jong Un was appointed successor to his father, Kim Jong Il, when he was 8, an expert told CBS News. In recent months, tensions between North Korea and US-ally South Korea have intensified amid a series of missile tests by North Korea.

☆ North Korea is said to lift 5-day lockdown in capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Russia’s embassy in North Korea says the country has eased stringent epidemic controls in the capital, Pyongyang, that were placed during the past five days to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses. North Korean state media in recent weeks have stressed vigilance against a possible re-emergence of Covid-19. From May to August, North Korea reported about 4.8 million “fever cases” across its population of 26 million but identified only a fraction of them as Covid-19. North Korea has dubiously insisted that rival South Korea was responsible for its Covid-19 outbreak, saying that the virus was transported by anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and other materials flown across the border by balloons launched by South Korean civilian activists. South Korea has dismissed such claims as unscientific and “ridiculous.”

☆ South Korea, U.S. eye exercises using nuclear assets, Yoon says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States are discussing possible joint planning and exercises using U.S. nuclear assets in the face of North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a newspaper interview. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted Yoon as saying the joint planning and exercises would be aimed at a more effective implementation of the U.S. "extended deterrence." The term means the ability of the U.S. military, particularly its nuclear forces, to deter attacks on U.S. allies. "The nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but planning, information sharing, exercises and training should be jointed conducted by South Korea and the United States," Yoon said, adding Washington is also "quite positive" about the idea. Amid talk of South Korea's own nuclear armaments, Yoon said maintaining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remained important.

☆ North Korea fires missile on New Year's Day, Yonhap reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 1 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the sea to the east of the Korean Peninsula in the early hours of Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported citing the South Korean military. The move comes not even 24 hours after North Korea launched three ballistic missiles on Saturday. The short-range ballistic missile was fired around 2:50 a.m. local time (0750 GMT) from around the capital Pyongyang, Yonhap said, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch follows an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea in 2022, as Pyongyang presses on with weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time. North Korean state media KCNA said on Saturday that its central party had engaged in the fifth day of a plenary session on Friday to solidify strategy, with the session expected to continue, making it the longest ever according to Yonhap.

SEOUL, Dec 31 (Reuters) - North Korea fired three ballistic missiles toward the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, the South Korean military said. The three short-range ballistic missiles were fired from around 8 am local time (2300 GMT) from North Hwanghae Province, south of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korean military also said the missiles flew about 350 km. Relations between North Korea and U.S.-ally South Korea have grown more tense since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's conservative government took over in May, promising a tougher stance toward the North. Not counting Saturday's launches, North Korea has fired around 70 ballistic missiles this year, Yonhap news agency said, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

☆ North Korea's Kim kicks off key party meeting ahead of New Year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the sixth enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on December 26, 2022 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has kicked off a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Tuesday, a venue he has often used to announce major policy decisions marking the New Year. The Sixth Enlarged Plenary Meeting of 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was convened on Monday, the official KCNA news agency said. Kim also faces mounting economic challenges amid international sanctions over its weapons programmes, the fallout from an anti-coronavirus lockdown and natural disasters. North Korean state media previously released its leader's speech on New Year Day, but in recent years, Kim has called party gatherings at the end of the year to make major policy announcements.

☆ North Korea says its new spy satellite hit a major milestone, but it may be 'too crude' to be useful
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Park Chan-Kyong | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea launched a rocket carrying a test satellite was launched on Sunday. The rocket carrying the test satellite was launched on Sunday to assess its photography and data transmission systems, state media said. North Korea launched Hwasong-17 ICBMs in February and March, claiming they were spy satellite test launches. South Korea, Japan and US authorities on Sunday said they detected a pair of ballistic-missile launches by North Korea from its northwestern Tongchang-ri area, where the North's satellite launch pad is located. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter with what North Korean media called a Hwasong-17 ICBM in Pyongyang on November 18.

☆ North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | Pablo Robles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

Media Korean Studies 2016 2008 New Finished New buildings Repainted TAEDONG RIVER TAEDONG RIVER Pyongyang in 2008. Media Korean Studies 2008 2016 New Finished New buildings Repainted TAEDONG RIVER TAEDONG RIVER Pyongyang in 2008. Under Mr. Kim, North Korea has opened a new terminal at the city’s international airport, renovated subway stations and opened new amusement parks. Missile tests this year alone cost North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars, according to estimates by South Korean and American researchers. An array of cell phones, assembled in North Korea with components imported from China, is on sale and advertised on state TV.

☆ U.S. calls for U.N. Security Council president's statement on North Korea missiles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said it was vital the 15-member Security Council respond with one voice and reiterated U.S. charges that China and Russia were "emboldening" Pyongyang by blocking council action. The United States will be proposing a Presidential Statement to this end," she said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He said Washington should take the initiative and put forward realistic proposals to respond to North Korea's "legitimate concerns." A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said a draft president's statement would be shared with the Security Council soon and negotiations would follow. It said the Council must act to limit the advancement of North Korea's weapons programs.

☆ North Korea says its nukes are about the children after photos dropped of Kim Jong Un bringing his daughter to a missile launch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After the test, North Korea reportedly said that nuclear weapons and missiles are about the country's children. State media outlet KCNA confirmed that the North Korean leader attended the launch "with his beloved daughter and wife." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks away from an ICMB in this photo released on November 19, 2022 by North Korean state news. In September, the North Korean leader declared North Korea's nuclear-armed status irreversible. This photo provided on Nov. 19, 2022, by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and his daughter inspects a missile at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.

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