S. Korea spends $158,800 to support N. Korean women's football team's matchesThe unification ministry said Monday it spent 235 million won ($158,800) in government funds to support civic groups that cheered at matches featuring a North Korean women's football team in May and the ministry's preparations for the events. The ministry disclosed the figure in a briefing to the National Assembly and shared it with domestic media. The government drew on the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, citing the event's role in fostering mutual understanding between the two Koreas. Of some 320 million won approved for the events, the ministry spent 235 million won, including 149 million won in support for civic groups' cheering. Pyongyang-based Naegohyang Women's FC faced Suwon FC Women in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League, held in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 20. It marked the first visit by a North Korean sports team to South Korea in more than seven years. After beating its South Korean rival 2-1, Naegohyang went on to win the tournament, defeating Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the May 23 final. Of the 319 milliJul 20, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea deepens ties with Russia, China at camp believed linked to Russian abduction of Ukrainian childrenChildren from China and Russia have joined a North Korean youth camp, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, in a sign of closer informal cooperation among the three countries. The ties have appeared to grow closer since China's 80th Victory Day anniversary, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping at a military parade in Beijing in September. "Camping groups of schoolchildren of the DPRK, Russia and China are taking part in the camping at the Songdowon International Children's Camp," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, using North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The opening ceremony was held Sunday, according to the report. The report gave no details on the activities, but the camp is widely believed to serve North Korea's propaganda efforts. China did not appear to have participated in the 2023 and 2024 editions, based on KCNA reports. Built in 1960 in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, the camp has long been a tool for instilling loyalty to the regime in young peJul 20, 2026By Yonhap
North Korea courts China, Russia at once to build leverage against US, analysts sayNorth Korea is stepping up high-level diplomatic engagement with both China and Russia in what experts describe as a calculated effort to maximize its strategic value to both powers and strengthen its leverage against the United States amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry in Northeast Asia. The latest diplomatic flurry saw North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrive in Moscow on Friday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while senior North Korean official Pak Thae-song recently visited Beijing and China's fourth-ranking leader Wang Huning traveled to Pyongyang to mark the 65th anniversary of the Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. The near-simultaneous exchanges reflect Pyongyang's broader effort to deepen ties with both traditional partners rather than relying exclusively on either, allowing the Kim Jong-un regime to extract greater political, economic and security benefits while maintaining room for diplomatic maneuver. "The current pattern should be viewed less as an urgent necessity than as an increasingly regulJul 19, 2026By Anna J. Park
N. Korean state media confirms FM Choe's Russia visitNorth Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has departed for Russia, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday, amid deepening ties between the two countries. Choe left Pyongyang the previous day on her official plane to visit Russia at the invitation of her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It did not disclose further details, including the purpose of the visit or her itinerary. Russia's foreign ministry announced Saturday (local time) that Choe had arrived in Moscow for an "official visit," without revealing other details. It marks Choe's first trip to Russia since October, when she visited Moscow on a "working visit" and Belarus to attend a global security forum. Speculation has arisen that Choe is visiting Moscow to coordinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's potential trip to Russia, given the absence of major diplomatic events or anniversaries between the two countries. North Korea and Russia have been deepening their ties since Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty in JuneJul 19, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korean FM to visit Moscow, says Russian foreign ministryNorth Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui was set to arrive in Moscow on Saturday for an official visit, a Russian media outlet reported, citing a statement from the country's foreign ministry. Choe is set to arrive in the Russian capital "at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," the report said, without providing further details. North Korea and Russia have been bolstering their ties since June 2024, following the "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty signed between their leaders. The treaty is considered to have effectively revived the two countries' Cold War-era military alliance. After the signing, Pyongyang deployed around 15,000 combat troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine and deepened bilateral cooperation on multiple fronts.Jul 18, 2026By Yonhap
NK leader holds photo sessions with women's union members, construction unit soldiersNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un had photo sessions with participants in a women's association meeting and members of a construction and engineering military unit, the Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday. The meetings, held Friday with participants in the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Women's Union of Korea and with exemplary officers and soldiers of the construction unit, were seen as part of efforts to rally loyalty and solidify internal unity. "When Comrade Kim Jong-un arrived at the venue, all the participants broke into stormy cheers of 'Hurrah!' looking up to the tender-hearted father who put forward our women before the era and has shown them great trust and love," the KCNA said. Kim said it is his "highest pride and our state's great strength to have the women's organization full of the noble spirit of firmly trusting and following our Party only and passionately loving and defending socialism, a powerful group of women patriots without a parallel in their active role and fighting efficiency," according to the KCNA. During the visit to the construction unit that the KCJul 18, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea warns of 'chain of countermeasures' over US-led RIMPAC exerciseNorth Korea denounced Friday an ongoing U.S.-led multinational military exercise taking place in Hawaii, calling it a "war rehearsal" that will trigger a "chain of countermeasures" from countries in the region. The North's state media carried the criticism in an op-ed on the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), in which South Korea is leading the combined maritime component command this year as the first Asian country to do so. "RIMPAC is not merely a routine exercise targeting a hypothetical adversary, but a blatant war rehearsal spearheaded by the U.S. and its followers to target regional states deemed primary obstacles to realizing its Asia-Pacific strategy," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. "The reckless behavior of these international hooligans is bound to trigger a chain of proportional countermeasures by regional countries to deter and manage the threat decisively," it said. RIMPAC began June 24 and is set to run through July 31, bringing together more than 25,000 personnel from 31 countries, including Korea. The KCNA noted the combined drills conducted by U.S. and KoreJul 17, 2026By Yonhap
NK leader meets with China's top political adviser in PyongyangNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met with a Chinese party and government delegation led by the country's top political adviser in Pyongyang and reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to expanding cooperation, the North's state media reported Friday. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is leading the delegation on a three-day visit to Pyongyang through Friday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries. During the meeting on Thursday, Wang, who is China's fourth-ranking official, conveyed "the best wishes and comradely greetings" from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kim. The North Korean leader expressed appreciation and asked Wang to deliver his greetings to Xi, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim said the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Pyongyang demonstrated Beijing's commitment to attaching impoJul 17, 2026By Yonhap
Senior NK party official, top Chinese political adviser discuss ways to deepen tiesA senior North Korean party official and China's top political adviser have met in Pyongyang and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation, the North's state media said Thursday. Jo Yong-won, a secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held talks Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Wang is leading a Chinese party and government delegation on a three-day visit to North Korea through Friday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries. During the talks, Jo said the rapidly changing international political situation "has required the two countries to further strengthen the militant unity, support and solidarity and steadily intensify and develop the friendly and cooperative relations" based on the spirit of the treaty. Jo also said bilateral ties have entered a new stage of development under the leadership of North Korean leader KimJul 16, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's women's union stresses ideological education at 1st congress in 5 yearsA major North Korean women's union has convened its first congress in five years and underscored the importance of ideological education to strengthen regime unity, according to state media Wednesday. The Socialist Women's Union of Korea (SWUK) held its eighth congress in Pyongyang on Monday and Tuesday, seeking to bolster regime unity while laying out tasks for the next five years, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The women's union is one of the four largest labor organizations under the guidance of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and is mainly aimed at instilling party ideology in the people. In a congratulatory message, the WPK central committee urged the women's union to "safeguard" the socialist ideology and culture against "reactionary" capitalism. "The members of the SWUK should thoroughly reject reactionary capitalist ideology and lifestyles and wage a staunch struggle to defend our socialist ideology and culture," it said, noting that the women's group should emphasize patriotic, class and moral education as its key tasks. The party also highlighted tJul 15, 2026By Yonhap
