North Korea on edge after US strikes IranThe recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities are reverberating in Pyongyang, where officials see the attacks as a possible warning that President Donald Trump might one day consider similar military action against North Korea’s own nuclear program. Although many analysts deem a preemptive U.S. strike on the North unlikely, citing its more advanced nuclear arsenal and the region’s volatile geopolitics, the Iran episode could still force Pyongyang to rethink its strategic assumptions. On Monday, North Korea’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, quoting statements from Russia and Iran without offering commentary of its own. Later in the day, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a statement from a foreign ministry spokesperson condemning the U.S. airstrikes on Iran that occurred early Saturday. "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the U.S., which severely violated the U.N. Charter and violently trampled down the territorial integrity and securitJun 23, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
Vice unification minister stresses need to 'disentangle' fractured inter-Korean tiesNew Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung said Monday the government needs to start with small steps, including reopening now-suspended inter-Korean communication lines, to "disentangle" fractured relations and build trust with North Korea. Kim made the remarks in his inauguration speech, as he took office as the first vice unification minister under President Lee Jae Myung, who has pledged to ease military tensions and pursue dialogue with North Korea to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. "Starting from small things, like opening communication lines between the South and the North, the raveled inter-Korean relations should be disentangled," Kim noted. "Inter-Korean trust should be build piece by piece, without haste even though there is a long way to go." As inter-Korean ties drastically soured under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, North Korea has shut down communication with South Korea since April 2023. South Korea continues to place daily calls to the North through an inter-Korean liaison communication line and a military hotline, but the calls have gone unansweredJun 23, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim Jong-un takes center stage in murals over predecessorsMosaic murals installed at a factory in Pyongyang place current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the center between his predecessors, North Korean TV footage has shown, signifying the ongoing campaign to cement his standalone authority. The state-run Korean Central Television featured the textile mill in the North Korean capital during a news report late Saturday, introducing it as the site Kim visited for an on-site inspection in 2016. Mosaic murals of Kim and the two former North Korean leaders — Kim's father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sung — were installed outside the factory, with the current leader positioned at the center between them. Such murals are often used in North Korea as propaganda tools promoting the authority of the ruling Kim family. It is rare for Kim Jong-un to be placed at the center, as the family is typically portrayed in generational order, from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-un, in these murals. A set of Kim family murals featuring Kim Jong-un at the center was first seen in October 2022 during a ceremony marking the completion of a greenhouse factory in RJun 23, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea reports on Iran-Israel armed conflict without its own commentaryNorth Korea's mainstream newspaper on Monday reported on the ongoing armed conflict between Iran and Israel, citing statements from Russia and Iran without direct commentary of its own. The Rodong Sinmun, a daily intended for general North Korean readers, reported Russia's foreign ministry voiced serious concerns Friday over Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. The newspaper quoted Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as warning that such attacks could trigger a global nuclear disaster and that the international community is just a few centimeters away from one. In a separate article, the newspaper also reported on a speech by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at a U.N. Human Rights Council session Friday, in which he denounced Israel's armed attacks. The Rodong Sinmun quoted Araghchi as accusing Israel of targeting Iranian nuclear facilities in violation of international law and warning that this could also result in a disastrous radioactive leak. The newspaper said that around 100 Iranian fighter jets and suicide drones attacked military targets in IsraeJun 23, 2025By Yonhap
Military urges caution against N. Korean land mines possibly being brought to South by heavy downpoursSouth Korea's military on Sunday urged caution against North Korean land mines in wooden casings possibly flowing into the South during heavy downpours. "If torrential rains occur, there is a risk that North Korean land mines will be dislodged and may flow into our area," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The JCS advised citizens not to come into contact with objects suspected to be land mines if they come across them. The JCS also urged citizens to report them to nearby police or military personnel if they discover such objects.Jun 22, 2025By Yonhap
New vice unification minister calls for restoration of inter-Korean dialogue channelVice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung on Saturday called for a swift restoration of suspended dialogue channels with North Korea as he presided over a ministry meeting following his appointment, the ministry said. "Please make efforts to resolve urgent matters one by one, such as the restoration of severed communication channels between the South and the North," Kim was quoted as saying in a meeting with senior ministry officials. "In line with the president's state affairs stance, we should strive for a peaceful co-existence and a peace economy," he said. The vice minister's remarks came as President Lee Jae Myung has vowed to quickly restore the suspended channels to ease military tensions and build peace between the two Koreas. The North has remained unresponsive to South Korea's contact made twice a day via all inter-Korean liaison channels since April 2023. Kim, a former standing representative for inter-Korean talks, was one of the five vice ministers appointed by Lee on Friday. He officially took office earlier in the day.Jun 21, 2025By Yonhap
Koryo Tours hints at potential reopening of North Korea’s Rason regionA China-based travel agency specializing in North Korea tours says it has received unofficial information from North Korea that the northeastern Rason region may soon reopen to certain Chinese nationals, raising hopes for a broader resumption of travel to the reclusive state. Koryo Tours, based in Beijing, said on its website that on Monday it received information indicating that Rason would open its borders to “a select number of Chinese passport holders.” “These Chinese nationals are not tourists,” the agency stated, “but those looking to develop partnerships in the tourism industry in Rason.” It stressed that the borders “have not yet opened to tourism,” but called the development “a positive step towards North Korea tourism re-opening and Rason resuming tourism to North Korea.” Rason, a Special Economic Zone on the northeastern coast of North Korea, briefly reopened to foreign visitors in February 2025 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Koryo Tours organized several group tours during the short-lived window. However, the border was abruptly closed agJun 20, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
N. Korea's FM hails defense treaty with Russia as 'invincible alliance'North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has hailed the North's mutual defense treaty with Russia as an "invincible alliance," as Pyongyang and Moscow marked the first anniversary of their leaders' signing of the treaty, according to the North's state media Friday. Choe made the remarks at a reception in Pyongyang on Thursday. Among the attendees were the North's Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, key secretaries of the ruling party's Central Committee and Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. In a speech at the reception, Choe hailed the treaty as having elevated the North Korea-Russia relationship to the level of a "most solid, invincible alliance," the KCNA said. The North's "stance to steadily promote the development of the North Korea-Russia relationship through close cooperation across various fields for the well-being for both peoples and a bright future remains unwavering," the KCNA quoted her as saying. In a separate speech, Matsegora emphasized that the strength of the bilateral relationship has been demonstrated and rJun 20, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea fires 10 multiple rocket launcher shells after trilateral air drillsNorth Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the South conducted joint air drills with the United States and Japan. The North fired the shells toward the Yellow Sea at around 10 a.m. from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the military said, adding that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are conducting an analysis of the latest weapon test. The North's 240mm multiple rocket launcher puts Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range. Last year, the North conducted a test-launch of what it claimed to be a multiple rocket launcher equipped with a new guidance system. The weapon test came a day after South Korea, the U.S. and Japan conducted a three-way aerial exercise as part of efforts to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation against North Korean military threats. The exercise, the first to take place under the Lee Jae Myung government, involved the South Korean F-15K, the U.S. F-16 and the Japanese F-2 fighter jets.Jun 19, 2025By Reuters
S. Korea urges N. Korea, Russia to stop illegal military cooperation on 1st anniversary of treatySouth Korea on Thursday urged North Korea and Russia to stop their illegal military cooperation that claims to justify Pyongyang's troop deployment to Moscow, as the North and Russia marked the first anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty. The North and Russia sealed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty on June 19 last year in Pyongyang between leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The treaty calls for either side to provide the other assistance "without delay" if one of them comes under armed attack. "We express grave concern over continued violations of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, as North Korea and Russia attempt to justify their illegal cooperation, including the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, based on their treaty," a foreign ministry official said. "We urge North Korea and Russia to immediately halt any unlawful military cooperation and underscore that their cooperation must strictly comply with UNSC resolutions and international law, and not undermine peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond," thJun 19, 2025By Yonhap
