World Baseball Softball Confederation president observes practice match in N. KoreaThe president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), currently visiting Pyongyang, has observed a practice match and met with North Korea's sports minister, the North's state media reported Wednesday. A WBSC delegation headed by Riccardo Fraccari observed a five-member practice baseball match the previous day, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), in what is seen as efforts to promote baseball and softball in the North. The move came after an article posted on the WBSC website recently showed the confederation's executive board approved new members — North Korea's Baseball Association and the Baseball and Softball Federation of Luxembourg. All new memberships are subject to final endorsement at the upcoming WBSC Congress to be held in Bangkok in October, it said. Fraccari, who arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday, also held talks with the North's Olympic Committee Chairman and Sports Minister Kim Il-guk the previous day, the KCNA said. While the state media outlet did not provide further details, they are widely viewed to have discussed sports cooperationJul 23, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea, China tout ties in banquet marking Chinese military anniversaryNorth Korea and China have called for a bilateral military friendship and unity in a banquet held in Pyongyang to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the North's state media report showed Wednesday. China's top envoy to Pyongyang, Wang Yajun, hosted the event at the Chinese Embassy the previous day, attended by the North's defense, foreign and ruling party officials, as well as foreign delegates and defense attaches based in the North, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The banquet came as North Korea's ties with China, the North's traditional ally, showed some signs of improvement after their bilateral relationship remained cool amid Pyongyang's close alignment with Moscow over Russia's war with Ukraine. Participants were quoted as calling for the combat friendship and unity of the militaries of North Korea and China and wishing for the continuous development of the PLA, which celebrates its founding anniversary Aug. 1. North Korea has carried congratulatory messages or jointly held banquets with the Chinese Embassy to mark theJul 23, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea discharges water from border dam twice without notice between June-July: SeoulNorth Korea appears to have released water from a dam near the inter-Korean border twice between June and July, both times without prior notice to South Korea, a unification ministry official said Tuesday. North Korea discharged water from the Hwanggang Dam, located upstream on the Imjin River, which flows across the inter-Korean border, on June 25 and again on July 18 without prior notice to the South, the ministry official said. The official also reiterated Seoul's call for North Korea to provide prior notice before releasing water from the border dam, citing "humanitarian" concerns. An unannounced discharge from the Hwanggang Dam in September 2009 caused flooding in the South Korean border city of Yeoncheon, leaving six residents dead or missing. "The government is monitoring the situation regarding North Korea's water discharge while closely cooperation with relevant agencies to prevent any damage to border areas from heavy rains," the official noted. As of early Tuesday, the water level under Pilseung Bridge, located downstream on the Imjin River just below the inter-Korean border, sJul 22, 2025By Yonhap
Early bird registration opens for 2026 int'l marathon in N. KoreaA tour agency in China has opened early bird registration for next year's Pyongyang International Marathon in North Korea, the agency's website showed Tuesday. Beijing-based Koryo Tours, which specializes in travel to North Korea, is offering a 50 percent early bird discount on its website for those who register for the marathon by Sept. 1. Koryo Tours said next year's Pyongyang International Marathon is set for April, but the exact date has not been confirmed. In April, North Korea hosted the marathon for the first time in six years, following a COVID-19 suspension, with runners participating from North Korea, China, Morocco, Ethiopia and other countries. The marathon competition was launched in 1981 to celebrate North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's birthday on April 15 and had been held annually until it was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korea is now shifting its focus to tourism, which is exempt from international sanctions, to earn much-needed foreign currency. But entry for foreigners to the Rason special economic zone and the Kamla beach resort area has been teJul 22, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korean delegation of senior female officials visits Russia: KCNAA North Korean delegation of senior female officials is visiting Russia, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday, marking the latest in a series of exchanges between the two countries. The delegation, led by Kim Jong-sun, department director of the ruling party's central committee, departed for Russia via Pyongyang International Airport the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim is responsible for overseeing various labor organizations. The KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit, but the trip appears aimed at discussing bilateral cooperation with Russian women's organizations, as it comes amid growing bilateral cooperation between the two countries across various fields.Jul 22, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea says to build additional 5,000-ton destroyer by Oct. 2026North Korea plans to build an additional 5,000-ton destroyer by October next year, state media reported Tuesday, following the launch of two such military vessels earlier this year. Workers at a dockyard in the western coastal city of Nampho held a rally the previous day, vowing to "build one more new destroyer by Oct. 10, 2026," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. In North Korea, Oct. 10 marks the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. In April, North Korea unveiled its first 5,000-ton destroyer, the Choe Hyon, as it scrambles to bolster its naval warfare capabilities. In June, another destroyer of the same class, the Kang Kon, was launched after repairs, a month after the vessel had tipped over and sustained damage during its initial launch attempt in May. During the June launch ceremony, state leader Kim Jong-un ordered the construction of two Kang Kon-class or larger destroyers annually starting in 2026. The KCNA quoted the manager of the Nampho dockyard as urging workers to complete the construction of the new vessel on time to "uphold the party'sJul 22, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea issues weather alert as heavy rains pound northern regionNorth Korea has issued a weather alert to warn residents against potential damage after heavy rains battered the country's northwestern province of Jagang, a radio dispatch showed Monday. The advisory came after cumulative rainfall of 176.1 millimeters fell in a county in Jagang Province from 10 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, with up to 250 mm of rain forecast to additionally fall in the northern areas of the province, according to the Korean Central Broadcasting Station. "Thorough measures should be drawn up to prevent damage from heavy rains, lightning and strong winds," the dispatch said. North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters due to its lack of infrastructure, with heavy rains, in particular, leaving thousands of people displaced in the impoverished country. The risk of landslides is especially believed to be high in the mountainous province of Jagang. Heavy rains in July last year flooded large swaths of land along the Amnok River in North Phyongan, Jagang and Ryangang provinces, prompting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to reprimand officials over causing "even the casualtyJul 21, 2025By Yonhap
South Korea mulls allowing individual tourism to NorthThe South Korean government is considering allowing individual tourism to North Korea as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration's broader push to rebuild fractured inter-Korean relations. "The government is reviewing and implementing its North Korea policy with the aim of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean relations. Various measures are under review as part of this process," Koo Byung-sam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, said during a briefing Monday. Koo was responding to a local media report suggesting that the tourism idea had been discussed during a recent National Security Council meeting presided over by the president. While he did not deny the report, the spokesperson declined to comment on any specific measures under consideration. The presidential office said that "various plans are under review to improve inter-Korean relations," but offered no further details. South Koreans' tours to North Korea have been suspended since 2008, after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by a North Korean soldier in the Mount Geumgang resortJul 21, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
S. Korea's spy agency suspends broadcasts targeting N. Korean regimeThe National Intelligence Service (NIS) suspended all of its decades-old broadcasts targeting the North Korean regime this month, anti-Pyongyang broadcasters said Monday, as the Lee Jae Myung administration is working to improve strained ties with Pyongyang. "The NIS' radio broadcasting channels targeting North Korea have halted their transmissions one after another this month," Lee Kwang-baek, president of South Korea's Unification Media Group, told Yonhap News Agency. The private media group focuses on radio broadcasts aimed at North Korea, Kim Seung-chul, head of another anti-North broadcaster, North Korea Reform Radio, also listed Voice of the People and Echo of Hope among the NIS' anti-North Korea radio channels that have stopped broadcasting recently. The spy agency is also reported to have suspended its television broadcasts targeting the North, although the organization declined to confirm the suspensions. Those channels, in operation for decades through changes of government, have transmitted propaganda messages targeting North Korea, promoting the values of South Korea's free sJul 21, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul says reviewing measures to improve ties with NK amid report on individual trips to NorthSouth Korea is reviewing various measures to ease tensions and improve ties with North Korea, the unification ministry said Monday, following a news report that permitting individual trips to the North is under consideration. "The government is formulating and pursuing North Korea policies with the goal of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean ties, with various measures under consideration in the process," the unification ministry said in a press release. The reaction follows a report by the Dong-A Ilbo daily that the Lee Jae Myung administration is considering resuming individual trips to North Korea as a negotiating card to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang. The newspaper said Lee mentioned the idea during a National Security Council meeting held on July 10, and that the government subsequently begun a related review on feasibility and other issues, quoting a senior official as describing the review as a "long-term" one. Trips to North Korea, once a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, have been suspended since 2008, when a South Korean female tourist was sJul 21, 2025By Yonhap
