Direct flights linking Pyongyang, Moscow to begin service this month: reportNorth Korea and Russia are set to launch a direct flight route between their capitals, Pyongyang and Moscow, later this month, a Russian news agency has reported. Nordwind Airlines, a Russian budget passenger carrier, will begin direct flights linking the two cities on July 27, Tass reported, citing Russia's transport ministry. It will mark the first time that the North Korean and Russian capitals are linked by direct air service, the news agency said. The new air route follows Russian aviation authorities' recent approval of Nordwind's request last month to operate direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow twice a week. Tass said the flight time is about eight hours. Currently, North Korea and Russia have direct flights only between Pyongyang and Vladivostok. As the two countries emerged as key partners for bilateral exchanges and cooperation following the signing of a mutual defense treaty in June last year, they have stepped up collaboration in various fields, including transportation. Last month, the countries resumed direct rail service between Pyongyang and Moscow, as well as betweeJul 15, 2025By Yonhap
Unification minister-designate suggests scaling back military drills to restart N. Korea talksUnification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young hinted Monday that scaling back the intensity of annual South Korea-U.S. joint military drills could be a viable option for resuming halted dialogue with North Korea. He made the remarks during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, as the Lee Jae Myung administration seeks to reengage with Pyongyang to end a yearslong deadlock in inter-Korean relations. "What opened the door for a thaw on the Korean Peninsula in 2018 was then-President Moon Jae-in's proposal in late 2017 to the United States, ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics, to postpone the joint military exercises scheduled for March. That carried important implications," Chung said in response to a question from Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the minor progressive Rebuilding Korea Party about his position on the joint drills. "I believe it’s something that should be discussed within the government and the National Security Council," Chung added. The nominee's comments are widely interpreted as a signal that adjusting or scaling down the joint military exercises could once again serJul 14, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
Lee pledges to step up support for N. Korean defectorsPresident Lee Jae Myung said Monday the government will step up efforts to support the independence and social integration of North Korean defectors. Lee made the remarks during the ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of North Korean Defectors' Day, delivered by Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung. "Beyond providing basic settlement support and protection, the government will work to ensure the independence and social integration of North Korean defectors by helping them engage with their communities, grow and thrive together, " Lee said in the address. Lee described defectors as individuals who set foot in South Korea in search of a new life and expressed hope that they will overcome past hardships and achieve stability. "We will pay close attention to each and every one of you as you adapt to your communities and take root in your new lives," he said.Jul 14, 2025By Yonhap
Unification minister nominee calls for restoring frayed inter-Korean tiesUnification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young on Monday raised the need to restore frayed relations between South and North Korea, and reestablish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Chung made the remarks during a parliamentary confirmation hearing as President Lee Jae Myung has vowed to mend strained inter-Korean ties and seek dialogue with North Korea. "(We) need to restore inter-Korean relations that remain in ruin and reestablish a peaceful coexistence system on the Korean Peninsula," Chung said at the start of the hearing. Chung called for resuming reconciliation and cooperation efforts with North Korea and finding ways to faithfully implement agreements reached between the two Koreas. Chung, a journalist-turned-lawmaker, was nominated last month as the first unification minister under the Lee Jae Myung administration. He previously serviced as unification minister in 2004-05 under former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun.Jul 14, 2025By Yonhap
Russia's FM leaves N. Korea after 3-day visitRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has left North Korea after wrapping up his three-day visit to the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, the North's state media reported Monday. Lavrov departed the country via Wonsan Kalma Airport on Sunday after being seen off by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Russia's top envoy in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met Lavrov on his yacht in Wonsan on Saturday. During the talks, Kim reaffirmed his "unconditional" support for Russia's war against Ukraine. Lavrov also held the second round of strategic dialogue with his North Korean counterpart Saturday. They vowed efforts to advance the bilateral relations between the two nations into long-term strategic ties by faithfully implementing a mutual defense treaty. Experts said North Korea appears to have invited Lavrov to Wonsan in an effort to promote a newly opened tourist zone and attract Russian tourists. After visiting the North, Lavrov flew to China to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization membeJul 14, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korean leader visits fish farm under construction, urges regional economic developmentNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the construction site of an offshore fish farm in South Hamgyong Province, stressing the importance of regional economic development, state media reported Monday. Kim visited the construction site of the Ragwon County Offshore Farm the previous day, accompanied by key party officials, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The North's leader attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ragwon fish farm in February. It marks the North's second offshore fish farm after the one built in December last year in the eastern coastal city of Sinpho. Kim called the construction of offshore farms a "strategic creation work" to fundamentally strengthen and develop the regional economy, according to the KCNA. "The construction of modern offshore farm ... is an innovative creation field to reliably guarantee the efficient rejuvenation and long-term development of more than 60 coastal cities and counties across the country," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. He called for accelerating the construction in an apparent bid to tout the completioJul 14, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's state media mentions 'grave' situation in food supply in Kaesong in 2023North Korea's state media has reported that a "grave" situation in food supply might have occurred in the city of Kaesong in early 2023, in what could be a rare admission of food shortage in the reclusive state. In 2023, unconfirmed media reports had said starvation-related deaths were witnessed in North Korea, including Kaesong, at that time, due to border lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The North's quarterly magazine named Korean Architecture has reported that the North's farm controls in 2022 "created a grave situation that could cut off food supply to people in Kaesong" in January 2023. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had ordered officials to distribute "strategic reserve crops" to Kaesong and people in the North Korean city expressed gratitude, according to the report. North Korea suffered a massive famine and related deaths during the period of the Arduous March in the 1990s. North Korea adopted a new policy in October 2022 to tighten state control on the distribution of rice and other grains. But the move was believed to have disrupted food supplies, as farmers and merchJul 13, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea supplies Russia with 12 mil. rounds of 152 mm shells: S. KoreaNorth Korea has continued to provide Russia with artillery shells to support its war against Ukraine, which amounts to more than 12 million rounds of 152 mm shells, according to South Korea's military intelligence authorities Sunday. North Korea is believed to have provided around 28,000 containers containing weapons and artillery shells to date, according to a report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) submitted to a lawmaker of the main opposition party. "If calculated with 152 mm single shells, (the number of supplied shells) are presumed to have reached more than 12 million," the DIA under the defense ministry said. Since October last year, North Korea has provided conventional weapons and around 13,000 troops to Russia to support Moscow's war efforts. North Korea is likely to send additional troops to Russia in July or August, Seoul's spy agency said in late June. Russia's media reported the North will send 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers to Kursk to support reconstruction efforts.Jul 13, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's embassy in China holds reception to mark 64th anniv. of key treaty signingThe North Korean Embassy in China has held a reception to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty between the two nations, the North's state media said Sunday. The event was held in Beijing on Thursday after the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang hosted a similar reception the preceding day ahead of the July 11 anniversary. The reciprocal receptions 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. Wang Dongming, vice chairperson of the standing committee of China's National People's Congress, attended the event hosted by the North's embassy, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). At last year's reception marking the 63rd anniversary, China sent a lower-ranking official as the main guest amid cooled relations between the two nations. A higher-level North Korean official was also present at the Chinese embassy's reception last week, with Kang Yun-sok, vice chairman of the staJul 13, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim reaffirms unconditional support for Russia in Ukraine war: KCNANorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his unconditional support for all of Russia's actions in its war against Ukraine as he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the North's state media reported Sunday. Kim made the remarks in a meeting with Lavrov on Saturday, a day after the Russian minister flew to North Korea for his second round of strategic talks with his North Korean counterpart, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During the talks, Kim and Lavrov discussed the faithful implementation of the agreements reached during Kim's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang in June last year, as well as ways to further develop the two countries' strategic partnership, the KCNA said. Kim "reaffirmed that the DPRK is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis" in line with the North Korea-Russia mutual defense treaty, the KCNA said. DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The KCNA aJul 13, 2025By Yonhap
