China's embassy in N. Korea holds reception to mark 64th anniv. of key treaty signingThe Chinese Embassy in North Korea has hosted a reception to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty between the two nations, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. The event 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. China's top envoy to Pyongyang, Wang Yajun, hosted the reception the previous day, attended by Chinese Embassy officials and North Korea's key officials, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was signed on July 11, 1961, by the North's state founder Kim Il-sung and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. In a speech, Wang said that "China will always firmly support North Korea's efforts to move toward its independent development, reaffirming that the spirit of the treaty will forever shine." Kang Yun-sok, vice chairman of the standing committee of the North's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), said tJul 10, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korean defector to file lawsuits in S. Korea against Kim Jong-un over human rights crimesA North Korean defector in South Korea plans to file a lawsuit and a criminal complaint against North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un over human rights violations this week, a civic group said Wednesday. The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) said it would file the civil suit to the Seoul Central District Court and a criminal complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Friday on behalf of Choi Min-kyung. Choi, who fled North Korea to China in 1997, was forcibly repatriated back in 2008. After her repatriation, she said she suffered human rights violations, including sexual abuse, physical violence and torture, at a North Korean detention facility in the northeastern county of Onsong. Choi plans to file the complaint against Kim and four others, including officials at the ministry of state security, on charges of international criminal law violations. "I hope this legal action serves as an opportunity to bring about attention in South Korea and overseas to North Korean human rights problems," she said. The NKDB said the move would mark the first lawsuit by a NJul 9, 2025By Yonhap
Russian FM to visit N. Korea later this weekRussia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea later this week, the North's state media reported Wednesday. Lavrov will visit North Korea from Friday to Sunday at the invitation of the North Korean foreign ministry, the Korean Central News Agency said, without providing further details. Once in North Korea, Lavrov is likely to meet North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and pay a courtesy call on leader Kim Jong-un. The main agenda of discussion is expected to be Kim's visit to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Kim to Moscow during his visit to Pyongyang in June last year. Lavrov last visited North Korea in June last year, accompanying Putin to Pyongyang. The scheduled visit comes as the two countries have dramatically expanded bilateral cooperation and exchanges over the past year, following the signing of a mutual defense treaty in June in Pyongyang.Jul 9, 2025By Yonhap
Heat wave scorches North KoreaA heat wave is scorching North Korea, with daytime high temperatures in the capital expected to reach up to 34 degrees Celcius, state media reported Wednesday. The morning low in Pyongyang was 25 degrees Celcius in the day, about 4 degrees Celcius higher than the average, and the day's high is forecast to reach 34 degrees Celcius, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported. In South Korea, it is called a tropical night when the temperature does not fall below 25 degrees Celcius between 6:01 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following morning. The broadcasting network forecast the day's highs may reach 35 degrees Celcius in Kaesong near the inter-Korean border, 34 degrees Celcius in the central city of Pyongsong and 33 degrees Celcius in the northwestern city of Sinuiju. The average relative humidity may also reach 70 percent in the day, bringing sweltering weather, it said. As the heat wave grips North Korea, the country is advising people to avoid outdoor activities and stay in the shade when outside. "The organ hit hardest in the summer season is the hearth," the North's most widely read newspapeJul 9, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea repatriates 6 N. Koreans rescued at sea across eastern maritime borderSouth Korea on Wednesday repatriated six North Koreans via the maritime border in the East Sea, months after they had drifted into southern waters and were rescued. A wooden boat carrying them, all fishermen, crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border, at around 8:56 a.m., according to an official at South Korea's unification ministry. The boat headed on its own toward two North Korea ships, including a patrol vessel, waiting on the other side of the NLL, and the three ships subsequently moved northward together, the official said. In May, South Korea rescued four North Koreans aboard a ship that had drifted into the South Korean side of the East Sea, following a similar case in March in which two North Koreans were rescued in the Yellow Sea. All of them expressed a wish to go back to the North. The repatriated boat is one of the vessels the North Koreans were rescued in. It was repaired for the fishermen's repatriation, while the other was deemed unusable due to damage. "The repatriation would have been carried out much more smoothly and promptly if the two KoreaJul 9, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea sends congratulatory message to new Palestinian FM: KCNANorth Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a congratulatory message to Palestine's new foreign minister, the North's state media reported Wednesday. In the message sent last Saturday to the new Palestinian foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, Choe expressed hope that their bilateral friendly relations could be further developed, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Choe also conveyed her wish that the Palestinian minister achieve success in her work on the international stage to promote the lawful rights of the Palestinian people, the KCNA reported. North Korea has long defended Palestine in its conflict with Israel over the Gaza territory, criticizing Israel of seeking to seize Palestinian territory.Jul 9, 2025By Yonhap
US sanctions North Korea cyber actor for IT worker scheme to generate revenue for Kim regimeWASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned a North Korean cyber actor accused of facilitating a scheme under which Pyongyang uses its overseas information technology (IT) workers to generate revenue for the recalcitrant regime. The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanction on Song Kum-hyok, describing him as a "malicious" actor associated with the sanctioned Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) hacking group Andariel. RGB is the North's key military intelligence agency. "Song facilitated worker scheme in which individuals, often DPRK nationals working from countries such as China and Russia, were recruited and provided with falsified identities and nationalities to obtain employment at unwitting companies to generate revenue for the DPRK regime," the department said in a release. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "In some cases, these DPRK IT workers have been known to introduce malware into company networks for additional exploitation," it added. The office also sanctioned one RussianJul 9, 2025By Yonhap
Activists call for 3rd-party scrutiny before repatriation of N. KoreansHuman rights activists are urging the South Korean government to seek independent confirmation from a third party before repatriating six North Koreans, citing concerns over the credibility of official claims regarding the individuals’ intentions. Their request follows the Ministry of Unification’s announced plan to return the six as early as this week. It stated that all had expressed a desire to return to North Korea after being found in waters of the South ― two in the West Sea on March 7 and four in the East Sea on May 27. But skepticism persists among rights advocates, especially in light of a 2019 incident during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, in which two North Korean fishermen were repatriated obviously against their will due to suspicions they had committed murder. “Even though the six people expressed their own intentions, I think that direct verification under the presence of the U.N. Refugee Agency or other U.N. agencies in Seoul is necessary because of the past case,” Peter Jung, a human rights activist who runs Justice for North Korea, a Seoul-based NGO,Jul 8, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Abductee family group to suspend leaflet campaigns against N. KoreaA South Korean civic group representing families of abductees held in North Korea said Tuesday it will suspend the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Choi Seong-ryong, the head of the group, made the announcement in a joint press conference with the Paju municipal government, less than a year after the group resumed leafleting campaigns in the border city. "I was swayed after I received a call from Unification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young, Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung and Rep. Yoon Hu-duk," Choi said at the press conference held in Imjingak in Paju. "I promise to the people that we will outright halt sending newsletters on abducted family members from today forward." Choi also said he asked other groups involved in the leafleting campaigns to halt their activities in order to help President Lee Jae Myung establish dialogue with the North. Last month, Lee ordered the government to come up with measures to prevent and punish the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border to lower inter-Korean tensions.Jul 8, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim visits mausoleum to mark 31st anniversary of founder's deathNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday visited a mausoleum for late state founder Kim Il-sung to mark the 31st anniversary of his death, the North's state media reported. Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to pay tribute to the late leader at midnight, flanked by key party officials, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim Il-sung, the late grandfather of Kim Jong-un died due to heart failure on July 8, 1994, at age 82. "He made a deep bow of best wishes for immortality to the great leaders," the KCNA said, referring to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the late father of the current leader. North Korea is expected to hold this year's anniversary in a relatively calm manner as the country usually marks every fifth and 10th key anniversaries with large-scale celebrations. The visit came as the North's leader has been strengthening his status as a standalone leader while reducing his reliance on his predecessors for authority. An official at South Korea's unification ministry assessed that party secretary Ri Hi-yong may not be a member of the presidium of the party polJul 8, 2025By Yonhap
