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
N. Korea touts 'absolute solidity' of alliance with Russia on 1st anniversary of key treatyNorth Korea on Thursday underscored the "absolute solidity" of its alliance with Russia and reaffirmed bilateral cooperation as it marked the first anniversary of the signing of a mutual defense treaty with Moscow. The North's mainstream Rodong Sinmun newspaper, which reflects the regime's official position, issued the message in an article marking the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty on June 19 last year in Pyongyang between leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The daily touted the treaty as opening "a new chapter in the friendship" between North Korea and Russia and as an outcome of the leaders' "extraordinary" leadership. It said the two countries have "unsparingly shown off the absolute solidity of the alliance relationship." Under the treaty, which calls on one party to come to the aid of the other without delay if it comes under armed attack, North Korea deployed around 14,000 troops to the Russian side in the war against Ukraine between October last year and February this year. In a meeting with Russia's securitJun 19, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea seen as preparing 1st mass gymnastics in 5 years for 80th party anniversarySatellite images seen Thursday indicate North Korea is likely preparing mass gymnastics to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its ruling party's founding in October, which would be the first such event in five years. Images captured a day earlier by Sentinel-2 satellites under the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program showed what appears to be a large rectangular white screen covering the lawn at the center of Pyongyang's Rungrado May 1 Stadium. The screen was not present in images of the stadium captured Tuesday. The new installation could suggest preparations for group gymnastics at the stadium, following signs that North Korea is preparing lavish celebrations for the Oct. 10 anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea's founding in 1945. North Korea has been sending invitations to friendly socialist countries and overseas organizations in connection with the celebration, according to Seoul officials. If held as anticipated, it will mark North Korea's first mass gymnastics since October 2020, when the country celebrated the 75th anniversary of the party's founding. Mass gymJun 19, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea slams Israel's attack on Iran as 'hideous act'North Korea on Thursday condemned Israel's recent air strike on Iran as a "hideous act" of aggression, saying Israel, backed by the United States and the West, is a "cancer-like" entity in threatening peace in the Middle East. A spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry voiced "serious" concerns about Israel's military attack against Iran on Friday, denouncing Israel for raising the danger of a fresh all-out war in the Middle East, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The present grave situation witnessed by the world clearly proves that Israel, supported and patronized by the U.S. and the West, is a cancer-like entity for the peace in the Middle East and a chief culprit of destroying global peace and security," the official was quoted as saying by the KCNA. North Korea lashed out at Israel's attack on Iran as a "hideous act of aggression" that violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign state and an "unpardonable crime against humanity." "The Zionists who brought a new war to the Middle East and the behind-the-scene forces who zealously patroniJun 19, 2025By Yonhap
NK gains upper hand over Russia through 6,000 military worker deployment, experts sayNorth Korea appears to be gaining the upper hand in its relationship with Russia, analysts said Wednesday, following reports that Pyongyang agreed to send 6,000 military engineers and mine removers to help rebuild a Russian region damaged in its war with Ukraine. The agreement came during Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu's visit to Pyongyang on Tuesday — marking his third trip to North Korea in the past three months, following visits on March 21 and June 4. The unusually frequent visits by Russia's top security official suggest a shift in the balance of power, with Moscow increasingly reliant on Pyongyang for wartime support. During his meeting with Shoigu, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to dispatch 1,000 mine removers and 5,000 military engineers to Russia's western Kursk region to help restore infrastructure damaged in the war with Ukraine, according to Russian media reports. "Shoigu’s repeated visits indicate a shift in the traditional power dynamic. It now appears that North Korea holds the upper hand in negotiations," Doo Jin-ho, director of the Eurasia RJun 18, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
N. Korean vice FM reaffirms 'consistent' stance on deepening ties with ChinaNorth Korea's vice foreign minister has reaffirmed the country's "consistent" stance on advancing friendship with China while attending a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang to mark the U.N.-designated International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. Proposed by China, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution last year declaring June 10 as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, aimed at highlighting the value of diverse civilizations and promoting dialogue for peace and cooperation. During the embassy event Tuesday marking the first International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong stated that the diversity of civilizations deserves to be respected and that acts of pursuing geopolitical interests at all costs or inciting confrontation between civilizations must be rejected, the embassy said on its website. "In line with the noble will of the top leaders of both parties and countries, deepening and developing the traditional DPRK-China friendship remains the consistent position of the Workers' PJun 18, 2025By Yonhap
South Korea voices concerns over N. Korea's reported plan to send military construction workers to RussiaSouth Korea voiced concerns Wednesday following reports that North Korea is planning to send thousands of military construction workers to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine. Russian media reports said Tuesday that the North will send 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers to Russia's Kursk region, in another possible sign of their deepening military alignment. "It's an issue of concern. We do not support (the North's troop deployment)," a presidential official told reporters when asked about the reported deployment plan in Calgary, Canada, where President Lee Jae Myung was attending the Group of Seven summit. The foreign ministry in Seoul also voiced deep concern, urging Pyongyang to stop such actions immediately. "We express deep concern over the continuing illegal cooperation between North Korea and Russia," a ministry official said. "We urge the North to stop such actions immediately." "The accepting and hiring of North Korean workers abroad is a clear violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Cooperation between North Korea and Russia must fJun 18, 2025By Yonhap
