N. Korea urges enduring loyalty to state leader on his grandfather's birthdayNorth Korea recalled the revolutionary feats of late national founder Kim Il-sung on his birth anniversary Tuesday, stressing enduring loyalty to his grandson and current state leader Kim Jong-un. The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's ruling party newspaper, carried the message in an editorial on the day the country marked the 113th anniversary of the founder's birth. "The juche (self-reliance) ideology, established by the supreme leader (Kim Il-sung) is being continuously developed and enriched by the extraordinary ideological activities of ... respected comrade Kim Jong-un," the newspaper said, urging loyalty to ensure the realization of his ideas. The paper praised the current leader's key state visions, such as those on developing the defense industry, as "scientific implementation doctrines" that are propelling the country's socialism toward steady progress. "By more thoroughly consolidating the respected comrade's sole leadership system, the strong spirit of advancing the revolution ... solely in line with his ideological will must be upheld," it noted. In celebration of the founder's biApr 15, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korean leader sends educational aid to pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans in JapanNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent an educational aid fund and stipends to an association of pro-Pyongyang residents in Japan to mark the upcoming 113th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung, the North's state media reported Monday. Kim sent 287 million yen ($1.99 million) in such funds to the General Association of Korean residents in Japan for "democratic national education of Korean children in Japan," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Since taking office in late 2011, Kim has sent educational aid funds and scholarships every year to the association around the founder's birthday, which falls on April 15. Last year, he sent 337 million yen to the group. Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il -- late father of the incumbent leader -- and Kim Jong-un have sent a total of nearly 50 billion yen on 171 occasions to children of pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans in Japan, the KCNA said. Experts said the North's leader appears to be using the education funds to elicit loyalty from such young ethnic Koreans in Japan. Since last year, Pyongyang has allowed visits to the North by officials andApr 14, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Mount Paektu designated as UNESCO Global GeoparkThe North Korean side of Mount Paektu, an active stratovolcano on the North Korean-Chinese border, has been approved as a UNESCO Global Geopark. The executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) endorsed the addition of Mount Paektu to its list of Global Geopark networks the previous day in Paris. This marks North Korea's first inclusion in the UNESCO Global Geopark networks. The list is maintained and updated to recognize major natural sites of significant geological value and to promote their sustainable preservation. Last year, the UNESCO executive board designated the Chinese side of the mountain as Mount Changbaishan UNESCO Global Geopark under its Chinese name. North Korea sought the UNESCO listing for the mountain in 2019, a year before China, but China secured the designation first as an on-site inspection in North Korea was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The territory demonstrates well-developed glacial geography, with cirques made by glacial erosion and other topographical features such as moraine hills, moraine plains anApr 11, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's maternal mortality rate estimated at 67: reportNorth Korea's maternal mortality rate was estimated at 67 per 100,000 live births in 2023, a number dramatically lower than in 2000 but nearly 17 times higher than South Korea's figure, a report showed Friday. The figures were released in a recent report on maternal mortality estimates, jointly published by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank Group and other international organizations. The report defines maternal mortality as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of a pregnancy. North Korea's maternal mortality rate has been on a gradual decline since reaching 129 in 2000, around the time the country fell into a severe famine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The figure came down to 78 in 2005, 72 in 2015, 66 in 2020 and 67 in 2023, but the latest rate is still about 17 times higher than South Korea's corresponding rate of 4, the report showed. The global average maternal mortality rate in 2023 was estimated at 197, and the United Nations aims to reduce it to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2023. (Yonhap)Apr 11, 2025By Yonhap
Unification minister discusses bilateral ties with senior Japanese officialsSouth Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho met with senior Japanese officials in Tokyo on Thursday and stressed the importance of bolstering bilateral cooperation, according to a foreign media report. Kim is in Japan for a three-day visit through Friday, which aims at enhancing two-way cooperation on inter-Korean unification issues and the North Korea policy under Japan's Shigeru Ishiba administration, his office said. During his meeting with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Kim exchanged views on the security situation in North Korea and reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo, as well as trilateral coordination involving the United States, according to Japan's Kyodo News. Kim also reiterated the South Korean government's support for the immediate resolution of the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, it added. Kim held separate talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, during which he called for maintaining close bilateral ties and building a future-oriented cooperative relationship to promote peace on the KApr 10, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea sanctions freight ship, 4 entities for illegal transport of N. Korean iron oreSouth Korea imposed independent sanctions on a freight ship, its Hong Kong-based operator and three related entities on Thursday in connection with the ship's internationally banned transport of North Korean iron ore last year, the foreign ministry said. The sanctions follow a joint government investigation into the vessel Sunrise 1, which was detained while sailing through South Korea's territorial waters in June last year, carrying North Korean iron ore, the ministry said. The supply, sale or transfer of North Korean iron ore, as well as coal and iron, is prohibited under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2371 as part of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile development. The four sanctioned entities are Xiangrui Shipping, a Hong Kong-registered shipping firm in charge of Sunrise 1; two Chinese operators of the firm — Sun Zhengzhe and Sun Feng; and LLC Consul DV, the Russia-registered consignor, according to the ministry. The fresh sanctions require the entities to obtain prior approval from South Korea's Financial Services Commission or the governor of the BankApr 10, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea to break ground in H1 for N. Korean human rights center in SeoulThe government plans to begin the construction of a new national center for North Korean human rights in western Seoul within the first half of this year as part of efforts to improve human rights conditions in the country, the unification ministry said Wednesday. The ministry announced the plan as part of this year's road map for implementing projects aimed at improving inter-Korean relations, which it is required to draw up every year, along with a broader five-year vision for enhancing inter-Korean ties. The plan to build the center in Seoul's western neighborhood of Magok has been conceived as a "hub" for addressing North Korean human rights issues, with completion targeted for next year under a 26 billion-won ($17.5 million) budget. The government also plans to establish an intergovernmental consultative body, potentially involving the unification and foreign ministries as well as the national spy agency, to support the entry of North Korean refugees residing in China or other foreign countries into South Korea. (Yonhap)Apr 9, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-N. Korean commando dies at age 83Kim Shin-jo, a former North Korean special forces soldier who infiltrated South Korea on an assassination mission and later became a pastor, died Wednesday, his church said. He was 83 years old. Kim passed away early in the morning, according to Sungrak Church in Seoul. Trained in North Korea in the 1960s, Kim was one of 31 commandos sent on a mission to assassinate then South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1968. He was the only one in the squad to be captured alive, while another survivor fled to North Korea. The former commando was allowed to settle as a civilian in the South and became a citizen in 1970. He converted to Christianity and had been serving as a pastor since 1997. (Yonhap)Apr 9, 2025By Yonhap
Kim In-su, NK-born US Special Forces commando, dies at 92Kim In-su, a former member of a U.S. Special Forces unit made up of North Korean defectors, has died. He was 92. Kim died March 31 in Rockville, Maryland, according to the U.S.-based obituary site Tribute Archive. The cause of death was not disclosed, but the obituary described it as a "peaceful passing." He served in the 8240th Army Unit, a U.S. Far East Command group that used islands off North Korea’s east and west coasts to launch special operations — gathering intelligence, disrupting supply lines and rescuing prisoners during the 1950-53 Korean War. Although operated and overseen by the U.S. military, the unit was largely composed of young North Korean defectors familiar with the region's geography, culture and dialect. The unit, referred to in official U.S. military documents as “North Korean Partisans,” grew to about 22,000 members at its peak in 1953. Born in Pyongyang — now the capital of North Korea — in 1932, Kim went into hiding to escape communist persecution of Christians in 1950 following the outbreak of the Korean War. He later joined the United Nations forceApr 9, 2025By Park Ung
6 months into troop deployment to Russia, N. Korea rewarded with key military tech, economic aidAround six months after deploying its troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine, North Korea appears to have lost thousands of young men but received rare military technology and economic aid as a reward to potentially offset international sanctions. In October, North Korea dispatched more than 10,000 troops to fight alongside Russians in the front-line Kursk region, just a few months after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a landmark comprehensive strategic partnership in Pyongyang in June. South Korea's military estimated that around 4,000 of the troops dispatched last year have been killed or injured, reportedly due to the frequent use of drones in the war, a feature of modern warfare they are unaccustomed to facing. The North is believed to have sent an additional 3,000 troops to the war earlier this year, according to Seoul officials. Criticism has grown that North Korea has deployed its young soldiers to the front lines merely as cannon fodder. Testimonies from two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces revealed that they hApr 9, 2025By Yonhap
