N. Korea tests cluster bombs in latest ballistic missile launchNorth Korea has tested cluster bombs in its latest launch of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, supervised by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Monday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published the report of the launch of the Hwasong-11 Ra tactical ballistic missile a day after South Korea's military detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched toward the East Sea at around 6:10 a.m. from North Korea's Sinpho area. The KCNA said the purpose of the test-launch was to evaluate the power of the "cluster bomb warhead and fragmentation mine warhead" fitted to the weapon system. Five missiles struck a target area near an island measuring about 13 hectares some 136 kilometers away with "very high density," fully demonstrating their combat capability, the KCNA report said. Photos released showed Kim's daughter Ju-ae, who is believed to be being groomed as his successor, accompanying him at Sunday's weapon test. A cluster bomb releases dozens to hundreds of submunitions, allowing it to strike multiple targets over a wide area. The weapon has been used by Iran in the oApr 20, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCSNorth Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles launched from the Sinpho area in the North at around 6:10 a.m., and they flew about 140 kilometers. "Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various movements under a robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintains the capabilities and posture to respond to any provocation in an overwhelming manner," the JCS said. South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities have tracked movements related to the launch and have also shared relevant information with the Japanese side, it added. The military is reportedly considering the possibility of the latest launch involving a submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). Submarine-related facilities are known to be located in Sinpho, with the Hero Kim Kun Ok and the 8.24 Yongung submarines previously spotted at the eastern coastal city. The North test-fired an SLBM in waters off Sinpho in May 2022. North Korea last fired multiple short-range ballistiApr 19, 2026By Yonhap
Seoul denies classified info leak after US protests minister's NK nuclear facility remarksThe United States has reportedly conveyed its intention to partially restrict intelligence sharing on North Korea following remarks by South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who publicly identified Kusong, North Pyongan Province, as a suspected third nuclear facility in the North during a National Assembly session in March. Despite the Ministry of Unification’s denial of the U.S.’ intentions to restrict information sharing, security experts have raised concerns that the issue could affect trust in intelligence cooperation between the two allies. According to local media reports Friday that cited diplomatic sources from both countries, U.S. officials lodged strong protests through multiple channels following Chung’s remarks, expressing concern that sensitive information may have been publicly disclosed. The reports added Washington was dissatisfied that intelligence shared with South Korea appeared to have been made public and suggested the U.S. may have already taken steps to limit certain aspects of North Korea intelligence cooperation. The ministry pushed back agApr 18, 2026By Anna J. Park and Park Ji-won
Seoul says explained to US background of minister's remarks on N. Korea's Kusong nuclear facilityThe unification ministry has explained to the United States that Unification Minister Chung Dong-young identified North Korea's Kusong region as the third location housing a uranium enrichment facility based on publicly available information, officials said Friday. In a rare revelation of information about North Korea, Chung said in a parliamentary session in March that North Korea is running another uranium enrichment facility in the northwestern region of Kusong, along with previously reported ones in Yongbyon and Kangson. The local newspaper DongA Ilbo reported the U.S. has strongly protested to South Korea over Chung's remarks, citing the revelation of sensitive information about the North. It said Washington has delivered its intent to limit sharing information with Seoul over North Korea. The unification ministry said it explained the background of Chung's remarks to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul at the request of the embassy. "The minister mentioned Kusong based on publicly available information, including reports from international research institutes," Chang Yoon-jeong, deputy spokeApr 17, 2026By Yonhap
How North Korea laundered money through Vietnamese crypto companyOn Sept. 22, 2025, a post seeking a verified U.S. Payoneer account appeared on a Telegram channel run by Quangvietdnbg International Services Co. Ltd., a Vietnamese online financial company. At first glance, it appeared to be a routine post seeking to buy a borrowed-name account on Payoneer, the electronic payments platform. Quangvietdnbg, however, was later found to have been involved in laundering money for North Korea. Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Amnokgang Technology Development Co., based in Pyongyang, and Quangvietdnbg to its sanctions list targeting individuals and entities linked to North Korea. According to the Treasury, Amnokgang arranged for North Korean information technology workers to obtain overseas jobs under false identities, while Quangvietdnbg laundered the wages they earned and sent the money back to North Korea. Quangvietdnbg and its CEO, Nguyen Quang Viet, “converted approximately $2.5 million into cryptocurrency for North Koreans” by orchestrating IT worker schemes that “systematically defraud U.S. businApr 16, 2026By Hankookilbo
N. Korea's Kim oversees artillery firing contest on state founder's birthdayNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen an artillery firing contest on the birth anniversary of state founder Kim Il-sung, grandfather of the current leader Kim, the North's state media reported Thursday. "Comrade Kim Jong-un ... oversaw an artillery firing contest of artillery subunits under the large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in the western area organized on April 15, the Day of the Sun," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. It marks the first time the leader has been reported to attend a military-related event on the founder's birth anniversary, observed as one of the country's most important national holidays known as the Day of the Sun. Participating subunits demonstrated "militant marksmanship" and a "full war posture," with the top spot going to the Capital City Defence Corps' artillery subunit followed by the KPA's 4th Corps, the KCNA said. Kim expressed satisfaction with the firing contest held on the "greatest auspicious" national holiday, calling it "an important occasion" to boost artillery training enthusiasm and strengthen combat capabilitApr 16, 2026By Yonhap
Unification minister says appointing special envoy to facilitate US-NK talks still under reviewUnification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday the appointment of a special envoy to facilitate dialogue between the United States and North Korea was still known to be under review by President Lee Jae Myung. Chung's remarks came after he had earlier proposed sending an envoy for "peace on the Korean Peninsula" to neighboring countries to help reopen U.S.-North Korea talks and stalled inter-Korean dialogue. The move comes as South Korea has deemed the period leading up to U.S. President Donald Trump's planned trip to China next month for summit talks as critical to establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. On the agenda for the summit talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chung said Washington was moving "under the table," without elaborating.Apr 15, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's economy entering recovery phase amid closer ties with Russia, China: SeoulNorth Korea's economy has entered a recovery phase thanks to closer relations with Russia and China, overcoming a period of recession, the unification ministry in Seoul said Wednesday. The ministry made the assessment in its five-year plan for inter-Korean relations, covering 2026 to 2030, submitted to the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. The ministry said North Korea has "formed and is maintaining cooperative ties" similar to an alliance with Russia, including in high-tech weapons and technology transfers while seeking a practical recovery in relations with China, a trend that is putting the national economy on a recovery path. North Korea, in particular, is seeking to boost its "strategic autonomy" and "negotiating power" by leveraging the growing Sino-U.S. rivalry while boosting diplomacy with countries in traditional friendship with the regime, the ministry said. The blueprint for inter-Korean relations is drafted every five years, but the latest fifth edition was drawn up after the previous five-year plan, adopted under ousted former President Yoon SukApr 15, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea, Russia's largest labor unions sign cooperation agreementThe largest umbrella labor unions of North Korea and Russia held talks in Pyongyang and signed an agreement to boost cooperation, the North's state media said Wednesday. Ri Won-jong, head of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, and Sergei Chernogayev, head of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, signed a memorandum of understanding on friendship and cooperation during talks in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. "The talks discussed ways to expand and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' trade unions in line with the North Korea-Russia friendship which has entered a new stage," the KCNA said. A delegation from the Russian trade union, which has a reported membership of 19 million workers, has been visiting North Korea since Monday. The move came as the two countries have aligned closely in various sectors following the North's deployment of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, which has also led to Russia providing vital military technology and resources to Pyongyang.Apr 15, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea calls for loyalty to leader Kim on founder's birth anniversaryNorth Korea called on party members and citizens for increased loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday, the birth anniversary of state founder Kim Il-sung, highlighting the two leaders' shared people-centered policies. The ruling Workers' Party of Korea's newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, made the call in an article as the country marks the 114th birth anniversary of founder Kim Il-sung, the current leader's grandfather. The newspaper said the founder's policy of serving the people as "the sky" lives on under the current leader's leadership, calling the people-centered approach a "perpetual political philosophy" of the ruling party and the state. "With unwavering loyalty, (we) should uphold the ideology and leadership of respected general secretary (Kim Jong-un), who carries forward the sacred history of supreme leader (Kim Il-sung)'s" people-centered policy, the newspaper said. The newspaper also called for greater resolve and a march toward the day when the ruling party's top priority of improving people's welfare is fully realized. North Korea observes the founder's birthday, known as the "Apr 15, 2026By Yonhap
