Russia's Duma speaker visits N. Korea for opening of museum honoring soldiers killed in Ukraine warVyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, visited North Korea to attend the opening ceremony of a memorial museum honoring soldiers killed while fighting for Russia in its war with Ukraine, a report from Moscow said Saturday. Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, "has arrived in the DPRK on a working visit" to "take part in the opening ceremony of a memorial complex and museum ... honoring the courage of Korean servicemen who took part in the liberation of the Kursk region," Tass said, citing the Duma press service. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. Volodin will attend the opening ceremony Sunday "on the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin" and will also meet with colleagues from the North Korean parliament, Tass said. Jo Yong-won, chairman of the North's Supreme People's Assembly, received Volodin upon his arrival in North Korea, it added. North Korea is set to open the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations, in Pyongyang, honoring the North's fallen soldiers who were kiApr 25, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea appoints new ambassador to SwedenNorth Korea has named a new ambassador to Sweden, the North's foreign ministry said Saturday, in the latest appointment of envoys overseas. Kim Chol-hae has been appointed as Pyongyang's new top envoy to Sweden, the ministry said on its website, after naming its new ambassadors to Britain and Indonesia earlier this week. Sweden has traditionally served as an intermediary for talks between the United States and North Korea, and was the first Western country to establish diplomatic ties with Pyongyang in 1973. Sweden also was the first Western country to resume diplomatic operations in Pyongyang following the COVID-19 pandemic when the North closed its borders.Apr 25, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea slams Japan PM's offering to war shrineNorth Korea criticized Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Saturday, for making a ritual offering to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, calling it a "challenge to international justice." Takaichi sent an offering Tuesday to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by the Allied forces after World War II. Other prominent Japanese politicians visited the shrine. "(It) is blatant distortion of history and a challenge to international justice and peace," a Rodong Sinmun newspaper article read. "It is a place to pay respects to aggressors and war criminals who caused suffering that cannot be healed." The newspaper accused Tokyo of seeking to "disseminate" militarism through the shrine visits, calling on it to atone for the past. Japanese politicians have faced criticism for sending offerings or visiting the shrine, with neighboring countries, such as South Korea and China, viewing such actions as an attempt to glorify the country's militaristic past. Korea was under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-45, while China was invaded by Japan dApr 25, 2026By Yonhap
Unification minister rejects criticism of NK-related intel leak as 'political trick'Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Thursday rejected allegations that his reference to North Korea's Kusong as one of its uranium enrichment sites constituted a leak of classified information, dismissing the criticism as a "political trick" hampering the national interest. The minister made the remarks to reporters as opposition lawmakers stepped up calls for his removal after Chung identified Kusong, along with Yongbyon and Kangson, as a region housing uranium enrichment facilities for the country's nuclear weapons program during a parliamentary session last month. Seoul and Washington have so far officially recognized Yongbyon and Kangson as the only uranium enrichment sites. The United States and opposition lawmakers criticized Chung's remarks as disclosing classified information shared by Washington, while Chung pushed back, saying that the remarks were based on publicly available information and meant to highlight the urgency of addressing the North's nuclear issue. On Thursday, Chung again rejected the criticism as "an overblown political trick" that will only "hamper the natApr 23, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea, Russia boost high-level exchanges to unprecedented level ahead of Kursk recapture anniversaryNorth Korea and Russia are dramatically expanding high-level exchanges, with three Russian ministers visiting the North at the same time, as they mark the first anniversary of the recapture of the Kursk region next week amid Moscow's war with Ukraine, according to Pyongyang's state media Thursday. Sectoral working-level meetings to boost North Korea-Russia cooperation and exchanges were held at a hotel in the Wonsan-Kalma eastern seaside resort region the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The meetings brought together Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who serves as the Russian chair of the bilateral committee on trade and economic cooperation; North Korea's External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong-ho; Russia's Health Minister Mikhail Murashko; North Korea's Public Health Minister Kim Tu-won and others. Kozlov and Murashko also attended a ceremony the previous day to launch the construction of a hospital in the Wonsan-Kalma tourist district honoring North Korea-Russia friendship, the KCNA said. Speaking at the event, Murashko said the hospitApr 23, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea slams Japan's launch of military drone officesNorth Korea on Thursday slammed Japan's establishment of military drone offices, warning that the move would fuel Tokyo's "reinvasion" ambitions. The criticism came after Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force established two new offices earlier this month to oversee research and development, as well as the procurement and maintenance of unmanned assets, as part of efforts to boost its unmanned capabilities. "Japan's acquisition of unmanned systems ... would upgrade its reinvasion capability to a higher level, fueling militarists' war zeal and accelerating reinvasion," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA accused Japan of "working desperately to realize its reinvasion ambition" targeting neighboring countries, calling it "a grave development." North Korea pointed to Japan's acquisition of U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, warning that the country is picking up the pace toward carrying out overseas reinvasions. "The international community should thoroughly monitor the military moves of the war criminal country, which is becoming more explicitly engaged in a reinvasion plot in disregApr 23, 2026By Yonhap
Defense minister denies reports USFK commander protested over alleged leak of US intel on NK nuke facilityDefense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Wednesday denied recent media reports that the top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) lodged a protest over the unification minister's public disclosure of classified U.S. information about a hidden North Korean nuclear facility. Speaking before lawmakers at a parliamentary session, Ahn dismissed speculation that the U.S. is scaling back its intelligence-sharing with Seoul on North Korea in protest of the alleged leak. "That is not true at all," Ahn said, responding to a question by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party. "It would be inappropriate in light of South Korea-U.S. military diplomacy for the USFK commander to have lodged protest with South Korea's defense minister." Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has come under fire after he referred to the North's Kusong region as one of the locations home to its uranium enrichment facilities in a parliamentary session last month. Local media have reported that USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson protested to Ahn over Chung's remarks, a claim that has also been echoed by a main oppositionApr 22, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kusong comes into spotlight as little-known but long-suspected nuclear facility siteNorth Korea's western city of Kusong, which came into the spotlight after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's controversial reference to it as a nuclear facility site, has long been suspected of housing uranium enrichment facilities, though it is not widely known. Chung described Kusong, along with Yongbyon and Kangson, as sites housing North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities during a parliamentary committee session last month, in a rare disclosure by a government official identifying the western city as a nuclear facility site. The United States immediately protested the remarks, which it believes were based on intelligence from Washington, and has partially suspended intelligence sharing on North Korea with Seoul in protest, accusing Chung of leaking classified information. Neither Seoul nor Washington had officially recognized Kusong as a nuclear facility site in North Korea, identifying only Yongbyon and Kangson. Since the mid-2010s, suspicions had been raised that Kusong, 50 kilometers northwest of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, is also home to a uranium enrichment facility uApr 22, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korean, Russian public security chiefs discuss closer cooperationNorth Korea's public security minister and Russia's interior minister have held talks on boosting exchanges and cooperation on law enforcement, the North's state media said Wednesday, amid deepening bilateral ties between the two nations. Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and North Korea's Public Security Minister Pang Tu-sop shared their countries' experiences and accomplishments on law enforcement during their talks in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Also discussed was the expansion of exchanges and cooperation between the two ministries, the KCNA reported. The talks came as Pyongyang and Moscow have deepened their alignment following the North's troop deployment in support of Russia's war against Ukraine, expanding cooperation across various fields, including the military, the economy and public security. Russia's interior ministry is in charge of public security. A delegation, led by the Russian minister, arrived in Pyongyang on a working visit Monday. The KCNA also said the two ministries signed a 2026-2027 road map for delegationApr 22, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea, Russia hold ceremony to link cross-border bridgeNorth Korea and Russia held a ceremony Tuesday to mark the linking of a cross-border road bridge over the Tumen River, the Russian Embassy in North Korea said, adding the bridge is set for completion in mid-June. The two countries began constructing the road bridge in April last month following a summit meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024 in Pyongyang. Tuesday's ceremony, held in the border region to mark the linking of the bridge, was attended virtually by Russian Transport Minister Andrey Sergeyevich Nikitin and Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who serves as the Russian chair of the bilateral committee on trade and economic cooperation, according to the embassy's Telegram channel. The embassy said the bridge is set for final completion on June 19. In a separate statement, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the bridge as strengthening friendship with North Korea and symbolizing the neighbors' aspiration to expand regional cooperation, adding that it will boost productive dialogue and eApr 21, 2026By Yonhap
