ANALYSIS Frequent military parades signify NK leader finding it tougher to stay in control North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, salutes during a military parade at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, Feb. 8, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean military. YonhapMilitary parades held almost every year under Kim Jong-unBy Kang Hyun-kyungKim Jong-un is set to surpass his father and grandfather by becoming the North Korean leader to have overseen the largest number of military parades.His father Kim Jong-il (1941-2011) and grandfather Kim Il-sung (1912-1994) are tied with 13 military parades held during their respective reigns. Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, ruled the country for 46 years, and his son, Jong-il, was in power for 18 years until 2011 when he died of a heart attack. This means that, on average, a military parade was held every 3.5 years during the Kim Il-sung era, and every 1.4 years when his son was in power.Since Kim Jong-un rose to power in 2011 following his father's death, he has overseen a total of 13 military parades so far. In other words, North Korea's show of force has been held almost every year. Following the mJul 4, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
N. Korea says it has achieved economic goals for H1 in key sectors A poster encouraging North Korean people to implement the tasks set forth at a recent plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party is seen in this June 21 photo provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korea claimed Tuesday it has exceeded its goals across key economic sectors during the first half of the year, backed by efforts to accomplish its 12 major economic priorities for this year.In an apparent bid to boost self-reliance amid deepening economic hardships, North Korea earlier this year identified 12 major economic goals for the year and picked raising grain output as its top task."Dazzling, miraculous feats were accomplished in the agriculture front," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. "In the construction sector, new standards and records were incessantly created."The KCNA said that North Korea carried out irrigation projects to prevent damage from droughts and floods, including maintenance of some 24,000 kilometers of irrigation waterways, and said that a "scientific" approach tJul 4, 2023
N. Korea has apparently lifted mask mandate This composite photo, taken from the North's Korean Central TV footage, shows people wearing face masks at an indoor event, June 30 and people without face masks in an auditorium, July 4. YonhapNorth Korea, which had maintained its rigid COVID-19 restrictions long after most countries eased pandemic measures, appears to have lifted its mask mandate this month, state media footage and photos showed Tuesday.News footage that aired on the North's Korean Central TV on Monday showed hundreds of young people seated close to one another without face masks at a theater in North Hamgyong Province.Photos released by the Rodong Sinmum, the North's main newspaper, on Tuesday, showed officials at a publishing bureau in the same North Korean province without face masks.Similar photos taken at various venues also showed people not wearing face masks, with the exception of farmers spraying pesticides and medical workers at a hospital.This has led to the view that North Korea, which had maintained its border lockdown and strict antivirus measures despite deepening economic hardships, may have finallyJul 4, 2023
NK says 'no intention' to review Hyundai Group chief's bid to visit Mount Geumgang This file photo, provided by Hyundai Group on Aug. 3, 2018, shows group chief Hyun Jeong-eun, company officials and North Korean officials attending a memorial service for former company Chairman Chung Mong-hun at Mount Kumgang in North Korea. YonhapNorth Korea said Saturday it has "no intention" to review a bid by the chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group to visit the North's Mount Geumgang next month to hold a memorial service for her late husband and former chairman of the group.Kim Song-il, a director general of the North's foreign ministry, said North Korea has a policy of not permitting the entry of South Korean nationals onto its territory, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)."We make it clear that we have neither been informed about any South Korean personage's willingness for visit nor known about it and that we have no intention to examine it," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, which had run sightseeing programs at the North Korean mountain, is seeking to visit the North in August to mark the 20th anniversary of Jul 1, 2023
Unification minister nominee vows not to compromise on human rights in dealing with N. Korea Kim Yung-ho, nominee for next unification minister, speaks to reporters in front of the Office of the Inter-Korean Dialogue in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeonHis 'uncompromising' principles set to collide with very nature of Pyongyang regimeBy Jung Min-hoKim Yung-ho, the nominee for next unification minister, vowed on Friday not to compromise on any of his principles in the ministry's efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, saying that human rights are among the unnegotiable values.Speaking to reporters at the Office of the Inter-Korean Dialogue in Seoul, Kim said the rights violations of ordinary North Koreans are “very serious” and South Korea has so far shown a lack of willingness to resolve the issue.“Freedom, human rights and the rule of law are among the uncompromising things,” said Kim, who is a political diplomacy professor. “From a scholar's perspective, the international community has paid extensive attention to addressing the issue, while South Korea has relatively been less so … As stakeholders in the unification mJun 30, 2023By Jung Min-ho
S. Korea asks Pyongyang to give prior notice on border dam discharge This Aug. 9, 2022 file photo shows people watching the water pouring out of floodgates at Paldang Dam in Hanam. Korea Times fileSouth Korea requested North Korea on Friday to give prior notice should it release water from dams near their border to minimize damage from heavy rains.Seoul's unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, made the official request in a statement released to reporters as downpours have pounded the Korean Peninsula this week."We urge the North to take all sincere measures so that damage will not occur due to a failure in notification," the ministry said, noting how North Korea has given prior notice on three occasions under an inter-Korean agreement on the matter.The request was made through the press, as Pyongyang has remained unresponsive to daily routine calls via an inter-Korean liaison communication channel since April.Under the agreement signed in October 2009, the North agreed to notify the South in advance of its plan to release dam water, following an accident that killed six South Koreans after the North discharged water from Hwanggang Jun 30, 2023
N. Korea discusses grain output in follow-up measure after key party meeting A propaganda image that calls for achieving policy goals laid out during a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea is seen in this June 21 photo provided by North's official Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korea held a cabinet meeting earlier this week to discuss follow-up measures for policy goals laid out in a recent key party meeting, such as increasing agricultural production, the North's state media said Thursday.A two-day plenary meeting of the Cabinet's Party Committee wrapped up Wednesday, attended by participants, including Premier Kim Tok-hun and Vice Premier Pak Jong-gun, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).The meeting came less than two weeks after the North held a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, attended by leader Kim Jong-un, to discuss its botched military spy satellite launch and economic policy goals.During the two-day meeting, participants reviewed activities in the first half and discussed policy goals laid out by the party, such as its graJun 29, 2023
North Korea tightens state control of food A farmer tends to rice seedlings at the Namsa Co-op Farm of Pyongyang's Rangrang District, May 25, 2021. Signs are palpable that North Korea has been tightening state control over its entire economy, particularly food, a veteran journalist said on Wednesday. AP-YonhapFamine worsens as Kim steps up fight against market forces: inside sourcesBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korea's great famine in the 1990s, which was a direct result of failures by the state, gave rise to “jangmadang,” the informal markets that eventually grew to play an essential role in the economic lives of its people.But history is set to repeat, as Kim Jong-un, the state's young leader, is poised to tighten state control on the market economy, particularly on food, a veteran journalist said at Wednesday's seminar on the issue in Seoul. He added that Kim will likely unleash another devastating period of mass hunger upon his own people. Citing six sources who are living in North Korea-China border regions, Jiro Ishimaru, who has been covering the rogue state for the past 30 years, said its food crisis may have alreadJun 28, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Seoul sanctions Russian national linked to North Korea Lee Jun-il, the foreign ministry's director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs, briefs reporters on South Korea's unilateral sanctions on North Korea's weapons-financing activities at the ministry in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSouth Korea added a Russian national of Korean descent to its unilateral sanctions list for his alleged involvement in the illegal financing of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, an act that violates United Nations Security Council sanctions, the foreign ministry said, Wednesday.This is the first time that the South Korean government has imposed unilateral sanctions on an individual of Korean descent, the ministry added. The Russian national, named Choi Chon-gon, was one of two individuals as well as two organizations that are subject to the Seoul-led sanctions concerning Pyongyang's military development plan. The other three set to face sanctions are So Myong, head of the North's Foreign Trade Bank branch in Vladivostok, and two companies owned by Choi ― Hanne Ulaan LCC and Epsilon. “Our government's unilateral Jun 28, 2023By Kang Seung-woo
N. Korea slams Japan for continued demand for resolution of abducted Japanese issue Family members of victims of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago hold a meeting in Tokyo to call on the North to return such abductees home, Feb. 27. YonhapNorth Korea condemned Japan on Wednesday for continuing to demand Pyongyang resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North decades ago, claiming that such a stance runs counter to Tokyo's hope for a summit with the North without preconditions.Ri Pyong-dok, a researcher at the Institute for Japan Studies of the North's foreign ministry, said the abductee issue has been "completely, finally and irreversibly" settled, accusing Japan of bringing the "unfeasible" issue to the fore, according to the North's state media."It is also little short of denying the stand of the Japanese chief executive who doesn't miss an opportunity to say that he hopes for the 'Japan-DPRK summit without preconditions,'" Ri was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Ri apparently referred to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio KishidJun 28, 2023
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