N. Korea speeds up preparations for next week's parliamentary electionsNorth Korea has been speeding up its preparations for next week's parliamentary elections by setting up election committees at various levels and reviewing qualifications of candidates for deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), according to state media Wednesday. North Korea will elect deputies to the 15th SPA on Sunday as a follow-up step to last month's key party congress. North Korea typically holds parliamentary elections every five years, but the upcoming vote will mark the first since 2019. North Korea said it has set up election committees at the provincial, city, county and military levels nationwide to prepare for the upcoming elections, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The North also appears to be holding what resembles a primary to pick a single candidate in each constituency as it reported meetings are being held to review qualifications of deputy candidates nationwide. "Officials who have earned high public trust, workers, farmers and people from all walks of life, as well as soldiers, have been registering as candidates for assembly deputies," tMar 11, 2026By Yonhap
NK defector-turned-journalist officially recognized by gov't as S. Korean detainee in N. KoreaHam Jin-woo, a North Korean defector-turned-journalist who went missing in 2017 in border areas between North Korea and China, has been officially recognized by the government as one of seven South Koreans detained in the North, officials said Wednesday. The unification ministry has newly added Ham to the list of South Koreans held captive in North Korea after consulting with relevant government agencies, according to a ministry official. North Korea has detained seven South Koreans — three missionaries of Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil, as well as four North Korean defectors who obtained South Korean nationality, according to the unification ministry's website. The names of the four defectors were not disclosed on the webpage. Ham is believed to have been arrested by North Korean authorities while covering North-China border areas in May 2017 as a journalist of a North Korea-focused media outlet. At a press conference in December last year, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young unveiled a plan to add Ham to the list of the South Korean detainees in the North. Kim Jung-woMar 11, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim oversees another cruise missile test from destroyer amid Seoul-Washington military drillsNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen another test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon destroyer, state media reported Wednesday, as South Korea and the United States have kicked off their annual springtime military drills. The North's leader observed the test via video Tuesday, stressing that it is important to maintain and expand a "powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Photos published by state media showed Kim's daughter Ju-ae overseeing the test. North Korea conducted a similar strategic cruise missile test from the destroyer last week ahead of its commissioning. Pyongyang's reference to "strategic" weapons suggests that they could have nuclear capabilities. The latest test-firing came as Seoul and Washington kicked off the Freedom Shield exercise Monday for an 11-day run. The North has long denounced the allies' combined military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion though they said the exercises are defensive in nature. The KCNA said the launched cruise missiles flew along the flight orbit aboveMar 11, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea supports Iran's choice of new supreme leader amid raging war in Middle EastNorth Korea said Wednesday it respects the Iranian people's election of their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named earlier this week to succeed his father, who was killed during U.S.-Israeli attacks on Tehran. A spokesperson at the North's foreign ministry made the remarks after Khamenei, a son of late former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was named the country's new supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts on Sunday. "With regard to the recent official announcement that Iran's Assembly of Experts elected the new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the rights and choice of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The North's official also "strongly" denounced U.S.-Israel military operations against Iran as an "illegal" military attack. "We express serious concern over and strongly denounce the acts of aggression by the U.S. and Israel that are destroying the regional peace and security foundations and escalating instability worldwide by mounting an illegal military attack onMar 11, 2026By Yonhap
Pyongyang-Beijing passenger train to resume service after pandemic shutdownA passenger train service connecting Pyongyang and Beijing will resume operations this week for the first time in about six years, signaling a gradual reopening of cross-border travel between North Korea and China. According to a Chinese railway service center, the international train linking the two capitals is scheduled to restart round-trip service on Thursday. The route had been suspended since 2020, when North Korea sealed its borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The train will run four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, officials said. It is scheduled to depart Beijing at 5:26 p.m. (local time) and arrive in Pyongyang at around 6 p.m. the following day. The train will stop in Dandong, a Chinese border city across the Amnok River from the North Korean city of Sinuiju. The route has long served as one of the main overland transportation links between the two countries. Officials said the service will initially be used mainly to transport diplomats and other travelers on official business. If seats remain available, authorities may consider allowingMar 10, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
N. Korean leader's sister warns of 'terrible consequences' amid S. Korea-US military drillsThe powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday condemned the ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, warning of "unimaginably terrible consequences." Kim Yo-jong, a department director at the ruling party, issued the warning in a press statement a day after Seoul and Washington kicked off their annual springtime military exercise, the Freedom Shield, for an 11-day run. "The muscle-flexing of the hostile forces near the areas of our state's sovereignty and security may cause unimaginably terrible consequences," Kim said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. Kim said the exercise took place "at a critical time when global security structure is collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of the outrageous international rogues." "This will result in further destroying the stability of the region," she noted. Kim said the exercise reveals once again the countries' "inveterate repugnancy" and "habitual hostile policy" toward Pyongyang, calling it a "provocative and aggresMar 10, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea cancels int'l marathon due to some reasons: tour agencyNorth Korea has decided to cancel the 2026 Pyongyang International Marathon, originally set for April 5 in the country's capital, due to some reasons, a Beijing-based tour agency said Monday. Koryo Tours, which specializes in travel to North Korea, broke the news on its website, saying, "his decision was communicated to us by the DPR Korea Athletics Association and has been confirmed as final." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea. The agency said no further information has been provided regarding the reasons for the cancellation. The international event, previously named the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, was inaugurated in 1981 to commemorate the April 15 birthday of late national founder Kim Il-sung. Beginning in 2020, it was suspended for five consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being resumed last year as a channel for the country to earn foreign currency.Mar 9, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim attends concert marking Int'l Women's Day with wife, daughterNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a concert marking International Women's Day with his wife and daughter Ju-ae, and hailed women's role in national development, state media said Monday. Kim attended the performance at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium the previous day with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his teenage daughter, while female party and government officials, workers and members of foreign missions were also present, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. As before, state media did not disclose the name of the daughter, who is widely assessed to be groomed to succeed Kim as national leader, referring to her only as his "beloved daughter," an expression used frequently to describe her. Images released showed Ju-ae seated between her father and mother at the concert, with the leader holding her hand during the performance. North Korea observes International Women's Day as a national holiday with public events, using it as an occasion to solidify national unity, although women's rights conditions in the country are widely seen as dire. In a speech at the concert, Kim expressed "speciaMar 9, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-President Moon says Trump's China visit could offer momentum for Korean Peninsula peaceFormer President Moon Jae-in has said U.S. President Donald Trump's planned visit to China could provide fresh momentum for peace on the Korean Peninsula, calling on Washington and Pyongyang to resume talks. Moon, who helped mediate Trump's historic summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018 and 2019, voiced hope for the resumption of stalled diplomacy. Trump is set to make a highly anticipated visit to China from March 31 to April 2. "I think Trump's upcoming visit to China could provide valuable momentum to restart the clock for peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon said during a keynote speech at the U.S. think tank RAND in Los Angeles on Friday (local time). Moon urged Trump to make a determination to resume the stalled negotiations with North Korea in order to help promote regional peace. "If (Trump) opens a new path toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, it would remain a lasting achievement in the world history as that of a 'peacemaker,'" he said. He also called on the North Korean leader to accept dialogue offers extended by Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae MyMar 8, 2026By Yonhap
Chinese Embassy in N. Korea introduces Wonsan-Kalma tourism zoneThe Chinese Embassy in North Korea has introduced the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone, a beach resort complex that opened last year and has so far been limited mainly to Russian tourists. The embassy posted 15 photos of hotels, beaches and a sunrise in the tourism zone on its website on Wednesday, as part of a regular series of posts introducing North Korea that began in September. The embassy described the zone as North Korea's first large-scale coastal tourism complex, calling it a "cultural resort" and a "world-class tourist attraction on the east coast." The tourism zone opened in July 2025 and was built to accommodate up to 20,000 visitors, initially receiving Russian group tourists through a Russian travel agency. The posting came after China's Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun and other embassy officials visited the resort area on the occasion of the Lunar New Year last month. It marked the first time the North's state media carried a report on Chinese Embassy officials visiting the tourism zone, raising speculation that Pyongyang may be preparing to accept Chinese tourists. ChMar 8, 2026By Yonhap
