NK's YouTube vlog channels blocked in S. Korea on spy agency's request A screenshot of North Korean YouTube channel Olivia Natasha- YuMi Space DPRK DailyBy Nam Hyun-wooA number of North Korean YouTube channels that have been publicizing daily life inside the regime were blocked at the request of South Korea's intelligence authorities, according to the Korea Communications Standards Commission, Friday.The broadcasting regulatory agency said it blocked YouTube channels Sally Parks, Olivia Natasha- YuMi Space DPRK Daily and NEW DPRK from viewers in South Korea, following its decision on June 5 as requested by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).Access to those channels was blocked and video clips in the search results were disabled, with the message, “This content is not available in this country due to a legal complaint from the government.” Accessing the channels from outside of South Korea is still possible. The channels are said to be propagating the North Korean regime through young women and girls who are fluent in English, introducing content centered on “daily life” in North Korea's society. However, critics have pointedJun 23, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
S. Korea blocks access to NK propaganda channels on YouTube This undated screenshot image shows Olivia Natasha-YuMi Space DPRK daily, presumed to be a North Korean propaganda channel on YouTube. YonhapSouth Korea has blocked local access to three YouTube channels, presumably run by North Korea for propaganda purposes, upon request by Seoul's spy agency, amid concerns over the North's psychological warfare against the South, officials said Friday.As of 2:00 p.m., the three YouTube channels ― the Sally Parks SongA Channel, Olivia Natasha- YuMi Space DPRK daily and New DPRK ― are not accessible from South Korea, with a message on the platform showing that they are "not available."The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has requested the Korea Communications Standards Commission, the country's internet censorship body, block access to those channels on concerns that they target the South Korean audience, according to officials at the commission."North Korea has been running such YouTube channels as part of its psychological warfare against South Korea. It is our job to respond to the North's psychological campaign," an NIS official said.While theJun 23, 2023
S. Korean rights watchdog head urges China to stop repatriation of NK defectors Song Doo-hwan, chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea / YonhapSouth Korea's human rights watchdog chief on Friday urged China not to send North Korean defectors back to their homeland, citing reports that about 2,000 North Koreans held in China face imminent repatriation.Song Doo-hwan, chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, issued a statement saying the human rights of North Koreans can be seriously infringed upon if they are repatriated and that the Chinese government should comply with the United Nations' recommendation."Despite the U.N. recommendation to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China, there are reports that the forced repatriation of about 2,000 North Korean defectors held in Chinese detention facilities is imminent," Song said in the statement.He also asked the South Korean government to make every effort to ensure that North Korean defectors in China are not sent to the North against their will and receive appropriate human rights protection. (Yonhap) Jun 23, 2023
NK most likely to use nuclear weapons as means of coercion: US intelligence report Sydney Seiler, left, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council, is seen speaking during a seminar hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on June 22 in this captured image. YonhapNorth Korea will likely use its nuclear weapons to coerce political concessions from South Korea and its allies, a U.S. intelligence report said Thursday.The office of the director of national intelligence (DNI) noted that Pyongyang may also employ non-nuclear, non-lethal attacks to advance its goals in the future, believing that its nuclear weapons will deter counter offensives."We assess that through 2030, Kim Jong-un most likely will continue to pursue a strategy of coercion, potentially including non-nuclear lethal attacks, aimed at advancing the North's goals of intimidating its neighbors, extracting concessions, and bolstering the regime's military credentials domestically," said the report, titled "National Intelligence Estimate" (NIE) on North Korea.The report, dated January 2023, was released Thursday as part of the DNI'sJun 23, 2023
North Korea worries Blinken's trip may lead to US-China detente U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday. AP-YonhapBeijing's attempt to manage bilateral tensions ruffles Pyongyang: analystsBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korea on Wednesday belittled U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent visit to Beijing as a “begging trip” to reduce bilateral tensions, in remarks analysts believe revealed the regime's desire to maintain the Cold War-like status quo.Citing Jong Yong-hak, an analyst on international affairs, the North's official Korean Central News Agency portrayed Blinken's trip as an admission of the failure of U.S.' policy of putting pressure on China, following one of the most significant exchanges between the two nations under President Joe Biden.The state news agency then slammed the “double-dealing and impudence” of Washington, siding with Beijing, which demands the lifting of all U.S. tech restrictions targeting Chinese companies.“China tends to view North Korea as a liability when it has a good relationship witJun 21, 2023By Jung Min-ho
North Korea criticizes Blinken's China visit as 'begging trip' U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, June 19. AP-YonhapNorth Korea on Wednesday criticised U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's recent visit to Beijing as a "begging trip" to ease tensions in what it called a policy failure to pressure China.At one of the most significant U.S.-China exchanges since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Monday and agreed to stabilise their intense rivalry so it did not veer into conflict.Blinken said after the meeting on Monday that he urged China to encourage North Korea to stop launching missiles as Beijing holds a "unique position" to press Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.In a commentary carried by the North's KCNA news agency, Jong Yong-hak, whom it described as an international affairs analyst, said the rare visit was aimed at begging for the relaxation of tensions as the "attempt to press and restrain China may become a boomerang striking a fatal blow to the U.S. economy.""In a word, the U.S. sJun 21, 2023
S. Korea to release report on forced labor in N. Korea for 1st time Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesperson for the unification ministry, speaks at a press conference at the government complex in Seoul, June 19. YonhapSouth Korea plans to disclose a report on forced labor practices in North Korea for the first time as part of efforts to raise awareness on human rights violations in the secretive regime, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The report will be based on interviews conducted with North Korean defectors who have arrived in the South over the past five years, as the ministry plans to carry out an in-depth inquiry into forced labor practices in the North this year.The ministry plans to look into changes in forced labor practices before and after the launch of the Kim Jong-un regime in 2011 and the relevant laws and systems of forced labor.The government will also push to make public reports on other aspects of the North's human rights records, such as North Korean women's rights and people's right to work.The North Korean Human Rights Records Center, affiliated with the ministry, has carried out inquiries into the North's rights records and writtenJun 20, 2023
Hardliner behind multiple attacks on S. Korean military returns to N. Korean politics North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party Committee, attend an extended bilateral meeting with their U.S. counterparts during the second Washington-Pyongyang summit in the Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, in this Feb. 28, 2019, file photo. Kim Yong-chol, a hardliner blamed for multiple attacks on South Korea, has returned to the center stage of North Korean politics, state media reported Monday. Reuters-YonhapPyongyang reveals satellite launch failure to public at major party eventBy Jung Min-hoA former top-level spy and military general who was behind multiple attacks against the South Korean military has returned to the center stage of North Korean politics. Kim Yong-chol, who is believed to have been in command of the attacks on the ROKS Cheonan corvette and a South Korean island in 2010 as well as a 2015 landmine explosion on the southern side of the DMZ, was elected as an alternative member of the political bureau of its ruling Workers' Party of Korea, state media reported Monday.According to the Rodong Sinmun, a moutJun 19, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Seoul envoy on NK human rights visits Norway, Britain for consultations In this photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry, Lee Shin-hwa right, South Korea's ambassador for North Korean human rights, attends a conference on the North's human rights situation organized by the Peace Research Institute Oslo in the Norwegian capital, June 12. YonhapSouth Korea's envoy for North Korean human rights visited Norway and Britain last week for discussions on addressing the dire situation in the North, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.Ambassador Lee Shin-hwa visited Oslo from last Monday to Thursday, during which she attended a conference on North Korean human rights organized by the Peace Research Institute Oslo, according to the ministry.She also held talks with Erling Rimestad, state secretary of the Norwegian foreign ministry, to ask for Norway's support in efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.The ambassador later visited Britain on Thursday and Friday, and attended a special session by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea. Lee also met with David Ellis, Britain's ambassador to North Korea, for consultations on pending toJun 19, 2023
N. Korea's trade with China shrinks 5% on-month in May: data In this Sept. 26, 2022 file photo, a cargo train crosses the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge over the Amnok River from the Chinese border city of Dandong toward North Korea's border city of Sinuiju at 7:43 a.m. YonhapNorth Korea's trade with China dropped 5 percent on-month in May due to a sharp decline in Pyongyang's exports, Chinese customs data showed Monday.North Korea's trade volume with China stood at $189.57 million in May, down from $199.42 million in April, according to the data from China's General Administration of Customs.Pyongyang's imports from China totaled $165.63 million in May, slightly down from $165.78 million the previous month, while its exports sharply dropped 30 percent on-month to $23.94 million.It remains unclear why North Korea's exports to China shrank last month. During the January-May period, cumulative trade between the two countries stood at some $874.18 million, up 174 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.Cargo train operations between the Chinese border city of Dandong and the North's Sinuiju resumed in September last year after a five-month hiJun 19, 2023
