S. Korea, Japan defense chiefs hold video call over N. Korea’s missile testDefense Minister Ahn Gyu-back held a video call Wednesday with his Japanese counterpart, Koizumi Shinjiro, as the two sought to coordinate their response to a fresh barrage of North Korean ballistic missiles fired earlier in the day. Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea starting around 8:50 a.m. The launches marked Pyongyang’s fifth confirmed ballistic missile test this year. During the call, the ministers exchanged latest intelligence on North Korea’s multiple-rocket launcher and missile activities and emphasized the importance of close trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan to deter and respond to further provocations, according to the Ministry of National Defense. They also stressed the need for bilateral defense collaboration to maintain regional peace and stability amid a tense security environment, including the ongoing war in the Middle East, and agreed to continue advancing South Korea-Japan defense exchanges on a steady footingApr 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Russia issued over 36,000 visas to North Koreans in 2025, almost all for educationRussia granted more than 36,000 entry visas to North Koreans in 2025, according to new consular data, amid the allies’ flourishing cooperation over the war in Ukraine. The data released on Wednesday shows that Russia’s diplomatic missions issued North Korean nationals a total of 36,413 visas, a fourfold increase from 9,239 visas in 2024. Over 98 percent, or 35,839 visas, were for education, compared with 8,616 the year before. An NK Pro investigation previously uncovered how Russian firms use student visas to procure North Korean workers. Such visas are typically arranged through educational institutions under the pretense of professional training, while Russian businesses actually employ the workers. The scheme helps Russian entrepreneurs bypass U.N. Security Council Resolution 2375, which bans North Korean workers from earning income abroad and prohibits member states from issuing them work permits. The official data for last year does not record any work visas for North Koreans. The last time Russia said it issued such a visa to North Korean nationals was in 2019, before a U.N. deApr 8, 2026By NK News
China's foreign minister to visit N. Korea April 9-10: KCNAChina's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea this week, the North's state media reported Wednesday, in a trip that comes ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's planned visit to China in May. The Chinese foreign minister will travel to North Korea from Thursday to Friday at the invitation of the North's foreign ministry, the Korean Central News Agency said, without providing further details. The upcoming visit will mark Wang's first trip to North Korea since September 2019 and is expected to include a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. The two last held talks in Beijing in September last year. Wang is also likely to pay a courtesy call on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The trip also comes ahead of Trump's planned visit to China next month for talks with President Xi Jinping, amid speculation that Trump may seek to meet Kim during the trip. The visit comes as North Korea and China recently resumed direct rail and flight services between them for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of efforts to improve ties frayed by Pyongyang's alignment wApr 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea confirms integration of inter-Korean affairs functions into foreign ministryA recent North Korean statement confirmed that the country has reorganized its unit dealing with inter-Korean relations in line with its policy of defining South Korea as a "hostile" nation and integrated it into the foreign ministry, experts said Wednesday. In a rare late-night statement Tuesday, Jang Kum-chol, a senior North Korean official long involved in inter-Korean affairs, issued a press statement refuting Seoul's claim of "meaningful progress" in relations with Pyongyang. Jang called it a "world-startling fools' hope-filled dream reading," reacting to the South Korean unification ministry's assessment that party department head Kim Yo-jong's swift response Monday to President Lee Jae Myung's expression of regret over drone incursions into the North constituted "meaningful progress" toward peace on the Korean Peninsula. The statement referred to Jang, formerly head of the ruling party's United Front Department, as first vice foreign minister and director general of the foreign ministry's "Tenth Department," confirming his appointment to the new post for the first time. It also maApr 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea conducts back-to-back ballistic missile launches in show of forceNorth Korea fired another short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday afternoon after launching multiple such missiles earlier in the day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, in a rare back-to-back launch that came amid Pyongyang's hostile stance toward Seoul. The JCS said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area in the North at around 2:20 p.m. and it flew over 700 kilometers. The provocation came just hours after the JCS said it detected the short-range ballistic missiles also launched from the Wonsan area at around 8:50 a.m., which flew around 240 km before splashing into the sea. It marked the North's fifth confirmed ballistic missile launch this year. On Tuesday, the North also fired an unidentified projectile from the Pyongyang area, which is currently pending analysis by South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities. The projectile, believed to have been launched Tuesday morning, disappeared shortly after it was fired in an apparent failure. The back-to-back launches came as President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over drone flights by individualsApr 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles in back-to-back launchNorth Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, in a back-to-back launch that came after President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over drone flights by individuals into the North. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles launched from the Wonsan area in the North at around 8:50 a.m. They flew some 240 kilometers. It marked the North's fourth confirmed ballistic missile launch this year. "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 the launch movement and closely shared relevant information, it added. The launch came just a day after the North fired an unidentified projectile from the Pyongyang area Tuesday, which is currently pending analysis by South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities. The projectile, believed to have been launched TuesdayApr 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea holds party committee meetings to spur efforts to implement policy decisionsNorth Korea has convened meetings of ruling party committees under government ministries to discuss the implementation of decisions reached at a parliamentary session last month, state media reported Wednesday. Ruling party committees established within the rail, transportation, culture and sports ministries, as well as two other state agencies, held expanded plenary meetings to advance pledges made by leader Kim Jong-un during a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The first session of the 15th SPA, held last month, discussed a revision to the country's constitution while pledging to advance its nuclear deterrence and implement policies for the people, among other decisions. Holding a ruling party congress in February for the first time in five years, the North also outlined a five-year national development plan and has since stepped up efforts to implement it. The recent party committee meetings discussed draft resolutions in depth on achieving the goals of their respective sectors, the KCNA said. The land and ocean transportation miApr 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea launched projectile Tuesday: JCSNorth Korea launched an unidentified projectile from its capital area Tuesday, South Korea's military said, in a move that came just a day after President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over drone flights by individuals into the North. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed Wednesday it detected the launch from the Pyongyang area the previous day and that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing it, without providing further details. Tuesday's launch of the projectile, believed to have taken place in the morning, apparently failed shortly after it was fired. On Monday, Lee expressed regret over the drone flights, saying that the incidents have caused unnecessary military tension with Pyongyang. His remarks came after prosecutors last week indicted three individuals accused of flying drones into North Korea between September and January. The North last fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on March 14 as annual springtime military drills by South Korea and the United States were under way.Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim congratulates Vietnam's To Lam on election as presidentNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated Vietnam's Communist Party chief To Lam on his election as president, pledging stronger relations between the two countries, the North's state media reported Wednesday. Kim sent the congratulatory message to To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "Your assumption of the heavy responsibility as president of the country is an expression of deep trust and expectation ... about you who have successfully guided the work for national development and prosperity and promotion of the people's wellbeing," Kim was quoted as saying in the message carried by the KCNA. Kim also expressed belief that "the traditional friendly and cooperative relations" between the two countries "would grow stronger in conformity with the aspirations and desires of the two peoples," based on an agreement reached in Pyongyang last year. Lam was among the few state leaders invited to attend a military parade in Pyongyang last October marking the 80th anniversary of the North Korean ruling party's establishmenApr 8, 2026By Yonhap
S. Korea sees NK's swift response to Lee's regret over drone flights as 'meaningful progress'President Lee Jae Myung's recent expression of regret over drone flights by individuals into North Korea demonstrated his "strong" will to restore trust between the two Koreas and ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Lee's chief of staff said Tuesday. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik made the remarks at a press briefing a day after Lee expressed his regret at a Cabinet meeting over the drone incidents causing unnecessary military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In a swift response, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement late Monday that read North Korea's head of state called Lee "frank and broad-minded." "As the top official in charge of state affairs, President Lee expressed his strong will to restore trust between the two Koreas and voiced the need to ease military tensions," Kang said. But the top aide dismissed as "groundless" speculation that Lee expressed the regret with intent to send a special envoy to North Korea. "It is more important than ever to stably manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula during thiApr 7, 2026By Yonhap
