N. Korea in festive mood ahead of 'Victory Day'; all eyes on Kim Jong-un's likely message A worker's art group performs on July 22, ahead of the 69th anniversary of what it calls "Victory Day," commemorating the signing of an armistice to terminate the 1950-53 Korean War, in this photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency the following day. YonhapNorth Korea has been dialing up the celebratory mood ahead of an anniversary on the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, state media reported Monday amid its strenuous efforts to promote internal unity and bolster leader Kim Jong-un's power grip.The North is set to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the Korean War armistice signed July 27, 1953. The North calls the conflict the Great Fatherland Liberation War and designated the armistice signing date as "Victory Day."The country's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, stressed the importance of showing loyalty to the leader, saying the war points to the "noble truth that the North will always win if it trusts and follows the Supreme Leader," referring to Kim Il-sung, the late national founder and grandfather of Kim Jong-un, who is at the helm.War-relatJul 25, 2022
N. Korea warns of security instability over US-S. Korea drills A North Korean soldier takes a picture as he looks toward the south in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, July 19. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea has warned that the United States and South Korea will face “unprecedented” security challenges if they don't stop their hostile military pressure campaign against the North, including joint military drills.North Korea views any regular U.S.-South Korean military training as an invasion rehearsal even though the allies have steadfastly said they have no intention of attacking the North. The latest warning came as Washington and Seoul prepare to expand their upcoming summertime training following the North's provocative run of missile tests this year.“Should the U.S. and its allies opt for military confrontation with us, they would be faced with unprecedented instability security-wise,” Choe Jin, deputy director general of the Institute of Disarmament and Peace, a Foreign Ministry-run think tank, told Associated Press Television News in Pyongyang on Thursday.Choe sJul 22, 2022
S. Korea to lift ban on N. Korea TV, newspapers despite tensions A man walks past TV monitors displaying a news program at an electronic shop in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 14, 2014, showing a North Korean newspaper with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiling, reportedly during his first public appearance in five weeks in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP-YonhapSouth Korea plans to lift its decades-long ban on public access to North Korean television, newspapers and other media as part of its efforts to promote mutual understanding between the rivals, officials said Friday, despite animosities over the North's recent missile tests.Divided along the world's most heavily fortified border since 1948, the two Koreas prohibit their citizens from visiting each other's territory and exchanging phone calls, emails and letters, and they block access to each other's websites and TV stations.In a policy report to new President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said it will gradually open the door for North Korean broadcasts, media and publications to try to boost mutual understanding, restore the Korean national identity and prJul 22, 2022
Yoon says North Korea is ready to conduct nuclear test at any time President Yoon Suk-yeol takes reporters' questions as he arrives at the presidential office in Seoul on July 22. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday that North Korea is ready to conduct a nuclear test at any time it decides.Yoon was responding to a reporter's question about the U.S. Department of Defense's assessment that the North has completed preparations to carry out a nuclear test as early as within the month."We believe that not only at the end of this month, but ever since my inauguration, it's fully ready and able to do it whenever it decides," he told reporters as he arrived for work. (Yonhap)Jul 22, 2022
Murder accusations against North Korean fishermen questioned A North Korean fisherman resists South Korean officials' attempt to hand him over to North Korean officials at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom, in this Nov. 7, 2019, file photo. Courtesy of Ministry of Unification'Only judiciary has authority to decide whether they are criminals'By Jung Min-hoThe Ministry of Unification has raised doubts over murder accusations brought up against two North Korean fishermen who were deported against their will three years ago based on that claim.A high-ranking official told reporters Thursday that no one other than the judiciary “has the authority to decide whether they are brutal criminals.” The latest move by the ministry is a de facto retraction of the claims it made over the fishermen during the previous Moon Jae-in administration.Authorities under the Moon administration accused the fishermen of conspiring with a third man to kill their captain and 15 others on a boat before their escape to the South on Nov. 2, 2019. After a three-day investigation, South Korean authorities sent the fishermen back to the North on Nov. 7, Jul 21, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Child YouTuber in North Korea's charm offensive Song-A, an 11-year-old North Korean vlogger, introduces her favorite book, “Harry Potter,” in her first video uploaded on April 26. Screenshot from the Sary Voline YouTube channelBy Lee Yeon-wooAn 11-year-old vlogger whose favorite book is “Harry Potter,” written by J.K. Rowling, and who speaks fluent English is not the sort of person you can see often in North Korea. However, on the YouTube channel, “Sary Voline,” you can.Her YouTube channel is filled with four propaganda videos describing North Korea as a paradise for children, with plenty of amusement parks, children's hospitals and caring healthcare workers who came by her home when she and her other family members were infected with COVID-19. Through her channel, Song-A introduces her “magnificent” life in Pyongyang in English with a fluent British accent. In the latest video uploaded on Tuesday, she said that Pyongyang citizens enjoy shaved ice, a traditional dessert with sweet toppings known in Korean as “bingsu,” which is sold by street vendors all over the North's cJul 21, 2022By Lee Yeon-woo
North Korean foreign ministry slams annual US human trafficking report as 'absolute nonsense' A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea denounced the United States on Wednesday for the release of an updated human trafficking report, calling the move "absolute nonsense."In an article posted on its website, Pyongyang's foreign ministry slammed the State Department's publication of the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, which kept the country in Tier 3, the lowest category, for the 20th straight year. It argued that the U.S. should place itself "on the operating table first" before meddling in other country's affairs and hiding its own "ills.""That the U.S., which still follows its nasty human trafficking history, issues the 'Trafficking in Persons Report' every year and assesses the 'human trafficking situation' of other countries at its will is absolute nonsense and an insult to the human rights," the article read.It added that human trafficking is an "incurable diseaJul 20, 2022
US disrupts North Korean hackers that targeted hospitals Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks during the Chiefs of Police Executive Forum, at the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters in Washington, May 6. AP-YonhapThe FBI and Justice Department recently disrupted the activities of a hacking group that was sponsored by the North Korean government and that targeted U.S. hospitals with ransomware, ultimately recovering half a million dollars in ransom payments and cryptocurrency, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Tuesday.Monaco revealed new details of the attacks during a speech in which she encouraged organizations hit by ransomware to report the crime to law enforcement, both so that officials can investigate and so that they can help victim companies try to get ransom payments back.In this case, Monaco said, a Kansas hospital that paid a ransom last year after being attacked by ransomware also contacted the FBI, which traced the payment and identified China-based money launderers who assisted the North Korean hackers in cashing out the illicit proceeds. The FBI was able to recoveJul 20, 2022
Lingering tensions in Panmunjom underline uncertainties in inter-Korean ties South Korean and U.S. soldiers are on guard at the Joint Security Area of the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, Tuesday. Courtesy of Defense DailyAbout four years ago, the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom was brimming with renewed hopes for peace, as a rare summit between the two Koreas took place there, diluting its image of cross-border tension, albeit temporarily.But such hopes appeared to be fading amid COVID-19 and uncertainties in inter-Korean ties, as reporters on Tuesday's media tour saw North Korean troops wary of cross-border contact and unruly weeds seeming like a sign of Seoul's hitherto unfruitful peace endeavors.Reporters were invited to Panmunjom and other parts of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, as public tours there resumed after a six-month hiatus on eased COVID-19 restrictions. Panmunjom was a highlight of the media event, as it was where then South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their first summit in April 2018 and where they joined then U.S. President Donald Trump for a historic three-way encoJul 19, 2022
Presidential office hits back at ex-FM Chung over repatriation of NK fishermen Choi Young-bum, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office on Sunday. YonhapThe office of President Yoon Suk-yeol immediately struck back at former Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong on Sunday after he defended the previous administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen against their will.Chung said earlier Sunday the then government of President Moon Jae-in determined the North Koreans' expression of a desire to defect as insincere and decided to deport them, as they had confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members.Chung also said the North Koreans "were rare, grotesque killers.""Some claim that we had to accept them into our society as defectors in accordance with our Constitution," he said in a statement. "However, our domestic law stipulates that nonpolitical criminals, like them, should be deported without being allowed into the country. Nonpolitical serious criminals are also not considered refugees under international law."Just hours later, Choi Young-bum, senior presideJul 17, 2022
