North Korea castigates South Korea for remarks on 'preemptive strike' ability Kim Yo-jong, second from left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in talk while watching a performance by North Korea's Samjiyon art troupe inside Haeoreum Grand Theater of the National Theater of Korea in Seoul's Jung District in February 2018. Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwanNorth Korea lambasted South Korea on Sunday after the South's defense minister said Seoul is capable of launching preemptive strikes against “any target” in the North.Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and an influential figure in Pyongyang's politburo, said Seoul will face serious consequences if it makes any military moves against the North.“On April 1, the South's defense minister showed a belligerent maniacal nature by mentioning 'preemptive strikes' against our country,” Kim Yo-jong, the vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), was quoted as saying by the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the North's official mouthpiece. “The SApr 3, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
North Korea blasts UN human rights resolution as 'grave infringement' on sovereigntyNorth Korea blasted a recent United Nations resolution condemning Pyongyang's human rights abuses, Sunday, calling it "a product of illegal and inhuman hostile policy" of Washington against the reclusive nation.The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed the resolution for the 20th consecutive year Friday. The resolution condemned the North's continued rights violations and highlighted worsening humanitarian conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement Sunday to reject the resolution, condemning it as "a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our state and a political provocation against it.""As the fair and impartial international society recognize, the anti-DPRK human rights resolution put forward by the U.S. and the Western countries every year does not bear any relation to genuine human rights," read the ministry's English-language statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."And it is no more than a highly politicized meansApr 3, 2022
Kim Yo-jong slams South Korean minister's talk of 'preemptive strike' Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / YonhapThe sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lambasted South Korea's defense chief Sunday for talk of "preemptive strike" capabilities and warned that the South may face a "serious threat" for such a "senseless" remark.In a rare public statement, Kim Yo-jong said, "The senseless and scum-like guy dare mentioned the 'preemptive strike' at a nuclear weapons state, in his senseless bluster which will never be beneficial to South Korea, either.""South Korea may face a serious threat owing to the reckless remarks made by its Defense Minister," she added in the English-language statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). She is known for her influence on inter-Korean affairs in the Kim regime, holding the post of vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.Last Friday, South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook publicly stressed that his troops have the capabilities to "accurately and swiftly" strike the origin of North Korea's missile firing as well as command andApr 3, 2022
US imposes sanctions on 5 North Korean entities over recent ICBM tests The alleged test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea, March 24, is seen in this photo distributed by the North Korean government. AP-YonhapThe United States imposed fresh sanctions Friday on five North Korean entities involved in the North's recent missile tests that included its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in over four years.The five entities include the North's Ministry of Rocket Industry (MoRI), according to the Department of the Treasury."Today's action targets a DPRK WMD research and development organization that is directly linked to the development of new ICBMs, along with four of its revenue-generating subsidiaries," the department said in a press release.DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.North Korea launched an apparent ICBM last Thursday, ending its self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing that had been in place since November 2017.The treasury department noted two North Korean missile tests, staged Feb. 27 and March 5 Apr 2, 2022
China's role complicates North Korean denuclearization process Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, waves with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the former's visit to Pyongyang in June 2019. Xinhua via APPyongyang emerges as key challenge for Yoon Suk-yeol administrationBy Kim Bo-eunHONG KONG ― Pyongyang's series of provocations this year signal that addressing the neighbor to the North will be one of the greatest challenges for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has pledged to take a hardline stance toward the reclusive state compared to his predecessor, Moon Jae-in.Yoon is scheduled to take office in May and has outlined the direction of his administration's foreign policy ― which is to strengthen Seoul's alliance with Washington, while relying less on Beijing. This would be a shift from Moon's policy towards China, given that South Korea depends largely on the Asian neighbor, not only for trade but also in regards to progress in relations with North Korea. Although China and North Korea have not always been on the best terms, the two have had a special relationship. Beijing is Pyongyang's greatest ally, among the few that exist, with the two Apr 1, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
North Korea prints stamps of Kim's meeting with Trump, not Moon A stamp that features North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's meeting with then U.S. President Donald Trump at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in June 2019, part of a batch issued to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his ascension to the leader of the party and the country, is seen in this photo taken from the website of North Korea's State Stamp Bureau, April 1. Yonhap North Korea released a new collection of commemorative stamps Friday for the 10th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-un's rise to power with photos of his meetings with world leaders. The 49 sets of stamps, published by the North's Korea Stamp Corp., include those featuring Kim's Singapore summit in 2018 with then U.S. President Donald Trump and another meeting at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom the following year, as well his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.But no stamps featuring Kim's summit with South Korean President Moon JaApr 1, 2022
COVAX cuts all COVID-19 vaccines allocated for North Korea: global charity An official disinfects a bus in Pyongyang amid the COVID-19 pandemic in this undated file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Dec. 5, 2020. Yonhap North Korea no longer has COVID-19 vaccines allocated for its people under the COVAX Facility Initiative, an international group co-leading a vaccine-sharing program confirmed Friday. The announcement came amid a protracted setback in shipment-related efforts apparently attributable to a lack of cooperation from the country's reclusive regime."COVAX has no concrete allocations for DPRK currently," a spokesperson for the Gavi vaccine alliance told Yonhap News Agency, using the acronym for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The vaccines that were not accepted by the North were "re-allocated to other countries so the doses could be used in a timely fashion," the official added, citing the organization's 2022 policy of "needs-based vaccine allocations."The U.N. Apr 1, 2022
Rare Goryeo-era Buddhist statues unearthed in North Korea A Goryeo-era gilt-bronze seated Amitabha Buddha triad has been recently unearthed in Mount Geumgang, a North Korean propaganda outlet, Naenara, reported, Wednesday. Yonhap By Park Han-solRare Buddhist statues presumed to have been produced during the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) have been recently unearthed in the mountains of North Korea.The gilt-bronze seated Amitabha Buddha triad has been found in Mount Geumgang in Gangwon Province, while the silver-gilt seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha triad has been excavated in Mount Myohyang in Pyongan Province in recent weeks, a North Korean propaganda outlet, Naenara, reported on Wednesday.According to the lab analysis conducted by Kim Il-sung University's High-tech Development Center, the Buddha triad from Mount Geumgang is made primarily of bronze, with stone and lead included and coated with gold.The 16-centimeter-tall figure at the center, Amitabha Buddha, who is perceived as the Buddha presiding over the Western Paradise, was Apr 1, 2022By Park Han-sol
North Korea resumes construction activity at nuclear test site: report Debris is piled on the ground after Tunnel No. 2 of North Korea's only known nuclear test site in Punggye-ri was blown up, in this May 24, 2018, pool photo. Korea Times fileNorth Korea has recently resumed construction activity at an underground nuclear test site north of Pyongyang, which suggests a possible nuclear test down the road, a news report said Thursday, citing unidentified U.S. officials."North Korea has recently resumed digging tunnels and construction activities at its underground nuclear test site, according to five US officials," CNN reported.The report comes after government sources in Seoul said the North may be working to create a shortcut to one of the underground tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site that it purportedly dismantled in 2018 in an internationally observed event to show its willingness to denuclearize.One of the sources said the North had abruptly stopped its initial construction work to restore the entrance to an underground tunnel at Punggye-ri, and is now digging up a side of the tunnel apparently to create a shortcut to the tunnel.The sourceApr 1, 2022
North Korea calls on party officials to wipe out anti-socialist practices A workshop for officials is held in Pyongyang, March 30. YonhapNorth Korea reiterated calls for the ruling party's propaganda officials to help weed out anti-socialist and non-socialist practices, as it wrapped up a three-day workshop, according to state media Thursday. The workshop for officials in the information field of the ruling Workers' Party concluded the previous day with a study session on prioritizing ideological work as the "very core of the Party work," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported."The workshop called for regarding it as the general orientation and target of the Party ideological work to model the entire Party and the whole society on the respected Comrade Kim Jong-un's revolutionary idea," it added.Officials were urged to "concentrate all rabble-rousing forces" on improving peoples' living standards and carry out a "fierce campaign" against anti-socialism and non-socialism.During the workshop, the North also held a lecture warning officials to stay alert against the "imperialists' moves for ideological and cultural poisoning."On the first dayMar 31, 2022
