North Korea highlights friendly ties with Russia on summit anniversary In this April 25, 2019, file photo, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk past honor guard officers during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia. North Korea on July 20 vowed efforts to advance friendly relations with Russia on the occasion of the anniversary of a joint declaration adopted when Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000. AP-YonhapNorth Korea on Tuesday vowed efforts to advance friendly relations with Russia on the occasion of the anniversary of a joint declaration adopted when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000.The North's foreign ministry also said that the declaration adopted after the summit between then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Putin has served as a "driving force" in their bilateral ties against "complicated international conditions of the 21st century.""Our republic's stance remains unchanged that the friendly and cooperative relations between North Korea and Russia should be continuously expanded and advanced to live up to the spirit of the joint declaration and the new era of our time and that we wilJul 20, 2021
North Korea warns youth against adopting foreign speaking habits, lifestyles In this frame grab from North Korea's Korean Central Television in May, North Korean young people enjoy dance party at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang. YonhapNorth Korea's official newspaper on Sunday called on younger generations to speak the country's own standard language and follow traditional lifestyles, amid the regime's crackdown on language expressions widely used in South Korea.The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Worker's Party, made the appeal in an article, saying, "The ideological and cultural penetration under the colorful colored signboard of the bourgeoisie is even more dangerous than enemies who are taking guns."The newspaper highlighted the superiority of its standard language based on the Pyongyang dialect and stressed the need for the younger people to use it correctly, as well as maintain acceptable lifestyles in terms of attire, haircuts, music and dance."When the new generations have a sound sense of ideology and revolutionary spirits, the future of a country is bright. If not, decades-long social systems and revolution will be perished. That is thJul 18, 2021
North Korea warns of heat wave's impact on crops North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun makes field inspection visit to a rural area in Samjiyon, North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on July 18. YonhapNorth Korea could be taking preventative measures against climate change by planting more trees and protecting crops from extreme heat as temperatures soar to record highs on the peninsula.Korean Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun said Friday that preventing crop damage from heat waves is a "struggle to protect the lives and safety of the people.""Party organizations at all levels inform us that a stronger heat wave is expected to affect our nation next week," the paper said. "Preventing damage is an important political project for the realization of decisions made at the [Eighth] Party Congress."The Rodong is urging the country to prepare for extreme weather only days after North Korea's chairman of the State Planning Commission said in a report to the United Nations that "severe natural disasters hit the country every year" amid a worsening food situation.The Party paper said Friday that workersJul 18, 2021
North Korea blasts Japan over claim to Dokdo Dokdo / Korea Times file North Korea lashed out at Japan, Saturday, for its claim to Dokdo, two South Korean islets in the East Sea calling it a shameless act."The Japan sports world has reached the extremes in its shameless act designed to seize Tok Island, part of the inviolable territory of Korea, even in defiance of the sacred idea and spirit of the Olympic movement," a spokesman for the North's Olympic Committee said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.The statement comes amid a renewed row between Seoul and Tokyo over the latter's claims to the South Korea-controlled islets.Japan's Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee marked Dokdo islets as Japanese territory on its torch relay map posted on the official website of the summer Olympic games, set to begin next Friday."Political issues are inseparable from territorial issues, and it is shameless and groundless sophism to insist that it is just a geographical concept that parJul 17, 2021
Only 2 North Korean defectors arrive in South Korea in Q2, lowest ever YonhapOnly two North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea in the second quarter, the lowest number ever since the government began compiling quarterly defector data in 2003, the unification ministry said Friday.The number of incoming defectors has gradually decreased since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic due to restrictions on cross-border movements, dropping significantly to 12 in last year's second quarter from 135 in the previous quarter.The figure stood at 48 defectors in the third quarter of last year and 34 in the fourth quarter before dropping further to 31 in January to March this year and two in the April-June period, according to the ministry data. (Yonhap)Jul 16, 2021
'Work from home vulnerable to North Korea's cyberattackes' Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the conservative main opposition People Power Party / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooRep. Tae Yong-ho of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) urged the government, Thursday, to review whether to allow employees of organizations dealing with important national secrets to work from home, claiming that their environments could be vulnerable to North Korea's cyber attacks. “The increase in people working from home or working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be a golden opportunity for North Korea to extract confidential information from certain institutions,” Tae wrote on Facebook. His claim came after three major South Korean organizations fell victim to cyber attacks originating from North Korea in recent months. They include the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). The KAERI is a government-funded research institute in charge of developing nuclear technology, while KAI is the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer. DSME is aJul 15, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea says its food production down to 10-year low in 2018 Pyongyang citizens visit Mansu Hill to pay homage to the bronze statues of President Kim Il-sung and Chairman Kim Jong-il ahead of the 27th anniversary of the death of President Kim Il-sung, in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 7. AP-YonhapNorth Korea has reported to the United Nations that its food production dropped to the lowest level in 10 years in 2018 due to natural disasters, lack of farming materials and low levels of mechanization.According to its Voluntary National Review (VNR) report submitted to the U.N., the North also admitted that it failed to achieve its national target of producing 7 million tons of food.VNR is a process through which to assess progress among member countries in their efforts to achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set in 2015. It is the first time that North Korea has made public a VNR report."The production in 2018 was about 4.95 million tons, the lowest during the last 10 years. The main reasons of reduced production are the natural disasters and weak resilience, insufficient farming materials and low level of mechanization," the reporJul 14, 2021
Will North Korea make military provocation against combined drill? Hellicopters and vehicles are deployed at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, during this year's first Combined Command Post Training between South Korea and the U.S. in this March 8 photo. The two sides are yet to reveal the scale of the drill, which is anticipated to take place next month. YonhapPyongyang issues warning against August exercise plan By Nam Hyun-wooNorth Korea has resumed its belligerent rhetoric against a combined summertime military exercise between Seoul and Washington, raising questions about whether the Kim Jong-un regime will escalate the situation with a military provocation. Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, issued a warning Tuesday to South Korea and the U.S. with regard to the drill expected to be held in August, saying that “war exercises” and peace cannot exist simultaneously. “The current instability on the Korean Peninsula is fully attributable to the warmongers among the South Korean military colluding with an outside power, and engaging in reckless, confrontational machinations,” the wJul 13, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea reports no coronavirus cases: WHO report Pyongyang citizens visit Mansu Hill to pay homage to the bronze statues of President Kim Il-sung and Chairman Kim Jong-il ahead of the 27th anniversary of the death of President Kim Il-sung, in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 7. AP-YonhapNorth Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on around 35,000 people so far but found no infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday, amid the global spread of the more contagious delta variant.According to the WHO's weekly report on COVID-19, 718 North Koreans underwent virus tests from June 25 to July 1, bringing the total number of tested citizens to 32,512, but none were found to have been infected.Of the 718 newly tested citizens, 127 people with symptoms turned out to be those with flu-like illness or acute respiratory illness, the report said.North Korea has claimed to be coronavirus-free but has taken relatively swift and tough measures against the pandemic, such as imposing strict border controls since early last year.The North was expected to receive around 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccines through a global vaccine distriJul 13, 2021
North Korea foreign ministry accuses US of using humanitarian aid for 'sinister purpose' In this 2020 September file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un examines rice paddy that was damaged by flood in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. YonhapNorth Korea's foreign ministry on Monday accused the United States of using humanitarian aid as a political tool for interfering in internal affairs and taking issue with human rights.Kang Hyon-chol, a senior researcher at the Association for the Promotion of International Economic and Technological Exchange, made the case in an article published on the website of the North's foreign ministry."In actual practice, many countries have undergone bitter tastes as a result of pinning much hope on the American 'aid' and 'humanitarian assistance,'" Kang said."This vividly reveals that the American ulterior intention of linking 'humanitarian assistance' with 'human rights issue' is to legitimize their pressure on the sovereign states and achieve their sinister political scheme," he added.Kang said the world is now facing severe economic difficulties because of the COVID-19 pandemic and accuseJul 12, 2021
