North Korean leader sends another congratulatory message to Cuba's new president Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel / APNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent his third congratulatory message to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel this week alone, expressing hope that relations between the two countries will "grow stronger," according to state media Thursday.The latest message, delivered Tuesday to mark the Cuban leader's birthday, came after Kim already sent two congratulatory messages earlier this week on his recent election as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.North Korea considers Cuba a traditional ally facing similar challenges from U.S.-led sanctions."The respected Comrade Kim Jong-un in the message offered the warmest congratulations and sincere comradely greetings to Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez on his birthday," the Korean Central News Agency said."The message also extended firm support and solidarity to the fraternal Cuban people who have achieved great successes in the struggle for victorious advance of the socialist cause, despite the vicious sanctions and blockade by the hostile forces," the KCNA added.He expressed "conviction tApr 22, 2021
Last remaining int'l aid workers leave NK: Russian official An official of the Hygienic and Anti-epidemic Center disinfects the building in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this Feb. 5 photo. AP-YonhapThe last remaining aid workers stationed in North Korea left the country in March, a Russian news service reported Wednesday, citing a Russian official, as Pyongyang has maintained tight border controls amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.Pyotr Ilichev, who heads the department of international organizations of Russia's foreign ministry, also called for U.N.-led sanctions against North Korea to be lifted, pointing out that it has hit the North's economy hard, according to RIA Novosti.North Korea has claimed to be coronavirus-free but has taken relatively swift and tough measures against the global pandemic. It has maintained tight border controls since early last year to ward off an outbreak.Ilichev said that the North's border closure has rendered international assistance organizations unable to get replacement workers into the country, with supplies necessary to carry out projects being cut off, the new agency said.He was also quoted as sayiApr 21, 2021
North Korea tightens antivirus measures in border city A view of the Friendship Bridge and Broken Bridge over the Yalu River, which separates North Korea's Sinuiju from China, during sunrise in Dandong, Liaoning province, China, April 20. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea is stepping up measures to ward off the new coronavirus in a city along the border with China, state media said Wednesday, amid speculation the move could be a precursor to easing border restrictions.The North is staying on high alert in its northeastern border city of Hoeryong in North Hamgyong Province and maintaining strict measures to disinfect vehicles and people at the border points, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said.The city is located opposite Jilin Province of China, with the Tumen River separating the two countries.Officials are also conducting inspections of wild animals, birds and other unidentified objects and re-examining the overall quarantine situation, according to KCBS.Earlier this month, a unification ministry official said the North is showing increasing signs of easing its border restrictions with China.North Korea has claimed to be coronaApr 21, 2021
North Korea's largest youth group to hold first congress in 5 years next week In this photo released by North Korea's Korea Central News Agency on April 16, 2021, youths celebrate fireworks commemorating the birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung, which was the previous day, at Pyongyang. Korea Times fileNorth Korea's largest youth organization will hold its first congress in five years next week, state media said Tuesday, in an apparent effort to tighten ideological discipline amid concerns about younger generations' increasing exposure to outside influences.The Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League, governed by the ruling Workers' Party, will hold its congress in Pyongyang on April 27, according to the Korean Central News Agency."Achievements and experiences obtained from youth business, and causes for shortcomings and lessons learned in the process will be reviewed during the congress," KCNA said.Participants will also discuss ways necessary for the youth organization to help implement decisions made during the ruling party's congress held in January, KCNA added. The youth league was created by the country's late founder Kim Il-sung in 1946, wiApr 20, 2021
South Korea seeking to toughen regulations on internet-based exchanges with the North Minister of Unification Lee In-young speaks at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, March 23, 2021. YonhapSouth Korea is seeking to require its citizens to win government approval in advance before exchanging digital files of films or books with North Koreans via the internet, the unification ministry said Monday.In January, the ministry proposed revising the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act in a way that requires approval from the unification minister for cross-border exchanges of "immaterial things" via electronic tools and information and communication networks.Under the proposed revision, anyone who wants to send or receive such materials as emails, movie files and scanned books through the internet across the border should win prior approval from the minister."So far, files in USB drives have been controlled broadly as 'immaterial things.' But as the ways of exchange have been diversified, the revision is aimed to increase clarification," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.The official, however, denied a media report that the proposed law revisioApr 19, 2021
International human rights groups urge Biden to highlight rights issue in North Korea policy North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and U.S. President Joe Biden / Korea Times fileBy Kwon Mee-yooAlmost a dozen international human rights organizations sent a joint letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, urging him to prioritize human rights in his North Korea policy and negotiations. According to the letter released Thursday, 11 non-governmental organizations and coalitions asked the Biden administration to incorporate human rights issues into strategy discussions and future negotiations with North Korea and urged the South Korean government to do the same.“We recognize the significance of North Korea's threats to global security, and we understand why policymaking by the U.S and its allies focuses on counter-proliferation issues. But decades of failure to hold the North Korean government accountable for its human rights abuses have only served to entrench totalitarian rule, and this has made the work of weapons counter-proliferation even harder," the letter reads.“Negotiations with North Korea need to address improvements on human rights issues and bring the country iApr 18, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
North Korea's Kim visits family tomb to pay tribute to grandfather People visit the statues of their late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the occasion of the Day of the Sun, the birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, April 15, 2021. AP-YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid his respects at the mausoleum for his grandfather Kim Il-sung on Thursday to mark the birthday of the founder of the state, official media KCNA reported.Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, also watched a performance of song and dance at the Kumsusan Palace of Sun, where his father and grandfather lie in state, in celebration of the national holiday, KCNA reported on Friday."When the performance was over, the audience again broke into stormy cheers for the General Secretary," it reported.Evening gala of youth and students takes place with fireworks to celebrate the Day of the Sun, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday, April 15, 2021. APKim's no-show at last year's anniversary fanned speculation about his health. A flurry of unconfirmed reports about his condition and his whereabouts followed, including reports suggesting tApr 16, 2021
North Korea slams Japan over decision to release contaminated Fukushima water In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a closing speech at the Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, April 8, 2021. APNorth Korea on Thursday denounced Japan's decision to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision to prevent a "new catastrophe for the humanity."On Wednesday, Tokyo approved the plan to dump more than 1 million tons of radioactive water from the wrecked nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking strong criticism from its local fishing industry and neighboring countries such as South Korea and China."Japan is to bring a new catastrophe to the humanity which has been suffering from a global malignant infectious disease," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in commentary. "It should withdraw the decision immediately." KCNA noted that the planned release would cause a vast amount of dangerous substances to spread to most parts of the PaciApr 16, 2021
US lawmakers express concerns over South Korea's anti-Pyongyang leafleting ban In this April 2016 file photo, a group of defectors fly balloons containing anti-North Korea leaflets at a border village of Paju, Gyeonggi Province. YonhapA group of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday expressed concerns over a recent South Korean law that prohibits the dispersal of propaganda leaflets to North Korea, noting the law may limit the freedom of speech of South Koreans and others working to promote human rights.Their shared concerns were expressed at the start of a hearing hosted by a bipartisan caucus of the House of Representatives, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.The leaflets were typically flown over the border by balloon."Some have claimed the content of these balloons are being unnecessarily provocative as justification for outlawing their use. However, can we, in good conscience, really pay the cost of curbing free speech liberties for the sake of a regime that has no intention of offering reciprocal concessions?" Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) said in the hearing, joined by six witnesses that included a well-known North Korean human rights activist, Suzanne Scholte.The commApr 16, 2021
North Korea slams Japan over renewed claims to Dokdo North Korea's state media on Thursday slammed Japan over its recent approval of school textbooks renewing its claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, calling the move a "shameless" distortion of history that can never be tolerated.Last month, a textbook screening committee under Japan's education ministry approved textbooks for high school students, some of which contain Tokyo's territorial claims to Dokdo."Japan's scheme to rob us of Dokdo and distort history has become more shameless than ever," the Korean Central News Agency said. "It is a grave situation over which we can never sit on our hands."KCNA said that Tokyo's distortion of history does not stop in education and it will be used to make its next generations believe that Dokdo is stolen territory that should be retrieved and eventually realize the country's ulterior intention of invading the continent again just as it did decades ago. KCNA stressed that historical records have provided no evidence that Dokdo was part of Japan's territory, saying that its endless claims to the islets are a "senseless act" that jApr 15, 2021
