Kim Jong-un says North Korea facing its 'worst-ever situation' In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a ceremony to break ground for building 10,000 homes, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. APNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has acknowledged his country was facing the ``worst-ever situation'' as he addressed thousands of grassroots members of his ruling party during a major political conference in Pyongyang. Experts say Kim is facing perhaps his toughest moment as he approaches a decade in rule, with North Korea's coronavirus lockdown unleashing further shock on an economy devastated by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over his nuclear weapons program. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during an opening speech at a meeting of the Workers' Party's cell secretaries on Tuesday. ``Improving the people's living standards ... even in the worst-ever situation in which we have to overcome unprecedentedly numerous challenges depends on the role played by the cells, the grassroots organizations of the party,'' KiApr 7, 2021
North Korea moves submersible missile test stand barge: US think tank North Korea's Korean Central News Agency released on Oct. 3, 2019, a photo of their submarine-launched ballistic missile Pukkuksong-3. YonhapNorth Korea has moved a submersible missile test stand barge at a shipyard on its east coast, a U.S. think tank said Wednesday, noting the move could be part of preparations for a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test or for maintenance. Citing satellite imagery collected Tuesday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, revealed the activity, warning the "implied threat" of SLBM testing would pose "significant challenges" to both Seoul and Washington.The barge located at the Sinpo South Shipyard has left the secure boat basin to the floating dry dock, but it does not indicate an imminent missile test given that no missile canister was visible onboard the barge, the think tank said."Probable reasons for this movement include: preparations for a forthcoming submarine launched ballistic missile test. Movement of the test stand for maintenance, repairs or installation of equipment," it Apr 7, 2021
N. Korean firm loses suit against S. Korean companies in disputes over export payment This unrelated image, captured from the website of North Korea's Rodong Sinmun on Nov. 6, 2021, shows a cement company in the North. YonhapA North Korean firm on Tuesday lost a lawsuit claiming millions of dollars for metal it supplied to South Korean companies in 2010, in a rare legal battle between businesses from the two Koreas. In a ruling against the North Korean National Economic Cooperation Federation, its member company and their South Korean deputy, the Seoul Central District Court said that four South Korean firms need not pay the plaintiffs about 5.3 billion won (US$4.7 million) for the zinc they imported from North Korea over a decade ago.This marks the first known case of a North Korean company filing a suit with a South Korean court.The North Korean firm claimed it did not receive the whole payment due to sanctions on money transfers to the North imposed by the then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on May 24, 2010, following Pyongyang's torpedo attacks two months earlier on the South Korean warship, Cheonan, near the Northern Limit Line in Yellow Sea. Forty-six SoutApr 6, 2021
Moon's plan for inter-Korean talks at Tokyo Games thwarted Athletes from both South and North Korea jointly enter the stadium under the Korea Unification flag during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in Gangwon Province, in this Feb. 9, 2018 photo. Korea Times fileBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Moon Jae-in's plan to use the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games as a vehicle for facilitating talks with North Korea appears to have run aground, as Pyongyang has declared that it will not send its athletes to the sporting event. The plan has been considered to be virtually the last chance for Moon to revive the stalled inter-Korean talks and Pyongyang-Washington negotiations on denuclearization, as the country will thereafter be engulfed in the presidential race, with Moon's term ending in May 2022.On Tuesday, according to “Sports in the DPRK Korea,” a website on sports affairs in North Korea, during its general assembly meeting on March 25, Pyongyang's Olympic Committee decided not to participate in the Games out of fear of COVID-19 infections.“The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has decided not to participateApr 6, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea slams UN report on child malnutrition as 'sheer lie' North Korean kids are seen during a celebration marking Children's Day in Taesongsan Park, Pyongyang, June 1, 2019. TASS-YonhapNorth Korea on Tuesday slammed a recent U.N. report on child malnutrition in the country as a "sheer lie," saying it will need to review whether humanitarian assistance can "truly help us."The director of the Research Institute for Nutrition Care of Children from the North's health ministry made the statement in response to the panel of experts report that close to 100,000 kindergarten-aged children in the North lack access to fortified foods due to border restrictions over the coronavirus pandemic."I, as a person responsible for nutrition care of the children in our country, categorically reject this information, affirming that it, a sheer lie, is utterly baseless," the director said in the statement released by the official Korean Central News Agency."In my opinion, it is necessary to seriously examine whether 'humanitarian cooperation' under the signboard of UN and NGOs would truly help us and to take resolute countermeasures against the entity and organizApr 6, 2021
North Korea decides not to participate in Tokyo Olympics over coronavirus concerns In this photo released by Korea Central News Agency on March 26, North Korean officials are seen during the country's Olympic Committee meeting. YonhapNorth Korea said Tuesday it will not participate in the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics to protect its athletes against the coronavirus pandemic, dashing South Korea's hopes for using the games to kickstart the stalled peace process with Pyongyang.The decision was made during a general assembly meeting of the North's Olympic Committee held in Pyongyang on March 25, according to Sports in the DPRK Korea, a website on sports affairs in North Korea."The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has decided not to participate in the 32nd Olympic Games during the general assembly to protect our athletes from the global health crisis situation related to the coronavirus as proposed by committee members," the website said.State media earlier reported that the North held the meeting via video links to discuss "practical issues linked to actively organize public sport events," but did not announce the decision not to participate in the Tokyo OlympicApr 6, 2021
North Korea urges efforts to localize production to develop self-reliant chemical industry North Korea's Vice Premier Kim Deok-hun, second from left, according to Korean Central News Agency on Mar. 4, visits a construction site for a new carbon-related chemical factory. YonhapNorth Korea's official newspaper called Monday for the localized production of industrial catalysts, as the country steps up efforts to resuscitate its chemical industry that has remained listless after a boom in the 1980s."Until the 1980s when the chemical industry was growing vibrant ... dozens of catalyst types were produced on our own," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said.It pointed out that the industry currently faces many challenges due to a lack of "strategic management" and "practical measures," as well as a lack of scientific research in developing and using new catalysts.The paper stressed the importance of developing industrial catalysts, saying that it is "the key link that can bring about a new shift in the chemical production industry.""We can only achieve clear progress when we advance our research with confidence that everything we need for developing catalApr 5, 2021
North Korea slams Japanese textbooks for distorting history, justifying invasion In this page from a textbook for Japanese high schools that passed an evaluation by the country's related commission on March 30, 2021, is seen Dokdo Island (in a red circle) as part of the Japanese territory. YonhapNorth Korea on Sunday blasted Japan for approving history textbooks that distort history and glorify Tokyo's imperial past.The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted that those school textbooks have left out details of Japanese atrocities during its colonial period while also renewing territorial claims to Dokdo, South Korea's easternmost islets."The textbooks define Japanese invasions as a step toward civilization and prosperity," the KCNA said. "Japan has established foreign invasions as the basis of its military strategy, and will do anything to accomplish its goals."The KCNA added that Japan, by "shamelessly" distorting history, is trying to instill in young students spirits of militarism and lay the foundation for realizing its old dreams of building an economic and military bloc in East Asia with Japan in charge.The KCNA also warned that Japan could set offApr 4, 2021
Pyongyang hunkers down to explore next move North Korea becoming more reclusive by limiting info outflow, foreign accessBy Nam Hyun-woo With its most recent missile launches further agitating the international community, North Korea is becoming even more reclusive, maintaining its border closure and severing diplomatic ties with Malaysia. North Korea analysts say a series of recent moves hint at Pyongyang's growing efforts to limit information outflow and international access to the regime in order to prepare for its next moves against the ongoing international pressure on the Kim Jong-un regime.The United Nations last month said the world body had no international staff left in North Korea, after the two last remaining World Food Programme staff left Pyongyang in late March. This is attributable to the COVID-19 situation in North Korea, with U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying staffers traveled home to visit their families and they are expected to return to the North as soon as Pyongyang's pandemic-related border closure is lifted. North Korea has been claiming it is COVID-19-free. Unlike other countries that sought vacciApr 4, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Denuclearization will be at center of new North Korea policy: US U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks at the State Department in Washington, March 31. ReutersDenuclearization of North Korea will be at the center of any new U.S. policy toward the reclusive nation, a State Department spokesman said Thursday, adding the country's policy review will soon be concluded.Ned Price also said any U.S. policy toward North Korea will be executed in "lockstep" with key U.S. allies, including South Korea and Japan."I wouldn't want to prejudge the conclusion of any ongoing review, but we have said that denuclearization will remain at the center of American policy towards North Korea," Price said at a daily press briefing, when asked if the U.S. will publish the outcome of its policy review that he said "is coming to a conclusion.""We also know that any approach to North Korea, in order to be effective, will be one that we will have to execute in lockstep with our close allies, including in this case our treaty allies Japan and South Korea," said Price.His remarks also came as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is set to host his South Korean andApr 2, 2021
