N. Korea's Kim logs most public appearances in nine years in 2025North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the most public appearances in nine years in 2025, as he increased diplomatic engagement and on-site supervision of the implementation of a five-year national development plan, data showed Sunday. Kim's public appearances, as reported by North Korea's state media, totaled 118 as of the end of November, according to data from the Korea Institute for National Unification. Including additional public activities reported by state media between Dec. 1 and 27, the total number rose to 131. This year's total marks a slight increase from last year's 127 and matches the previous high recorded in 2016. According to the institute, Kim's public activities have been steadily rising since hitting a low of 55 in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's result came as Kim sought to broaden his diplomatic landscape, including making his multilateral diplomatic debut, and to step up implementation of the country's five-year development plan, which concludes this year. Of this year's public activities till Dec. 27, 30 involved public ceremonies, 23 on-site inspectionsDec 28, 2025By Yonhap
NK leader Kim sends New Year's message to Putin, calls bilateral ties 'precious common asset'North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message of greeting to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of New Year's Day, calling the two countries' relations a "precious common asset," the North's state media said Saturday. In the message, Kim described this year as a "meaningful" one when the two countries "steadily wrote a great biography of the alliance" through "full mutual support and selfless encouragement," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim's greeting came after Putin himself sent a New Year's message to the North Korean leader Dec. 18. "I think that today's DPRK-Russia alliance ... is a precious common asset to be carried forward forever, not only in the present era but also by posterity, generation after generation," Kim said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim said the North-Russia relations have been further consolidated into the "sincerest alliance of sharing blood, life and death in the same trench," as he referred to the North's troop deployment to Russia to support the war with Ukraine. "Dec 27, 2025By Yonhap
Russia, N. Korea developing joint tourism programs: reportNorth Korea and Russia are jointly developing new tourism programs, a Russian news agency reported Friday, citing Russia's natural resources minister. "We are working on the development of new tourism programs. I am confident that we will also move on to joint projects to create tourism infrastructure," RIA Novosti quoted Minister Alexander Kozlov as saying. Kozlov currently co-chairs the North Korea-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology. Kozlov said the two countries are paying special attending to developing transport links needed in increasing tourist flows, referring to the recent opening of a direct rail line between Pyongyang and Moscow, and the launch of the Pyongyang-Moscow air route. The minister noted that tourists from Russia to North Korea more than doubled in 2024 and 2025 compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, with about 4,000 Russians visiting the North last year and an estimated 7,000 this year. He attributed the growth to rising interest in the Masikryong ski resort, as well as the newly opened Wonsan Kalma coastal reDec 26, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea to permit public access to N. Korea's main newspaperThe unification ministry said Friday the government will take administrative steps to allow the public's easy access to the Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper of North Korea's ruling Worker's Party. In South Korea, public access to North Korean media and publications, including the Rodong Sinmun, is denied as they are classified as "special materials" due to concerns that they include content praising and promoting North Korea. The unification ministry, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and other related government agencies held a consultative meeting earlier in the day to review ways to reclassify the Rodong Sinmun as "general materials," not as special ones under the spy agency's guidelines. The participants at the meeting shared a consensus on the reclassification of the North's daily and the government will take necessary administrative steps from next week for the access, the unification ministry said in a notice to the press. President Lee Jae Myung took issue with a ban on public access to the North's materials during last week's policy briefing by the unification ministry. LDec 26, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea to merge defector resettlement centers as arrivals from North declineSouth Korea’s Ministry of Unification plans to merge its two resettlement centers for North Korean defectors next year as the number of arrivals continues to fall sharply, officials said Friday. A ministry official said the government has decided to move forward with integrating the main Hanawon resettlement center and its branch facility, with a final decision on the location — either Anseong in Gyeonggi Province or Hwacheon in Gangwon Province — expected soon. Unification ministry Deputy Spokesperson Chang Yoon-jeong said during a regular briefing that the move reflects a continued decline in the number of defectors entering South Korea. “We are reviewing integration measures and related personnel reassignments to ensure efficient operations,” she said. The plan was included in the ministry’s policy agenda for next year, which was reported to President Lee Jae Myung on Dec. 19. The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea has fallen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. Arrivals peaked at 2,914 in 2009 but dropped to 1,047 in 2019. After North Korea closed its boDec 26, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Kim Chang-son, close aide of N. Korean leader, dies: KCNAKim Chang-son, who had served as the protocol chief to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has died, according to the North's state media Friday. The North's leader expressed "deep" condolences over his death and sent a wreath to the bier the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, without saying the cause of his death. The report said Kim Chang-son had worked in important posts of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and the state for a long time under "the special loving care and deep trust of the peerlessly great men." He "made a distinguished contribution to defending the prestige of our Party and enhancing the external prestige of the country with his steadfast honesty and sincerity," the KCNA said. Kim Chang-son, known as the de facto chief of staff to Kim Jong-un, served as the protocol chief, notably appearing on the sites of the North Korean leader's summit diplomacy. In the height of Kim Jong-un's summit diplomacy in 2018-2019, highlighted by summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore and Vietnam, Kim Chang-son visited summit facilities in advancDec 26, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim calls for expanding missile, shell production capacityNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a plan to build new munitions factories to expand the production capacity of missiles and shells, stressing that raising their production is critical in bolstering the war deterrent, state media reported Friday. The report came a day after the North's state media said Kim had inspected an 8,700-ton "nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine" under construction. The North's leader ordered expanding the production capacity of missiles and shells during his visit to major munitions industry enterprises as he inspected the missile and shell production in the fourth quarter, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It did not elaborate on the date of his inspection or the factories' locations. Kim noted plans to construct new munitions factories will be decided at the upcoming party congress, stressing the importance of modernizing the munitions industry, according to the KCNA. "In order to satisfy the prospective demands of the missile and artillery forces of the Korean People's Army, it is necessary to continuously raise the lDec 26, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea touts nuclear submarine under construction as S. Korea's plan advancesNorth Korea has vowed to strengthen its nuclear submarine capabilities as South Korea advances plans to build a nuclear-powered submarine, a move analysts say could fuel a naval arms race between the two Koreas and complicate Seoul's push to revive peace talks. According to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Seoul's submarine plan would pose a direct threat to Pyongyang. "Saying that the nuclear submarine development plan of the ROK, which Washington has agreed on at the solicitation of Seoul recently, will worsen the instability in the region of the Korean Peninsula, he stressed that the DPRK regards it as an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty and a threat to its security that must be countered," KCNA reported, using acronyms for the Republic of Korea and Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official names of South Korea and North Korea. The North Korean leader made the remarks during a recent on-site inspection of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarDec 25, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
Kim receives New Year's message from Putin that hails 'heroic' dispatch of N. Korean troops in war against UkraineRussian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of greeting to mark New Year's Day to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hailing the North's "heroic" dispatch of troops in Russia's war against Ukraine, the North's state media said Thursday. Kim received the message on Dec. 18, in which Putin extended "wholehearted congratulations" on the occasion of the new year, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. "The past one year was of special significance in the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang," Putin said, referring to the entry of North Korean troops in Russia's war with Ukraine. This "clearly proved the invincible friendship and militant fraternity" between the countries, Putin said. Putin also recalled the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty the two countries have signed, adding, "This has contributed to expanding remarkably the productive, bilateral cooperation in political, trade, economic, human and other fields. "I am convinced that we will in the future, too, strengthen the relations of friendship and alliance in every way and conduct constructive cooperation on rDec 25, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim oversees test-firing of new anti-air missiles in East SeaNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said South Korea's plan to build nuclear-powered submarines will "worsen the instability" in the region, calling Seoul's move a threat to the North's national security, according to state media Thursday. Kim made the remarks during an on-site inspection of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine under construction, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North Korean leader referred to Seoul's plan to build nuclear-powered submarines, saying it "will worsen the instability in the region of the Korean Peninsula ... (and) DPRK regards it as an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty." DPRK refers to the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He also said it represents "a threat to its security that must be countered." Kim reaffirmed that the country will maintain its national security policy and principle of deterring the enemy. "It is needed to make the enemy understand with no doubt that they will be surely forced to pay a dear price when they violate the secDec 25, 2025By Yonhap
