Fears mount over N. Korea's arms drive as US-Russia nuclear pact expiresThe expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia is heightening concerns that a renewed arms race among major powers could embolden North Korea to expand its nuclear ambitions, analysts said. Experts said that the erosion of arms control among global nuclear powers could reinforce Pyongyang's belief that nuclear weapons remain its most reliable guarantee of national security. The Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, known as New START, effectively expired Thursday. Signed in 2010, the treaty was designed to reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear confrontation by capping the two largest nuclear powers' deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550. While the agreement had served as a key pillar of global nuclear arms control, it began to unravel after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when U.S.-Russia relations deteriorated and on-site inspections were suspended. With the treaty's expiration, arms control cooperation between Washington and Moscow in the post-Cold War eraFeb 5, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Foreign policy veteran explains why dialogue with N. Korea remains difficultThe prospect of restarting dialogue with North Korea has resurfaced periodically, often driven by shifts in political leadership or diplomatic messaging. But with inter-Korean engagement at a standstill, Moon Chung-in, a veteran security expert and longtime foreign policy adviser, said the current environment leaves little room for meaningful talks. Speaking in an interview with The Korea Times, Moon said North Korea’s strategic calculations have hardened, making both inter-Korean dialogue and U.S.-North Korea talks far more difficult to revive than in previous periods. Moon, a James Laney distinguished professor at Yonsei University and a former presidential adviser for foreign policy and national security, said Pyongyang now sees Washington, rather than Seoul, as its primary negotiating counterpart. “If North Korea returns to the negotiating table, it will demand clear outcomes,” Moon said. “Those include recognition as a nuclear state, normalization of relations with the United States, and relief from sanctions. But the U.S. cannot realistically accept all of these demands atFeb 5, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
N. Korea holds winter sports competition at home after failing to qualify for 2026 OlympicsNorth Korea has launched a winter sports competition at home, state media reported Thursday, after the country failed to qualify for this year's Winter Olympics. The opening ceremony for the ice hockey, figure skating, skiing and two other winter sports competitions took place the previous day at an ice hockey rink in a sports village in the Mount Paektu district of Ryanggang Province, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. About 50 competitions across the five sports categories will be held, the KCNA said, quoting a speaker from the ceremony as calling the event an "important opportunity to advance winter sports skills" to a higher level. The sports village in the Mount Paektu district, situated on a hill at an altitude of about 1,600 meters, reportedly houses winter sports facilities, including ice rinks, ski slopes and accommodations. The local sports event comes as North Korea failed to qualify for any events at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, set to run from Friday through Feb. 22. The North last competed in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, dispatching a tFeb 5, 2026By Yonhap
Defense ministry proposes joint, partial management of DMZ to US: sourceThe defense ministry has proposed to the United States that South Korea's military jointly manage parts of the southern half of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, a source said Thursday. The proposal came as the South Korean government aims to secure control of civilian access to the 250-kilometer-long, 4-km-wide stretch of the DMZ. Currently, the U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) administers the military buffer zone as the south-side enforcer of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Amid the UNC's outright objection to Seoul's move, the defense ministry proposed a measure under which South Korea's military oversees entry to parts of areas located south of the barbed-wire fence within the DMZ. The South's fence technically runs alongside the southern boundary of the DMZ, or the Southern Limit Line (SLL), located 2 km south of the Military Demarcation Line, the inter-Korean border. But parts of the fence were installed north of the SLL to overcome geographic limitations for surveillance operations. The size of the area is known to account for roFeb 5, 2026By Yonhap
Former N. Korea-detained missionary Kenneth Bae seeks radio channel broadcasting to NorthKenneth Bae, a Korean American Christian missionary who had been detained in North Korea, said Wednesday he seeks to open a radio channel broadcasting to the North in cooperation with civic and religious groups in the South. Bae's nonprofit organization, New Korea Foundation International, and 45 other civic and religious groups announced the plan to open the radio channel, Korea Link, as they launched a joint association and began collecting donations for the project. Bae said the association has already secured a radio frequency for the project. It will begin with shortwave broadcasting before expanding to medium-wave, or the standard AM broadcast band. He said the unification of the two Koreas is the only answer for suffering North Koreans at a time when they have little chance of escaping their home country. Bae was detained in North Korea from 2012 to 2014 after being arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the regime. He was released in November 2014 through U.S. negotiations with Pyongyang.Feb 4, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea may reinstate 'president' title for leader Kim: 38 NorthNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un may inherit the title of president, used by late state founder Kim Il-sung, at a parliamentary meeting following the upcoming key party congress, according to a U.S. website that monitors the North. 38 North assessed the possibility that North Korea may reinstate the "DPRK president" title for the incumbent leader on the occasion of the ninth party congress and its subsequent meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly, according to a report published on Tuesday (local time). DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The report focused on how North Korea has referred to Kim Jong-un as the "head of state" since September 2024, noting that this could imply a shift in the regime's structural system. The title of "the DPRK president" was used by Kim Il-sung, the late grandfather of Kim Jong-un, from 1972 until his death in 1994. An article of the 1972 constitution stipulates that "The DPRK president is the head of state and represents the national sovereignty of the DPRK." In 1998, North Korea revised the constiFeb 4, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea ramps up implementation of regional development policy in 3rd year of projectNorth Korea has been accelerating the implementation of leader Kim Jong-un's signature regional development policy in the third year of the construction project as it broke ground for building regional facilities earlier this week, state media reported Wednesday. In 2024, Kim unveiled a policy to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties each year over a 10-year period to improve the living conditions of people in regional areas. North Korea held the groundbreaking ceremonies for regional construction projects in the Sinuiju Greenhouse Complex, Kangnam County and Maengsan County the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The KCNA said modern factories and public health, as well as welfare service facilities, will be "simultaneously" erected in 20 regions this year, noting "marked progress" has been made across all aspects of the people's material and cultural life. Last month, the North's leader attended the groundbreaking ceremony for this year's first construction project in Unnyul County in South Hwanghae Province, saying his policy will transform oneFeb 4, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korean soldiers practicing potential military parade ahead of party congress: reportHundreds of North Korean soldiers were seen practicing marching formations at a training field in Pyongyang in what appeared to be drills for a military parade marking the upcoming party congress, according to a report. 38 North, a U.S. website monitoring North Korea, published the report Monday (U.S. time), citing commercial satellite imagery taken the same day at Mirim Airfield in eastern Pyongyang. The imagery showed several troop formations on the airfield, including one in the shape of a hammer, sickle and calligraphy brush, the emblem of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). "These preparatory drills are likely for a parade to mark the upcoming Ninth Party Congress," 38 North said. Mirim Airfield is where North Korean troops practice whenever the country prepares a military parade for a key event. The satellite imagery suggests the North may stage a military parade to mark its upcoming ninth congress of the WPK. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it has detected signs of parade preparations at venues such as the Mirim Airfield and the Kim Il Sung Square where similarFeb 3, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim calls for 'epochal progress' in rural areas ahead of key party congressNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for an "epochal progress" in the development of rural areas, the North's state media reported Tuesday, as Pyongyang appeared to gear up for a key ruling party congress. Kim made the remarks as he attended the inauguration ceremony for a new dairy farm in the North's western region, with the party congress, once in five years, likely to take place this month, although no date has been announced yet. While inspecting the dairy farm, Kim said, "More epochal progress will be made in the implementation of the party's program for the rural revolution in the new era and policy of regional development," according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim stressed the country's rural revolution policy aimed at developing the specialty of the stockbreeding industry as he attended the inauguration ceremony of the Samgwang Stockbreeding Farm in Unjon, North Phyongan Province, the previous day, the KCNA reported. The KCNA said the ruling party instructed the construction of a modern dairy farm years ago as part of its goal to help improve people'Feb 3, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea inaugurates greenhouse farm in Sinuiju ahead of key party congressNorth Korea has inaugurated a major greenhouse farm in Sinuiju, a northwestern city hit hard by flooding in 2024, with leader Kim Jong-un calling it a "wonderful achievement" ahead of the country's upcoming party congress, according to state media Monday. Kim attended the ceremony inaugurating the Sinuiju Combined Greenhouse Farm the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It took place around one year after the groundbreaking ceremony was held in February 2025. North Korea has prioritized building a large greenhouse farm in vast areas of Wihwa Island, an islet in Sinuiju where the North suffered flood damage during summer in 2024. In a speech, the North's leader expressed satisfaction that the project has become a "base" for new life for the residents of Sinuiju, who have suffered from flooding generation after generation. "Our soldiers and young people have made a wonderful achievement of creation to be presented to the Ninth Party Congress," Kim said, referring to the upcoming key once-every-five-years event. North Korea is widely expected to hold the ninth paFeb 2, 2026By Yonhap
