Kim Yo-jong disappears from public radar By Kang Seung-wooKim Yo-jong, North Korea's de facto second-in-command, has been out of the public eye for more than a month, leaving the South Korean government and experts scrambling to find out what has happened to the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un.Kim Yo-jong / Korea Times fileHer absence from the public eye is a sharp contrast to the activities of other North Korean officials. This is raising questions about her whereabouts given that she has been delegated part of her brother's authority, due to the stress he is suffering from his reign according to Seoul's National Intelligence Service.According to the Ministry of Unification, Kim Yo-jong has not made a public appearance since July 27, when she attended an event for the 67th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. Even though she is a member of Pyongyang's politburo and the political bureau of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, she attended neither of their recent meetings.The ministry remains cautious about the issue, saying it is not proper to make assumptions regarding a specific figure's wherSep 8, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea provides unprecedented, nearly real-time reports on typhoons A North Korean journalist reports on Typhoon Haishen which passed along the country's east coast, on location in the typhoon-hit city of Kimchaek, North Hamgyong Province, for the state-run broadcaster Korean Central Television (KCTV), Monday. / YonhapBy Park Han-solA journalist stands in a flooded street, his umbrella helplessly turned inside out in the strong wind, as he continues an onsite report about the effect of Typhoon Haishen amid a torrential downpour.With North Korea being hammered by consecutive typhoons in just three weeks, its state-run broadcaster Korean Central Television (KCTV) took the unprecedented step of having live onsite reporting and staying on air throughout the night to deliver nearly real-time reports of storm damage. Such reporting was a big divergence from the country's normally rigid schedule and style of broadcasting, where only pre-organized, overly-edited messages and images are delivered.On weekdays, KCTV typically broadcasts from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. However, a noticeable change took place Aug. 26, when Typhoon Bavi hit the North's southwestern regiSep 8, 2020By Park Han-sol
Will North Korea opt for provocation on party foundation day? North Korea test-fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile from waters off its eastern coast town of Wonsan, Oct. 2, 2019. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSpeculation is growing that North Korea may stage a military provocation to mark its ruling party's foundation day next month, according to diplomatic experts, Sunday.In addition, its current economic woes from coronavirus and natural disasters and the upcoming U.S. presidential election are also raising the possibility over a “much-heralded October surprise,” they added.The totalitarian state is scheduled to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Workers' Party, Oct. 10, and to this end, seems to have already begun rehearsals, with thousands of troops and hundreds of vehicles practicing for a military parade in Pyongyang, according to 38 North, a U.S.-based website specializing in the secretive regime.The latest report on a possible North Korean military provocation came from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) saying the North was apparently preparing to fire a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLSep 6, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korean leader holds party meeting during visit to typhoon-hit area North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits typhoon-hit areas in the country's eastern South Hamkyong Province, Saturday, state media reported Sunday. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited typhoon-hit areas in the country's eastern South Hamkyong Province and presided over a Workers' Party meeting at the scene to discuss recovery efforts, state media reported Sunday.The enlarged executive policy meeting was held on Saturday to gauge the damage from last week's Typhoon Maysak that hit hard its eastern areas where more than 1,000 houses were destroyed, according to the Korean Central News Agency.The meeting "had an in-depth discussion about the issue of the recovery from damage in the typhoon-hit areas of the two provinces and studied and decided on the detailed measures such as organization of building force to be urgently dispatched to the areas, designs and material transport," the KCNA said.Kim also called for party members, especially those in the capital, to "take the lead in aiding the provinces when the country undergoes difficulties and hardships would make a great contribuSep 6, 2020
Trump puts North Korea in spotlight while evading Russia question United States President Donald Trump makes a comment in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, Sept. 4. UPI-YonhapPresident Donald Trump used North Korea, Friday, apparently to elude a thorny question regarding Russia's possible involvement in the recent assassination attempt on a Russian opposition leader.Trump said the U.S. would have to look at it very seriously "if that's the case" when asked what he thought of the outcome of an investigation by Germany that the Russian opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, had in fact been poisoned with the Soviet-developed nerve agent Novichok.The U.S. president argued he has been tougher on Russia than anyone else but then said he got along with almost all countries, including North Korea."Remember, we were supposed to be going to war with North Korea," he told a White House press conference, adding the war would have been "very messy" and "very bad" and that millions of people would have been killed.Trump has frequently and increasingly highlighted his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as one oSep 5, 2020
Russian oil firm denies exports to Pyongyang ShutterstockRosneft, a Russian energy company, has denied allegations that it exported oil products to North Korea between 2018 and 2019, despite international sanctions on Pyongyang.A U.S.-based international security research company, Kharon, claimed in a report earlier this week that the North received about US$24.8 million worth of oil products from Russia in 2019 and that Rosneft was one of the firms involved in exports.It said the North imported about $26 million of fuel products from Rosneft between 2018 and 2019.But the Russian oil company rejected the claim, saying it "is not factual and aims to harm the industry market competition.""Rosneft does not supply North Korea and does not conduct any commercial activity in that country," the company said in a statement. "As a public company and one of the leaders in the global energy industry, Rosneft operates in strict compliance with Russian and international law, corporate standards and in the interests of its shareholders." Arguing that publishing information about its involvement in supplies of oil products to North Korea is "Sep 4, 2020
North Korea moving to boost missile capabilities: US defense official North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un sits in his vehicle after arriving at a railway station in Dong Dang, Vietnam, at the border with China, Feb. 26, 2019. ReutersNorth Korea is continuing to build its long-range missile capabilities, possibly including a submarine-launched ballistic missile, a ranking U.S. defense official said Wednesday."We don't know what the risk is because we know that North Korea is trying to increase the size of its ICBM capabilities, maybe even move to a submarine launched ballistic missile, but we don't know the extent of that," said Rob Soofer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy.Soofer's remark comes months after the South Korean Defense Ministry said the North may showcase a new intercontinental ballistic missile or a submarine-launched ballistic missile in a massive military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party on Oct. 10.North Korea has kept a moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile testing since late 2017 when it staged its sixth and latest nuclear test, a few months Sep 3, 2020
Row rises over bill on dispatching medical staff to North Korea Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during a National Assembly session, Monday. YonhapBy Kim RahnControversy is rising over a bill that aims to send South Korean medical staff to North Korea in the case of a medical emergency there. Doctors' groups are criticizing the move, saying they are not “goods” that can be moved around according to government decisions, and the main opposition party is also slamming the administration for trying to “draft” doctors.Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, in this May 14 photo. She submitted a bill recently to send South Korean medical personnel to North Korea in the case of a medical emergency. Korea Times fileThe bill was submitted by Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in July to establish what she claims is a law on establishing inter-Korean medical exchanges and emergency support. According to the bill, if the North suffers a disaster that requires health or medical support, the South Korean government should make efforts to joSep 2, 2020By Kim Rahn
US extends travel ban on North Korea for third time, citing 'serious risk' People bow before the statues of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the occasion of 67th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice agreement in Pyongyang, July 27, 2020. The U.S. government has extended the travel ban on North Korea for another year. AFPThe U.S. State Department has extended the travel ban on North Korea for another year, citing what it called a "serious risk" of arrest and long-term detention of U.S. citizens by the communist state, a public notice showed Tuesday.The one-year extension marks the third of its kind since Washington declared all U.S. passports invalid for visits to, in and through the North on Sept. 1, 2017.The move followed the death of Otto Warmbier, who died six days after he returned home following his release from North Korea in June 2017. The then 22-year-old had been detained by North Korea since January 2016 on suspicions of trying to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel in Pyongyang."The Department of State has determined that there continues to be serious risk to United States citizens and nationals Sep 2, 2020
Ruckus rises over fake encrypted spy message on YouTube YouTube channel “Pyongyang Broadcast Service - D.P.R. of Korea.” Suspicions arose that a video clip on the channel contained a coded message from North Korea to its spies in the South, but the video turned out to be created by a South Korean group. / Captured from YouTubeBy Park Han-solA YouTube video initially speculated to be an encrypted spy message from North Korea has turned out to be a parody made last year by a South Korean right-wing group.But it is unknown who posted the one-year-old clip and exactly who is running the YouTube channel that is made to look like it is run by the North.On the channel “Pyongyang Broadcast Service ― D.P.R. of Korea” allegedly associated with the regime's state radio, a cryptic video titled “0100011001-001” appeared, Saturday.In the now-deleted clip, which was viewed more than 10,000 times, an audio recording of a female anchor reads a random combination of pages and numbers such as “No. 23 on page 564, No. 19 on page 479, No. 20 on page 694.” She then ends the announcement, saying, “This messaAug 31, 2020By Park Han-sol
