Pro-Pyongyang paper takes note of omission of N. Korea from US security strategy reportA pro-Pyongyang newspaper on Thursday took note of the omission of North Korean issues from a recent security strategy roadmap released by the Donald Trump administration, calling it the "most notable" aspect. "What is the most notable part is the fact that it does not mention" North Korea, the Japan-based Choson Sinbo said in an editorial in its Thursday edition, assessing the recent National Security Strategy (NSS) released in early December. This year's NSS, which serves as a new strategic roadmap for the United States, made no mention of North Korea or its nuclear issues in a major departure from previous editions, raising questions in Seoul about whether the issue may be put on the back burner under the Trump administration. It must be "because mentioning North Korea would mean the U.S. is admitting a complete failure in its policy to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," the newspaper said. The news outlet, run by a Japan-based Korean organization sympathetic to North Korea, is widely seen as reflecting the regime's official stance. Thursday's editorial marks the newspaper's second reDec 18, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea bristles at Japan's reported review of 3 non-nuclear principlesNorth Korea's state media on Thursday denounced Japan's reported review of its decades-long three non-nuclear principles. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper issued the criticism as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has reportedly sought to shift the principles that mandate no possessing, producing or introducing nuclear weapons. Takaichi is reportedly seeking to review the no-introduction principle, particularly regarding U.S. nuclear-armed assets. The Rodong Sinmun accused Japan of trying to rearm itself, saying this was "not aimed at seeking national or regional peace and security but, rather, constitutes a vicious challenge to peace." The newspaper also accused Japan of trying to justify its drive to become a military powerhouse and of drumming up public opinions in favor of its increased defense spending, a constitutional revision and overseas military expansion. "This reminds us of Japan's past history of brainwashing its people to jump into a war of aggression to establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," the newspaper said, citing Japan's World War II-era imperial ambitioDec 18, 2025By Yonhap
Female N. Korean restaurant workers return home en masse from Beijing since late November: reportFemale North Korean workers employed at some North Korean restaurants in Beijing have returned home en masse since late last month, Kyodo News reported Wednesday, citing the possibility that China might have tightened visa controls. Since the departure of North Korean female employees beginning late November, North Korean restaurants in the Chinese capital have been scrambling to stay afloat by hiring Chinese staff or suspending the serving of North Korean cuisine, Kyodo said. The news agency, citing diplomatic sources, speculated that the incident may have been related to visa requirements in China, although it said details remain unknown. "There is information suggesting that employees at North Korean restaurants in China have made use of student or training visas. It is also possible that Chinese authorities have tightened visa controls," Kyodo said. The news agency pointed out that the U.N. Security Council in 2017 demanded that member states forcibly repatriate overseas North Korean workers in compliance with sanctions against the country.Dec 17, 2025By Yonhap
Ruling party pushes to lift ban on North Korean mediaA group of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to ease a decades-old ban on accessing North Korean websites such as the online Rodong Sinmun, reviving a debate over national security and freedom of information. The proposed revision, drafted by Rep. Han Min-soo and 11 other lawmakers, would allow people in South Korea to freely visit North Korean websites, while maintaining existing bans on distributing or actively promoting content that violates the National Security Act. “Blocking access excessively limits citizens’ most basic right to information and undermines their ability to freely use the materials needed to shape public discourse on North Korea and unification,” Han said. “By permitting access to and viewing of North Korean websites, the aim is to clarify the original intent of regulations on information distribution and to expand citizens’ opportunities to obtain information about the North, and thereby promote a more balanced understanding of the country.” Supporters frame the change as a necessary update for a mature democracy, arguing thaDec 17, 2025By Jung Min-ho
N. Korea's Kim pays respects to late father at family mausoleum on death anniversaryNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid his highest tribute to late state leader and his father Kim Jong-il at the family mausoleum Wednesday, marking the 14th anniversary of his death, state media reported. Accompanied by government and party officials, Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang at midnight, paid tribute to the late leader and prayed "for his immortality," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun serves as the family mausoleum, where the embalmed bodies of the North's founder Kim Il-sung — Kim Jong-un's grandfather — and Kim Jong-il are enshrined. Kim Jong-il died on Dec. 17, 2011, at the age of 70, passing on the leadership he had inherited from his father, North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, to his youngest son, Kim Jong-il. Except in 2022, Kim Jong-un has paid tribute to his father at the family mausoleum every year on his death anniversary. The incumbent leader bowed before the statues of both late leaders "as an expression of noble respects" and flower baskets were laid before the statues, the KCNA said. "All the visitorsDec 17, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea faces rare crisis: Low birthrate, deep povertyNorth Korea is quietly joining the ranks of low‑birthrate societies ― but without the economic prosperity that typically accompanies such a transition. Experts warn that this rare combination of deep poverty and shrinking families could leave the regime facing a serious demographic crisis within a generation. Larger families are more common in countries as poor as North Korea, with total fertility rates of three or more children per woman. In contrast, data from the U.N. and South Korea suggest North Korean women have only about 1.6 to 1.8 children on average, far below the replacement level needed to keep a population stable and more in line with wealthier East Asian societies than low‑income states. Almost all nations with similar gross domestic product per capita struggle with limited access to contraception and to clinics, but North Korea’s numbers look more like wealthy countries where women delay marriage and invest heavily in work and education. That gap has led some observers to question the data. But experts contacted by The Korea Times say they think the figure is convDec 17, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Top security adviser to discuss with US about Korea's push to build nuclear-powered subsNational Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Tuesday that he plans to discuss with U.S. counterparts about South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and other follow-up measures to the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in late October. Wi made the remarks as he was set to depart for Washington, adding that the agenda on his visit to the United States also included Seoul's drive to secure uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities. The trip comes about a month after the allies released a joint fact sheet outlining trade and security agreements reached during the second Lee-Trump summit in South Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 29, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. With regard to the U.S. approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines, Wi said he "plans to discuss how the U.S. side is being prepared." "There are issues related to (U.S.) Congress to push for nuclear-powered submarines, so I will look at those issues as well," Wi told reporters. "I think it is time to giveDec 16, 2025By Yonhap
USFK commander highlights Korean Peninsula's central role in Indo-Pacific securityThe commander of American forces in South Korea has underscored the Korean Peninsula's central role in the U.S. security strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a website of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Tuesday, noting the peninsula's location between the Asian continent and the Pacific region. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of USFK, made the remarks at a lecture at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday at a time when Seoul and Washington are pushing to "modernize" their alliance in a way that would increase South Korea's role in its own defense and its contributions to addressing regional threats. "Korea is not a side chapter in American strategy," Brunson said, according to the website. "If you put the peninsula in the first chapter, the geometry of the region and the value of our alliances become impossible to ignore." Describing the Korean Peninsula as a "hinge between the Asian continent and Pacific maritime approaches," Brunson said the peninsula "should be viewed as a central pillar of U.S. and allied strategy." On the Korean Peninsula, BDec 16, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim attends ribbon-cutting event for industrial plant with his daughter, wifeNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of an industrial complex on the outskirts of Pyongyang, accompanied by his daughter and wife, the North's state media said Tuesday. Kim appeared at the event held the previous day in Kangdong County, where a factory and a multifunctional service facility have been built under his signature regional development policy, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Photos released by the KCNA showed that Kim's daughter, Ju-ae, and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, also attended the ceremony, marking the first public appearance of the three as a family since their attendance at the dedication event for the Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone in June. Also notable was the appearance of Ju-ae, widely seen as Kim's potential successor, at a public event related to the economy and people's livelihoods, compared with her previous appearances that have largely been at military-related events. Kim cut the ribbon and toured the food processing plant and the community service complex, expressing satisfaction with the completionDec 16, 2025By Yonhap
Officials from UN maritime body visited N. Korea last month for technical audit, report revealsAn international maritime agency under the United Nations sent its officials to North Korea last month for a technical audit to assess the implementation of obligations as a member state, the U.N. website showed Tuesday. Officials from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) visited North Korea in mid-November for the audit under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), according to the website. North Korea has been an IMO member state since 1986. The IMO officials met with their counterparts from the North's national maritime agency and visited several sites as part of the audit. The visit draws attention because the North still restricts the entry of international organizations even after it eased border controls that had been placed during the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korea appears to have allowed the IMO officials' visit as an exception as the audit is a mandatory assessment that IMO member states have to undergo every seven years. From Pyongyang's perspective, maintaining cooperation with the IMO may have been considered necessary for the regime to ensure smooth maritime opeDec 16, 2025By Yonhap
