US sanctions two Chinese nationals linked to North Korean cyber group People watch a TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's firing of projectiles with a file image at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, Monday, March 2, 2020. APThe U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sanctioned two Chinese nationals linked to a North Korean state-sponsored cyber group.The department said it is designating the two individuals ― Tian Yinyin and Li Jiadong ― for taking some US$91 million in funds that were stolen by Lazarus Group from a hack of a cryptocurrency exchange in April 2018.Lazarus Group is already under U.S. Treasury sanctions for carrying out cyber attacks on behalf of the North Korean government to generate revenue for the regime's nuclear and missile programs."The North Korean regime has continued its widespread campaign of extensive cyber-attacks on financial institutions to steal funds," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on the department's website. "The United States will continue to protect the global financial system by holding accountable those who help North Korea engage in cyber-crime."The Treasury said TianMar 3, 2020
North Korea says Kim inspected firing drill In this Monday, March 2, 2020, photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a military drill at undisclosed location in North Korea. APNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw artillery units' firing drills, state media said Tuesday, a day after South Korea said the communist nation fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles.On Monday, South Korea's military said the North fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in the first such launches since Pyongyang warned of a "new strategic weapon" and "shocking actual action" at the beginning of the year.After inspecting the long-range artillery sub-units' testing of the multiple rocket launcher system, Kim expressed "great satisfaction" and called for a strong "military readiness posture." "He said that the People's Army should keep full combat-readiness to protect the sky, land and sea of the country from any encroachment, steadily increase its combat capabilities," according to the Korean Central News Agency.North Korea conducted 13 major weapons Mar 3, 2020
North Korea fires missiles at 'unexpected' time North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a joint strike exercise by North Korean People's Army (KPA) units stationed on the country's eastern front, Friday, in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the following day. Three days after the drill, the North fired two projectiles thought to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from around Wonsan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. YonhapBy Jung Da-min North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the sea off its east coast, Monday afternoon, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).Marking the North’s first launches this year, it came at rather an “unexpected” time, when the South’s and the international community’s focus is on containing the rapid spread of COVID-19. Following a missile alert, Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency National Security Council (NSC) meeting.“North Korea fired two short-range projectiles in a northeastern direction over the East Sea from around the Wonsan area in Gangwon Province at 12:37 p.m., Monday. IMar 2, 2020
North Korea fires two unidentified projectiles into East Sea North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles from a coastal area Monday as it resumed weapons demonstrations following a months-long hiatus.The launches came two days after North Korea's state media said leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of units in front-line and eastern areas.Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launches in a statement but couldn't immediately confirm how far the projectiles flew or whether the weapons were ballistic or rocket artillery.During a key ruling party meeting in late December, Kim expressed deep frustration over deadlocked diplomacy with the United States and said he won't denuclearize if the U.S. persists with its hostile policy on his country. He also said he would unveil a new ``strategic weapon`` soon and no longer be bound by a self-imposed weapons test moratorium that coincided with his diplomacy with Trump. Nuclear diplomacy between North Korea and the U.S. has largely stalled since the breakdown of Kim's second summit with Trump in February 2019 in Vietnam. That summit collapsed becausMar 2, 2020
North Korean leader oversees politburo meeting on coronavirus response North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ruling Workers' Party at Pyongyang in North Korea, Friday. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and discussed coronavirus prevention measures, including strengthening testing and quarantine efforts, according to state media, Saturday. Pyongyang has yet to report a case of COVID-19 but has intensified its preventive efforts across the country, calling the fight against the virus a "political matter" that will determine the fate of the country."If the infectious disease that is spreading beyond control finds its way into our country, it will entail serious consequences," Kim was quoted as telling the expanded politburo meeting, by the North's Korean Central News Agency. "The strong measures taken by our party and the government from the beginning have been the surest and highly reliable, preemptive and decisive preventive measures as this viral infection spreads so rapidly, its incubation period is uncertain and its contagion route is also scientifically uncertain," Kim saiFeb 29, 2020
North Korean leader supervises joint strike drill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversees a joint strike drill of his military Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, Friday. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversees a joint strike drill by his military, according to the Korean Central News Agency, FRidaa. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a joint strike drill by his military, expressing his firm conviction that the North's armed forces will steadily develop its combat capability, state media said Friday.Kim attended the drill Friday, "to judge the mobility and the fire power strike ability of the defense units on the front and in the eastern area," according to the Korean Central News Agency.Kim expressed "his admiration for the combat capability of the units of the services of the KPA, and for defense units on the border and eastern areas keeping themselves fully ready to go into action on a moment's notice," KCNA said."He expressed his firm conviction that the KPA, which is boundlessly loyal to the party's call, would steadily develop its combat capability so as to definitely guarantee the victoriouFeb 29, 2020
'Denuclearization talks not likely to make progress this year' North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a meeting for the second North Korea-U.S. summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, in this February 28, 2019, photo. A year has passed since the end of the summit, but the denuclearization talks between the countries are showing few sign of progress. AFP-YonhapBy Jung Da-min A year has passed since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in Hanoi in late February 2019. Expectations had been high on the progress of denuclearization talks before their second summit, but the breakdown in negotiations created a deadlock that has lasted one year.North Korea experts say that such a stalemate is likely to continue this year as well, as the United States is gearing up for the presidential election scheduled in November. They state that there is little chance of another summit when Trump is focusing on the presidential race. Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, said both North Korea and the U.S. know that the denuclearization negotiations will be pFeb 27, 2020
One in five North Korean defectors experience discrimination in South Korea: poll GettyimagesbankAbout one out of five North Korean defectors experienced discrimination in South Korea last year mostly due to "cultural" differences, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the survey conducted by the Hana Foundation, a state-run agency that helps resettlement of North Korean defectors, 17.2 percent of 3,000 defectors polled said that they experienced discrimination last year.The ratio was slightly down from 20.2 percent reported a year earlier but indicated a still deep-rooted prejudice against those defecting from communist North Korea.Of them, 76.7 percent said that they were discriminated against because of "cultural" differences such as their way of speaking, manners and lifestyles. It was higher than the corresponding figure of 69.9 percent a year earlier.South and North Koreans use the same language, but their intonation and the meaning of words along with their lifestyles have become quite different as their division continues.About 44 percent also cited negative perception against North Koreans as a reason for discrimination, followed by 22.9 percent who citeFeb 26, 2020
North Korean media outlet accuses high-profile defector of embezzlement, rape Thae Yong Ho, a former minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, holds up his smartphone during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondent Club in Seoul, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. APA North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday accused high-profile defector Thae Yong-ho of deserting the communist nation after committing embezzlement and rape in the country's first reaction to the decision by the South Korean main opposition party to scout him for April's general elections.Thae, a former No. 2 diplomat at North Korea's Embassy in London, defected to the South in 2016. He has since been a vocal critic of the regime in Pyongyang, and the South's conservative main opposition United Future Party (UFP) scouted him earlier this month to run for the National Assembly.On Wednesday, Meari, one of the North's propaganda websites, slammed the party's decision, saying "driving these scums to the forefront of confrontation between the two Koreas is an intolerable challenge to our nation's desire for unification."It then described Thae as "a snob who escaped the strict punishment oFeb 26, 2020
North Korea tightens quarantine inspection on imported materials amid virus concerns A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency shows people spraying disinfectant to combat the Covid-19 and coronavirus in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 15, 2020. EPANorth Korea has tightened its customs-related quarantine measures amid the cross-border proliferation of the new coronavirus that originated from China, its top trading partner, according to Pyongyang's state newspaper.All goods arriving at North Korea's ports or passing through border bridges should be kept at isolated areas for 10 days without exception, fully disinfected and then delivered in accordance with relevant procedures, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, said in a report.All materials and packaging containers should be disinfected from top to bottom, it added, citing a study on the COVID-19 virus that shows its high survival rates."Materials being brought from another country could be used as a carrier to spread the virus," the newspaper said.It claimed again that there's still not a single confirmed case of the virus yet in North Korea, which shares a boFeb 23, 2020
