N. Korea slams Japan's push to revise 3 key national security documentsNorth Korea on Sunday slammed Japan for its push to revise three key national security-related documents aimed at stepping up its defense capabilities, warning the move would only lead to complete self-destruction. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in an article, focusing on Japan's ongoing push to draw up three new documents by the end of the year — the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program. In a New Year's press conference earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a review would be conducted with the aim of revising the three key national security documents to safeguard the country's independence and peace, as well as the lives of its people. The KCNA lambasted the move as a "clear demonstration of a craze for neo-militarism," under which Japan denies its past wrongdoings and seeks to rebuild its imperial past through rearmament. "What Japan would gain through neo-militarism is only complete self-destruction," the KCNA said. "As history demonstrates, the destination of militarisJan 11, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korean leader's sister calls for explanation from S. Korea over drone incursionsThe influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for Seoul to provide a detailed explanation about recent drone incursions, claiming that the drones from South Korea clearly violated the North's airspace. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, made the remarks as South Korea's defense ministry denied Pyongyang's claim about the drone incursions from the South's military, raising the possibility that private entities may have been involved in the alleged drone operations. "Fortunately, the ROK's military expressed an official stand that it was not done by itself and that it has no intention to provoke or irritate us," Kim said in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency. ROK is short for the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea. "But a detail explanation should be made about the actual case of a drone that crossed the southern border of our republic from the ROK," Kim said. Kim also expressed her personal appreciation that South Korea's defense ministry "took a wise choice" by aJan 11, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea accuses S. Korea of drone incursions, warns Seoul will 'pay high price'North Korea claimed Saturday that South Korea infringed on its sovereignty with drone incursions in September last year and earlier this week, saying that Seoul should be ready to "pay a high price" for what it called a provocation. But South Korea's defense ministry rejected Pyongyang's claim, saying the South's military did not operate drones on the dates asserted by the North. A spokesperson of the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army issued a statement denouncing South Korea as "the most hostile" enemy, insisting that Seoul has continued to stage provocative acts, contradicting its overtures for dialogue with Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The Republic of Korea (ROK) should be ready to pay a high price for having committed another provocation of infringing on the sovereignty of the DPRK with a drone," the spokesperson said, referring to South Korea by its official name. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. On Jan. 4, North Korea's military captured and tracked an air target moving northwaJan 10, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim congratulates Lao president on reelection as party chiefNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has congratulated Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith on his recent reelection as chief of the ruling party, state media reported Friday. Kim delivered the greeting in a message the previous day after the Lao president was reelected as general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's central committee at a party congress that concluded the same day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim called his reelection an expression of the Lao ruling party members' and the Lao people's "high trust and expectation" toward Sisoulith. Kim also pledged to expand cooperation with Laos, recalling his summit talks with Sisoulith in Pyongyang last year. "I express confidence that the friendly, cooperative relations between our parties and countries, which have a long history and tradition, will further strengthen and advance across all sectors in the spirit of our agreement during our meeting in October last year in Pyongyang," Kim was quoted as saying. The KCNA said Sisoulith also sent a reply last month to Kim's earlier message congratulating him on the 5Jan 9, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim vows 'permanent' support for Putin's policiesNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged 'permanent' support for policies by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Friday, as Pyongyang and Moscow have reinforced their military cooperation. "I will unconditionally respect and unconditionally support all your policies and decisions and I have a willingness to be always with you for the sake of you and your Russia," Kim told Putin in a letter sent to the Russian leader, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "This choice will be constant and permanent," Kim was quoted as saying. "I have come to feel once again the true comradely relations between us and availing myself of this opportunity, I'd like to emphasize that I regard the friendly relations with you as the most precious ones and (a source of) pride," Kim said, according to the KCNA. Kim sent the letter to Putin the previous day in reply to the Russian leader's congratulatory letter, the KCNA said. The KCNA did not say when or on what occasion Putin delivered the letter to Kim, although it is likely that the Russian president sent it on KiJan 9, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea stresses importance of designating leader's successor in party magazineA North Korean party magazine stressed the importance of designating the state leader's successor in a publication in March last year, shortly before leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Ju-ae, resumed public appearances following a brief hiatus. Amid speculation that Ju-ae is being groomed as Kim's potential successor, the publication has gained attention as it may have been aimed at setting the stage for the ruling family's third hereditary transfer of power. "Geunroja," which means "workers" in Korean, a magazine published for party officials, raised the "issue of designating a successor to inherit the status and role of the political head and establishing (the designee's) leadership," in the March publication obtained by Yonhap News Agency on Thursday. The magazine, a key party publication intended for ideological indoctrination and policy promotion among officials, described the issue as central to handling the country's leadership succession, although it made no mention of Ju-ae. Designating a successor in line with the people's respect and trust, and the collective will of the party asJan 8, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea urges heightened discipline, loyalty among officials ahead of party congressNorth Korea on Thursday urged officials to strengthen work discipline and loyalty to the regime ahead of an upcoming key party congress, calling it a "highly responsible" occasion in which their qualifications will be scrutinized. "Officials need to honorably face the party congress with proud achievements from their devoted service to the people," read the headline of an article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's most widely read newspaper, on Thursday. Their official positions are those "the party has assigned to them to carry a heavier burden for the people and to take on more tasks," the newspaper said, adding that good service for the people means "correctly capturing the wishes and intentions of the party and becoming a genuine loyalist." The call for heightened devotion and work discipline came as North Korea is expected to convene the ninth party congress in January or February, the first such convention since 2021, to formulate a long-term policy line reportedly covering diplomacy, the economy and other areas. The newspaper said the period leading up to the party congreJan 8, 2026By Yonhap
Pyongyang's state media silent on birthday of N. Korea's KimNorth Korea's state media has remained silent on the birthday of leader Kim Jong-un, believed to fall on Thursday, instead focusing on reporting the nation's preparations for the upcoming key party congress. North Korea has not officially announced Kim's birthday, known to be Jan. 8, for special celebrations, though the birthdays of late state founder Kim Il-sung and former leader Kim Jong-il have been marked as national holidays. On the front page of the Thursday edition, the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper for the domestic audience, called for senior officials to thoroughly prepare for the ninth party congress set for early this year but did not carry any report on Kim's birthday. The Korean Central News Agency, the North's state-run news agency for external readers, also did not make any mention of it. Kim's birthday was first revealed in 2014, when the North's state media reported former American professional basketball player Dennis Rodman had visited North Korea on the occasion of Kim Jong-un's birthday. Attention has been drawn to the possibility that North Korea may formJan 8, 2026By Yonhap
Kim Jong-un’s ‘people-first leadership’ on display at memorial site, analysts sayNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a construction site on the outskirts of Pyongyang for a memorial honoring troops dispatched to Russia, where he planted a commemorative tree. He was joined by his daughter Ju-ae, with whom he was seen holding a shovel and planting a sapling. He also drove a forklift himself, carrying Ju-ae and senior officials. Analysts say the display is intended to highlight a "people-first" image ahead of the Workers’ Party’s ninth congress. The Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday reported that Kim visited the construction site of the Memorial Hall for Overseas Military Operations and Combat Feats the previous day with senior party, government and military officials, where he encouraged the soldiers building the monument and their commanders. Touring the site, Kim said it is “a great monument of the times symbolizing the valor of the outstanding sons of the Korean people,” adding that the project will create “another important ideological and spiritual base for education in victory traditions in our capital.” Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter JuJan 7, 2026By Hankookilbo
N. Korea touts achievements in 'rural revolution' ahead of key party congressNorth Korea on Wednesday hailed the country's endeavors in achieving a "rural revolution" as the regime is set to hold the ninth party congress early this year. The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's most widely read newspaper, carried the report, praising the construction of farm villages as an "immortal journey" that has stood out prominently over the past five years. The paper cited rural achievements, such as increased agricultural output, advances in farming technologies and improvements in the rural environment, but did not provide any specific figures. "The new-era rural revolution is an undertaking that is unprecedented in the country's socialist construction in terms of the range and depth of its transformation and the magnitude of its tasks," the newspaper said. The North Korean party is expected to convene its ninth party congress in January or February, at which a new five-year development plan is expected to be formulated. It will mark the first party congress since the eighth in 2021, where a five-year economic development plan was adopted.Jan 7, 2026By Yonhap
