Chinese envoy hopes for increased cooperation with universities in N. KoreaChina's ambassador to North Korea has visited the host country's top university and expressed hope the universities of the two countries will further strengthen cooperation and exchanges, the embassy said Thursday. Chinese Ambassador Wang Yajun made the remarks during his visit to Kim Il Sung University, named after North Korea's late founder, the previous day, where he toured the school's history hall, digital library, swimming pool and other facilities, according to the embassy's website. Wang said that cooperation in education represents a key component of China-North Korea relations, with Kim Il Sung University taking the lead in the cooperation and exchanges between universities of the countries. "For universities of the two countries to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and to promote bilateral relations, I hope that more friendly delegations will be fostered," the embassy quoted Wang as saying. The ambassador also met separately with dozens of North Korean students majoring in Chinese literature and with Chinese students studying at the university. Pak Hak-chol, first deputy prNov 20, 2025By Yonhap
Lee says won't neglect N. Korea's advance of nuclear programCAIRO — President Lee Jae Myung has said he will not neglect efforts by North Korea to advance its nuclear program, vowing to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with a "pragmatic and phased" approach. In a contribution to Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram that was published Thursday, Lee asked Egypt to support South Korea's plans to denuclearize North Korea and peace initiatives on the Korean Peninsula. Highlighting Cairo's mediating role in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, Lee also expressed hope for expanded cooperation between South Korea and Egypt to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East. Since taking office in June, Lee has extended an olive branch to resume dialogue with Pyongyang and proposed a three-step road map to halt, reduce and dismantle North Korea's program, though the North remains unresponsive. "The suspended inter-Korean dialogue and North Korea's evolving nuclear capabilities cannot be left as they are, and I firmly believe we should open a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth on the Korean Peninsula," Lee wroteNov 20, 2025By Yonhap
UN committee adopts resolution on N. Korean human rights backed by S. Korea, USA U.N. committee has adopted by consensus a resolution condemning widespread human rights violations in North Korea, the foreign ministry said Thursday, with the backing of more than 60 member states, including South Korea and the United States. The U.N. General Assembly Third Committee handling human rights issues adopted the resolution, co-sponsored by 61 countries, during a meeting in New York on Wednesday (local time), the ministry said in a release. The resolution will be reviewed at the upcoming General Assembly plenary next month for final adoption. South Korea, led by the liberal government of President Lee Jae Myung, was among the first 41 member states supporting the draft resolution despite its push for rapprochement with Pyongyang, with the position that it will approach the North's human rights issues as a matter of universal principle. The U.S., which was not initially among the co-sponsoring nations, later joined the group that includes Australia, Britain, France and Japan, among others. The resolution, introduced for 21 straight years, condemns "in the strongest terms" theNov 20, 2025By Yonhap
Untangling South Korea's quest for nuclear-powered submarinesPresident Lee Jae Myung’s opening remarks at his Oct. 29 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in the historic southeastern city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, came as a surprise to many foreign policy watchers. Lee — long accused by political opponents of being overly sympathetic to China since his “xie xie” (thank you) remark stirred controversy during his presidential campaign — explicitly cited China, alongside North Korea, as a key reason his administration is pursuing multiple nuclear-powered submarines. Diesel-powered submarines are too slow for South Korea’s Navy to effectively track and outmaneuver North Korean and Chinese submarines, he said. He requested U.S. support in supplying the uranium fuel necessary for naval reactors, adding that South Korea hopes to build several conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarines to defend its maritime borders in the East and West Seas. “Should this happen,” he said, “the U.S. would be able to ease part of the defense burden it currently carries.” As expected, his nuanced pitch drew a swift rebukeNov 20, 2025By Kang Hyun-kyung
N. Korea's Kim hails inauguration of modern regional hospitalNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony to launch the first modern hospital built under the country's regional medical center construction plan, calling its completion in nine months a "real transformation." Kim attended the inauguration ceremony for Kangdong County Hospital on Wednesday, the first hospital completed under his ongoing development push to build factories and medical centers across the country to promote regional development, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "This is a moment ... when we are seeing the first entity of modern regional hospitals," Kim said in his speech during the ceremony. "Our struggle, aimed at bringing a beautiful and vibrant life to the regional people, has now entered a comprehensive and full-scale stage." Proclaiming the inauguration in the same year as the groundbreaking is the "standard speed" of achieving the country's ideals, Kim also said, calling it the country's "mettle" and the speed of transformation and advance, The hospital has completely reversed the existing conception of a regional hospital, Kim said, aNov 20, 2025By Yonhap
Pro-Pyongyang paper says N. Korea aims to build socialist powerhouse by 2035North Korea has a development plan aimed at building a socialist powerhouse by 2035, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper reported Wednesday. The Japan-based Choson Sinbo revealed the plan in a travelogue by its delegation that recently visited North Korea for the 80th founding anniversary of the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper. "The first stage of the 15-year vision to accomplish a socialist powerhouse by around 2035, where prosperity reigns and the entire people enjoy happiness, will be finalized and a new reform period will begin," the outlet, considered to represent North Korea's official stance, said, referring to a ruling party congress set for early next year. At its eighth party congress in 2021, North Korea adopted a five-year economic development plan. At the upcoming ninth congress, the country is expected to present another five-year plan outlining its major policy stance. The latest Choson Sinbo report indicates that North Korea is following a 15-year development road map, implemented in three five-year phases. Shortly after the 2021 party congress, North Korean media quoted leader KimNov 19, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim visits security ministries, judicial organs on founding anniversaryNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited public and state security ministries and judicial bodies on their 80th founding anniversaries, emphasizing their role in defending the North's socialist system, state media reported Wednesday. Kim paid congratulatory visits to the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office the previous day on the occasion of the bodies' 80th founding anniversaries, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. During his visit to the state security ministry, Kim was greeted by Minister Ri Chang-dae and other senior officials, and he extended "warm military greetings" to its service personnel for following "the road of patriotism and loyalty" in defending the party and the state, the KCNA said. Kim said it was thanks to the "feats and brilliant merits" of security officers that the ruling party has written pages of legendary transformations and victories against hostile forces, expressing confidence that service members will continue to fulfill their responsibility and duty in the future. ThNov 19, 2025By Yonhap
FM Cho calls nuclear-free Korean Peninsula 'imperative' never to be abandonedForeign Minister Cho Hyun said Tuesday a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons is an "imperative" that should not be abandoned, committing to ensure the peninsula does not become a flashpoint of armed conflict. Cho made the remarks in his keynote speech to the Seoul Diplomacy Forum 2025, hosted by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. The speech was read out by Youn Jong-kwon, ambassador for international cyberaffairs, as the minister is currently on an overseas trip. "Korea's top priority on the security front is to prevent war and ensure that the Korean Peninsula does not become a flashpoint of armed conflict," Cho said, calling a "nuclear-free" Korean Peninsula an "imperative we must never abandon." The minister referred to the government's goal of the phased denuclearization of the peninsula — first stopping North Korea's nuclear arsenals, then reducing and ultimately dismantling them. Seoul will solidify its defense capabilities against North Korean threats, but such measures should also be "accompanied by efforts to prevent inadvertent conflicts, deescalate tensions and restoNov 18, 2025By Yonhap
AnalysisN. Korea unlikely to respond to S. Korea's proposal for military talks: expertsNorth Korea is unlikely to respond to South Korea's proposal for military talks, analysts said Tuesday, undercutting the Lee Jae Myung administration's latest attempt at easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The proposal, announced Monday, is widely seen as South Korea's most assertive bid to revive inter-Korean dialogue since the president took office in June. But analysts said that Pyongyang has little incentive to treat Seoul as a serious negotiating partner, noting that the North’s policy toward the South remains unsettled. The Ministry of National Defense formally proposed that military authorities from both sides meet to establish a mutually recognized baseline for the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to prevent unintended clashes near the border. The offer follows several incidents in recent months in which North Korean soldiers crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone. This marks South Korea's first formal request for military talks with the North in seven years. The Ministry of Unification confirmed Tuesday that North Korea has not responded to the hotlineNov 18, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
N. Korea says US approval of S. Korea's nuclear subs drive sparks 'nuclear domino'North Korea said Tuesday that the United States' approval of South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines will lead to a "nuclear domino" phenomenon in the region as it denounced the allies' joint fact sheet on trade and security agreements. The North issued its first reaction to the document that Seoul and Washington released Friday over the outcomes of two summits between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in August and October. On the same day, the allies also issued a joint communique following their annual defense talks held in early November. In a lengthy commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea denounced the joint fact sheet as formalizing Seoul and Washington's confrontational stance toward Pyongyang. The North, in particular, took issue with the U.S.' formal approval of South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and the allies' commitment to completing denuclearization of the North. North Korea denounced Washington's approval of Seoul's nuclear submarines drive as a "serious development" that destabilizesNov 18, 2025By Yonhap
