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
India installs its first envoy in N. Korea since pandemicA new Indian ambassador to North Korea has taken office, marking the return of an Indian envoy to Pyongyang for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the North's state media on Friday. Aliawati Longkumer, India's new ambassador to North Korea, presented his letter of credence to parliamentary standing committee chairman Choe Ryong-hae in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. It marks the first time an Indian ambassador has been present in North Korea since its embassy closed in July 2021 in the aftermath of the pandemic. India reopened the embassy in the North last year as COVID-19 subsided. India established formal diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1973, the same year it did so with South Korea.Nov 14, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea denounces G7 call for Pyongyang's denuclearizationNorth Korea on Friday denounced a recent call by the Group of Seven (G7) countries for Pyongyang's complete denuclearization, saying the regime's will to retain its nuclear arsenal is "firm and unwavering" amid external nuclear threats. "I express strong complaint and regret over the G7 foreign ministers' explicit hostility that directly infringes upon our constitution, and I resolutely denounce it in the strongest possible rhetorical terms," the North's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The statement came after the G7 foreign ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea on Wednesday (local time), issuing a joint statement following their gathering in Canada. In the statement issued by the top diplomats of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Japan and the High Representative of the European Union, the countries also condemned North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile programs. North Korea's "current status" does not shift due to any external rhetorical claims, and iNov 14, 2025By Yonhap
Major N. Korean tech university engages in academic exchanges with China, RussiaKim Chaek University of Technology, a leading technology-focused institution in North Korea, was reported Thursday to have engaged in academic exchanges with China and Russia, in what could constitute a violation of international sanctions. Kim Chaek University of Technology hosted an international academic conference from Tuesday to Wednesday in Pyongyang on the theme of advancing science, technology and strategic resources, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The event was attended by heads of university science research institutes from China, Russia and other countries, including a vice president of Russia's Kazan Federal University, who delivered a congratulatory address, according to the KCNA. In January, Kazan Federal University signed an agreement with the North Korean university to promote academic exchanges in the fields of education, science and technology. This week's event included separate discussion sessions on environmental science, material engineering and other fields, the KCNA said. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2321, adopted in 2016 in response to North KoreaNov 13, 2025By Yonhap
Nearly 30% of NK defectors in China had biological data registered with authoritiesNearly 30 percent of North Korean defectors who lived in China had experiences of having their sensitive biological data registered with local security authorities, a report showed Thursday. The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights released the findings after conducting a survey from July 2-18 of 102 North Korean defectors based in South Korea who had lived in China between 2013 and 2025. A total of 29.4 percent said their biological data, including profile photos, fingerprints from all 10 fingers, as well as information on their blood, hair, weight, iris and voice, had been registered with China's Public Security Bureau, according to the report. They also provided personal information, such as their places of birth, details about their common-law spouses in China and whether they had been married in North Korea, along with other key data, including their names, gender, date of birth and nationality. North Koreans were required to provide more biological data than Vietnamese or Lao women married to Chinese men when registering their identification with public security authoritieNov 13, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea denounces Japan's past wrongs in debate, silent on Takaichi's summit offerNorth Korea has held an academic debate denouncing Japan's past wrongdoings, labeling the country an "inveterate enemy," state media reported Thursday, while remaining silent on the new Japanese leader's offer for a summit. A history-sector debate took place at a social science institute in Pyongyang on Wednesday, "divulging the wrongdoing of Japan from the past, an inveterate enemy," the Korean Central News Agency said. The KCNA quoted participants as saying during the debate, "The historical wounds that the inveterate enemy, imperial Japan, inflicted on our people will never heal even after the passage of time or hundreds of generations, and should be repaid with retaliation thousands of times greater." A history institute chief from Kim Il Sung University, a senior museum official and other researchers also presented theses exposing "inhumane criminal acts" by Japan, the KCNA said. The report comes as Pyongyang remains silent on new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's reported proposal to hold a summit between the two state leaders, shortly after her inauguration last month. JapaNov 13, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's press committee signs media cooperation agreement with RussiaNorth Korea's committee for press affairs has signed a media cooperation agreement with Russia's communications and media ministry to strengthen collaboration, the North's state media reported Thursday. Sin Hong-chol, North Korea's ambassador to Russia, signed the document with Bella Cherkesova, deputy minister of Russia's digital development, communications and mass media ministry, at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow on Tuesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. In a Facebook post, the Russian Embassy in North Korea described the agreement as outlining collaboration in the exchange of information between state and private media services, ensuring equal partnership in the mass media field, organizing mutual broadcasts and strengthening information ties. "The agreement opens new opportunities for expanding partnership between Russia and North Korea, providing a foundation for deeper and mutually beneficial cooperation," the embassy said. The agreement comes as the two countries have been aligning closely across various fields since the signing of a comprehensive strategic partNov 13, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea, Laos' FMs agree to strengthen bilateral ties, cooperationThe foreign ministers of North Korea and Laos have held talks and agreed to strengthen relations between the countries and expand cooperation in supporting each other on the international stage, the North's state media said Thursday. Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met with her Lao counterpart, Thongsavanh Phomvihane, in Pyongyang following the Lao delegation's arrival in North Korea on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The ministers agreed to further strengthen their countries' traditional friendship by thoroughly implementing the agreement reached by their state leaders in October, the KCNA said. They also exchanged views on ways to boost mutual support and cooperation on the international stage, reaching a shared understanding, according to the report. The foreign ministers' talks came after talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith in Pyongyang in October on the occasion of the 80th founding anniversary of the North's ruling party, where they agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The Lao president was among the fNov 13, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul keeps backing UN resolution against N. Korean human rights violationsKorea has maintained its support for a U.N. resolution condemning North Korea's human rights violations, a document showed Wednesday, despite its push for rapprochement with Pyongyang under the liberal government of President Lee Jae Myung. South Korea was among the 41 U.N. member states co-sponsoring the resolution, according to the resolution distributed earlier this month, continuing its stance from the previous conservative government that had taken a hard-line approach toward the reclusive state. Earlier expectations were that the Lee government, launched in June, might pull back from U.N.-led efforts criticizing North Korea's human rights abuses, as it has put its top priority on easing tensions and resuming dialogue with Pyongyang. South Korea did not support the past U.N. resolutions from 2019-22, when then liberal President Moon Jae-in was in office, breaking with a decade of co-sponsorship. This came amid a strong push by the Moon government to engage with North Korea, which culminated in a flurry of diplomacy, including the first summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-unNov 12, 2025By Yonhap
Laos' FM visits N. Korea following summit talks in OctoberThe foreign minister of Laos has arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea's state media reported Wednesday, just about a month after the leaders of the two countries held summit talks in the North in October. A delegation, led by Thongsavanh Phomvihane, the foreign minister of the Southeast Asian country, arrived in Pyongyang the previous day upon invitation by the North's foreign ministry, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA did not provide further details on the purpose or duration of the visit, but the move raised views that the delegation will likely discuss follow-up measures following summit talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith in Pyongyang. The two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation during the talks held on the occasion of the 80th founding anniversary of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Oct. 10. The Lao president was among the foreign state leaders and senior officials who attended celebratory events in Pyongyang to mark the party founding anniversary, including a large-scale military parade. NNov 12, 2025By Yonhap
