Premiers of N. Korea, China hold talks in PyongyangNorth Korea's Premier Pak Thae-song has held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with Pak voicing support for Beijing's policies on Taiwan and other core national interests, the North's state media reported Sunday. The meeting took place Saturday as Li was visiting Pyongyang to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Pak said Li's visit provided an important opportunity to elevate North Korea-China relations to a higher level, reaffirming his country's intent to explore "new phases in friendship." The North Korean premier also expressed "firm" support for China's policies and positions aimed at safeguarding its core national interests, including on Taiwan, saying North Korea will jointly oppose hegemonism and protect a fair international order and peace. Li reiterated China's intent to solidify friendship with North Korea regardless of changes in the international security situation, adding Beijing is ready to mutually support Pyongyang on the multilateral stage to uphold internationalOct 12, 2025By Yonhap
Xi tells N. Korea's Kim China is ready to strengthen strategic cooperation on int'l issuesChinese President Xi Jinping has told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that China is ready to solidify strategic cooperation on international and regional issues in a recent message sent to him, the North's state media reported Sunday. Xi reaffirmed the Chinese commitment in a message sent to Kim on Thursday in response to the North Korean leader's congratulatory telegram for the 76th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea and China are "great neighbors, friends and comrades that help each other, and the traditional friendship between the two countries is solidifying as time passes," the KCNA quoted Xi as saying. Xi said China is ready to inherit and further develop the traditional friendship with North Korea to deepen friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation. China is willing to "strengthen strategic cooperation on international and region issues" to provide greater welfare to the peoples of the two countries and to jointly safeguard peace, stability and international equity and justice in theOct 12, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim says its military should become 'invincible' entityNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the armed forces to continue to develop into an "invincible" entity at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, state media reported Saturday. In a speech delivered Friday night, Kim reaffirmed a will to bolster the nation's defense capabilities, but he did not issue threats directly targeting South Korea or the United States. The North's leader stressed the country's sovereignty can only be "defended and guaranteed by strength," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats approaching our range of self-defense by dint of its political, ideological, military and technical superiority overwhelming the enemy, and it should steadily strengthen itself into elite armed forces which win victory after victory on the strength of morality and discipline," he said. His remarks came as North Korea has been ramping up the development of missiles and other weapons under its five-year defense plan. The NOct 11, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea rolls out new Hwasong-20 ICBM at military parade to mark party anniv.North Korea has shown off its newly developed Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time, among other new weapons, at a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party of Korea, according to state media Saturday. The military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Friday night, overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and attended by high-ranking leaders from China, Russia, Vietnam and others, was seen as Kim's willingness to solidify his diplomacy with nations against the West and display the North's nuclear arsenal. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described the new ICBM as "the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system" as it reported its disclosure at the military parade. The display of the Hwasong-20 ICBM, capable of striking the U.S. mainland, appears aimed at showcasing the country's nuclear force and demonstrating its de facto possession of nuclear weapons in the presence of foreign state leaders and high-level guests. In his speech to the parade, Kim called for the armed forces to contOct 11, 2025By Yonhap
China, Russia step up dual-track engagement with 2 KoreasChina and Russia are pursuing dual-track diplomacy with both Koreas, as top officials have visited North Korea and are planning to visit South Korea for different diplomatic events. The back-to-back visits are drawing attention to Beijing and Moscow’s diplomatic outreach on the Korean Peninsula, underscoring their growing regional ambitions. Considering that both countries historically have closer ties with Pyongyang than with Seoul, the visits are seen as strategies to maintain amicable ties with the North while improving those with the South to check the Seoul-Washington alliance. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest-ranking official after President Xi Jinping, visited Pyongyang on Thursday to attend a military parade on Friday, marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. It was the first visit by a Chinese premier to Pyongyang since 2018. According to Pyongyang’s state media, Li and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un discussed expanding “strategic communication and cooperation” across multiple fields. Russia sent Dmitry Medvedev, deputOct 10, 2025By Bahk Eun-ji
N. Korea, China reopen cross-border land route for postal service exchangesNorth Korea and China reopened a land route for postal services late last month that connects the North's border city of Sinuiju to China's Dandong, China's state postal service said Friday. The Sinuiju-Dandong land postal route has been "officially resumed" on Sept. 25 with cooperation from relevant government agencies, China's state post bureau said in a message on its social media. "The reopening of the China-North Korea land postal route is expected to provide greater convenience for postal exchanges between the peoples of the two countries," it said. The two border cities had undergone vibrant exchanges of personnel and transport before the North closed down its border in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resumption of the land route for postal exchanges came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to increase cooperation and bilateral exchanges during their talks on the sidelines of the military parade in Beijing last month. Some speculate that economic exchanges between Pyongyang and Beijing, which have been stalled for years, may gOct 10, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korean's Kim accelerates multilateral diplomacy on key party anniversaryFollowing his high-profile debut in multilateral diplomacy in Beijing last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is using the 80th anniversary of the country's ruling party to accelerate efforts to broaden his diplomatic outreach, experts said Friday. Observers assessed that Kim appears to be making all-out efforts to break out of his diplomatic isolation, building on the confidence gained when he debuted on the multilateral diplomatic stage by standing next to the Chinese and Russian presidents during a Beijing military parade on Sept. 3. This week, Kim held a flurry of talks with foreign leaders, including China's premier and Vietnam's top leader, and senior officials invited to Pyongyang for celebrations marking the Oct. 10 anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea. On Thursday, Kim held talks with Vietnamese head of state To Lam and exchanged views on expanding the long-standing cooperative relations between their countries. Lam's visit to North Korea marks the first trip by a top Vietnamese leader to North Korea since then Communist Party General Secretary Nong DucOct 10, 2025By Yonhap
Rehearsal underway for imminent N. Korean military parade: JCSNorth Korea is conducting a rehearsal for a military parade marking a key party anniversary, which is likely expected to take place Friday night, South Korea's military said. The North marks the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Oct. 10 each year, with mass celebrations usually taking place in years ending in zero or five. This year marks the party's 80th founding anniversary. "(North Korea) is conducting a rehearsal involving equipment and missile," an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) told reporters, saying the event is likely to take place at nighttime. Since 2020, North Korea has staged all seven of its most recent military parades at night. The JCS official said the North is likely to hold the military parade regardless of showers forecast for Pyongyang later in the day, but said the weather conditions may affect the mobilization of air assets. The South's military earlier said North Korea is preparing for a large-scale military parade involving tens of thousands of people. Analysts have raised the view that Pyongyang may showcase the next-generatOct 10, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim, Vietnamese leader discuss expanding bilateral cooperation: KCNANorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has held talks with Vietnamese head of state To Lam and exchanged views on expanding the long-standing cooperative relations between their countries, state media reported Friday. The meeting took place in Pyongyang the previous day, as To Lam, chief of Vietnam's Communist Party, visited North Korea to attend celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim noted that the Vietnamese leader's visit "boosts the friendly ties between the two parties and the two peoples and adds significance to the 80th founding anniversary." Lam expressed his country's willingness to "further consolidate the traditional relations of friendship" with North Korea and develop them to a new level, according to the KCNA. "There was an open-minded exchange of views on the issues arising in positively promoting the cause of building socialism in the DPRK and Vietnam and expanding the long-standing cooperative relations ... as required by the times and other issues of mutual concernOct 10, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim pledges to build 'affluent paradise' on 80th anniversary of party foundingNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to turn the country into an "affluent" socialist "paradise" during an event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, state media reported Friday. Kim issued the pledge in a speech at the event at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium the previous day, which was attended by foreign guests and members of various groups, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North Korean leader recalled the party's past course, saying it had to pursue a policy of simultaneously pursuing economic construction and nuclear buildup to cope with the growing nuclear war threats by the U.S. imperialists amid worldwide political upheaval in the 1990s. "Historically, there has been no such country in the world as ours, which had to carry out so many tasks ... for national defense and construction, even as it was facing constant and tenacious pressure, interference and threats of aggression by outside forces," Kim claimed. The country is still facing "adversaries' ferocious political and military" pressure, but its "international presOct 10, 2025By Yonhap
