US monitor unveils undeclared NK missile base likely housing nuclear-capable ICBMsWASHINGTON — North Korea has an undeclared ballistic missile operating base near its border with China, which likely possesses intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the continental United States, a U.S. monitor confirmed Wednesday. Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, unveiled the Sinpung-dong Missile Operating Base in North Pyongan Province, about 25 kilometers from the border with China, as it released its analysis of satellite imagery taken July 11. It marks the first open-source study confirming the base, according to the monitor. "Preliminary analysis suggests that the base likely houses a brigade-sized unit equipped with a total of six to nine nuclear capable Hwasong-15 or -18 ICBMs, or an as yet unknown ICBM, and their transporter-erector-launchers (TEL) or mobile-erector-launchers (MEL)," it said in a report posted on its website. "These missiles pose a potential nuclear threat to East Asia and the continental United States," it added. Hwasong-15 and 18 ICBMs are known to be liquid-fuel and sAug 21, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim hails ground commanders of troops deployed in Russia's war on UkraineNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met with ground commanders of the North's troops deployed to the front-line Kursk region and "highly appreciated" their role in aiding Russia's war on Ukraine, the North's state media reported Thursday. The meeting with commanding officers of the Korean People's Army's overseas operation unit took place Wednesday, as they returned home to attend a commendation ceremony, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim received a briefing on the military activities of North Korean forces abroad and "highly appreciated their feats of leading the combat units of our armed forces, which participated in the operations to liberate the Kursk Region of the Russian Federation, to victory," according to the KCNA report. Kim said North Korea has assigned them to carry out the "most important duty" and conveyed "warm militant encouragement" to all commanders and combatants on the mission, the KCNA said. The news agency also quoted Kim as saying: "Our army has fully demonstrated its unique qualities. Such a result has cemented its appellation and reputation as the mAug 21, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea says Seoul's plan to adjust S. Korea-US military drills 'deceptive'North Korea on Wednesday slammed the ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, calling Seoul's plan to postpone half of its field drills to next month "deceptive." North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism after Seoul and Washington kicked off the large-scale joint summertime exercise, the Ulchi Freedom Shield, on Monday for an 11-day run as planned. Half of this year's roughly 40 field drills have been postponed to next month, apparently in Seoul's bid to improve frayed ties with Pyongyang. "The enemies have babbled about postponing part of the outdoor field drills to next month, but all the basic drills outlined in the actual U.S.-Republic of Korea exercise plan are proceeding as planned, with only messy drills of the South Korean military being postponed," the KCNA said. The news agency said this once again demonstrates South Korea and the U.S.' talk of adjusting the exercise as an unprecedented measure was only a "deceptive tactic." No matter what measures the enemies take, the unchanging true nature of the joint exAug 20, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea, Russia's FMs exchange congratulatory messages marking 80th anniv. of Korea's liberationThe top diplomats of North Korea and Russia have exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, the North's state media reported Wednesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a message Friday that Russia will "never forget" the heroic accomplishments by North Korean soldiers in the Kursk front-line region during Moscow's war against Ukraine, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He also said Russia will take "all necessary measures" to implement a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June last year. In a message dated Saturday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui thanked Moscow for sending delegations to celebrate the 80th anniversary of national independence on Aug. 15, including the speaker of Russia's lower house Duma. She reaffirmed the two nations will further develop their relations and strengthen strategic communications, the KCNA noted. Choe and Lavrov met for the first round ofAug 20, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea to hold plenary session of parliamentary next monthNorth Korea will hold a plenary session of its parliament next month, state media reported Wednesday, with international attention focused on whether the meeting will include a constitutional revision reflecting the country's new hostile policy toward South Korea. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly decided the previous day to convene a parliamentary session Sept. 20, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA reported the upcoming session will address a grain management act, the review and adoption of an intellectual property rights act, and the implementation of a city management act, without providing further details on the agenda. A key point of attention for the meeting is whether the session will also address a constitutional revision. During a parliamentary session in January last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered a constitutional revision to describe South Korea as "the primary hostile state" and "unchanging primary foe," though no official report of the revision has been released so far. Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of KiAug 20, 2025By Yonhap
Kim's sister criticizes Lee for peace overture, says Seoul not diplomatic counterpartThe influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday criticized President Lee Jae Myung for offering reconciliatory overtures, saying that Seoul is not a diplomatic counterpart to Pyongyang. The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday criticized President Lee Jae Myung for offering reconciliatory overtures, saying that Seoul is not a diplomatic counterpart to Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the North Korean ruling party's Central Committee, said Lee is unfit to change the course of history, while continuing to denounce ongoing military drills between South Korea and the United States. Kim made the remarks during a meeting with the foreign ministry's director generals the previous day, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "Not even a petty role would be given" to South Korea "in the regional diplomatic stage unfolding with our country at the center," Kim Yo-jong said. "The Republic of Korea cannot be our diplomatic counterpart." The remarks by Kim follow a series of Seoul's overtures to improve long-frayedAug 20, 2025By Yonhap
Presidential office calls NK leader's criticism of S. Korea-US drills 'repetitive response'The presidential office said Tuesday North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's criticism of annual joint drills between South Korea and the United States was a "repetitive response," while reiterating the drills are defensive in nature. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung made the remarks, in response to remarks by Kim that denounced the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise as demonstrating "the most hostile and confrontational" stance by South Korea and the U.S. toward North Korea. "We always maintain the stance that the Ulchi exercise is a defensive drill," Kang told reporters. Pyongyang has long denounced the allies' joint exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion against it.Aug 19, 2025By Yonhap
Unification ministry not to publicly release annual report on NK human rightsThe government will continue compiling its annual report on North Korean human rights conditions but will halt its public release this year, a unification ministry official said Tuesday. The official disclosed the decision, citing a government assessment that the report has had little effect in improving the North Korean human rights situation. "The offensive policy on North Korean human rights, which has focused on disclosure and criticism, appears to have had little effect in actually enhancing the rights of the North Korean people," the official told reporters. Still, the government will continue compiling data for its annual inquiry into North Korean human rights conditions, but it will be transferred to the justice ministry for storage without being released publicly, the official said. The compilation began in 2018 to document rights violations by the North Korean regime under the law on North Korea's human rights. The report had, however, not been released to the public until the previous conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration made the 2023 and 2024 editions publicly available. TAug 19, 2025By Yonhap
6 surviving ex-N. Korean soldiers, spies in S. Korea seek repatriationSix former North Korean soldiers and spies who were jailed in South Korea for refusing to renounce their socialist beliefs have asked the Seoul government to repatriate them to the North, officials said Tuesday. Yang Won-jin, 96, Ahn Hak-sop, 95, and four others have recently submitted the formal request to the unification ministry, seeking to return to North Korea, a ministry official said. Known as "unconverted" long-term prisoners, they are former North Korean soldiers and spies who were arrested in the South before and after the 1950-53 Korean War, an ideologically driven conflict that left the Korean Peninsula divided into the communist North and the democratic South. Many others have died of old age or illness, still wishing to return home. They served decades in South Korean prisons for refusing to denounce their socialist beliefs at a time when South Korea was still under threat from communist ideology and have since remained unconverted. Holding a press conference the previous day, a civic group advocating Ahn's repatriation argued that he should be sent home under the Geneva ConAug 19, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim slams S. Korea-US military drills as showing will to 'ignite war'North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has denounced a joint military exercise under way between South Korea and the United States as showing their will to "ignite a war" and reaffirming the most "hostile" stance toward the North, according to Pyongyang's state media Tuesday. Kim also called for a "rapid expansion" of the country's nuclear arms as he inspected an integrated operation test of weapons systems on the North's first 5,000-ton destroyer, the Choe Hyon, the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). His remarks came as Seoul and Washington kicked off their annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise Monday to bolster their joint defense readiness against the North. The drills will run for 11 days through Aug. 28. Kim denounced Seoul and Washington as openly expressing their intent to maintain "the most hostile and confrontational" stance toward North Korea by staging the large-scale drills. "The U.S.-ROK intensified military nexus and the muscle-flexing are the most obvious manifestation of their will to ignite a war and the source of destroying the peAug 19, 2025By Yonhap
