Kim Yo-jong's remarks suggest NK sees strategic advantage in nuclear diplomacy: spy agencyRecent statements by the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suggest that the regime believes it holds a strategic advantage in its stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States and inter-Korean engagement, South Korea's spy agency reportedly told lawmakers Wednesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) shared its assessment on the remarks made by Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling party's Central Committee, citing the North's enhanced nuclear capabilities and its growing military ties with Russia, according to Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the main opposition People Power Party. Kim said in a statement released by its state media Monday that Pyongyang will not sit down with Seoul for dialogue and condemned the South for "blindly adhering" to its alliance with the U.S. She said in a separate statement the following day that the personal ties between the leaders of the North and the U.S. are "not bad," but ruled out talks on denuclearizing Pyongyang. "North Korea's recent statements stem from a sense of confidence that it finds itself in a much more favoraJul 30, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea supplies 6.5 mil. shells, 600 weapons systems to Russia: UkraineNorth Korea has supplied around 6.5 million artillery shells of various calibers to Russia to support its war with Ukraine, along with 600 missile launchers and weapons systems, a Ukrainian intelligence agency has said. The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU) disclosed the information Monday (local time) in response to an inquiry by the Ukrainian news outlet Liga.net, describing North Korea as the "main foreign supplier of ammunition for almost all artillery systems" for Russia. North Korea has so far supplied Russia with around 600 different artillery pieces, mortars and missile systems of varying ranges and destructive power, according to the spy agency. The weapons included the KN-23 and KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles, as well as the KN-25 multiple rocket launchers and multiple transporter erector launchers (TEL). "Despite the fact that ... some models of North Korean artillery are less effective and maintainable, cooperation between the DPRK and Russia in the military-technical sphere is mutually beneficial," an FISU official said, referring to the North by its formaJul 29, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul urges N. Korea to respond to plan to repatriate remains of national found in SouthKorea on Tuesday called on North Korea to respond to its plan to repatriate the remains of a North Korean national found on the southern side of the inter-Korean maritime border. The remains of the body believed to be those of a North Korean national were found on the shore of Seongmodo, an island in the Yellow Sea near the border, on June 21, Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the unification ministry, said. The government plans to repatriate the remains to North Korea next Tuesday via the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, Koo said, urging the North to respond through the inter-Korean communication line. "We plan to transfer the body and his belongings to your side from the humanitarian and fraternal perspectives," the spokesperson said in a direct message toward Pyongyang, issued through the media amid severed inter-Korean communications. Citing a certificate found on the body, he identified it as that of a man born in 1988, a farm worker from North Korea's North Hwanghae Province. It is currently being kept at a local hospital. How his body came to be swept into South Korean territJul 29, 2025By Yonhap
Russia's resources minister visits N. Korea on 1st direct Moscow-Pyongyang flightRussia's natural resources minister has visited North Korea for a meeting on trade and technology cooperation, traveling aboard the first flight of the resumed direct air route between Moscow and Pyongyang, state media reported Tuesday. Yun Jong-ho, North Korea's external economic relations minister, held a meeting with Russia's Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Yun and Kozlov each head the North Korean and Russian sides of the Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology. The KCNA said they discussed the implementation of a protocol signed by the committee in November last year during Monday's meeting. Separate working-level committee meetings were also held for each sector to strengthen cooperation, along with a welcoming reception hosted by the North Korean ministry, the KCNA also noted. Also on Monday, Premier Pak Thae-song held a courtesy meeting with Kozlov. For his trip to North Korea, Kozlov and his delegation traveled on a Nordwind Airlines flight, the firsJul 29, 2025By Yonhap
Gabbard makes her own hoax: Intel chief’s absurd rehashing of Russian interferenceThe unqualified director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is again proving her unfitness by claiming that former President Barack Obama and his administration engaged in a “treasonous conspiracy” regarding the investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. In Gabbard’s retelling, based on some declassified materials, Obama and his administration worked to manufacture what the MAGA faithful have come to know as the “Russia hoax,” which is to say the reality that Vladimir Putin’s Russia endeavored to help Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Trump himself has now adopted this framing, referencing Obama’s “coup” and posting an AI-generated video of him smiling as the former president is arrested and put in prison. The documents show nothing of the sort, obviously. It’s particularly galling for Trump of all people to accuse a former president of attempting to orchestrate a coup when he’s the only U.S. president to have actually done so. Remember Jan. 6? The question of whether Russia tried to influence the 2016 presidential election isJul 29, 2025
N. Korea says ties between NK-US leaders 'not bad' but rejects denuclearization talksThe powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday personal ties between the leaders of the North and the United States are "not bad," while ruling out talks on Pyongyang's denuclearization. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling party's Central Committee, made the remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his intent to reengage with the North's leader. "I do not want to deny the fact that the personal relationship between the head of our state and the present U.S. president is not bad," Kim said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "However, if the personal relations between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. are to serve the purpose of denuclearization, it can be interpreted as nothing but a mockery of the other party," she said. DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Her remarks came days after a White House official told Yonhap News Agency that Trump remains open to engagement with the North Korean leader to achieve a "fully denuclearized" North Korea. ExpeJul 29, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's exports hit 5-year high in 2024: dataNorth Korea's exports climbed to the highest amount in five years last year, data showed Monday. North Korea exported a total of $360.4 million worth of goods in 2024, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The figure marks the highest since 2019. North Korea's exports have been steadily increasing over the past three years after posting a sharp decline in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an increase in exports was largely driven by a rise in shipments of wigs and faux lashes, as well as minerals, including tungsten, the agency said. North Korea's imports, on the other hand, fell 4.4 percent on-year to $2.3 billion. Accordingly, the reclusive country's overall trade volume shrank 2.6 percent on-year to about $2.7 billion. China continued to remain North Korea's top trading partner, accounting for 98 percent of its entire trade. The regime's trade deficit with China, however, shrank 8.4 percent from $2.1 billion in 2023 to $2 billion last year. Along with China, Argentina, Vietnam, the Netherlands aJul 28, 2025By Yonhap
Unification minister to propose scaling down military drills with US for peace effortsUnification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday that he will propose to President Lee Jae Myung adjusting the scale of South Korea-U.S. joint military drills. His remarks came just hours after Pyongyang denounced the exercises for their "aggressive nature" and accused them of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "Yes, I have such plans," Chung told reporters in response to a question about whether he plans to make such a suggestion to the president. "The issue will be a key topic of discussion at the working-level National Security Council (NSC) meeting scheduled for tomorrow [Tuesday]." The newly appointed minister, who took office on Friday, stressed that "the Lee Jae Myung administration's policy direction on the joint exercises will not be a continuation of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s." South Korea and the U.S. are expected to hold their annual summertime joint exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), in August. Pyongyang has routinely criticized the UFS as a rehearsal for invasion. While Chung did not elaborate on what form the adjustment might take, the planned propoJul 28, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin
NK leader's sister says not interested in any proposal from Seoul, won't sit down for dialogueNorth Korea is not interested in any policy or proposal from South Korea and will not sit down with Seoul for talks, the powerful sister of state leader Kim Jong-un said Monday. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling party's central committee, made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to ease military tension and improve inter-Korean ties. It marks the North's first official statement on the Lee administration, which took office last month. "Looking at around the past 50 days since Lee Jae Myung took office ... (he) is no different from his predecessor in blindly adhering to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and pursuing confrontation with us," Kim said. No matter how hard the Lee government tries to draw North Korea's attention, the North's stance toward the South will not change, she said. "I make it clear once again that we are not interested in any policy or proposal put forward by Seoul, and there will be no chance of us sitting down with South Korea fJul 28, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim vows not to forget Chinese war dead on armistice anniversaryNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the signing of an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, pledging not to forget the contributions of fallen Chinese soldiers, state media reported Sunday. Kim laid a wreath before the tower the previous day, saying that North Korea "would never forget the militant feats and merits of the fallen fighters of the Chinese People's Volunteers," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, bringing the Korean War to a halt. Since 1996, North Korea has marked the date as Victory Day, claiming it won the Liberation War against U.S.-led aggression. Erected in 1959 in Pyongyang, the Friendship Tower commemorates the contributions of Chinese soldiers who fought in the war and has since served as a symbol of North Korea-China friendship. Kim has frequently paid tribute at the tower on past armistice anniversaries, using the occasion to highlight North Korea's relations with China. This year's report, however, made no mention of bilateral ties, a possibleJul 27, 2025By Yonhap
