S. Korea to inspect radioactive levels over suspected NK uranium wastewater releaseSouth Korea will conduct radioactivity and heavy metal contamination tests in areas along the inter-Korean border in connection with the suspected release of wastewater from a North Korean uranium refining plant. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, along with the oceans and environment ministries, will conduct radioactive or heavy metal contamination tests on Friday, including checks for uranium and cesium, at 10 sites near Ganghwa Island and the estuary of the Han River, both located near the North's Ryesong River, according to the unification ministry. The announcement came after a recent news report that North Korea had dumped waste into rivers from a uranium refining plant in Pyongsan County, which flow into South Korea. The Ryesong River flows into the estuary of the Han River near Ganghwa Island. It will take about two weeks to analyze the test results, which will then be "transparently" disclosed to the public, the ministry said following a response meeting attended by officials from the defense ministry, the spy agency and the three agencies conducting the tests. The goverJul 3, 2025By Yonhap
Russia training N. Korean drone pilots in Pyongyang, Wonsan: Ukrainian officialNorth Korea has established drone production with Russia's help, and Russian instructors are also training drone pilots in Pyongyang and the eastern city of Wonsan, a Russian official's Telegram showed Thursday. "As I said back in the autumn ... the production of Shahed-Geran drones in North Korea has already been established with Russia's help," Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, said in a Telegram post uploaded the previous day. Geran is the Russian designation for the Iranian-made suicide drone, Shahed. Kovalenko also said Russian instructors are working in Pyongyang and in the Kalma airfield area of Wonsan, training North Korean drone pilots to operate both strike and combat drones. Ukraine's intelligence agency disclosed last month that Russia had agreed to transfer production technology for the Geran drone to North Korea, as Pyongyang and Moscow have strengthened their military alignment since signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty in June last year.Jul 3, 2025By Yonhap
Border residents welcome silence as Koreas halt loudspeaker campaignsGIMPO — Just weeks ago, South Korean residents in western areas near the inter-Korean border were tormented day and night by North Korean loudspeakers, blaring noise that echoed across the Han River estuary separating the two Koreas. The noise, however, abruptly stopped June 12, a day after South Korea's military suspended its own loudspeakers along the border that had aired broadcasts of K-pop, weather forecasts and criticism of the North Korean regime. "It was like a metallic scratching sound that was unbearable," said Hwang Hyun-yk, who owns a guesthouse on Ganghwa Island, just west of Seoul. "At its worst point, I couldn't hear someone only 5 meters away. "But we don't hear it anymore; it's now very comfortable and nice," the 72-year-old said. The estuary lay quiet Wednesday as a group of reporters was given access to a Marine Corps observation post in nearby Gimpo along the estuary. A North Korean loudspeaker — faintly visible in the distance through binoculars — remained silent. Only last year, the area had been a flashpoint of inter-Korean tensions. In May, Pyongyang began lauJul 3, 2025By Yonhap
Lee vows to improve relations with N. Korea based on cooperation with USPresident Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that his administration will work to improve relations with North Korea based on cooperation with the United States, but acknowledged that dialogue with Pyongyang looks difficult for now. Speaking at a press conference marking his first month in office, Lee emphasized the importance of dialogue and cooperation with Pyongyang. "We should improve relations with North Korea based on fixed coordination with the United States," he said. "Completely cutting off dialogue is a foolish act." While acknowledging the challenges of resuming talks due to longstanding hostility and distrust, Lee expressed hope that Seoul's recent suspension of anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts near the border could open the door to renewed engagement. "When we decided to suspend the loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea, I was concerned about how quickly -- or even whether -- they would respond. But (the North's) response was very swift and exceeded expectations," he said. Addressing recent discussions about potentially renaming the Ministry of Unification, Lee said the iJul 3, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea urges vigilance against heavy monsoon rainNorth Korea on Thursday urged ranking officials to make thorough preparations as heavy monsoon rain is expected to soak the country this week. The North's most widely read newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, called for "maximum vigilance and a prompt response posture," saying that any defenselessness or negligence in the face of heavy rain stems from a lack of responsibility, a poor sense of crisis or an ideological lapse. "There should never be any tendency to take natural disasters, directly connected to the lives of the people and the safety of the country, lightly or to deal with them negligently," the newspaper noted. South Korea's weather agency has forecast the summer monsoonal front, after passing over the southern regions of the Korean Peninsula, is heading northward and is expected to bring up to 150 millimeters of rain to some parts of North Korea from Thursday through Saturday. In July last year, North Korea's northwestern provinces of North Phyongan and Jagang suffered massive flooding due to heavy seasonal rain. Leader Kim Jong-un visited flood-damaged Sinuiju in the region and dismiJul 3, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea cranks up rhetoric against USNorth Korea's state media on Thursday escalated fiery rhetoric against the United States, as Pyongyang has shown little sign of engaging in diplomacy with Washington or Seoul, at least for now. The North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper issued the criticism, describing decades of ongoing South Korea-U.S. military exercises as a sign that Washington's invasion ambitions against North Korea will never change. "Even now, the U.S. is continuing its previous anti-North policy, sending strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula at a level equivalent to constant deployment," the newspaper said, accusing Washington of worsening security conditions and staging provocative acts. "We have become strong and stronger ... This fact is demonstrated by the reality facing some countries that became targets of invasion and were beaten and humiliated because they were weak," the Rodong Sinmun noted. The daily said that the country's security environment and the people's livelihoods could be endangered if it loosens its efforts to bolster defense capabilities even for a moment. The newspaper also claimed that the uniJul 3, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea already using Russia's Pantsir-S1 air-defense system: reportNorth Korea has already been using the Pantsir-S1 air defense system provided by Russia to defend the North's capital of Pyongyang, a Ukrainian online newspaper reported Wednesday, citing Kyiv's intelligence chief. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR), made the remark in an interview with Hromadske Radio the previous day (local time), according to The Kyiv Independent. The Pantsir missile system is made up of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Budanov said the first Pantsir-S1 installations have already been deployed in Pyongyang and are on combat duty. He added that the Russians are retraining North Korean personnel, who will soon be working autonomously on this technology. The Kyiv Independent described the latest deployment as "another sign that North Korea is improving its weapons technology and military might through cooperation with Russia." The intelligence chief also noted that Pyongyang is "currently significantly increasing its military power" through direct cooperation with Moscow. Under a defense agrJul 2, 2025By Yonhap
US seeks to arrest 4 N. Koreans for posing as IT workers to steal company moneyU.S. federal investigators seek to arrest four North Koreans over their alleged involvement in a scheme to steal virtual currency by posing as remote IT workers, the website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) showed Wednesday. The four men — Kim Kwang-jin, Kang Tae-bok, Jong Pong-ju, and Chang Nam-il — are wanted for allegedly stealing over $900,000 worth of virtual currency from two companies and laundering the proceeds of those thefts in 2022, according to an FBI notice. "Using fraudulent names and identification documents, the men allegedly gained employment at two companies as remote IT workers. With these roles, these individuals allegedly abused their access at the companies to steal virtual currency," it said. Federal arrest warrants were issued for the men on June 24 after they were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. The men, aged between 25 and 29, speak English and Korean and have ties to the United Arab Emirates and Laos. A reward of up to $5 million is being offered for information that leads to the disruption of finJul 2, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea opens large-scale coastal tourist zone this weekNorth Korea has opened a large-scale coastal tourist zone in the eastern region, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to nurture the tourism industry in an apparent bid to secure much-needed foreign currency amid international sanctions. The Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area opened Tuesday, attracting many guests across the country, including from Pyongyang and North Hamgyong Province, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrated the completion of the construction of the beach resort last week, touting it as one of the country's greatest feats this year. The North said the new tourist zone will start service for domestic tourists July 1. "At a time when many workers from the country are aspiring for travel to the magnificent tourist attraction which is unparalleled in the world, many guests visited the zone on the first day of its service," the KCNA said. North Korea's state media earlier described the beach resort as housing hotels and hostels capable of accommodating nearly 20,000 guests, both domestic and foreign. It isJul 2, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul says no change in radioactive levels in sea over suspected NK nuclear waste dischargeThe unification ministry said Tuesday there has been no meaningful change in radioactive levels in the Yellow Sea following a news report over North Korea's suspected discharge of wastewater from its uranium refining facility in North Hwanghae Province. Daily NK, a South Korean news outlet focusing on North Korea, reported in June that North Korea has been operating a uranium refining facility in Pyongsan County and begun directly dumping uranium waste into rivers flowing into South Korea. Seoul's unification ministry said it has been closely monitoring North Korea's nuclear activity, including that from the uranium refining plant in Pyongsan, with relevant government agencies. "In regard to relevant agencies' regular measuring of radioactive levels in the Yellow Sea, there has been no meaningful change," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "But as the issue is directly related to our people's health and safety and the environment, the ministry is in close talks with other agencies over how to respond to it." The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) alsoJul 1, 2025By Yonhap
