Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” in a written statement for Tuesday’s confirmation hearing – shattering a longstanding taboo by granting such a designation to Kim Jong-un’s regime and drawing considerable attention in Seoul. Seoul's Defense, Foreign and Unification ministries immediately dismissed Hegseth’s statement when asked for comment, each emphasizing in their respective statements that North Korea can never

North Korea cannot be recognized as a nuclear-armed state under the international nonproliferation treaty, and its denuclearization is a principle shared by all parties involved, including South Korea and the United States, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. The ministry made the comments after US Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth described the North as a nuclear power in his written answers submitted to the US Senate for his confirmation hearing Tuesday. The former Fox News host said

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has released another video showing a captured North Korean soldier undergoing interrogation, accusing Russia of using North Korean troops to "prolong and escalate" its war against Ukraine. "Communication between captured North Korean soldiers and Ukrainian investigators continues. We are establishing the facts. We are verifying all the details," Zelenskyy wrote on X on Tuesday, posting a four-minute-long video clip. The post follows Zelenskyy's earlier rev

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday North Korea remains the "same menace" it has been across many previous administrations, while stressing America has the capacity and the wherewithal and allies to meet the challenge. Sullivan made the remarks, pointing to a litany of "serious and ongoing" challenges around the world, including those from North Korea and China, which the administration of incoming President Donald Trump will face upon assuming office on Jan. 20. "North Korea

Ukraine has released a rare video of two captured North Korean soldiers under interrogation, in which one of them said he wants to remain in Ukraine when asked if he wishes to return home. The soldier with bandages on his hands made the remarks in the nearly three-minute footage released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X on Sunday, a day after he announced the two North Koreans' capture in Russia's western Kursk region. During the interrogation, the soldier asked in Korean if Ukrai

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is prepared to hand over captured North Korean soldiers in exchange for Ukrainian captives in Russia, a day after revealing the country's seizure of two wounded North Korean soldiers. Zelenskyy made the proposal in his account on the social media platform X on Sunday in English, Ukrainian and Korean, following his announcement the previous day that two wounded North Korean soldiers had been captured in Russia's western Kursk region. "

Two North Korean soldiers deployed in the Ukraine-Russia war claimed they believed they were participating in a military exercise, not a war, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported on Sunday. According to the NIS, the North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian military forces in the Kursk region of western Russia on Thursday and are currently in the custody of the Ukrainian government. The NIS stated that one of the detainees testified they arrived in Russia in November last

Ri Son-gwon, director of North Korea's abolished United Front Department in charge of affairs with South Korea, appears to have retained his political status even after the department's purported dissolution, according to state media on Friday. The Korean Central News Agency reported that Ri attended a banquet held the previous day for a visiting art troupe of Korean schoolchildren from Japan and gave a speech, referring to his official title as department director of the ruling Workers' Party o

North Korea has included Russian in the description of its new postal stamps set to be issued in the new year, the website of its stamp agency showed Friday, reflecting the country's growing alignment with Russia. A stamp release notice uploaded on the Korea Stamp Corp.'s website included images and descriptions of four postal stamps scheduled for issuance on Jan. 20 in four languages -- Korean, English, Chinese and Russian -- along with an order form. It is believed to be the first time that No

North Korea's state media have made no mention of leader Kim Jong-un's birthday, which reportedly falls on Wednesday, despite speculation the North may formalize its celebrations this year amid its glorification campaigns for him. North Korea has not officially designated Kim's birthday, believed to be Jan. 8, for special celebrations, though the birthdays of late state founder Kim Il-sung and his successor, Kim Jong-il, have been marked as national holidays. The Rodong Sinmun, a North Korean ne

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony to inaugurate factories in the southwestern county of Jaeryong, reaffirming his plan to push for an "upsurge" in regional construction, state media reported Wednesday. An inauguration ceremony of regional-industry factories in Jaeryong County for the "Regional Development 20x10 Policy" took place on Tuesday, with Kim in attendance, the Korean Central News Agency said. The KCNA said the new factories, built on a granary, marked a significant

North Korea on Tuesday hailed its test-firing of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile the previous day, claiming it was successful and contained a system that could "deal a serious military strike to a rival.” Confirming Monday's test-firing, Pyongyang’s state media the Korean Central News Agency said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the test himself, with his daughter believed to be named Ju-ae, accompanying him. The new missile was launched from the outskirts of Py

North Korea's claim of what it called a successful launch of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead is presumed to be "deception," South Korea's military said Tuesday. The assessment came hours after North Korea said it successfully test-fired the missile the previous day, saying it flew some 1,500 kilometers at 12 times the speed of sound. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said the IRBM launched from the Pyongyang area flew about 1,100 km before fa

North Korea on Tuesday confirmed its test-firing of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile fitted with a hypersonic warhead, a day after the Kim Jong-un regime fired the weapon in a first act of provocation this year, before the launch later this month of the second Donald Trump administration in the US. The missile firing was supervised by the North Korean leader himself, with the new missile purportedly flying 1,500 kilometers on an estimated trajectory at 12 times the speed of sound, acco

Launch comes ahead of Trump's inauguration, during Blinken's visit to Seoul North Korea fired a suspected hypersonic ballistic missile into the East Sea around noon, marking its first missile provocation this year, South Korea's military said Monday. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile flew about 1,100 kilometers after being launched from the Pyongyang area Monday at noon, before plunging into the sea off the east coast. The missile flew for