North Korea on Tuesday denounced South Korea's ongoing joint military drills with the United States and a separate exercise between the US and Japan, calling them "muscle flexing" by "enemy states." In an English-language commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the North warned that a "tit-for-tat principle based on strong power will be applied" in response to the military exercises. "The present situation, in which the hostile forces get frantic in their military moves to infringe

North Korea's latest threats may be a ploy to undermine South Korea's border security operations and cement the division of the Korean Peninsula into two permanently separate states, experts said Tuesday, as Seoul's top military officer warned of a firm response to any further provocations by Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, on Monday, accused Seoul of escalating tensions near the Military Demarcation Line, describing the situation as "very unstable" and threaten

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a garment and footwear exhibition, highlighting achievements in light industry production under his signature regional development policy, state media reported Tuesday. Kim toured the 2026 National Garment and Footwear Exhibition the previous day and expressed satisfaction that products on display showed "rapid and substantial" development in light industry, according to the Korean Central News Agency. According to photos published by the state media,

The education ministers of North Korea and Russia have met in Pyongyang and discussed ways to expand exchanges in the education field, the North's state media reported Tuesday, amid deepening cooperation between the two nations. North Korean Education Minister Ri Yong-chol and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Kravtsov, held talks the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency. A Russian delegation, led by Kravtsov, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday. "At the talks, the successes and ex

Kim Yo-jong said Monday that Pyongyang is considering new military steps against South Korea, including resuming loudspeaker broadcasts and deploying additional tactical strike assets near the inter-Korean border. Kim Yo-jong is the director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers' Party of Korea and the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "Our military leadership is considering increasing the deployment of tactical strike means near the entire southern border and resuming loudsp

North Korea is opening upscale Korean barbecue restaurants at a remarkable pace, in what analysts see as an effort to showcase rising living standards, capture spending by an emerging middle class and project an image of prosperity beyond Pyongyang. Yet the rapid expansion of state-backed dining facilities, complete with outdoor terraces, modern ventilation systems and seating for hundreds, stands in stark contrast to the country's persistent food insecurity and deep inequalities in access to me

South Korea and Ukraine had formed a consensus to keep discussions on the repatriation of captured North Korean soldiers confidential for as long as possible, a South Korean diplomat said Sunday. Yoon Ji-wan, charge d'affaires at the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine, made the remark during a parliamentary audit by the subcommittee on foreign affairs conducted at the South Korean Embassy in Poland. "We had no discussions on a timeline for disclosure, but we did share the idea that confidentiality

North Korea said Saturday it has conducted an underwater test of a new precision-guided torpedo weapon system, noting that the test heralds a "significant" change in the North's naval capabilities. North Korea test-fired the Zam-2.0 super-speed precision-guided torpedo weapon system Thursday to confirm the successful technical upgrade of the weapon, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It did not disclose further details of the weapon. Key national defense officials who oversaw th

BEIJING (AP) — A new bridge linking China and North Korea opened Thursday after more than a decade of delay, signaling deeper ties between the two countries. Officials from the two countries attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the launch of the New Yalu River Bridge, with trucks adorned with the national flags of China and North Korea waiting on the bridge. Both countries said they expected that the four-lane, 3-kilometer crossing, which connects the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong to th

South Korea aims to expand a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un into four-party talks involving the two Koreas, the US and China, with the goal of replacing the Korean Peninsula's decades-old armistice system with a permanent peace regime, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday. "Our strategic objective is to turn a US-North Korea summit into four-party talks and link those discussions to the establishment of a peace regime," Chun

This spring in Kaesong, I stood before Hyonjongnung, the paired tombs of King Kongmin and Princess Noguk. Their symmetrical burial mounds, carved stone screens and guardian figures preserve the aesthetics and engineering of late Goryeo (sometimes spelled Koryo). Today, they form part of UNESCO’s Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong. Wang Gi (1330–1374), a 12th-generation descendant of Goryeo founder Wang Kon (also known as Taejo of Goryeo), became the dynasty’s 31st king in 1351, 17 years bef

North Korea could strengthen its military drone capabilities by gaining technical expertise through workers deployed to a major Russian drone production facility, potentially posing a new security threat to South Korea and US forces in the region, a US think tank report showed Wednesday. The report, jointly published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the George W. Bush Institute, examined the security implications of North Korea's involvement in Russia's drone manu

Scheduling the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge after a 12-year delay could signal a shift in economic ties between Pyongyang and Beijing, a think tank affiliated with the country's National Intelligence Service said early this week. North Korea and China may have reached an economic compromise that could pave the way for opening the bridge connecting China's Dandong with North Korea's Sinuiju, the Institute for National Security Strategy said Monday. Pyongyang may have used the long-delayed

The US Justice Department said Tuesday it has clamped down on North Korean remote IT worker schemes that affected more than 70 American companies and generated millions of dollars in revenue allegedly linked to the North Korean regime. The department announced a series of recent coordinated law enforcement actions in Ohio and Texas, including an indictment, two arrests and the seizure of 187 computers used by North Korean IT workers to obtain fraudulent employment at US companies. (123rf) "North

North Korea's missile launch on Monday was a major success in improving its weapons systems, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. "The Missile Administration announced that the technological upgrades to key components verified through the test represent a major achievement that heralds significant advances in the performance and precision of all offensive weapons systems," the KCNA said. The agency said the launch was part of routine activities by the Missile Admini