Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said North Korean soldiers deployed to western Russia have been killed or injured during combat against Ukrainian forces, adding to global criticism they will be used as "cannon fodder" for Moscow, a Japanese report showed. Zelenskyy shared the assessment during an interview with Japan's Kyodo news agency on Sunday without providing further details on the number of casualties, saying Kyiv needs "to have proof" before disclosing

Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament, expressed deep concerns over the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. During a visit to Seoul last month, Mihkelson highlighted the strong diplomatic and security ties between Estonia and South Korea, noting the upcoming opening of Korea's embassy in Estonia as a milestone that will enhance cooperation and support shared commitment to

Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has left Pyongyang after a two-day visit during which he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the North's state media reported Sunday. Belousov and a Russian defense ministry delegation he led departed Pyongyang the previous day via Pyongyang Sunan International Airport after visiting the Liberation Tower and Mangyongdae in the capital earlier in the day, the Korean Central News Agency reported. The Russian minister arrived in the North Ko

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met Russia's visiting defense minister and expressed his support for Russia's war against Ukraine, state media reported Saturday, amid deepening military cooperation between the two nations. Kim had a "friendly and trustworthy" meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang on Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Belousov arrived in North Korea the previous day for a visit that came as North Korea

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov met with his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang-chol, in Pyongyang on Friday amid the intensifying war in Ukraine, where North Korea has dispatched soldiers and provided weapons to bolster Russia's efforts. The meeting was held during Belousov's "official visit" to North Korea at the invitation of Noh, Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday. Belousov notably underscored the significance of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Part

North Korea’s indoctrination center in Pyongyang now displays a photo of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol alongside the South Korean military’s motto for countering provocations from Pyongyang -- “immediately, strongly and to the end" -- according to an image published by North Korean state media. North Korea's Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party and the nation’s most widely circulated publication, featured a photo of stu

North Korea released around 40 trash-laden balloons from Thursday night to early Friday, its 32nd launch this year, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The military reported that about 30 objects had been found across Gyeonggi Province and the greater Seoul area by Friday morning. “These items, including anti-South propaganda leaflets, have been analyzed and confirmed to contain no hazardous materials,” the JCS said in a statement. The release of waste-filled ballo

North Korea sent what appear to be balloons carrying trash toward South Korea on Thursday, military authorities said, resuming its balloon campaign after a 10-day hiatus. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said these trash bundles are expected to move toward the Seoul metropolitan area and surrounding Gyeonggi Province, considering the direction of the wind. North Korea had last floated balloons on Nov. 18. It has done so on over 30 occasions since late May in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang propagand

North Korea's chief envoy to the United Nations has sidestepped a question confirming the country's troop deployment to Russia during a UN meeting, instead reiterating that his country will continue to develop relations with Russia. Kim Song, North Korea's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks while responding to a question from Robert Wood, the United States' alternate representative, during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday in New York. "The dep

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday denounced "political agitation" leaflets, accusing South Korea of sending them across the border. "Various kinds of political agitation leaflets and dirty things sent by the ROK scum were dropped again in different areas near the southern border of the DPRK" on Tuesday, the North's Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim Yo-jong as saying in a statement. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the official n

North Korea may officially acknowledge its troop deployments to Russia to secure strategic gains by formalizing its role as an official war participant amid mounting internal challenges in concealing such actions, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday. The ministry suggested Seoul detected "signs of unease" within North Korean society, as rumors, including accounts of families in tears, have surfaced and spread despite Pyongyang's efforts to keep its troop deployment to R

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited an offshore fishing farm under construction in the eastern port city of Sinpho, calling for regions to use their own natural and economic resources in a bid to develop themselves independently, state media reported Tuesday. The North's leader made the remarks during his visit to the Sinpho City Offshore Farm under construction in South Hamgyong Province, the Korean Central News Agency said, without disclosing the date of his inspection. During a v

North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on enhancing sports exchanges for next year, the North's state media said Monday, as the two nations continue to bolster cooperation in various fields. Kim Il-guk, North Korea's minister of physical culture and sports, signed the protocol with Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. While details of the protocol were not disclosed, the KCNA said Kim and Degty

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his previous efforts for dialogue and diplomacy could not change US hostility toward his country. “We had explored every path we can with the US through dialogue. The only outcome that can come from it, I am convinced, is the superpower’s implacable logic of force and unchanging policy of hostility toward our country,” Kim was quoted saying in the Workers’ Party of Korea-affiliated newspaper Rodong Simun on Friday. Kim has yet to offic

North Korea on Friday denounced a resolution recently adopted by a United Nations committee regarding the country's human rights violations as a "politically motivated provocation." A spokesman from North Korea's foreign ministry made the statement in a press release carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly's Third Committee adopted a resolution calling the human rights situation in North Korea "grave

A senior North Korean general was wounded in a Ukrainian strike in Russia's western Kursk region, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing Western officials. The newspaper on Thursday said it is the first time Western officials have said a high-ranking North Korean military officer has become a casualty in the Russia-Ukraine conflict since Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia last month in support of its invasion. The officials did not say who the general is or how badly h

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said that his country went to every length in negotiations with the United States, but it only confirmed Washington's unwavering hostile policy toward Pyongyang, the North's state media said Friday. Kim made the remarks during a speech at the opening ceremony of an arms exhibition titled "National Defense Development-2024," in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency said. "We have already gone to every length in ne

Hackers linked to North Korea’s military intelligence agency were found to be responsible for extorting ethereum cryptocurrency worth 58 billion won ($41.5 million) back in 2019, according to the National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Police Agency, Thursday. According to the KNPA, North Korea’s state-sponsored hacker groups Lazarus and Andariel were found to be involved in the theft of 342,000 ethereum tokens from the South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Upbit

North Korea and Russia concluded a ministerial meeting in Pyongyang aimed at expanding cooperation in the trade, economic, scientific and technological sectors on Wednesday, at a critical moment when global attention is focused on what Pyongyang might gain in return for dispatching troops to support Russia's war efforts in Ukraine. The Unification Ministry in Seoul on Thursday noted that neither Pyongyang nor Moscow revealed core agreements in the economic and trade sectors -- areas that co

North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on expanding cooperation following their committee meeting on economy, science, and technology in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Thursday. The two sides signed the agreement Wednesday after holding the 11th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science, and Technology the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Yun Jong-ho, the external economic relations minister of