Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said Tuesday that he "will make every effort to ensure the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula" in his first public remarks since President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration. "I will carry out my duties with the utmost vigilance and without any lapse until my final day in office at this critical juncture, where inter-Korean relations are grave and uncertainties in the external environment are mounting,"

North Korea is widely expected to remain silent amid South Korea's political turbulence, defined by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s survival of an impeachment motion on Saturday, followed by the ruling party’s announcement on Sunday calling for his "orderly early resignation." However, the prospect of Pyongyang exploiting South Korea's perceived political vulnerabilities through provocations cannot be ruled out. If Pyongyang remains tight-lipped, the decision will under

North Korea will hold a key session of its rubber-stamp parliament next month to discuss a range of issues, including a constitutional amendment, the North's state media reported Friday. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly held its 34th plenary meeting the previous day at the Mansudae Assembly Hall and decided to convene the 12th session of the 14th assembly on Jan. 22, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The KCNA said that the upcoming session will address

A new defense treaty signed by the leaders of North Korea and Russia in June came into force this week as the two nations have exchanged the treaty ratification instruments, state media reported Thursday. The comprehensive strategic partnership treaty went into effect Dec. 4, when the two sides signed protocol on exchanging the ratification instruments, according to the Korean Central News Agency. At summit talks in Pyongyang in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimi

The sudden declaration of martial law by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol late Tuesday night sent shock waves through the country's foreign community. President Yoon has defended the move, citing alleged threats from opposition lawmakers, and saying the National Assembly had "become a den of criminals, paralyzed the country's judicial and administrative systems through legislative dictatorship, and attempted to overthrow the liberal democratic system." Although the order

Nearly one-third of respondents in a survey across eight countries identified North Korea's denuclearization as the most crucial step to achieve the unification of the Korean Peninsula, while over half of those surveyed said they believe Russia will provide no support for the unification process. The Unification Ministry on Tuesday unveiled the outcomes of its first-ever "Survey on Global Perception of Korean Unification," which polled 9,000 individuals aged 18 and older across ei

The unification ministry on Tuesday called on North Korea to "immediately and unconditionally" release Choi Chun-gil, a South Korean missionary detained in North Korea and five other nationals on the occasion of marking 10 years since his arrest. Choi is among six South Koreans who have currently been in detention for years in North Korea, including two other missionaries -- Kim Jung-wook and Kim Kook-kie. Choi was arrested in December 2014 and sentenced to hard labor for life on the c

A delegation of North Korean weather agency officials has left for Russia, the North's state media reported Tuesday, as Pyongyang and Moscow have been expanding cooperation in various fields. The delegation, led by Kim Jae-hyok, director of the State Hydro-Meteorological Administration, departed Pyongyang on Monday, the Korean Central News Agency said, without disclosing other details. The delegation plans to visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vladivostok as part of efforts to implement an ag

North Korea has decided to convene a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea late this month, state media reported Tuesday, amid anticipation as to what message the North will send toward US President-elect Donald Trump. The WPK's politburo decided Monday to hold the 11th plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK in late December, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not specify the date for the meeting. The meeting will be held to "revie

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