North Korea

By Byun Duk-kun WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- The United States imposed sanctions on virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash on Monday for its involvement in laundering virtual currency stolen by North Korean hackers. The Department of Treasury said th

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be releasing water from a dam near the inter-Korean border without giving prior notice to the South, a South Korean government official said Monday, as the North is drenched by heavy downpours. "As ra

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief nuclear envoy had a phone call with his Japanese counterpart Monday and explained the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's policy on North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Kim Gunn, Seoul's special repres

US treasury says popular cryptocurrency service reportedly laundered more than $7bn worth of virtual currencyThe United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, a popular cryptocurrency service that allows users to mask their transactions, accusing it of helping hackers, including from North Korea, to launder proceeds from their cybercrimes.A […]

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details; MODIFIES headline; ADDS photo, byline) By Yi Wonju SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will convene a key parliamentary meeting in Pyongyang next month to discuss organizational and other pending issues, it

By Yi Wonju SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will hold a national meeting this month to review anti-epidemic measures, state media said Monday, as its health authorities have reported no additional suspected COVID-19 cases for over a week. The

Meanwhile heavy rainfall predicted to far exceed annual averages in South and North KoreaWhile it feels as though Europe should be starting to see the end of its heatwaves, scorching temperatures are expected to continue across the north and west of the continent this week. As high pressure becomes established, parts of France and Spain could experience […]

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will convene a meeting of its rubber-stamp legislature in Pyongyang next month to discuss organizational issues, state media said Monday. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) met on Sunday

SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained at zero for more than a week, according to its state media Sunday. No new fever cases were reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean

As the world remembers Hiroshima, it must also recommit to the increasingly fragile non-proliferation treaty. The alternative is unthinkableA crucial event for the future of international peace and security – and global sanity – got under way at UN headquarters in New York last week, though, given the lack of political and media attention, you might be […]

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin has called for an unconditional dialogue between the two Koreas during his brief exchange with a North Korean envoy participating in the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phnom Penh, Seoul off

(ATTN: ADDS photo) SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday condemned U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. In a statement, Jo Yong-sam, director general of the foreign ministry's press and

SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Saturday his talks with China's top diplomat next week will focus on ways for cooperation on North Korea and stability in supply chains. He is scheduled to make a three-day trip t

SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday condemned U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. In a statement, Jo Yong-sam, director general of the foreign ministry's press and information departm

SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea reported six new fever patients Saturday amid its fight against COVID-19. The cases were found "after 6 p.m. Friday" in Jongju City, North Phyongan Province and Sinhung County, South Hamgyong Province, according

South Korea calls for dialogue and Japan conveys concerns over drills, while North Korea praises ChinaThe historic visit to Taiwan of the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has provoked a furious response from China, and heightened fears of a crisis in the Taiwan strait. In Asia and beyond, the visit has put governments on edge. Continue […]

North Korea's first lady, Ri Sol-ju, cried next to her husband, Kim Jong-un, while singing the national anthem during an event marking the 69th anniversary of the 27 July Korean war armistice, footage aired on Thursday from state-run KRT television showed. In a speech to commemorate the event, Kim said his country was ready to mobilise its nuclear war […]

Defence ministry also sounds alarm at prospect of Beijing-Moscow ties deepening amid expectations Tokyo will boost defence spendingJapan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending.The document […]

Alexander Matsegora tells Russian newspaper there are ‘a lot of opportunities’ for economic cooperation, despite UN sanctionsRussia-Ukraine war – latest updatesNorth Korea could send workers to two Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine, according to Russia’s ambassador in Pyongyang – a move that would pose a challenge to international […]

Rising water levels on the Imjin River caused by suspected release prompts holidaymakers and residents to leaveNorth Korea appears to have released water from a dam near its border with South Korea, prompting vacationers in the neighbouring country to evacuate over rising water levels on the Imjin River.The water level at a bridge across the river in the […]

Pyongyang accuses US of seeking ‘military supremacy’ over Asia-Pacific amid reports North ready for first nuclear test in five yearsNorth Korea has denounced the United States, South Korea and Japan for pushing to boost their trilateral military cooperation targeting the North, warning that Pyongyang may need to consider reinforcing its own military […]

Experts sceptical of claim, as state media urge citizens to watch out for ‘alien things coming by wind’North Korea has blamed its Covid-19 outbreak on balloons sent over its border with the South by groups of defectors, in an apparent attempt to shift the blame onto its neighbour.After two years of insisting that it had not recorded a single case of the […]

If confirmed, last week’s attack would be the eighth this year – involving $1bn in stolen funds – that could be confidently attributed to North KoreaNorth Korean hackers are thought to be behind last week’s theft of as much as $100m in cryptocurrency from a US company, as the regime steps up attempts to secure funding for its nuclear and ballistic […]

Biden due to meet Japanese PM Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon for talks amid escalating missile tests by Pyongyang North Korea has accused the US and its allies of launching a “sinister” attempt to form an “Asian Nato” to contain the regime, hours before Joe Biden and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts meet for security talks.“The US […]

Ballistic missile interception system trial follows North Korean tests and deployment of US THAAD system in South KoreaChina has claimed a successful test of a land-based ballistic missile interception system amid heightened tensions in Asia, in a move its defence ministry described as “defensive and not aimed at any country”.Beijing has in recent years […]

Monday morning launches demonstrate ‘capability and readiness to carry out precision strikes’ on regime, a day after it carried out its own launchesSouth Korea and the US have fired eight surface-to-surface missiles into the sea in response to North Korea’s launch of a similar number of ballistic missiles the previous day, a South Korea defence […]

Pyongyang’s 18th round of missile tests this year comes after US aircraft carrier leads exercises in the Philippine SeaNorth Korea has fired eight short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, a day after South Korea and the US wrapped up military exercises involving an American aircraft carrier.Possibly setting a single-day record […]

Countries use North’s elevation in rotating presidency to chastise Pyongyang over recent missile tests and feared preparation for fresh nuclear testNorth Korea skipped the diplomatic niceties for a combative tone as it took the helm of the Conference on Disarmament.“My country is still at war with the United States,” declared Pyongyang’s ambassador, […]