North Korea’s Kim Jong Un arrives in Beijing for military parade

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, ahead of a massive Chinese military parade on Wednesday that will celebrate 80 years since the Japanese defeat that ended World War II. Kim and his daughter Kim Ju Ae arrived at around 4 p.m. on a green train bedecked with North Korean flags. They were met at the Beijing train station by Cai Qui, China’s fifth-highest ranked official, and foreign minister Wang Yi. It’s the North Korean leader’s second reported trip abroad in six years, and his first…

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to attend military parade in China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend an expansive military parade in China next week — the first event to bring him together with a clutch of world leaders since he assumed office in 2011. Video: Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to meet in BeijingChinese President Xi Jinping extended Kim’s invitation to the event, which marks 80 years since Japan’s surrender in World War II, North Korean state media reported Thursday. Kim will be among 26 foreign leaders who are expected to attend, including Russian President…

North Korea’s Kim, Putin vow cooperation in phone call

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to deepen their countries’ collaboration, North Korean state media said Wednesday, as Putin praised the “bravery, heroism, and self-sacrificing spirit” of North Korean troops who fought with the Russian military against Ukraine in the Kursk border region. On a telephone call on Tuesday with the Russian president, Kim said that North Korea would “fully support all measures to be taken by the Russian leadership in the future, too.” According to Russia’s TASS news agency, Putin shared with Kim…

North Korea may send more troops to Russia by August, South Korea says

North Korea may deploy more troops to Russia as early as July or August to aid in its war against Ukraine, with recruitment efforts already underway for another wave of military support to Moscow, South Korean intelligence told lawmakers Thursday. Last week, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has decided to send 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers, or combat engineers, to support demining and reconstruction efforts in the Kursk border region, according to Russian state media Tass and RIA Novosti. Since…

North Korea mobilizes students to collect stones daily for flood prevention walls

North Korea is mobilizing students in the northern border province of Ryanggang to gather rocks daily to help build flood walls as the region braces for seasonal monsoon rains, following devastating floods last year, sources told Radio Free Asia. Video: North Korea experiences heavy rains in Pyongyang, provincesLast July, large areas along the Amnok, or Yalu, River near North Korea’s border with China suffered extensive damage, prompting authorities to accelerate flood prevention measures this year ahead of monsoons that typically start in June and last until September. Last year, South…

US strikes on Iran may strengthen North Korea’s nuclear resolve, experts warn

The U.S. air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities will have reinforced North Korea’s perception that possessing nuclear weapons is essential for its survival and may even prompt Pyongyang to accelerate the development of its nuclear capabilities, warned South Korean experts. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the U.S. had conducted “massive precision strikes” on three Iranian nuclear sites – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – that has “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities. The attack on Iran’s nuclear sites marks the first offensive U.S. military action…

North Korea’s relaunches ‘restored’ warship with fanfare, 3 weeks after failure

A North Korean warship damaged during its launch three weeks ago was set afloat on a second attempt as leader Kim Jong Un looked on, but analysts say the 5,000-ton destroyer may not yet be fully operational. On Thursday, North Korea held a formal launch ceremony for the repaired naval destroyer named ‘Kang Kon’ at the Rajin dockyard, 45 miles (72 kilometers) up the coast from Chongjin shipyard where the warship on May 21 fell sideways into the sea, leaving it partially submerged. “The warship was safely raised and floated…

South Korea shuts off loudspeaker broadcasts to North in bid to ‘restore trust’

SEOUL – South Korea’s military on Wednesday stopped its loudspeaker broadcasts into North Korea that had blared K-pop and propaganda across the demilitarized zone for over a year. The move fulfills a campaign promise of the new South Korean president who favors engagement with Pyongyang. In his inaugural address last week, President Lee Jae-myung – who replaced ousted conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol – promised to improve inter-Korean relations and restart dialogue with Pyongyang, in sharp contrast to Yoon who adopted a more confrontational stance toward the North. Under Yoon,…

Damaged North Korea warship now in drydock near Russian border

Satellite imagery shows a North Korea warship that tipped over during its launch last month is now undergoing repairs at drydock near the Russian and Chinese borders. An image from Maxar Technologies taken on Sunday shows the 5,000 ton naval destroyer at the dock in Raijin, which lies in a special economic zone in the northeastern tip of the country. The warship fell sideways into the sea during its launch at the Chongjin shipyard on May 21, leaving it partially submerged and stoking the anger of leader Kim Jong Un,…

North Koreans have mixed reactions to South Korea’s new pro-engagement president

Read about this topic in Korean. As South Korean President Lee Jae-myung begins his term pledging dialogue and economic cooperation with Pyongyang, North Koreans—both at home and abroad—are reacting with a mix of hope, indifference, and deep-rooted skepticism. According to sources inside North Korea, the outcome of South Korea’s 21st presidential election quickly spread among the population after Lee’s victory on Tuesday. North Korean authorities confirmed Lee’s win via state media the following day, offering only a brief, commentary-free report. In interviews with RFA’s Korean Service, several North Korean citizens…