TAIPEI, Taiwan – Japan said it will extend its ban on trade with North Korea for two more years as part of sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and the unresolved abductions of Japanese nationals. Under the current sanctions, Japan bans port entry by North Korea-registered vessels and ships that have made port in the country, as well as trade. The sanctions were due to expire on Sunday. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, cited Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs and the unresolved issue of its decades-old abduction…
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South Korean court removes President Yoon from office after martial law debacle
Updated on April 4, 2025, at 1:50 p.m. ET TAIPEI, Taiwan – South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday upheld President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, removing him from office following his short-lived imposition of martial law, and possibly paving the way for an easing of tensions with bitter rival North Korea. Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly in mid-December on charges of violating the constitution and other laws by declaring martial law on Dec. 3. He ordered troops to the National Assembly to stop lawmakers from voting against the…
Backpacks for carrying cash: Surging inflation in North Korea hits residents hard
Surging inflation in North Korea has some people complaining that they need to carry a backpack full of cash just to go shopping, residents in the reclusive country told Radio Free Asia. Despite government attempts to tightly control prices, the cost of many items on informal markets called jangmadang, which became part of the economy after the famine that hit North Korea in the 1990s, have steadily risen. North Korean authorities initially forbid jangmadang, but they gradually allowed the markets because they provided a means for people to survive. Many…
North Korea sends officials to Iran amid suspected military cooperation
A North Korean delegation led by the cabinet minister for international trade is visiting Iran, the North’s state-run media reported on Wednesday, amid suspicion Tehran used North Korean weapons technology for its attack on Israel. The minister for external economic relations, Yun Jong Ho, left Pyongyang on Tuesday by air leading a ministry delegation to Iran, the Korean Central News Agency said, without providing further details. Yun, who previously worked on ties with Syria, has been active in North Korea’s increasing exchanges with Russia, this month leading a delegation on…
Students, residents pressed into North Korean construction projects
North Korean authorities are addressing a labor shortage by conscripting ordinary residents and students as young as 12 to work on state-mandated construction projects, sources inside North Korea told Radio Free Asia. In the northern province of Ryanggang, officials In Kimhyongjik county have required students to work on factory construction sites as part of leader Kim Jong Un’s plan to accelerate industrial development under the so-called “20×10 Local Development Policy” that was announced in December. The policy calls for 20 North Korean counties to construct modern factories every year over…
Smuggling of used cars into North Korea rises amid post-COVID demand
A recent surge in demand for used cars in North Korea has triggered an increase in car smuggling from China, with dozens of vehicles crossing a shallow section of the Yalu River every day, several sources told Radio Free Asia. The used vehicles include a variety of cars that are often dismantled once they reach North Korea so that their parts can be used for the repair and maintenance of other vehicles, the sources said. Trucks are also among the recent imports, raising the possibility that they’re needed on development…
North Korea files short-range ballistic missiles toward east coast: South
North Korea fired several rounds of short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast on Monday, according to South Korea’s military, three days after Pyongyang launched a strategic cruise missile to test a large warhead. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected what appeared to be several short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang region at 3:01 p.m “The North Korean missiles flew about 300 kilometers [186 miles] and splashed into the sea,” the JCS said in a text message to reporters, without providing further details. Denouncing the…
UN OKs shipment of vaccine storage equipment to North Korea
The U.N. Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea approved a request from UNICEF for a sanctions exemption so that vaccine storage equipment could be transported into North Korea, U.N. documents showed. UNICEF sent a letter to the committee on March 11 saying the cold chain equipment, which includes refrigeration units used to store vaccines, was critical to the successful distribution of vaccines to women and children in North Korea. The U.N. has imposed economic sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in an effort to defund the country’s nuclear program.…
Coffee in North Korea: It’s not just for capitalists anymore
Though coffee has long been derided as a symbol of imperialist capitalism, privileged North Koreans are developing a taste for it, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia. “These days, drinking coffee has become a trend among local officials,” a resident in the eastern province of South Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Until recently, coffee was perceived as a ‘luxury product symbolizing capitalism’ and incompatible with socialism.” For years, coffee was only available in hotels catering to foreign tourists, but it started to…
Pro-Russian hacking group paralyzes website of North Korea’s airline
A pro-Russian hacking group said it attacked and paralyzed the website of North Korea’s state-owned Air Koryo and later posted a mocking message on the Telegram messaging app about the airline’s inadequate cybersecurity standards. The “Server Killers” targeted the flag carrier’s website on April 9 using a denial-of-service attack, or DDoS. They then posted a screenshot of Air Koryo’s website that showed the standard “HTTP Error 500” message that users see when a website isn’t accessible. The group also posted a message that said “North Korea, where is security,” along…