North Korea

North Korea can produce ballistic missiles for Russia to use in Ukraine war

North Korea demonstrated this year that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months, the head of a research organisation that traces weapons used in the war said on Wednesday. Jonah Leff told the UN Security Council that researchers on the ground examined remnants of four missiles from North Korea recovered in Ukraine in July and August, including one that had marks indicating it was produced in 2024. "This is the first public evidence of missiles having been produced in North Korea and then used in Ukraine within a matter of months, not years," he said. Leff also had briefed the Security Council in late June, telling members that the organisation he heads, Conflict Armament Research, had "irrefutably" established that ballistic missile remnants found in Ukraine early this year were from a missile manufactured in North Korea. The UK-based organisation, which was established in 2011 to document and trace weapons used in

US sanctions target North Korea and Russia over military cooperation

The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials, as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest US measure aimed at disrupting North Korea's support to Russia

Some North Korean troops killed fighting alongside Russia, say Ukraine, US

Ukraine's military intelligence agency and the Pentagon said Monday that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk border region. These are the first reported casualties since the US and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war. Ukraine's military intelligence agency said around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during battle with the Ukrainian army over the weekend. The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion, the agency, known by its acronym GUR, said in a public post on the Telegram messaging app. At least three North Korean servicemen went missing around another Kursk village, GUR said. Maj Gen Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that some North Korean troops have died in combat in Kursk but did not have a specific number of those kill

North Koreans indicted for using IT workers to fund weapons programmes

Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with US companies workers who then funneled their wages to North Korea for development of ballistic missiles and other weapons, the head of the FBI office in St. Louis has said. The scheme involving thousands of IT workers generated more than USD88 million for the North Korean government, Ashley T Johnson, special agent in charge of the St. Louis FBI office, said at a news conference on Thursday. In addition to their wages, the workers stole sensitive information from companies or threatened to leak information in exchange for extortion payments, Johnson said. Victims included defrauded companies and people whose identities were stolen from across the US, including Missouri, Johnson said. The indictments were filed Wednesday in US District Court in St. Louis. All 14 people face wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and other charges. Most of .

Oppn tried to destroy country; I will fight to the end: South Korea's Prez

South Korean President said the opposition was "dancing the sword dance of madness" by trying to drag a democratically elected president from power

South Korean prosecutors seek to arrest ex-defence min over martial law

South Korean prosecutors are seeking to formally arrest the former defence minister alleged to have colluded with President Yoon Suk Yeol in imposing martial law last week, as both men are being investigated on rebellion and other charges. Martial law lasted only about six hours but was the first of its kind in more than 40 years and has caused a domestic firestorm and large street protests. Yoon and his associates face criminal investigations and impeachment attempts. The Justice Ministry has banned Yoon and eight others from leaving the country as authorities see them as key suspects in the martial law case. It's the first time that a sitting president in South Korea has received such a travel ban. The Seoul Central District Court said Tuesday it'll review prosecutors' request for a warrant to arrest former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who has been accused of recommending martial law to Yoon and sending troops to the National Assembly to block lawmakers from voting on it. Eno

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares emergency martial law

He did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, however, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents

South Korea Parliament rejects President Yeol's martial law declaration

The South Korean parliament has voted to defy the country's president and immediately lift his martial law declaration. President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate anti-state forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country's parliament and that he accuses of sympathising with communist North Korea. The surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon's own conservative party.

Kim Jong Un pledges steadfast support for Russia's war in Ukraine

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed his country will invariably support Russia's war in Ukraine as he met Russia's defence chief, the North's state media reported Saturday. A Russia military delegation led by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, amid growing international concern about the two countries' expanding cooperation after North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia last month. The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim and Belousov reached a satisfactory consensus on boosting strategic partnership and defending each country's sovereignty, security interests and international justice in the face of the rapidly-changing international security environments in a Friday meeting. Kim said that North Korea will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists' moves for hegemony, KCNA said. North Korea has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling

Russian defence minister visits North Korea for talks to boost ties

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their cooperation over Russia's war in Ukraine. In announcing the visit, Russia's Defence Ministry didn't say whom Belousov would meet or the purpose of the talks. North Korean state media didn't immediately confirm the visit. Belousov, a former economist, replaced Sergei Shoigu as defence minister in May after Russian President Vladimir Putin started a fifth term in power. Photos released by the Defense Ministry showed Belousov walking alongside North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol on a red carpet at a Pyongyang airport. North Korean military officials were seen clapping under a banner that read, Complete support and solidarity with the fighting Russian army and people. Belousov noted after his arrival that military cooperation between the countries is expanding. He applauded a strategic partnership agreement signed by

Starbucks offers glimpse of North Korean life from new South Korea cafe

Starbucks Coffee Korea's new riverbank cafe at an observatory tower in South Korea's Gimpo city promises coffee aficionados a chance to gaze at normal village life in Gaepung county across border

Satellite images suggest North Korea expanding missile plant: Report

The facility, known as the February 11 plant, is part of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city, on the country's east coast

Russia supplied air defence missiles to N Korea in return for troops: Seoul

Russia has supplied air defence missiles to North Korea in exchange for sending its troops to support Russia's war efforts against Ukraine, a top South Korean official said Friday. The US, South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in October, some of whom have recently began engaging in combat. It has been unclear what Russia would give North Korea in return. Shin Wonsik, national security adviser for President Yoon Suk Yeol, told a SBS TV program Friday that South Korea has found Russia provided missiles and other equipment to reinforce its air defence network for Pyongyang, the capital. Many observers say North Korea likely feels the urgent need to boost its air defence capabilities for the capital after the North last month accused South Korea of dropping propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang. North Korea threatened to take military action if leaflets were again dropped. South Korea's military has refused to confirm whether or not it was behind t

S Korea finds Russia supplied missiles to North Korea in return for troops

A top South Korean official says Russia has supplied anti-air missiles to North Korea in exchange for it sending troops. The US, South Korea and others say North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. What Russia would give North Korea in return has been the focus of keen attention. National Security Director Shin Wonsik told a SBS TV programme Friday that South Korea has found Russia has provided anti-air missiles and other equipment to reinforce its air defence network for Pyongyang, the capital. Shin says Russia has also give diverse economic assistance to North Korea. Seoul and Washington have voiced worries about possible Russian transfers of sensitive nuclear and missile technology to North Korea.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un says past diplomacy only confirmed US hostility

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington's unchangeable hostility toward Pyongyang and described his nuclear buildup as the only way to counter external threats, state media said Friday. Kim spoke Thursday at a defence exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the US mainland, the North's Korean Central News Agency said. While meeting with army officers last week, he had pledged a limitless expansion of his military nuclear programme. Kim has yet to comment directly on Donald Trump's reelection as US president. During his first term, Trump held three highly orchestrated summits with the North Korean leader in 2018 and 2019, before the diplomacy collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led economic sanctions and the North's steps to wind down its nuclear programme. During the speech at the ...

North Korea, Russia sign agreement to expand their economic cooperation

North Korea and Russia reached a new agreement for expanding economic cooperation following high-level talks in Pyongyang this week, the North's state media said Thursday, as they continue to align in the face of their confrontations with Washington. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency didn't elaborate on the details of the agreement signed Wednesday between its senior trade officials and a Russian delegation led by Alexandr Kozlov, the country's minister of natural resources and ecology. The Russian news agency Tass on Tuesday said officials following an earlier round of talks agreed to increase the number of charter flights between the countries to promote tourism. Kozlov, who arrived in North Korea on Sunday, met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his top economic official, Premier Kim Tok Hun, before returning home on Wednesday, KCNA said. During Kozlov's visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin's gifted Pyongyang's Central Zoo with more than 70 animals, ...

North Korea supplied more conventional weapons to Russia: South Korea

North Korea recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine, while some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed in Russia have begun engaging in combat, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Wednesday. The South Korean assessment came after Russia warned on Monday that US President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles adds fuel to the fire of the war. US officials said Biden's decision was triggered almost entirely by North Korea's entry into the war. In a closed-door briefing at parliament, the National Intelligence Service said that North Korea exported 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launch systems to Russia, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting. Lee told reporters that the NIS assessed those weapons are a type of artillery the Russian military doesn't operate so North Korea likely dispatched personnel

US accuses Russia of escalating Ukraine war by using North Korean troops

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the outgoing administration was adding fuel to the fire and seeking to escalate the conflict in Ukraine

North Korea may end up sending 100,000 troops to Russia for Ukraine war

Kim's decision to send North Korean troops to join Russia's fight against Ukraine has alarmed Kyiv's allies

Japan's minister visits Kyiv to stress mutual concern over N Korean troops

Japan's foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss North Korea's deepening military alliance with Russia, including the deployment of thousands of troops to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, to reaffirm Japan's strong support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion and to discuss further sanctions against Moscow, Japan's Foreign Ministry said. High on the agenda was Tokyo's grave concern over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the ministry said. According to US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia as part of a major defence treaty between the countries. Last week, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale fighting while Ukraine's army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on Augus