Olympic organizers have issued an “apology” after South Korea’s athletes were mistakenly introduced as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris.
While the South Korean team paraded down the River Seine, both French and English announcers referred to them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” which is North Korea’s official title.
The same designation was correctly used later when North Korea’s delegation appeared.
The two Koreas have been separated since the end of World War II, and recent tensions between them have been high.
Although the television broadcast displayed the correct title in subtitles, the South Korean sports ministry has announced plans to file a “strong complaint” with the French government regarding the error.
In a statement, the ministry expressed “regret over the announcement… where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team.”
The statement added that the second vice sports minister, Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, had demanded a meeting with Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued an apology on its official Korean-language X account, saying: “We would like to offer a deep apology over the mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony.”
South Korea, formally known as the Republic of Korea, has 143 athletes in its Olympic team this year, competing across 21 sports.
North Korea has sent 16 athletes. This is the first time it has competed in the games since Rio 2016.
Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia and North Korea have elevated their relationship to a “new level,” committing to mutual assistance in the event of an attack, marking a “breakthrough” partnership.
This declaration came during the Russian president’s rare visit to North Korea.
As Putin commenced his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, thousands of North Koreans lined the city’s broad streets, chanting “welcome Putin” and waving Russian and North Korean flags, along with bouquets of flowers.
The visit featured a meticulously arranged display of influence in the authoritarian state.
During the visit, the two leaders signed a new strategic partnership agreement, replacing previous deals from 1961, 2000, and 2001, as reported by Russian state news agency TASS.
He said the deal encompasses the “political, trade, investment, cultural spheres, and the security sphere as well,” calling the pact “truly a breakthrough document.”
Putin said joint drills involving the United States, South Korea and Japan were “hostile” toward North Korea,” characterizing the US policy as “confrontational.”
Kim, meanwhile, called the new “alliance” a “watershed moment in the development of the bilateral relations.”
But the deal between the two autocrats raised many questions, too – including whether Russia’s nuclear deterrent now extends to North Korea, and vice versa, or whether the two nations will now hold joint military drills.
Putin received an enthusiastic welcome during a ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in North Korea’s capital, where mounted soldiers, military personnel, and children with balloons cheered under large portraits of both leaders.
They introduced their respective delegations and stood side by side as the Russian national anthem played. Later, they rode together in an open-top limousine, smiling and waving to the crowds.
The event underscored North Korea’s close ties with Moscow and likely served as a reminder to the West of Putin’s enduring influence, despite global criticism following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The partnership holds significance forRussia as well. While several governments have accused Pyongyang of supplying arms to Moscow during its conflict in Ukraine, both countries have consistently denied these allegations, despite substantial evidence suggesting otherwise.
On Wednesday, Putin gifted Kim an Aurus car during their exchange of presents, as reported by Russian state media. This marks the second time Putin has bestowed this model upon his North Korean counterpart.
Additionally, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov mentioned that the Russian leader also gave Kim a tea set. Ushakov didn’t specify what gifts Putin received but described them as “also good gifts.”
The visit underscores the deepening alignment between the two nations amidst shared hostility towards the West and growing concerns over their enhanced military cooperation on the international stage.
Before their talks commenced, Kim expressed his full support and solidarity with the Russian government, military, and people. He specifically referenced Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, emphasizing their efforts to safeguard sovereignty, safety, and territorial stability.
“Situations continue to be complicated and ever-changing, but I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that we will continue to strengthen and closely engage in strategic communication with the (Russian) leadership,” Kim added.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin exit a welcome ceremony at Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang on June 19. Gavriil Grigorov/Pool/AFP/Sputnik/Getty Images
Putin hailed the countries’ ties as based on “equality and mutual respect,” and said an expected new bilateral agreement would “form the basis of relations between the two states for many years to come,” according to Russian state agency TASS.
He also added that he hoped Kim would visit Moscow for their next meeting.
The burgeoning relationship has sparked concern in both Seoul and Washington, not only over North Korea’s arms transfers to Russia, but also the prospect of Moscow transferring its superior military technology to aid Pyongyang’s heavily sanctioned weapons program
Russian President Vladimir Putinis scheduled to make his first visit to North Korea in 24 years on Tuesday. During this trip, he will hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.
The last time the two leaders met was in September at Russia’s Vostochny cosmodrome, but this visit marks Putin’s first official visit to Pyongyang since the year 2000.
The United States has expressed apprehension about the growing relationship between Russia and North Korea.
According to the Kremlin, this visit is categorised as a “friendly state visit,” and there are expectations that Putin and Kim may sign a partnership agreement covering various aspects, including security issues.
They are also expected to issue joint statements to the media.
A parade is anticipated in Kim Il Sung Square during Putin’s visit, and he is scheduled to attend a concert as well as visit the Orthodox Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang, which is the only orthodox church in North Korea.
Reports indicate that Putin will be staying at the Kumsusan guesthouse, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping stayed during his state visit to North Korea in 2019.
Accompanying Putin will be his new defence minister, Andrei Belousov, along with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Ahead of his visit, Putin praised North Korea for its support of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, emphasising his intent to establish economic and security partnerships with Pyongyang independent of Western influence.
He expressed solidarity with North Korea in its efforts to protect its interests amid what he described as pressure and military threats from the United States.
Kim Jong Un recently characterised the relationship with Russia as one of “unbreakable comradeship.” During their previous meeting, Putin mentioned the potential for military cooperation with North Korea, while Kim expressed his support for Putin amidst the conflict in Ukraine.
The White House has stated its concerns about the deepening ties between Russia and North Korea.
“We’re not concerned about the trip” by Mr. Putin, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “What we are concerned about is the deepening relationship between these two countries.”
John Nilsson-Wright, head of the Japan and Koreas programme at Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics, said Mr Putin is “strengthening ties with its old Cold War partner” in an effort to “counter any suggestion that the US and its allies have been able to isolate Moscow.”
“He is bolstering relations between authoritarian regimes at a time when democratic governments are in a defensive position, confronting global security challenges” in the Middle East, East Asia and Ukraine, he added.
In 2000, early in his presidency, Vladimir Putin met with Kim Jong Il, then the supreme leader of North Korea.
Relations between these two isolated nations have grown stronger in recent years, particularly since Russia’s extensive invasion of Ukraine.
North Korea is seeking assistance with space technology following its recent failure to successfully launch a second spy satellite, as well as support with food, fuel, and foreign currency.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to face challenges in procuring weaponry for its ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of providing Moscow with artillery and other military equipment, likely in exchange for food, military aid, and technological assistance. Both North Korea and Russia deny any formal arms deal.
Following his visit toNorth Korea,Putin is anticipated to travel to Vietnam, a longtime Communist ally. During this visit, discussions are expected to cover various issues, including trade.
North Korea told Japan’s coast guard that they are going to launch a satellite rocket between Monday and June 3.
The Japanese Prime Minister’s Office said it’s no longer worried about a missile hitting Okinawa after North Korea launched one.
Last year, North Korea sent its first military satellite into space to keep an eye on the US-led military threats. They want to build a surveillance network in space. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un said at a meeting with his ruling party that the country will send three more military spy satellites into space in 2024.
The UN doesn’t allow North Korea to launch satellites because they think it’s really a way for them to test their long-range missiles. North Korea insists that it is allowed to send satellites into space and test missiles. Kim said that spy satellites will help his military watch US and South Korean military activities more closely and make their nuclear-capable missiles more dangerous.
North Korea gives Japan its information about when they will launch missiles because Japan’s coast guard helps to keep ships safe in East Asia.
Leaders from South Korea, Japan, and China met in Seoul for their first joint meeting on Monday, and they received a notification about a launch.
Japan’s coast guard was told by North Korea that they plan to launch a “satellite rocket” in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and China, and east of the Philippine island of Luzon starting on Monday and lasting until midnight on June 3.
North Korea shares its rocket launch details with Japan because Japan’s coast guard helps keep ships safe in the region.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, told officials to work together with the United States, South Korea, and other countries to ask North Korea not to launch anything and to be ready in case something goes wrong.
In November, North Korea sent its first military satellite into space to spy on the US and other military threats. North Korea wants spy satellites to watch the US and South Korea closely and make its missiles more accurate.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, said at a meeting at the end of the year that the country will send three more military spy satellites into space in 2024.
The UN tells North Korea it can’t launch any satellites because they think it’s really a way for them to test their missile technology. North Korea says it can launch satellites and test missiles.
The satellite launch in November made tensions between North and South Korea worse. Both countries are now breaking the agreement they made in 2018 to reduce military tensions.
In the last few years, North Korea has been doing a lot of missile tests to make its weapons stronger. This has made the US, South Korea and Japan work together to make their security stronger too. According to experts, North Korea probably thinks that having more weapons would give them more power when negotiating with the US in the future.
North Korea was not on the list of topics for Monday’s meeting between Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
On Sunday, Yoon talked to Li about North Korea’s nuclear program and military ties with Russia. Yoon also asked China to help promote peace on the Korean Peninsula because it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
South Korea, Japan, and the US have been asking China, who is North Korea’s main friend and provides them with money, to help convince North Korea to stop trying to build nuclear weapons. China is believed to not be following all the rules set by the UN to stop North Korea. They are also thought to be sending secret aid to help North Korea.
On Sunday, the North Korean Vice Defence Minister, Kim Kang Il, said they might take aggressive action in response to South Korean navy and coast guard ships crossing the disputed sea boundary. There have been many fights in that area in recent years.
He promised to get back at South Korean activists who were sending negative messages about North Korea across the border.
The penalties are for two men and six shipping companies that Canada says helped move weapons, like ballistic missiles, from North Korea to Russia illegally.
Global Affairs Canada says that these groups bought weapons from North Korea and used them in Ukraine this year and last year, which goes against international sanctions.
Ottawa says the companies are connected to the Russian military and help move weapons. They can’t do business with Canadians.
Canada has punished over 3,000 people and groups in Eastern Europe who are involved with Russia invading Ukraine in 2014 and invading again in 2022.
A report from the Senate says it’s hard to know if Canada’s restrictions on people are being followed, and if Ottawa has clearly explained why they are imposing the restrictions.
South Korea’s military leaders said that North Korea launched weapons from its east coast Wonsan region. The weapons traveled about 300 kilometers (185 miles) before landing in the waters between Korea and Japan. Japan’s top government spokesperson, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said that a missile from North Korea landed in an area outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
South Korea’s military said the missile launches are a clear threat to peace in the area. South Korea will be ready to defend against any attacks from North Korea, with help from the United States.
North Korea has been testing more weapons recently to make its weapons stronger and more up-to-date. Talks with the United States and South Korea have not been successful. Last week, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, watched a new rocket launch system being tested. This information was reported by North Korea’s state media.
North Korea says it had to make its nuclear and missile programsstronger because of the threats from the US. North Korea says the US and South Korea are doing more military training, which they think is getting ready for an invasion. Foreign experts believe that North Korea uses its rivals’ military drills as an excuse to build more weapons. They think this will help North Korea have more power in future talks with the US.
On Thursday, two South Korean planes and two US planes practiced flying together over the middle of South Korea. North Korea is very concerned about the advanced US weapons being sent to their area. AircraftReportedly, a US F-22 was sent to South Korea for the first time in seven months.
North Korea’s official news agency said on Friday that the US sending F-22s for training with South Korea is more evidence of the US being hostile and wanting to use force against North Korea. KCNA says that South Korea’s military is making tensions worse to support their master’s plan to fight against North Korea.
It said that the F-22s flying over will make a bad situation worse for the US, but it didn’t say what North Korea will do about it.
On Friday, Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong said that North Korea’s recent weapons tests are part of the country’s plan to build up their weapons over the next five years, which started in 2021. She said the new weapons are made to attack Seoul, the capital of South Korea. She also said the tests were not meant to show off weapons North Korea wants to sell to Russia.
“We openly admit that we will use these weapons to stop Seoul from coming up with unnecessary ideas,” stated Kim Yo Jong in a message reported by KCNA.
The US and South Korea believe that North Korea is giving weapons to Russia for their war in Ukraine in exchange for advanced military technology and economic help. North Korea and Russia have said that it is not true many times.
Experts from other countries think that North Korea did some tests with artillery and short-range missiles recently to show off the weapons they want to sell to Russia.
Kim Yo Jong said that she doesn’t think it’s necessary to assess or interpret the North Korean-Russian dealings because she thinks it’s very ridiculous and doesn’t make sense.
“We don’t want to share our military technology with any other country or make it available to the public,” she said in a message reported by the state media.
“We’re not hiding the fact that we will use these weapons to stop Seoul from having any unnecessary thoughts,” said Kim Yo Jong.
Last year, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said North Korea sent about 7,000 containers of weapons and military gear to Russia. In response, Shin said that North Korea got more than 9,000 Russian containers that probably had aid inside.
In January, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that missiles from North Korea were used in an attack on Ukraine. At that time, officials in Ukraine said they found a missile in the northeastern Kharkiv region and believed it came from North Korea.
Selling weapons to North Korea would break the rules of the United Nations, which Russia agreed to.
In May, the White House said that Russia was sending more refined petroleum to North Korea than the UN Security Council allows.
Since 2022, North Korea has been doing a lot of missile tests that make other countries worried. The US is doing more military practice with South Korea and Japan because of this. Experts from other countries believe that North Korea probably believes that having more weapons will give them more power in future talks with the United States.
The parts from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2 were from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, according to a report by United Nations sanctions monitors to a Security Council committee. This was seen by Reuters on Monday.
The UN says they found pieces of a missile in Ukraine that came from North Korea, breaking the rules about weapons.
North Korea, also called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been punished by the UN since 2006 for its missile and nuclear projects, and the punishments have gotten tougher over time.
Three people went to Ukraine to check the debris and they didn’t find any proof that Russia made the missile. They couldn’t figure out where the missile came from or who launched it on their own.
Ukrainian authorities said that the missile was launched from Russia. They wrote this in a report to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee on April 25th.
They said that if the missile was in a place controlled by Russia, it would probably mean that people from Russia bought it. This would break the rule that stops North Korea from getting weapons, which was made in 2006.
The US and other countries say North Korea gave weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have said they didn’t do it, but they promised to make their military relationship stronger last year.
In February, the US said that Russia used missiles from North Korea to attack Ukraine many times.
The UN people who watch over things said that North Korea tested the Hwasong-11 series missiles in 2019.
Russia said no to renewing the UN sanctions monitors that have been keeping an eye on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs for 15 years. The current group of experts will have to stop working on Tuesday.
Within a few days of January, The Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office showed parts of a missile to the media after an attack. They said the missile was not from Russia and it might have been given to them by North Korea.
Yun Jong Ho, a government official, left North Korea on Tuesday to visit Iran with a group of other officials. He is in charge of economic relations with other countries. It did not provide any other information.
Many people have thought that North Korea and Iran work together on making missiles, sharing their knowledge and parts to make them.
Iran gave a lot of missiles to Russia to use in their war with Ukraine, according to Reuters in February.
North Korea is thought to have given missiles and weapons to Russia, but both countries say it’s not true.
North Korean state media announced on Tuesday that Kim Jong Un oversaw the firing of several large rockets in an exercise designed to mimic a nuclear assault on its enemies.This adds to his aggressive testing and threats that have made tensions higher in the area.
North Korea’s news agency reported that they launched several short-range missiles from near their capital towards the east. This news came after South Korea and Japan detected the missile launches.
Experts say that North Korea’s big artillery rockets are like a mix of artillery and missiles because they can move on their own and be controlled while they are being fired. The North has talked about some of these weapons, like the 600mm rocket launchers tested on Monday, as being able to carry small nuclear bombs.
KCNA announced that the missile launches on Monday were the first time North Korea showed its nuclear-weapons management and control system called “Haekbangashoe,” or “nuclear trigger. ” The report said the drill was meant to show the power and different ways North Korea can attack with its nuclear weapons, because of increasing tensions with the United States and South Korea, which it called “warmongers” for raising tensions in the region with their joint military exercises.
State media pictures showed at least four rockets being shot from vehicles as Kim watched from a special spot. The rockets flew 352 kilometers (218 miles) and hit the island target. The drill showed that the whole nuclear force system is reliable.
KCNA reported that Kim was happy with the drill, which showed how his country’s nuclear-armed military was increasing the space and variety of its tactical nuclear attack operations.
He said the drill was very important for getting our nuclear force ready to quickly and correctly do its important job of stopping a war and being the first to attack in a war at any time and any sudden situation. The comments showed North Korea’s aggressive nuclear plan, which lets the military launch nuclear attacks first if it thinks the leaders are in danger.
In the last few months, North Korea has been testing a lot of weapons and making its military stronger. But talks with the United States and South Korea are not moving forward. Experts and people from other countries believe that Kim wants to make the United States agree to North Korea having nuclear weapons. Then, he can negotiate for economic and security benefits from a strong position.
In reaction to North Korea’s changing nuclear threats, the United States and South Korea have been making their joint military practice stronger and including Japan in the exercises. Countries are also making their nuclear defense plans stronger using important US weapons.
In the past, North Korea has tested missiles that can carry nuclear weapons and reach South Korea, Japan, and the mainland United States. Some experts believe North Korea already has nuclear missiles that can reach South Korea and Japan, but they are still working on missiles that can reach the US.
North Korea tested new weapons a few days after it announced it had tested a big cruise missile warhead and a new anti-aircraft missile last week. In early April, North Korea tested a new missile that can fly a long way and carry a warhead that moves very fast. Experts think the missile is meant to attack faraway places like Guam and other US Pacific territories.
Some people think that North Korea might launch another military spy satellite soon, after they already put one in space in November. Kim believes that keeping an eye on US and South Korean military actions from space is really important. He also thinks this will make his nuclear missiles even scarier. Kim has said that North Korea will send three new spy satellites into space in 2024.
The Japanese government warned and its coast guard reported that North Korea had launched what seemed to be a missile. NHK broadcaster said the projectile seemed to have landed outside the area that belongs only to Japan.
The military in South Korea said that North Korea fired some short-range ballistic missiles from near its capital, Pyongyang. The missiles traveled 300 kilometers (186 miles) and landed in the ocean.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said on Monday that they knew about the missile launch. They also said that they don’t think it’s a danger to US people, land, or friends.
After a meeting between the leaders of the two countries in September, people think North Korea gave weapons and ammunition to Russia for its attack on Ukraine. But both North Korea and Russia say this isn’t true.
The North is getting ready to send another spy satellite into space, following the successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite in November.
Last week, North Korea said they launched a special cruise missile to test a big warhead, and a new missile to shoot down aircraft.
In April, North Korea launched a new type of missile called a hypersonic missile. This is part of their plan to develop more powerful missiles, and their leader, Kim Jong Un, is in charge of this.
“Professor Leif-Eric Easley from Ewha University in Seoul said that North Korea is focusing on developing weapons quickly, not only to gain a military advantage but also to show off its political power. ”
Last month, Russia said no to renewing the sanctions against North Korea. US and South Korean officials blamed Russia for making North Korea more confident. China did not vote for or against the decision in the Security Council.
Russia and China wanted to make the sanctions against North Korea to be renewed every year, but they were not successful.
North Korea shot a big missile into the sea on Tuesday. It might be a test of a new rocket that uses solid fuel. South Korea, Japan, and the United States are not happy about it.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, looked at the launch and praised it as a powerful weapon that shows the high level of North Korea’s defense technology.
According to Rodong Sinmun, Kim said that North Korea has changed all its missiles to use solid fuel, and they can now be controlled with warheads and made into nuclear weapons.
This news story is still being updated. Come back later for more information.
North Korea launched a missile towards the ocean on Tuesday, aiming to improve its weapons that could reach faraway places like the United States.
The military in South Korea said a missile was launched from near North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang. It flew 600 kilometers before landing in the sea between Korea and Japan. The South Korean military didn’t right away give more information about the flight of the missile. They didn’t say if North Korea tested the missile with less power or with new technology.
Japan’s Defense Ministry explained that the missile traveled 650 kilometers and reached a maximum height of 100 kilometers before landing in water outside of Japan’s area. The Japanese military did not say right away if they thought the missile was medium-range or not.
Last month, the North tested a new type of engine for a fast missile that could reach Guam and the US Pacific military base if it works well.
This was the first known launch by North Korea since March 18th when their leader oversaw a practice of firing artillery. The artillery was meant to target the capital of South Korea.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said that there have been no reports of damage from the missile. He said North Korea’s often launching missiles “puts Japan and the whole region at risk and threatens global security as well. ”
There has been more fighting in the area since 2022 because Kim used Russia’s attack on Ukraine to speed up his testing of missiles and other weapons. The US and South Korea are doing more training together, along with Japan, to make their defense stronger. They are also working on new plans to prevent threats, using important US military equipment.
Some people are worried that North Korea might cause more problems during elections in the United States and South Korea.
After testing the solid-fuel IRBM engine on March 19, Kim said that these weapons are just as important as his missiles that can reach the US.
Recently, North Korea has been working on making more weapons with solid fuel. These weapons are easier to move and hide and can be made to launch faster than liquid-propellant missiles. Liquid-propellant missiles need to be fueled before launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time.
Kim has promised to get very fast missiles that can beat the defenses of its enemies. This year, North Korea has tested other weapons like cruise missiles and very big multiple rocket launchers targeting the Seoul capital area.
Two days after North Korea said they would launch some spy satellites this year, they launched another one. The military of South Korea said on Monday that they don’t see any signs of a satellite being launched soon at North Korea’s main launch site in the northwest.
Kim said that satellites are very important for watching US and South Korean military activities, and for making his nuclear missiles more dangerous. In November last year, North Korea sent a spy satellite into space for the first time.
The Workers’ Party of Korea from North Korea, led by Kim Song Nam, arrived in Beijing on Thursday, according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader met with important Chinese government officials.
Wang said that China wants to be friends with North Korea and work together to make things better. This means they want to be closer with each other and work together to have good communication and make a peaceful and stable environment.
Liu and Kim had a long talk about making the relationship between their political parties stronger and being friends. It was reported by Xinhua on Friday.
In both meetings, the leaders talked about making the same decision as their top leaders.
In November, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, said it’s important for North Korea to work together with other countries to make the world a better and safer place. At the beginning of this year, Kim Jong Un from North Korea and Xi promised to be closer friends.
A group of people from Russia, led by Oleg Kozhemyako, who is in charge of a Russian region near North Korea, met with North Korean leaders in Pyongyang and visited a farm with greenhouses on Thursday, according to KCNA.
North Korea tested missiles for the first time in a month. Experts thought that North Korea would keep testing missiles and talking aggressively before the US presidential election in November. They wanted to have more power in future talks with the US.
The leader of Japan, Fumio Kishida, said that North Korea launched several ballistic missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan. He said the missiles landed far from Japan’s area that belongs only to them for making money, and no one got hurt or things got broken.
Japan’s Defense Ministry reported that North Korea shot three missiles, with two of them launched at the same time at 7:44 am and the second one about 37 minutes after. They went 350 kilometers (about 220 miles) at the top speed of 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) per hour.
Kishida criticized North Korea for doing lots of missile tests. He said it’s making Japan and the world unsafe. Japan is really mad at North Korea and they think it’s breaking the rules from the UN that say North Korea can’t do any missile activities.
During the military exercises between South Korea and the US, Kim Jong Un from North Korea led some military training with tanks, guns and paratroopers. The 11-day meeting between South Korea and the United States. The drills included training on a computer and 48 different field exercises, which is twice as many as last year.
The North didn’t test any missiles while their rivals were training. North Korea has been testing missiles and trying to put nuclear warheads on them to attack the US and its friends. These tests are seen as very serious. Lots of experts believe that North Korea has nuclear missiles that can reach South Korea and Japan, but they don’t have any missiles that can reach the US yet.
Before Monday’s launches, North Korea tested missiles in mid-February by shooting cruise missiles into the sea.
Tensions are still high between North and South Korea because North Korea has been testing a lot of missiles since 2022. Several tests were done with missiles that can carry nuclear weapons and are meant to be used against South Korea and the US. In response, the US and South Korea have increased their training exercises.
This year, North Korea tested missiles six times before Monday’s launch.
Specialists believe that North Korea probably thinks having more weapons would give them more power in negotiations with the United States. They say North Korea wants to get rid of strict punishments while still keeping its nuclear weapons.
People are more worried about North Korea’s military actions because Kim said in a speech in January that he wants to change the constitution to get rid of the country’s goal of peacefully joining the Korean Peninsula and make South Korea its main enemy. He also said the new rules should say that North Korea would take over the South if there was another war.
Some people think North Korea might do small, aggressive actions near its border with South Korea. However, they say the chances of North Korea launching a big attack are low because it knows that its military is not as strong as the US and South Korean forces.
On Thursday, the North Korean Central News Agency said that the drills included artillery units that can reach Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Kim said that artillery units need to act quickly and aggressively as soon as they enter a real war.
North Korea’s big guns that are placed close to the border are a danger to Seoul, a city with 10 million people that is 40 to 50 kilometers away.
North Korea’s army said on Tuesday that they will do military activities in response to South Korea and the USA’s annual military exercises. Military practice that will stop on March 14th. Kim went to a military training area in the west on Wednesday and asked for better abilities to fight in wars.
Alliance is a strong friendship between South Korea and the United States. Training started on Monday. It includes practicing in a pretend command center on a computer and doing 48 different types of activities outside. This is twice as many activities as last year.
North Korea sees South Korea and the United States as enemies. Military drills are seen as a big danger to safety. They are thought to be getting ready to attack the North. Seoul and Washington say their exercises are for defending themselves.
North Korea has been doing more missile tests since 2022 to make stronger nuclear weapons that can reach the U.S Mainland and South Korea. In simpler words: South Korea’s main area. South Korea and the United States. The military has increased their training exercises in reaction.
The experts believe that North Korea wants to use its updated weapons to get the United States to lift sanctions when they start talking again. They think North Korea might do more weapons tests and use aggressive language this year because the United States and South Korea are having important elections.
The North warned the South Korean and U.S a day later troops started their yearly computer-driven practice and different physical training for 11 days. This year’s training sessions were going to include 48 field exercises, which is twice as many as last year.
The North Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement on state media that it strongly disagrees with the U.S’s South Korea is openly showing a military threat to another country and trying to invade it.
A person from the government of North Korea said that their military will keep an eye on their enemies and do important military actions to keep the Korean Peninsula safe.
The person speaking didn’t say what North Korea will do, but people think North Korea will probably do missile tests or other things to make their military stronger.
North Korea sees military exercises by its enemies as practice for invading their country. Both South Korea and the U.S participate in these drills. Officials have said many times that their training is focused on defending themselves. North Korea has responded before to South Korea and the United States. Performing drills by shooting many missiles into the water.
The military leaders in South Korea said last week that this year’s joint military exercises with the United States were planned to stop North Korea’s nuclear threats. The drills will include shooting weapons, bombing, air attacks, and intercepting missiles.
Worries about North Korea’s nuclear program have increased over the last two years. This is because North Korea has been testing missiles more frequently and has openly threatened to use nuclear weapons first. The United States The US and South Korea are doing more military exercises and sending more powerful soldiers. The military is using things like big ships and planes that can carry nuclear bombs as a reaction.
This year, North Korea shot six missiles and practiced firing cannons. Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, said that his country will not try to make peace with South Korea and promised to stop trying to unite peacefully with them. Kim said North Korea will be more aggressive with its military at the disputed sea border with South Korea.
Specialists think that North Korea may believe that having more powerful weapons will give them more power in future talks with the United States. North Korea wants to be recognized as a nuclear state so that they can get relief from the economic sanctions imposed by the U. S
It is expected that North Korea will increase tensions by doing more missile tests and using aggressive language this year, as the United States. and South Korea are getting ready for big elections. Experts believe that North Korea might do something to cause trouble near the border with South Korea.
A painting of a fancy young woman was being bought for $5,190. There were cheap and colorful landscapes for sale for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money.
The person selling the art didn’t try to hide who made it, even though there were strict rules. The dealer said the goods were painted in North Korea, and now there are rules against selling them.
The person selling the art had mixed gray and white hair and didn’t want to say his name. He worked for a gallery that says it’s the best place in China to buy art from North Korea. The gallery, The Paintings Say Arirang, also has a studio for artists from North Korea in the outskirts of Beijing.
The North Koreans live in a guarded area and they show a very positive, peaceful picture of life in their country. The Arirang studio says they will make very beautiful portraits for a good price.
The gallery is being criticized for using aggressive sales tactics, which experts say is possible because China doesn’t enforce U. Nrules very strictly. Sanctions against North Korea to stop them from building nuclear weapons. Sure, here is the simplified text: A. The United Nations has approved a large number of products from North Korea, such as weapons, coal, and art. The United Nations It has also tried to stop North Koreans from working in other countries so that North Korea can’t take their money to pay for its nuclear program. The United Nations in a report said Arirang broke rules by selling North Korean art and having North Korean artists perform.
China has often said no to the U.N throughout its history. To control people who break the rules about sanctions, and last year blocked a decision by the United Nations. a decision that would have made the rules stricter. The United Nations It was said that Arirang did not answer when asked for information.
The UN found Arirang to be easy. The gallery wants to attract a specific group of people who like the unique art style of North Korean artists.
Arirang was started by Jin Zhe, who is Korean and loves art. He was born in China near North Korea, and he wrote this on Arirang’s website. Jin is the son of a famous painter. He worked at a radio station in China for many years before he went to Pyongyang and became interested in North Korean art. Jin, the person in charge of Arirang, could not be contacted for a statement.
An Arirang worker said on the phone that the studio was open and invited a tour of the whole building. She also mentioned that the studio was selling unique portraits made by artists from North Korea. The worker, a woman named Shen, later said that the base wasn’t open because they didn’t have enough customers.
AP journalists went to the place where paintings are made, but the guards didn’t let them in.
“They don’t care who has more money, they just care about looking good,” said Arirang on WeChat. “They believe that making art is important for our souls and culture, not just for making money. ”
This kind of art is really special because it looks so real, it’s worth a lot of money, and it’s something that people want to collect.
In many places, art is considered a way for people to show themselves. But in North Korea, there are very strict rules. Artists in North Korea work for the government to make art that praises the country and its beliefs.
Their work also gives money to North Korea.
“Song Byeok, an artist who used to paint propaganda posters in North Korea, says that all artists there are controlled by the government. ” North Korean art is controlled by the Kim family and does not have its own unique identity.
Posts on Arirang show a little bit of what the artists’ lives are like in China. In a picture, they hold up beer glasses while cooking on a hot barbecue. Some people show them playing ping pong or visiting old buildings and busy market streets.
Jin wrote on WeChat that almost 1,000 paintings were created in Arirang’s “painting base. ” The artists work very hard and often don’t take breaks, the gallery’s director said.
“It makes you feel calm and carefree,” Jin repeated what one artist said.
Another person told Jin that they couldn’t sleep until they finished their work, Jin said.
BG Muhn, a North Korean art expert at Georgetown University, said that artists are treated well and respected in North Korean society.
“They don’t think they are making propaganda art,” said Muhn, who has met artists on nine trips to North Korea. “They believe they are creating art for the country, to help the country and the people. ”
For many years, North Korean art was mainly made for people in North Korea. In the 1990s, North Korea’s biggest supporter, the Soviet Union, collapsed. North Korea really needed money, so it asked its artists for help.
The government sent artists to Africa and the Middle East to make sculptures and paintings honoring their leaders. Those efforts made a lot of money. At that time, the private art market became interested, especially when South Korea started to encourage trade with North Korea. Many paintings were brought into South Korea through Chinese dealers.
After Kim Jong Un became the leader in 2011, the government in Pyongyang started allowing artists to be more creative. They were told they didn’t have to make pictures that make state leaders look great anymore. Business was very successful: The Mansudae studio in North Korea built a museum in Cambodia and was paid to build statues of soldiers and dictators in Senegal, the Congo, Angola, and many other places in Africa. North Korea made a lot of money selling art.
The success went away when the U.N in 2016 and 2017, the government put restrictions on North Korea because they did nuclear and missile tests. Investigators asked an art seller in Italy some questions and took some paintings in South Korea. Pyongyang’s art sales went down and then stopped completely when North Korea closed its borders because of the pandemic.
But it looks like North Korea might not be as isolated as before. China and North Korea have become closer while their relationships with Western countries have become less friendly. Moscow is trying to be friendly with Pyongyang, and Kim is going to Russia in September to talk about selling weapons while there is a conflict with Ukraine.
Art and cultural sharing are starting again, Jin wrote recently.
Jin wrote on WeChat that art is a big way for people to learn about North Korea. “With continuous hard work and by learning new things, North Korean artists will definitely travel abroad and be known around the world. “
Pyongyang’s official news said that Mr. Kim’s top aides received the limousine on Sunday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the gift was a big fancy car called an Aurus, just like the one Mr. Putin drives
The two countries, which were not very connected to the rest of the world, have become close friends since Russia attacked Ukraine.
North Korea is believed to be giving Russia weapons like guns, rockets, and missiles for the war, even though both countries are supposed to follow international rules against it. Both sides say they did not break the rules about sanctions.
During the visit, the leader of North Korea looked at Mr. Putin’s fancy car and was asked to sit in the back. They also exchanged guns as presents.
It is thought that Kim Jong-un likes cars and has a lot of expensive ones from other countries.
Kim’s sister Yo Jong said that the gift shows how close the leaders of the two countries are. Her comments were reported by the North Korean state news agency KCNA.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said that giving the gift broke the rules from the United Nations Security Council. They have sanctions against North Korea that say certain types of vehicles, like luxury cars, can’t be given to them.
BBC’s Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says that although the two leaders are not like best friends, they both understand the advantages of having a closer relationship. Unlike Kim and former US President Donald Trump, they don’t have a very close or friendly relationship.
Russia and North Korea have said that Mr Putin will go to Pyongyang soon.
A pastor from South Korea, who was once praised for helping hundreds of North Koreans escape, has been put in prison for sexually hurting young people who had fled from North Korea.
Chun Ki-won, 67, has been given a five-year prison sentence for touching children inappropriately at the school he ran in Seoul.
For many years, people saw the pastor as a saviour. They called him an “Asian Schindler” and said his operations were like an “Underground Railroad” for people escaping the North’s government.
He got caught by the police in Seoul in September.
Chun said he didn’t do it, but the court decided the victims’ proof was undeniable.
“The victims are saying the same things, and it includes details that only someone who experienced the situation first-hand would know,” said Judge Seung-jeong Kim of the Seoul Central District Court.
The judge said that Chun did bad things when he had a lot of power.
He was found to have done bad things to kids in five out of six cases. Some of the kids had run away by themselves, and others had left with their families who were helped by Chun’s mission.
Chun started Durihana, a well-known charity in South Korea that helps North Koreans escape through China.
He says he has helped over 1,000 North Koreans get away from the strict Kim family rule in the last 25 years. Pyongyang has criticized him for his work.
In 2002, he was in the news because he was put in prison in China for seven months while trying to escape.
He set up a school for kids whose parents left North Korea. Many news outlets, like BBC and CNN, made stories about his work.
The media often said he was like Oskar Schindler, who saved over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust.
South Korea is really surprised by his arrest and conviction, and everyone’s been talking about his trial this week.
The news on TV showed an older person named Chun wearing a white outfit and being taken to court with handcuffs on, surrounded by guards.
The president’s office said that their security system was not hacked.
“The security breach happened because a careless administrator broke the rules by using a commercial email for work,” a BBC report explained.
North Korea uses computer hacking to steal money and information, and they are getting better at it.
Pyongyang is facing strict international penalties, and its computer hackers are trying to steal lots of money, often in digital money, to support the government and its nuclear weapons plan.
It’s believed they have taken about $3 billion since 2016.
The South Korean government official, who did not want to be identified, told the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper that they were very surprised and upset when they found out about the breach. They said it could have been bad for Mr. Yoon’s safety in other countries.
President Yoon went to London for three days in November. He met King Charles and Queen Camilla, and also Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The South Korean government found out about the problem before the president left for his trip, and they did what was needed to fix it.
It said it had made its security stronger, by telling its team to be more careful, to stop another problem like this from happening.
Beyond Utopia: Escape from North Korea tells the stories of people who have gone through difficult experiences like walking through thick forests and being in prison camps.
Some people had to leave their family behind and don’t know if they are still alive or if they will see them again.
One of the people from North Korea in the movie is Soyeon Lee. She got away from North Korea with the help of Pastor Kim Seongeun, who is also in the movie.
Soyeon, who was in the North Korean army, was caught when she tried to escape for the first time and was sent to a prison camp.
Two years later, she escaped, but she couldn’t bring her 17-year-old son Han Jeong-Cheong with her.
She and Pastor Kim work together to try to help the teenager leave. In a phone call on the film, she tells him that the journey will be very hard.
He says: “It’s a journey that brings me to you, so I can handle anything for you, mom. ”
But Pastor Kim says that it’s not always safe to trust people who say they can help you cross the border. They might actually turn you in to the police instead of helping you. So be careful and think about the risks before you try to cross the border.
For a long time, Pastor Kim’s church in Seoul, South Korea has helped people escape from the country.
Traveling from North Korea to South Korea is not easy, even though South Korea is the safest place for people escaping from the North Korean regime.
People have to go to the north because it’s really hard to get out of the south.
From there, they need to leave China without making the police suspicious and go to Thailand, which can help them move to South Korea.
When they arrive, the Constitution of the country says that North Koreans are also citizens of South Korea. This means they can start getting used to their new home soon.
Director Madeleine Gavin made a film that got nominated for a big award. The film is about the Roh family, who are a family of five.
Their journey when they left was recorded on camera – including the scary part where they walked through the jungle and heard military police dogs barking behind them.
At a place where they are staying to keep safe on their trip, Pastor Kim leads them in a prayer. He asks Jesus Christ to help them hold on to hope until they reach their destination.
Recently, the country with nuclear weapons has been testing missiles a lot, causing tension in the area.
The rocket was launched near the Sinpo port on Sunday. We don’t know how many or what kind of missiles there are yet.
North Korea tested a new missile called Pulhwasal-3-31 on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
South Korea’s military said they have been working with the United States to watch for any more actions from North Korea after the new launch at 08:00.
In the past few months, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been more aggressive in his policies and what he says, and has stopped some agreements that were meant to keep peace and has increased military action.
Pyongyang said it tested a new missile and underwater drones in January. They claim the drones can carry a nuclear weapon.
For the past two years, they have been launching missiles and developing weapons almost every month, ignoring UN sanctions.
Earlier this month, Kim Jong Un said that the goal of reuniting with South Korea is no longer important. He said that South Korea is now the main enemy.
This has made people worry that North Korea is getting ready for a war.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told his cabinet recently that if North Korea does something bad, South Korea will respond much more strongly, because its military is very powerful.
North Korea says it tested its “underwater nuclear weapon” because of military exercises by the US, South Korea, and Japan.
State media reported that the underwater drone, which might be able to hold a nuclear weapon, was tested in the ocean on the east side.
Seoul had earlier said that the North’s descriptions of the drones’ capability were wrong and there is no evidence of the tests being done.
South Korea said the reported tests were a “provocation”.
The South Korea defense ministry said that North Korea’s actions are dangerous and could cause problems in the Korean Peninsula and the world. If North Korea makes a direct attack, South Korea will respond strongly and decisively.
The North has tested its “Haeil-5-23” system before, but now they are doing more military actions.
On Sunday, it said it had used a new missile that uses solid fuel and can go a medium distance.
This means that there were military exercises with actual gunfire at the ocean border with South Korea in early January.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of Pyongyang, has been acting more aggressive lately by canceling agreements aimed at keeping the peace.
On Friday, North Korea said it was provoked by joint military exercises by the US, South Korea, and Japan. They said this made them want to test their underwater weapons. This was reported by the state agency KCNA.
It accused the exercises of making the situation in the region more unstable and putting North Korea’s security at risk.
The US, South Korea, and Japan have been doing more military exercises to stop North Korea from doing more military actions. North Korea has been doing tests of its nuclear bombs and launching new weapons more often. So the other countries want to show that they are ready to fight back. These actions go against the rules set by the United Nations.
Mr Kim keeps saying that his country is getting more weapons ready for a war that could start at any time.
During the New Year, he showed some big changes in his government’s position on South Korea.
And earlier this week, he said that the old goal of joining together with South Korea was no longer important. He called South Korea the “main enemy”.
The speech talks about improvements in the military and nuclear capabilities of the country, especially in its underwater operations.
In September, the North showed their first submarine that they say can shoot nuclear weapons.
Since March 2023, it has been testing its Haeil system, which are unmanned nuclear-armed drones that work underwater. Haeil means “tidal wave” in the Korean language.
We don’t know much about these weapons or how well they work, but North Korean media say they can go into enemy waters and make big explosions underwater.
Experts believe that if the weapons work the way North Korea says they do, they would be less important than the country’s nuclear missiles.
North Korea’s weapons are still being developed, so they are not a big threat yet. Ahn Chan-il, who used to live in North Korea and now studies it, said this to the news agency AFP.
Last year, North Korea said it put a spy satellite in space. They want to put three more up this year.
It is still unclear if the satellite is working properly and this has not been confirmed by an independent source.
South Korea said North Korea got its satellite up with help from Russia. Russia reportedly got weapons from North Korea for its war in Ukraine.
Last year, Mr Kim had important meetings with Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin and defense minister Sergei Shoigu. This week the foreign minister of North Korea was also in Moscow.
Exclusive video from the media shows North Korea punishing two young boys by making them work hard for 12 years because they were caught watching K-dramas.
The video, which seems to be from 2022, shows two 16-year-old boys with handcuffs in front of lots of students at a stadium outside.
It also shows police officers scolding the boys for not thinking about their mistakes.
North Korea does not allow South Korean entertainment, including TV shows, to be shown in the country.
Even though it’s risky, some people are still willing to break the rules to watch K-dramas, which are really popular worldwide.
There aren’t many videos like this because North Korea doesn’t allow photos or videos of life there to be shared with the outside world.
It means that the authorities are taking stricter action against these incidents. The video has been spread in North Korea to teach people about the government’s beliefs and to tell them not to watch inappropriate videos.
The video has someone talking and saying the government’s messages over and over again. “The bad government’s culture has even reached young people,” says the speaker, talking about South Korea. “They are only 16 years old, but they have messed up their future,” it says.
The police named the boys and told everyone where they live.
In the past, kids who broke the law like this would go to special camps instead of jail, and the punishment was usually less than five years.
In 2020, Pyongyang made a law that says people can be killed for watching or sharing South Korean movies or TV shows.
A person who left their country’s side said to the BBC that they were made to watch a 22-year-old man get killed. He said the man did something wrong by listening to music from South Korea and sharing movies from there with his friend.
Sand CEO Choi Kyong-hui said that North Korea sees K-dramas and K-pop as a threat to its beliefs.
“Looking up to South Korean society too much can make the system weaker soon. ” She said this is not good because it goes against the belief in North Korea that the Kim family is very important.
North Koreans began to experience South Korean movies and music in the 2000s, when the South gave aid to the North without asking for anything in return.
Seoul stopped giving aid to North Korea in 2010 because they found out that the help was not reaching the regular people it was meant for, and it was not making North Korea behave better.
However, entertainment from South Korea kept getting to North Korea through China.
“If you’re caught watching an American drama, you might be able to bribe your way out of trouble. But if you watch a Korean drama, you could get killed,” said a North Korean defector in an interview with BBC Korean.
North Korean people love Korean dramas because they help them forget about their tough lives, a person who escaped from North Korea said.
“In North Korea, we are told that South Korea has a worse life than us, but when we watch South Korean TV shows, it seems like a totally different world. ” Another person who escaped from North Korea in her twenties said that it seems like the North Korean authorities are cautious about that.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that joining with South Korea is not possible anymore and wants to change the constitution to call them the main enemy.
Mr Kim also said three groups working on bringing families back together will close, according to state media KCNA.
The president of South Korea said they will react even more strongly if North Korea provokes them.
North and South Korea have been separated since the Korean War ended in 1953.
They didn’t agree to a peace treaty and have been technically still at war ever since.
Mr Kim gave a speech at North Korea’s parliament and said that they should change their rules to teach people that South Korea is their main enemy.
He also said that if there is a war in Korea, the country’s laws should show how they would take control of the South.
Mr Kim took over from his father as the leader of North Korea in 2011. He said that North Korea doesn’t want war, but also won’t try to avoid it. This was reported by KCNA.
He said he was making a new decision about relationships between the north and the south, and he wanted to get rid of all the groups that were working on bringing them back together.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told his cabinet that if North Korea does something bad, South Korea will hit back even harder. He said the South Korean military is very strong and can respond strongly.
Increased conflicts or problems.
He said this as tensions got worse between North and South Korea in the past few months.
In November, North Korea stopped a deal with South Korea that was supposed to make their military less tense for five years. It said it would stop trying to stop a war and would send more soldiers to the border.
The South had stopped the agreement for a little while because Mr. Kim said he sent a spy satellite into space.
The North’s words and actions have been getting worse since then.
During the end-of-year meetings, Mr. Kim said he wanted to change North Korea’s position on relations with South Korea and its policy on reunification. He said he wanted to make a big change in the policy towards “the enemy”.
He also said he might use nuclear weapons on the South, and asked for more weapons for his country’s military.
The North recently fired missiles and held live-fire exercises near South Korea.
In a recent report by 38 North, an organization in the US that studies North Korea, two experts, Robert Carlin and Siegfried S Hecker, said that the situation in Korea is more dangerous now than it has ever been since the Korean War started in 1950.
“It may seem like an exaggeration, but we think that Kim Jong Un has decided to go to war, just like his grandfather did in 1950,” the statement read.
“We don’t know when or how Kim will attack, but the danger is much worse than the usual warnings from Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo about North Korea’s actions. ”
It also said that it didn’t think North Korean media’s talk about getting ready for war was just empty threats.
At the same time, North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is in Russia and is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
The two countries have gotten closer lately, because both are not liked by Western powers. In September, Mr. Kim went to Russia and met Mr. Putin
The leader of North Korea has never told anyone his birthday, so no one knows when it is.
If what people are saying is true, he turned the milestone age on Monday. On that day, official pictures of him and his daughter visiting a chicken farm were also released.
The quiet day is very different from the days of the people who came before him.
Actually, the birthdays of his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung – big, national celebrations when they were in charge – are still celebrated as holidays today.
It is not known why the suggested date of 8 January is a secret. Before, North Korean officials said thank you to Donald Trump for his birthday wishes in January 2020, but they didn’t say which day.
More proof of the date came out six years ago. Dennis Rodman, a US basketball player, sang happy birthday to Kim Jong Un in front of a big crowd.
Gilsup Kwak, the leader of One Korea Center, a website that focuses on North Korea, thinks there are several reasons why there is no information about his mother Ko Yong Hui. One reason is that she was supposedly born in Japan.
Many people in North Korea still don’t trust Japan, which ruled the region from 1910 to 1945. This could hurt Kim Jong Un‘s claims about his family. So, people haven’t talked about it much. Making a big deal about his birthday might lead to getting attention he doesn’t want.
“Mr Kwak said that the truth about Kim Jong Un’s birth is something that could make him vulnerable. ”
But there are many other reasons, he says, such as thinking that honoring his ancestors and family is sufficient, and wanting to show himself as a down-to-earth leader.
Some people think that his age is the issue. Experts say that older leaders in North Korea think that their ruler is still too young, even though they made his father’s birthday an official holiday when he turned 40.
The South’s spy agency said that Kim Jong Un‘s young daughter is likely to take over as the leader of North Korea and has been with him at missile tests and military events.
This is the first time that the National Intelligence Service has recognized Kim Ju Ae as Mr. Kim’s successor
But, NIS is still thinking about “all options” in North Korea’s plan for who will take over after the current leader.
Miss Kim has been very visible in public since she first showed up at the end of 2022.
The NIS said that after looking at what people are doing and how much they respect Kim Ju Ae, she seems like the person most likely to take over.
“But we are watching for all options because Kim Jong Un is still young, healthy, and there are many things that can happen. ”
Miss Kim is said to be the second oldest child of the North Korean leader and is believed to be around 10 years old.
Kim Yung-ho, who is in charge of bringing North and South Korea together, said something similar about Mr Kim’s daughter at a meeting with reporters last month.
He said that people talking a lot about Kim Jong Un’s daughter shows that North Korea is trying to show who will take over as leader in the future, even though things are tough there.
People who watch North Korea have noticed that now they are calling Miss Kim a “respected” daughter instead of a “beloved” one. This change happened after her first public appearance in November 2022.
The word “respected” is only used for the most admired people in North Korea. Kim’s situation, he was called “respected comrade” only after it was certain he would be the future leader.
People in North Korea are taught that the Kims come from a special family and only they can be the leaders of the country. Kim wants to make sure he gives his position to the fourth generation.
Most recently, Miss Kim went with her father to see North Korea’s newest long-range missile, called the Hwasong-18. It is the most advanced missile they have right now.
She was with her father when the North launched its spy satellite into space last November. Pyongyang said that the Malligyong-1 would let Mr. Kim see the White House.
Experts believe that Mr. Kim is introducing his daughter, Miss Kim, to the public so that she can gain experience and credibility before leading in the future.
This could also be a way for Mr. Kim to change unfair beliefs in North Korea, which is a very male-dominated country that has never had a female leader.
In 2013, people first heard about Miss Kim when retired basketball player Dennis Rodman went to North Korea and caused a lot of talk.
Mr Rodman said he spent time with Mr. Kim’s family, relaxing by the ocean, and even held their baby.
The leader of North Korea keeps his family very private. He didn’t tell anyone about his wife, Ri Sol Ju, until some time after they got married.
Later, South Korea told people to find safety on the island and then did practice shooting exercises there.
The South said the move is a “provocative act” and they disagree with it.
In 2010, artillery from North Korea shot many times at Yeonpyeong island, and four people died.
On Friday, bombs were shot between 9:00 and 11:00 in the morning. They did not go into South Korea because they landed in the area between the two countries.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in South Korea said that the incident did not harm anyone or our military. But they also said that it could make the situation tense and threaten peace in Korea.
North Korea has been saying they are getting ready for war and now they are shelling. They say a war could happen anytime.
Officials on the nearby Baengnyeong Island also said that people have to leave the area.
The most recent event happened several months after North Korea stopped a military agreement with South Korea. The agreement was meant to make their relationship better.
The deal started to go bad after Pyongyang said they sent a spy satellite into space in November. This caused South Korea to stop some parts of the agreement and they said they would start doing surveillance flights along the border again.
Later, Pyongyang said it would stop trying to avoid military conflict on land, sea, and in the air. It will also send stronger armed forces and new military equipment to the border region.
North Korea broke the agreement several times by shooting missiles and firing weapons towards South Korea. North Korea shot artillery shells into the sea nine times in the year 2022. The most recent time was in December.
Some experts think that if Pyongyang stops following the deal, it may not change things very much.
“North Korea didn’t follow the agreement from the beginning, so there was always a chance of a small clash happening,” explained Jo Bee Yun from the Korea Institute for Defence Analysis.
Yeonpyeong island has a military base and about 2,000 people live there. It’s located 3km (2 miles) away from a disputed sea border in the Yellow Sea and 12km from the North Korean coast.
It has been a place where Korea’s navy has fought each other for many years.
In 2010, North Korea shot many shells at an island and killed two soldiers and two people who were not soldiers.
Kim Jong-un was very sad and asked women to have more babies so that North Korea can become stronger.
The leader wiped his eyes with a white handkerchief as he made a request during an event for mothers in Pyongyang over the weekend, saying the challenge is everyone’s responsibility to take care of.
He said: ‘We need to work together with our mothers to stop the decrease in the number of babies being born and to make sure children have good care and education. ‘
The UN says that as of 2023, the average number of children born to a woman in North Korea is 1. 8 This number has been decreasing over the past few decades.
The number is still bigger than in some other countries near North Korea. These countries are also having a problem with numbers going down.
South Korea has very few babies being born. This is because there are a lot of reasons that make people not want to have children, like it being hard to find a good job, schools being very competitive, not much help with taking care of children, and workplaces focusing on men and making it hard for women to have both a career and a family.
Some people believe that even though North Korea is very poor, the way its population is changing is like the changes in wealthy countries.
Ahn Kyung-su, who runs DPRKHEALTH. ORG, a website about health in North Korea, said: ‘In North Korea, many families don’t want to have more than one child because they know it costs a lot of money to raise kids, send them to school, and help them find jobs. ‘
Ahn, who has talked to lots of North Koreans who escaped their country, said that bringing in a lot of South Korean TV shows and movies over the last 20 years has probably made women in North Korea want fewer kids. These shows often show women with higher status, and that could be why.
North Korea is giving support to families with three or more children. They will get free housing, money from the government, free food, medicine and other things for their kids.
South Korea’s official data agency says that about 25. 7 million people live in North Korea.
The Hyundai institute report said that North Korea’s population is expected to get smaller from 2034. They predict that by 2070, the population will decrease to 23. 7
Ahn, the person in charge of the website, said that Kim Jong Un is probably showing up in public with his young daughter, Ju Ae, to encourage families.
Other experts said that the daughter’s public appearances were probably meant to show that she will take over her father’s business.
Pyongyang started birth control programs in the 1970s and 1980s to reduce the number of people being born after the war.
The number of babies being born in the country went down a lot after a famine in the mid-1990s. The famine is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of people. This information comes from a report by the Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul, released in August.
A report from the institute said that North Korea might have trouble growing its manufacturing industry if it doesn’t have enough workers, because it doesn’t have a lot of resources or modern technology.
A court in South Korea has given a 68-year-old man a 14-month prison term for saying good things about North Korea in a poem.
Lee Yoon-seop wrote an article in 2016 that was published in North Korea’s state media, where he supported bringing North and South Korea together. South Korean media have reported on this.
He said that if North and South Korea joined together with North Korea’s system, people would get free housing, healthcare, and education.
He was found guilty for breaking a law against saying positive things about North Korea in public.
In the article Means of Unification, Lee said that if Korea is united, fewer people will die by suicide or have debt.
The poem won a contest in the North in November 2016.
In 2013, he expressed his admiration for North Korea’s military on the internet; nevertheless, in the following years, he published anti-state remarks on blogs and websites in South Korea.
On Monday, a court in Seoul said that he kept spreading a lot of propaganda that praised North Korea, the Korea Herald reported.
In 2013, he wrote positive things about North Korea’s military on the internet. Later, he wrote negative things about the government on South Korean websites.
The National Security Act in South Korea makes it illegal to support or promote groups that are against the government.
North Korea plans to put new weapons near the border with South Korea. This is because South Korea did not follow the agreement made in 2018 to calm tensions at the border. State media said this on Thursday.
North Korea did something because South Korea promised to increase its surveillance along the border in response to North Korea launching a spy satellite. The satellite could help North Korea target its enemies better.
Seoul’s action shows that they are stepping back from the Inter-Korean Military Agreement signed in 2018. This agreement was meant to prevent war and create a safe area between North and South Korea with the help of the US.
The South Korean president and North Korean leader signed a document at the border. It said that there would be no more war in Korea and that a new time of peace has started.
However, any positive feelings created by the agreement have disappeared in the last few years. Kim did not get what he wanted from the US and South Korea, so now he is making the North’s missile program stronger. He said he will give North Korea a nuclear deterrent like the one that the United States has.
As North Korea is getting stronger, the US, South Korea, and Japan are working together more to make their militaries stronger. But North Korea sees this as a danger to them.
Earlier this week, North Korea criticized the US for possibly selling advanced missiles to Japan and military equipment to South Korea. They called it a “dangerous act,” according to a report from KCNA.
North Korea said it clearly knows who the weapons are meant to be used against.
On Thursday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry said that its army will not be limited by the military agreement. They promised to bring in stronger armed forces and new military equipment near the Military Demarcation Line. This was reported by KCNA.
It said South Korea’s actions have made the agreement useless and they will have to suffer for their irresponsible behavior.
Pyongyang said that South Korea will be fully responsible for any fights that happen between the two Koreas.
“The situation at the military demarcation line is very dangerous. A small mistake could start a big war. This is because the leaders of South Korea made a serious mistake. The situation is now out of control. ” – KCNA said.
South Korea stopped parts of the 2018 deal with North Korea to reduce military tensions.
This happened after Pyongyang said they sent a spy satellite into space and it worked.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that the launch put South Korea in danger.
Seoul said it will start flying surveillance planes again near the border with North Korea, even though there is an agreement not to do so.
Some experts say that these changes could make tensions worse.
Pyongyang launched a rocket on Tuesday. They said it had their Malligyong-1 spy satellite in it. They said the launch was successful.
The US and South Korea can’t tell if the launch worked or if the spy satellite is working, but they both really disapprove of it.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, said that the decision could make the security situation in the region and beyond unstable.
North Korea is working on making a spy satellite as part of its military plan for the next five years. Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, talked about this plan in January 2021.
The technology could help North Korea watch where US and South Korean soldiers and weapons are on the Korean Peninsula, so it can see if there are any dangers coming.
Kim Jong Un watches a rocket launch from far away.
North Korea’s space agency, called the National Aerospace Technology Administration, said they launched a rocket to make their country stronger and protect themselves from their enemies’ military actions. Pyongyang said it wants to launch more spy satellites soon.
Some experts are not sure if the satellite is good enough to work well. Jang Young-geun from Korea Research Institute for National Strategy thinks the satellite’s camera probably can’t take detailed military pictures.
However, he said that having low resolution is still better than having no information at all. This is because any attack, no matter who it is aiming for, needs some information to be successful.
Ankit Panda, who knows a lot about nuclear policies, thinks that the satellite could make North Korea’s military stronger. But it could also make the situation in the Peninsula more stable.
“He said it could make Pyongyang calmer during crises. ” The country could use its satellites to check if the US and South Korea were really not increasing their troops to get ready for a big attack.
North is happy after two tries did not work.
This year, the North tried three times to launch a spy satellite into space. The first two tries in May and August didn’t work. Officials in South Korea said they think that North Korea got help from Russia in solving the problems that caused its earlier unsuccessful attempts.
When Kim Jong Un met Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny space centre in Russia’s far east in September, the Russian leader suggested he would assist Mr Kim in making satellites. The US and South Korea think that North Korea is giving weapons to Russia to use in Ukraine. They also believe that Russia might have agreed to help North Korea with their military knowledge in exchange.
But Panda said there was no proof that Pyongyang had gotten Russia’s help and used it. “North Korea tried launching a rocket for the third time. They have been working on their own space technology for a long time,” said Mr.
Jo Bee Yun, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defence Analysis (KIDA), said that Russia didn’t have enough time to give “game-changing” technology, but they could give significant technology in the future.
Mr Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed a big agreement about their military in 2018. They did this to try to make their countries less tense and to stop a fight from happening.
The South Korean government recently said that the deal made it easy for them to be attacked because they couldn’t fly surveillance planes and drones near the border.
South Korea’s top leaders had a meeting very early on Wednesday, including the defense chiefs and cabinet members. Everyone agreed that the country should start watching the border again right away, and the President supports this decision.
Seoul is currently using US spy satellites to watch North Korea. But soon, they are going to launch their own satellite into space in November.
Some experts say that if the military agreement is stopped, it could make things worse and increase the chances of fights between countries.
He said that if Seoul did this, it could give them a reason to do more bad things.
But Jo Bee Yun from KIDA doesn’t think that stopping the activity would make things worse, because North Korea has been launching missiles often since 2022. “The fighting has started again. ” South Korea had to react at some point.
On Wednesday, North Korea said it launched its first spy satellite into space and plans to launch more to protect itself from its enemies’ military actions.
Experts said that if the spacecraft is successful, it could greatly enhance North Korea’s military power, allowing it to better aim at its enemies.
The satellite named “Malligyong-1” was sent into space on a new rocket called “Chollima-1” on Tuesday, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea says it has the right to launch a spy satellite to protect itself.
South Korea, the United States, and Japan are having more military problems with North Korea. They don’t know if the satellite went into space.
South Korea said the launch broke a UN rule that stops North Korea from using ballistic missiles.
On Wednesday morning, the South Korean government stopped part of a deal it had with North Korea. This deal limited South Korea’s spying and watching activities along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the two countries.
The rocket took the satellite south and is thought to have gone over Japan’s Okinawa area.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, spoke out against the missile launch. He called it a serious problem that puts the safety of people in Japan at risk. He also said that Japan will keep working with the US and South Korea to deal with North Korea’s missile launches.
Seoul’s military said on Wednesday that they had been watching and working closely with the US to track the preparations for the launch.
Aegis destroyers from South Korea, the US, and Japan were sent to monitor the launch. They are now studying all the details about it.
Pyongyang tried to send a satellite into space in May, but the rocket had a problem and the satellite crashed into the sea.
KCNA stated that the new engine system was not reliable or stable and the fuel used was also not stable, which led to the mission failing.
In August, a second try failed because there was a problem with the emergency blasting system during the third stage of the flight, according to a report from KCNA.
The rocket broke into many pieces and fell into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean, as told by Japanese officials.
Tuesday night, North Korea tried to launch a missile for the third time. This was expected and North Korea has said they will try again.
North Korea’s space agency wants to launch more spy satellites to keep an eye on South Korea. They plan to do this quickly.
Pyongyang said having a satellite was a way to protect itself from the US, South Korea, and Japan.
This week, North Korea criticized the US for possibly selling advanced missiles to Japan and military equipment to South Korea. They called it a “dangerous act” in a report from KCNA.
North Korea said it was clear who the weapons were intended for and would be used against.
Experts said that having just one satellite in space makes North Korea’s military position stronger.
“If it is successful, it will make the North Korean military better at commanding and controlling, as well as improving their ability to gather information and monitor things. ”
Panda said that they will use what they learned from Tuesday’s launch to help make better satellites in the future.
“They will use what they learn from this successful launch for more launches in the future. ” They want to have a strong and extra backup group of satellites that observe Earth. This will make a big difference for North Korea’s overall strategic awareness abilities, he said.
But some people warned that we still don’t know how good the thing Pyongyang launched on Tuesday really is. Some people thought the North would suffer more if the South started gathering information near the border again, than it would benefit from the satellite launch.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said that the surveillance drones in Seoul might gather better information than North Korea’s basic satellite program along the DMZ.
South Korea’s defense minister Shin Won-sik said last Sunday that North Korea is close to fixing its rocket engine problems with help from Russia.
After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went to Russia in September, he visited the Russian space rocket launch site with President Vladimir Putin.
In the meeting, Putin showed that he is ready to help North Korea with its space and satellite program.
But Panda warned against assuming that help and advice from Russia had made the third launch successful.
“I don’t think it’s likely that North Korea has gotten help from Russia and used it yet because of the timeline,” he said.
“Also remember that the North Koreans are very capable now. ”
North Korea might try to launch a third spy satellite on Wednesday night, according to Japanese media.
Tokyo said that Pyongyang told them about a nine-day time period for the launch. It ends at 11:59 PM local time on November 30th.
Japan and South Korea will work together to strongly ask North Korea not to go ahead with the launch, as it would be against UN rules.
Pyongyang tried two times this year to launch a spy satellite into space, but it didn’t work either time.
The Japan Coast Guard said that North Korea notified them about three areas in the sea where they think debris from the rocket that was carrying the satellite might fall.
Two are on the left side of the Korean Peninsula and the other is on the right side of the Philippines’ island of Luzon.
Kang Ho-pil, leader of the South Korean military, said they will take action if the launch happens.
Kim Jong Un really wants a spy satellite because it will help him see if any attacks are coming and plan his own attacks better.
The United Nations Security Council has said that North Korea cannot launch satellites because they think it is a way for them to test their missiles.
South Korea found pieces from North Korea’s first rocket launch in May and said the satellite was not useful for military purposes.
Russian leader Putin said in September that he could help North Korea make satellites after meeting with Mr. But it’s not clear what exactly was promised.
This month, South Korea said they will send a spy satellite into space by the end of November. A rocket from a company called SpaceX in the US will carry the satellite.
Seoul plans to launch five spy satellites into space by 2025, and this is said to be the first one.
Private King was taken into the custody of the United States in China and then taken by plane to a military base in the United States.
The person, who was 23 years old and had a job in gathering information, entered North Korea in July without permission.
North Korean media stated that he ran away because he was treated badly and experienced racism in the US military.
A high-ranking official from the government said on Wednesday that after a lot of effort in discussing and negotiating with others, Pvt King has been brought back to the United States and has talked to his family.
The official said that Pvt King is really happy to be going back home and he is really excited to see his family again.
We will help him with a process to restart his life, taking care of his health and emotions, so that he can be in a good state to be with his family again.
The person in charge said that the US did not give up or make any compromises to free him.
After US officials met Pvt King in Dandong, a city on the Chinese border, he was flown to a US airbase in South Korea by a state department aircraft.
Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the state department, said that it was anticipated for him to come back to the United States on Wednesday afternoon.
Travis King’s desertion and deportation: What we know Here’s what we know about Travis King’s decision to leave his post and be sent back to his home country.
On Wednesday, North Korea’s news agency announced that the country had chosen to remove Pvt King but did not provide any more information.
The government of North Korea has decided to send US soldier Travis King back home because he entered the country without permission. This is being done in accordance with the laws of North Korea.
Pvt King joined the army in January 2021 and recently served in South Korea as a part of a unit change.
Before going to North Korea, he was kept in custody for two months in South Korea for attacking two people and damaging a police car. He got out of jail on July 10th.
He was supposed to go back to the US to face consequences for his actions, but he escaped the airport and joined a guided tour of a village called Panmunjom on the heavily guarded DMZ between the US and another country. Pvt King entered North Korea during the trip.
The senior official said they will first make sure he gets a medical check-up before deciding on any possible punishment or administrative actions.
A top official from the US government said that they found out earlier this month that North Korea planned to free Pvt King.
Swedish officials went to North Korea and took Pvt King to the border with China, where he met US ambassador Nicholas Burns. China helped in a positive way, but they did not get involved in settling the issue.
“The pieces needed to come together fast,” said the American official.
Because the US and North Korea do not have official diplomatic relations, Sweden’s embassy in Pyongyang has usually acted as a mediator for the US.
A spokesperson from the Swedish embassy said that Sweden was helping the US in North Korea to protect their interests.
Jonathan Franks, who speaks for Pvt King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said in a statement that she will always be thankful to the US Army and its partners for doing a great job.
The message said that Pvt King’s family does not plan to give any interviews “in the near future”.
His family has told the media in America that he was treated unfairly because of discrimination when he was in the military.
They said that his mental health declined while he was in the custody of South Korea.
Last month, Ms Gates told the Associated Press news agency that her son had many reasons to return home.
“He will never want to only stay in Korea when he has family in America,” she said.
According to Frank Aum, a North Korea specialist at the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC, Pvt King’s 71-day imprisonment is quite common for American citizens held in North Korea who are not believed to have committed a serious crime.
Some experts thought North Korea might have used the American soldier as a way to negotiate with the United States.
In the past, North Korea has demanded that a high-ranking American representative come to their country to talk about releasing an American person they detained. However, we do not know if that happened this time.
MrAum, who used to be an important advisor on North Korea for the US government, said that North Korea thinks there might be a way to start talks again.
But it seemed like North Korea didn’t want to do it this time. This might mean that North Korea doesn’t want to talk or work with the US right now.
MrAum also said that North Korean officials surely want to avoid making it seem like they are a big violator of human rights and detaining people for no reason.
A person from the State Department named Matthew Miller said that the United States is ready to communicate with North Korea, but North Korea’s government has said no many times.
Mick Mulroy, who used to work for the government and CIA, said it’s a positive that Pvt King is being brought back to the United States, even though he made some errors.
“MrMulroy said it was really important for us to do everything we could to bring the US soldier back home. ”
The organization in charge in North Korea decided to kick out Travis King, an American soldier. The KCNA stated that the army entered the DPRK’s territory unlawfully.
The report stated that the investigation into King has been completed.
North Korea said that King admitted to entering their territory without permission because he was upset about the mistreatment and discrimination in the United States. The person was in the army but became disappointed and lost faith because they saw that the United States was not treating everyone fairly. Society is a group of people who live and work together.
CNN cannot confirm if these are King’s actual words. It is not clear from KCNA’s report where, when, and how King will be removed.
This is an important story, there will be more information coming soon.
The couple talked about ways they could work together in the military on Wednesday.
Mr Putin said yes to visiting North Korea when Mr. Kim invited him, according to a spokesperson from the Kremlin.
The US has warned that if anyone helps Moscow in its war against Ukraine, it would be against UN resolutions.
Mr Kim was warmly welcomed by Mr. Putin at the Vostochny space centre in Russia’s far east on Wednesday. The North Korean leader traveled there for two days in his private luxury bulletproof train.
Russian state media released video showing the two leaders smiling as they greeted each other with a handshake. Putin then personally accompanied Mr. Kim as they toured the space center.
They also gave each other presents, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Putin gave Mr. Kim a glove from a spacesuit that had been to space multiple times and also gave him a rifle made in Russia. Mr Kim gave Mr Putin a gun from North Korea, along with other gifts.
Mr Putin went back to Moscow after the meeting, but Mr. Kim’s visit would continue for a few more days, according to Mr. Peskov, who didn’t provide more details.
The leader of North Korea was going to watch Russian warships and also visit some factories and the city of Vladivostok before going back home.
The meeting on Wednesday happened when the two punished governments met, and their relationships with the Western countries are currently very bad.
The two leaders talked about the military and the war in Ukraine during the summit. Kim seemed to show support for the war.
“Russia is engaging in a serious fight to defend its independence and safety against Western powers,” Mr. Kim expressed, assuring Mr. Putin that he will consistently back him.
Mr Putin also mentioned that he would assist Pyongyang in creating satellites. This made the United States worried because they believe that Russian assistance with satellite technology could enhance North Korea’s missile program.
“That is very concerning and could potentially break several rules set by the UN Security Council,” said Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US State Department, on Wednesday. Russia had previously agreed to these rules.
Mr Putin seemed to agree that there were some restrictions or limitations when it came to military collaboration.
The United States has said it will take action if North Korea gives weapons to Russia. In response, Russia said they care about their relationship with North Korea and don’t care about warnings from the US.
According to a South Korean government official, Mr Kim’s special train for international trips seems to have left Pyongyang.
The two leaders are going to meet on Tuesday, most likely.
The government of Russia, known as the Kremlin, has stated that Mr. Kim will be visiting their country soon.
If the meeting with Mr. Putin happens, it will be the first time the North Korean leader goes on a trip abroad in over four years, and the first time since the pandemic.
The two leaders will probably talk about North Korea giving weapons to Russia to help with its war in Ukraine, said a US official to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
Mr Kim traveled to Vladivostok in 2019 for his first meeting with Mr. This happened after North Korea’s talks about getting rid of nuclear weapons with former US President Donald Trump didn’t work out.
There are rumors that this car has 20 bulletproof cars. Because of this, it weighs more than regular trains and can’t go faster than 59 km/h (37 mph). He is going to Vladivostok and it will take him a whole day to get there.
There might be a meeting happening soon because the White House said they have new information that the discussions about weapons between the two countries are making progress.
The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, said that Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, recently visited North Korea and tried to convince them to sell artillery ammunition to Russia. The meeting happens when Russia and North Korea have things that the other country desires.
“He told the BBC that the important thing now is for both sides to agree on prices that they are willing to pay for each other’s help. ”
Russia will probably request North Korea for regular weapons such as artillery shells and rocket artillery ammunition. In return, they will offer food and raw materials, as well as ongoing support at international gatherings like the United Nations.
He said that this could mean that North Korea might give more advanced weapons to Russia so that Moscow can keep and replace its own supplies of regular weapons.
Experts believe Russia might require 122mm and 152mm shells because they are running low on supplies. However, it is challenging to determine the complete artillery inventory of North Korea due to its secretive behavior.
During the meeting in July, Mr Kim and Mr Shoigu showed off some weapons. One of them was the Hwasong missile, which is believed to be North Korea’s first missile with solid fuel.
Mr Kim opened the country to foreign guests for the first time since the Covid pandemic.
North Korea celebrated its 75th anniversary with a big event where Russian diplomats and a delegation from China were present.
The event on Friday in the main square of Pyongyang had people dressed in similar clothes and looked like they were part of a military group.
The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, as well as a Russian singing and dancing group from the military, and officials from Beijing were all present.
The event comes after people heard that Mr. Kim might meet with Vladimir Putin this month.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, refused to give any information when asked about it by a journalist in Moscow on Saturday, as reported by the Interfax news agency.
Mr Putin sent a message to Mr Kim to celebrate the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s establishment. He said he believes both countries will keep improving their relationship in all areas.
He said this would make sure to keep the Korean peninsula and northeast Asia safe and stable. MrPutin said that the Soviet Union was the first country to acknowledge and support the North Korean government. He said that the two countries have had a relationship based on friendship, being good neighbors, and respecting each other.
Earlier this week, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang announced that they were given permission to bring in 20 diplomatic and technical staff.
The Korean Central News Agency announced that Kim Il Sung Square was filled with happiness and everyone at the parade praised and thanked Kim Jong Un for being a great leader.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made a phone call to Kim Jong Un to congratulate him on the anniversary, according to Chinese state media.
A group of people from China, led by Liu Guozhong, who is a high-ranking government official, went to the parade and had a meeting with Mr.
The event had paramilitary forces instead of regular army soldiers. The country’s banned weapons, like ballistic missiles, were not shown at the event, as reported by state media.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, recently attended an event where a new submarine was shown to the public. The North Korean government claims that this submarine has the ability to launch nuclear weapons.
The media of the government said that the submarine greatly improved the country’s ability to protect itself with nuclear weapons.
It is called Hero Kim Kun Ok because of a North Korean naval officer and important person from history.
North Korea has wanted to build a submarine that can shoot nuclear weapons for a while.
In pictures shown by the government, Mr. Kim is standing in a place where they make ships, with naval officers around him. There is a very big black submarine next to him that is much bigger than him.
He said that the sub will be one of the navy’s main ways to attack underwater.
“He said that the nuclear attack submarine used to represent aggression towards our country in the past. But now it represents our strong and intimidating power that scares our enemies who don’t play fair. ” But some people are doubtful about how well it will work.
Experts think that the submarine is an old model from the Soviet Union called Romeo-class, which Mr. Kim examined in 2019. However, it has been changed so that it can now transport nuclear weapons.
Joseph Dempsey, who works at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, stated that the platform has some basic limitations and weaknesses.
According to Vann Van Diepen, a former US government weapons expert, the characteristics of these weapons are being loud, not fast and having a short distance they can reach.
Mr Dempsey said that it seems like the back and the things that make the sub move have been made unclear so that it is not obvious that it is an old ship.
We are not sure if this submarine is working. The North Koreans have not shown that they can successfully launch missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
It’s believed that the ship is made to carry short-range missiles that can be launched from submarines. These missiles can hit targets in nearby areas.
South Korea has criticized the launch and is unsure if the North’s submarine is actually as powerful as claimed.
Japan has also shown worry or discomfort. According to Reuters, Hirokazu Matsuno, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, said that North Korea’s military activity is now a bigger and more immediate threat to our country’s security than it was before. North Korea has been doing a lot of tests with missiles this year. They have been testing both ballistic and cruise missiles regularly. They have been testing even more than before in 2022.
The submarine was discovered a few days before the 75th anniversary of the North’s establishment. Government-controlled media outlets have announced that China will send a group of representatives to join in the festivities.
This news also comes after hearing that Mr. Kim is planning to go to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
There is worry that North Korea might ask Moscow for advanced weapons technology in exchange for something. People went to an event that North Korean state media said was the country’s ceremony for introducing a new submarine that can launch nuclear attacks.
Russia and North Korea’s relationship has gotten stronger since Russia invaded Ukraine, but they have not yet done military exercises together.
There was talk that this could happen after Russia’s ambassador to Pyeongyang said to Russian media last week that joint exercises ‘seem right’.
A member of parliament from South Korea who was at a private meeting with the country’s spy agency mentioned that the topic was brought up.
The head of the agency, Kim Kyou-hyun, reportedly said that the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, probably suggested doing group navy exercises involving three countries during a meeting with Kim Jong-un in July.
On Monday, Shoigu spoke to reporters and said that Russia was thinking about doing the exercises, but he didn’t say whether he had suggested them or not.
He said: ‘We talk about this with everyone, even North Korea. Why not These people live next to us. Of course, we are talking about it. ‘We are currently doing exercises with our Chinese colleagues, and we are also doing patrols together with strategic bombers from our naval units. ‘
In July, there was a visit to remember and celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean war.
At that time, Shoigu promised to make the military relationship with North Korea stronger because they have a border and have worked together in the past.
He also went with an important Chinese Communist Party member to a military parade in North Korea. It was seen as a demonstration that Russia and China are working together in their military activities. This comes after many reports that China is worried about the war in Ukraine.
According to recent reports from US intelligence, Putin himself has sent a letter to Kim Jong-un, requesting more weapons to be used against Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea are currently talking and making progress on a possible deal to supply a large amount of ammunition for various types of weapons, including artillery. This suggests that Russia is very eager to get more resources for its struggling invasion of Ukraine, as stated in the recently released intelligence report from the United States.
Despite North Korea saying otherwise, there is news of a possible deal.
The Biden administration is worried that two countries that are not liked by others are talking about weapons, and after a Russian government official visited North Korea last month, another group of Russian officials went there to talk more about a possible agreement.
Kirby expressed concerns about North Korea’s potential involvement in supporting Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.We also have new information that talks about weapons between Russia and North Korea are moving forward. “After these negotiations, important talks may continue in the coming months. ”
The Biden administration has made a start publically sharing newly obtained intelligence. This is meant to show how Russia is trying to avoid sanctions from Western countries and acquire weapons for its war. It is also a way to alert North Korea that the US is closely watching their actions. This is the strongest proof we have in a long time that Russia has been helping North Korea in their plan to invade Ukraine.
In these possible agreements, Russia would get a lot of weapons from North Korea, and they want to use them in Ukraine. These possible deals might also include giving Russia the materials it needs for its defense industry,” Kirby said. He promised that the US would punish any companies involved in a potential deal and asked North Korea to stop the negotiations.
Earlier this month, the United States government punished a group of people for helping Russia and North Korea illegally sell weapons.
Kirby also mentioned that Russia’s attempts to obtain weapons from countries like Iran and North Korea showed that Moscow was in trouble.
Kirby said that there is only one way to see that situation, and it is as desperate and weak. Simple as that.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who represents the US in the United Nations, said on Wednesday that Russia and North Korea were discussing a weapons agreement.
Greenfield described it as “wrong” and a breaking of rules set by the Security Council that Russia agreed to.
Last year, Pyongyang sent rockets and missiles to a Russian group called Wagner, who are mercenaries. These were given to support their soldiers in Ukraine. Additionally, Western officials say that Iran has provided Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine. Iran and North Korea have said that the claims made about them are not true.
A post on X said that North Korea possibly fired a missile. We will tell you as soon as we find out more information.
South Korea also said that a missile was launched towards the eastern waters of North Korea.
South Korea’s top military officials say that a missile was launched today, but they didn’t provide any additional information about how far it traveled.
The launch happened a few hours after the United States sent powerful bombers to the Korean Peninsula to show its strength against North Korea. This is something the United States does every year along with South Korea.
Kim Jong-un recently said that the US has made the area near the Korean peninsula very unstable and there is a risk of nuclear war.
According to state media, North Korea’s leader spoke on Navy Day and asked his military to always be prepared for fighting against their opponents.
Last week, the United States, South Korea, and Japan had a naval practice together to handle North Korea’s changing nuclear dangers.
At their first meeting alone, President Joe Biden, President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to enhance their cooperation in terms of military and economic matters to counter the threats posed by China and North Korea.
According to KCNA state media, North Korea plans to allow its citizens to return home after a nearly four-year absence due to pandemic-related border restrictions.
Medical professionals will monitor individuals who return for a week while they reside in a designated facility.
After the first flight from Pyongyang arrived in Beijing since 2020, this appears to be their latest move aimed at easing Covid regulations. China recently started allowing commercial flights between Beijing and Pyongyang once again.
North Korea is one of the few countries that still does that.
Chinese and Russian officials were the first visitors from other countries to go to North Korea in a longtime. They went to Pyongyang to watch a military parade.
Several weeks after, the country gave permission to a group of their athletes to join a taekwondo contest in Kazakhstan.
On Tuesday, an Air Koryo airplane from North Korea’s main airline arrived in China. This happened one day after the Chinese foreign ministry said it gave permission for commercial flights to start again between the two countries.
It was not clear who was on the flight back to Pyongyang, but Yonhap news said many North Koreans were waiting in line at Beijing International Airport.
A lot of North Korean students, workers, and diplomats have been unable to leave China for three and a half years.
People in the country can go back home, but we don’t know when foreign diplomats and aid workers will be allowed in.
North Korea, which likes to be alone, closed itself off in early 2020 to protect against the pandemic. However, they also disconnected from trade and diplomatic relationships, which means they stopped getting important things like food and medicine from other countries.
A lot of countries had to close their embassies in Pyongyang because they couldn’t change their staff or send supplies during most of the pandemic.
After that, North Korea has had problems getting enough food, which has become even worse because other countries have put strict rules on them because of their nuclear program.
But as North Korea starts to remove the last parts of its Covid-era restrictions, which it says matches the global pandemic situation, it has given hope that borders might reopen soon for foreign diplomats and aid.
However, the process is anticipated to be closely monitored and may still require a significant amount of time.
The second endeavor of North Korea to launch a spy satellite into space was not fruitful. Three months after the initial failure, they tried again, but unfortunately, the satellite still ended up in the sea.
According to state media, the attempt on Thursday morning failed when the rocket was in the third stage of its flight.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un really wants a spy satellite because it would help him see when enemies are going to attack and plan his own attacks better.
Pyongyang’s space agency plans to make another attempt in October.
South Korea said it found out about the rocket being launched at around 03:50 local time (18:50 GMT). It flew through the area in the sky that is open to all countries between mainland China and the Korean peninsula.
The start caused a sudden warning in Japan’s most southern Okinawa region just a few minutes later, telling people to go inside and stay safe. The warning was ended after around 20 minutes.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, criticized the launch and said that it goes against the UN resolutions. He also mentioned that they have already lodged a strong protest.
But even though Pyongyang was surely let down by Thursday’s failure, it seems like they have made some advances.
A news report from a government news agency called KCNA said that the failure happened because there was a mistake in the emergency blasting system while the rocket was flying in the third stage. The report also mentioned that this problem was not a major one.
It looks like the rocket with the satellite went even farther than before. Officials in Pyongyang admitted that the failed attempt in May was their biggest mistake. However, they promised to give it another shot.
Mr Kim will probably keep going until he achieves success. He is already making progress with his weapons program and is not interested in talking to the US.
Thursday’s launch happened a few days after leaders from the US, Japan, and South Korea had an important meeting in Washington. It also marks the beginning of the yearly military exercises between the United States and South Korea.
North Korea‘s main airline has completed its first flight to another country since the covid pandemic began.
The plane called JS151 from Air Koryo took off from Pyongyang on Tuesday morning and landed at Beijing Capital Airport at 09:16 local time (01:16 GMT), according to information from the flight tracking service Flightradar24.
We do not know who was on the JS151 flight or how many passengers were on board.
The travel agency, Koryo Tours, mentioned that the route between Pyongyang and Beijing has been reopened so that North Koreans can return home.
Flightradar24 says that flight JS151 was flown on a Tupolev Tu-204 plane that can hold up to 210 people.
It is not clear how many people were on the plane that was supposed to leave for Pyongyang from the Chinese capital at 13:05.
However, Kyodo News stated that the check-in counter of Air Koryo at Beijing airport was very crowded with passengers who were wearing pins of the North Korean flag on their clothes and were pushing trolleys filled with bags.
The Chinese foreign ministry announced on Monday that they have given permission for Air Koryo flights to Beijing to start again. These flights were stopped over three and a half years ago because of Covid border closures.
Pyongyang has recently started allowing a small number of people to travel internationally again.
A few North Korean athletes went to China last week. They were on their way to the Taekwondo world championships in Kazakhstan.
Russian and Chinese representatives also traveled to North Korea’s capital in July to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War ceasefire. They were the first foreign groups known to have been invited to the country since 2020.
First public confirmation from North Korea that a US soldier entered its territory in July has sparked an appeal from his family for him to be treated humanely. However, there are still doubts about why the soldier entered one of the world’s most hostile nations at a time when tensions on the peninsula are at an all-time high.
The Joint Security Area (JSA), a small group of buildings inside the 150-mile-long demilitarised zone (DMZ) that has divided North and South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953, is where Army Pvt. Travis King allegedly “willfully and without authorization” crossed into North Korea on July 18.
The JSA has no physical barriers, and a US official claimed that after swerving across the border’s demarcation line, King attempted to enter a North Korean facility, but the door was closed. He immediately fled to the building’s back, where he was quickly bundled into a van and transported away by North Korean security personnel.
US sources told CNN earlier in August that despite repeated attempts to get in touch with North Korea for an update on King’s status, they had still not received a meaningful response.
King, a cavalry scout, enlisted in the armed forces in January 2021. According to Army spokesman Bryce Dubee, at the time of his rotation in South Korea, he was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armoured Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas.
King was freed from a South Korean prison facility where he had completed 50 days of hard labour little over a week before making his quick trip across the border, according to defence authorities.
King was scheduled to take a flight to Texas the day before he entered North Korea, where he would be subject to disciplinary action. King, however, exited the airport on his own when Army bodyguards released him at a security checkpoint at Incheon International Airport outside of Seoul.
The following day, he participated in a JSA trip that he had previously scheduled with a private company.
Last month, US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said at the Aspen Security Forum that King “assaulted an individual in South Korea, had been in the custody of the South Korean government, and was going to come back to the United States to face the consequences in the Army.”
King’s sister Jaqueda Gates said on August 2 on CNN that her brother is “not the type to just disappear.”
She continued, “I don’t I don’t believe that you just do vanish and ran away. So, that’s why I feel like the story is deeper than that.”
According to Jonathan Franks, a family spokesman, Claudine Gates, the soldier’s mother, requested on August 16 that Pyongyang treat him humanely and permit him a phone call to talk with her.
Although there has long been tension between the United States and North Korea, the situation is extremely tight right now.
Following a breakdown in negotiations between Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump in 2019, the North has intensified its nuclear and missile programmes.
The negotiations, which lasted three in-person meetings and saw Trump cross the same red line as King did, were unsuccessful in producing any significant diplomatic achievements.
Three intercontinental ballistic missile tests have taken place so far this year, and North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of escalating tensions by holding military drills and deploying weapons, such as a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine from the US Navy to the South Korean port of Busan in July.
In violation of international restrictions, North Korea tested more than 90 cruise and ballistic missiles last year, including one that soared over Japan. Concerns have been raised over the increase in testing as it may be gearing up for a prospective nuclear test – its first since 2017.
According to a report from the government-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 10, Kim fired his top general amid a reorganisation of North Korea’s military leadership and declared that he wanted his army to “gird for a war.”
Although the US or South Korea were not specifically mentioned in the report, it appeared to make an indirect reference to them when it stated that North Korean authorities had “analysed the military moves of the chief culprits of the deteriorated situation” on the peninsula.
King, who is thought to be the first American soldier to enter North Korea since 1982, is being held by a notoriously despotic and secretive one-party government that sees the US as a mortal enemy.
King might offer North Korea military intelligence value, but this is questionable. He wouldn’t likely have access to high-level intelligence as a private, but by virtue of being on a US military installation, he might be able to discuss things like base plans or the units and soldier numbers there.
King provides North Korea with a potentially formidable negotiating piece as a soldier and US citizen, however it is unclear what Pyongyang may ask for in exchange for returning King to US custody.
King might also be employed by Pyongyang for propaganda purposes.
According to a KCNA article from August 16, King, a Black man, declared “his willingness to seek refugee” in North Korea or a third country, and he chose to enter the country because “he harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”
Two days prior to a trilateral summit between the presidents of the US, South Korea, and Japan in Maryland, the KCNA story was released. North Korea’s threat to all three nations is anticipated to be a major topic of discussion.
A US defence source remarked in reference to the KCNA claim that Washington “can’t verify these alleged comments.”
“We are still concentrating on his safe return. Bringing Private King home is the (Defence) Department’s top priority, and we are utilising all possible avenues to make this happen, the official stated.
North Korea and the US do not hold formal diplomatic ties. Instead, the US uses the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang as a point of contact.
The US considers declaring an American soldier in North Korea a prisoner of war.
In the decades following the end of the Korean War, a small number of US soldiers decamped to North Korea, but in more recent times, US citizens have been imprisoned in North Korea as civilians, sometimes for extended periods of time as US officials work to secure their release and Pyongyang tries to extract concessions.
Bruce Byron Lowrance, who, according to North Korean official media, entered North Korea from China in 2018, was the last American known to be imprisoned by the country.
Lowrance was detained by Pyongyang, who charged him with working for the CIA, but freed him about a month later with the help of the Swedish Embassy.
Otto Warmbier, a college student who visited the country as a tourist in 2016, is likely the most well-known recent example of an American being detained in North Korea.
His intended stay of five days extended to seventeen months after he was charged with attempting to steal a political flag from his hotel.
Warmbier was given a 15-year sentence of hard labour, but he was turned over to US authorities in 2017. Less than a week after his return, he passed away from significant brain injury, with Washington alleging that he had been tortured while in detention.
Charles Jenkins, a US Army sergeant who entered North Korea in 1965 while serving at a US military facility close to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), is arguably the most notorious example of a US soldier defecting to North Korea.
Jenkins then said he had changed his mind and attributed it to drinking.
He starred in propaganda videos, gave English lessons to North Korean spies, and studied North Korean leaders’ writings for up to eight hours a day while there.
His wife, a Japanese national who was abducted from her home in Japan in 1978 and who departed North Korea as part of a settlement between Pyongyang and Tokyo, was also permitted to leave the country in 2004, two years after her.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has reportedly fired the country’s top general amid a reorganisation of the military hierarchy and wants his army to “gird for a war,” according to official media on Thursday.
According to the government-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil has been nominated as General Pak Su Il’s replacement.
Without getting into specifics, KCNA said that other “leading commanding officers” were let go, moved, or appointed during a Central Military Commission meeting on Wednesday.
North Korea frequently changes the military’s top brass. Some former military commanders eventually surface in new roles, while others vanish from public view.
Analysts noted that the new top general Ri’s career, who recently took over the No. 2 position in the North Korean military hierarchy on December 31, reflected this.
“Ri Yong Gil has been a stalwart member of North Korea’s military elite for many years, but his career had its ups and downs before he reached the top. After a reorganisation of personnel seven years ago, he was even said to have been put to death, according to Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute private think tank outside of Seoul, stated that Kim’s military rearrangement may have been motivated by a variety of factors and was not necessarily punitive.
“It is inappropriate to regard CEOs’ dismissals as punishment,” Cheong stated. “Kim Jong Un has regularly promoted, demoted, and terminated executives according on their capacity to accomplish duties.
Easley suggested that the North Korean leader may be only trying to prevent anyone below him from gaining excessive authority.
“Kim Jong Un frequently rotates leadership posts below him to prevent the emergence in North Korea of anyone like [founder of the Wagner Group] Yevgeny Prigozhin, who challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority after gaining personal control of financial assets and loyalty among armed forces,” Easley said.
The reorganisation of the military hierarchy was only briefly mentioned in the KCNA report, which otherwise concentrated on what it called the “important issue of making the army more thoroughly gird for a war given the grave political and military situation prevailing in the Korean Peninsula.”
The report omitted mentioning South Korea or its main ally, the United States. The statement that the group “analysed the military moves of the chief culprits of deteriorated situation” on the peninsula appeared to make indirect reference to them.
According to the KCNA report, “making full war preparations” was the meeting’s main agenda item.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) army is required to have more positive, proactive, and overwhelming will as well as thorough and perfect military readiness for a war, according to the statement. “The current situation, in which the hostile forces are getting ever more undisguised in their reckless military confrontation with the DPRK,” it said.
This summer, North Korea has stepped up its military rhetoric, threatening to fire down US spy planes and retaliate against South Korea for allowing a US ballistic missile submarine with nuclear capability to dock there for the first time in 40 years.
Pyongyang has also demonstrated its improvements in ballistic missile technology, launching last month what it claimed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called the Hwasong-18 with a flight time that shows it might reach the US mainland.
This weapon was one of many displayed at what North Korea referred to as its “Victory Day” parade last month, which was held to commemorate the armistice that put a stop to hostilities in the Korean War 70 years ago. Since no formal peace treaty has ever been signed, the two Koreas technically are still at war.
Kim signed the directives for war exercises using the nation’s most recent weaponry during the summit on Wednesday in Pyongyang.
Kim visited munitions and weapons companies late last week and delivered “important directions” regarding “capacity-building for the serial production of new ammunition,” according to a KCNA report.
South Korea declared this month that it would organise a national civil defence exercise on August 23 in the midst of the tension on the peninsula.
The majority of the 51 million people in the nation are anticipated to practise retreating to secure areas beneath the earth or bunkers during the 20-minute drill, which Seoul claims is in reaction to “provocations” from Pyongyang.
