The bridge over the Yalu River connecting North Korea and the Chinese city of Dandong serves as a key trade channel between the two countries. (Photo by Kohei Fujimura)
North Korea tensions

North Korea's trade with China on track to recovery from floods

August brings improvement in exports, imports over disaster-hit July

19 September 2024
North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles last Thursday, the first such launch in more than two months.(KCNA via Reuters)
North Korea tensions

North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles for second time in a week

Launch comes after Pyongyang unveiled uranium enrichment facility

18 September 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stands between what are believed to be centrifuges during an inspection of a uranium enrichment facility. (KCNA via Kyodo)
North Korea tensions

North Korea provides first peek inside nuclear weapons facility

Kim Jong Un signals what is seen as warning to U.S. ahead of November vote

14 September 2024
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, at a state reception in Pyongyang, North Korea, in  June.
Defense

North Korea fires first short-range missiles in two months

Test missiles capable of carrying large warheads landed in sea

12 September 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a naval base construction site at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by KCNA on September 8, 2024.
Defense

North Korean leader emphasizes importance of strengthening naval power

Kim Jong Un stresses need to build naval port that can operate warships' weapons systems

8 September 2024
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un shake hands during a meeting at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, in June 2019.
Opinion

How North Korea will seek to play the next U.S. president

Pyongyang has tried and trusted method for buying time to develop weapons

5 September 2024
These two satellite photos show the North Korean hamlet prior to the flooding on July 18 and after the disaster on Aug. 14.
Natural disasters

North Korea dismantling flooded farm hamlets, photo evidence shows

Kim's comments hint at building more modern community from scratch

31 August 2024
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to closely watch the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. (Source photos by Yonhap and Kyodo)
North Korea tensions

South and North Korea brace for Harris or Trump as next U.S. leader

Yoon and Kim deepen their own alliances while keeping door open to dialogue

20 August 2024
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, made a keynote address at an undisclosed location to mark the delivery of 250 new tactical ballistic missiles on Aug. 4. 
Comment

What does North Korea have in store for the next U.S. president?

Pyongyang couches hopes for better ties in hard-line rhetoric

18 August 2024
U.S. Korea Forces spokesperson Col. Ryan Donald, right, and Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, attend a press briefing on the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises in Seoul. 
Defense

U.S. and South Korea start joint military exercises next week

Seoul also will conduct first-ever civil defense drill for nuclear attack

13 August 2024
TV news at Seoul's Yongsan Railway Station shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae, attending a banquet to celebrate the country's successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite.
Opinion

Kim Ju Ae is unlikely to ever reign as North Korea's queen

Odds are against Kim Jong Un's young daughter succeeding him

7 August 2024
North Korea held a ceremony Aug. 4 to mark the handover of missile launchers to forces stationed near the South Korean border. (KCNA via Reuters)
North Korea tensions

North Korea sends 250 missile launchers to border with South

Kim claims improved effectiveness of tactical nuclear weapons as tensions rise

6 August 2024
The Pyongyang Restaurant in Vientiane no longer has clear signage identifying it by that name. (Photo by Junnoruke Kobara)
International relations

North Korean restaurants in Laos fly under radar

No signs, but plenty of clues to connection with Pyongyang

5 August 2024
Kim Jong Un's train stopped just short of flood damage in the northern part of the country. (North Korea's Korean Central News Agency via Reuters) 
North Korea tensions

Kim Jong Un surveys damage as floods devastate North Korea trade hub

Disaster-response officials are fired as economy takes massive hit

3 August 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin ride in a car together in Pyongyang on June 19. (KCNA via Kyodo)
Comment

North Korea faces limits of economic boon from Russia 'alliance'

For Moscow, long-term partnership with Pyongyang may have little upside

3 August 2024
North Korea's ambassador to Laos, Ri Yong Chol, attended the ASEAN Regional Forum instead of the foreign minister. (Photo by Junnosuke Kobara)
International relations

North Korea avoids contact with South Korea and U.S. at ASEAN talks

Pyongyang again doesn't send top diplomat as it deepens relationship with Russia

29 July 2024
South Korean athletes during the floating parade on the Seine during the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris on July 26. 
Sports

Olympics: IOC apologizes to South Korea over North Korea gaffe

Seoul's delegation introduced as from rival during opening ceremony

28 July 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong pose as they meet in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 28, 2023, in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. 
North Korea tensions

U.S. sanctions China-based network for helping North Korea

Entities accused of assisting Pyongyang in weapons development programs

25 July 2024
Moscow and Kyiv have reached out for support to faraway Pyongyang and Seoul and upgraded military ties. 
Asia Insight

Korean tensions flare as Seoul, Pyongyang take opposing sides on Ukraine

Russia-North Korea military upgrade triggers deeper U.S.-South Korea nuclear alliance

23 July 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden greets South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David near Washington on Aug. 18, 2023. 
Comment

Japan, U.S., South Korea must face lingering issues from Camp David

Historic 2023 summit left several key military and other matters unresolved

19 July 2024
Admiral Kim Myung Soo, General Yoshihide Yoshida and General Charles Brown attended the meeting.  (Photo by Shinnosuke Nagatomi)
South China Sea

Japan, U.S., South Korea top officers vow to boost cooperation

North Korean weapon programs, Beijing's assertiveness in South China Sea among topics discussed

18 July 2024
The North Korean flag flies at the country's consular office in Dandong, China.
North Korea tensions

North Korea forced labor system widespread, U.N. report says

Pyongyang urged to end system of compulsory state-allocated employment

17 July 2024
Sue Mi Terry speaks at the Asia Society in New York on June 19, 2017.  
International relations

Former CIA official charged with being agent for South Korea

Justice Department accuses Sue Mi Terry of serving Seoul's intelligence service

17 July 2024
A North Korean diplomat in Cuba defected to South Korea in November in a blow to leader Kim Jong Un.
International relations

North Korean diplomat in Cuba defected to South Korea in November

Defection occurred before Havana and Seoul established ties in blow to Pyongyang

16 July 2024