North Korea

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin meet at the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region in Russia on Sept. 13. (Tass via Kyodo)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's Kim meets Putin at Russian space center

Moscow promises to help Pyongyang develop rockets

13 September 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from a private train as he departs Pyongyang to visit Russia on Sept. 10 in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 12.
International relations

North Korea's Kim Jong Un enters Russia for summit with Putin

Leaders expected to discuss arms sales as Moscow struggles in war on Ukraine

13 September 2023
North Korea's Kim Jong Un, left, and Russia's Vladimir Putin attend a reception after meeting in Vladivostok in 2019. They are expected to meet again in the coming days. (Photo by KCNA via Reuters)
Comment

Russia risks further isolation by courting North Korea

Efforts to boost war effort could undo Moscow's rapport with emerging countries

12 September 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, in April 2019.
International relations

North Korea's Kim to visit Russia for talks with Putin

Leaders set to discuss arms deals, say U.S. officials

11 September 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin awaits the head of Myanmar's junta at the 2022 Eastern Economic Forum: The forum now looks like a rogues' gallery of the world's worst regimes. (Pool via Reuters) 
Opinion

Putin's Pacific party is over if Kim Jong Un is guest of honor

Even China's top leaders now snub Vladivostok's Eastern Economic Forum

9 September 2023
South Korean and U.S. soldiers stand guard in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea overhauls Unification Ministry amid harder line on North

Revamp prioritizes intelligence and resolving abductions over cooperation

6 September 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong visits the training center of the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army in an undisclosed location in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea drills for South occupation in message to U.S., Seoul

Show of force in response to joint military exercises between allies

1 September 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter attend a photo session with the scientists, engineers, military officials and others involved in the test-fire of the country's new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA via Reuters)  
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea most likely player to use nuclear arms: ex-U.S. spy

Markus Garlauskas says Kim Jong Un's risk calculus is different from Russia's

26 August 2023
Passengers watch a TV news report on North Korea's rocket launch, the second since May to fail, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 24.
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea to share North Korea launch info with Japan and U.S.

Seoul follows through on trilateral pact after Pyongyang satellite attempt fails

24 August 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to tackle North Korean cyberthreats at a Camp David summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Aug. 18.
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea prepares to take fight to North Korea's hackers

Yoon administration to get proactive after years of defensive posture

24 August 2023
A North Korean missile is displayed at a military parade in Pyongyang on July 27. Cryptocurrency stolen by state hackers are a key source of funding for such weapons. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's state hackers fund nuclear, missile development

From training to moving proceeds, Pyongyang involved every step of the way

23 August 2023
From left to right, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose during the trilateral summit at Camp David in the U.S. on Aug. 18.
International relations

South Korea's Yoon downplays Taiwan war risk after U.S. summit

President looks to dampen speculation over risks to China relations

22 August 2023
North Korean workers gather at customs in Dandong, China's border city with North Korea, on Jan. 9, 2018. 
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea calls out China on North Korea escapees

Comments by minister illustrate Yoon admin's tougher stance on Beijing

16 August 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech celebrating the 78th anniversary of Korean Liberation Day, which marks the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945, in Seoul on Aug. 15.
Politics

South Korea's Yoon calls for military info sharing with Japan, U.S.

In Liberation Day speech, president stresses values of freedom and human rights

15 August 2023
From left to right, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese Communist Party senior official Li Hongzhong attend a military parade in Pyongyang on July 27.
Comment

Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow shift ties 70 years after Korean War

Photos from armistice parade hint at differing attitudes on North Korea

12 August 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visit a North Korean exhibition of military equipment in this image released by official media on July 27, the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea turns to Russia, China as Asia enters 'Cold War 2.0'

Guests at war anniversary highlight Pyongyang's dwindling diplomatic options

30 July 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, is taking a hard line against the regime of North Korean leader Kim Yong Un. (Source photos by Reuters and AP)
International relations

Two Koreas harden war-era alliances 70 years after combat ended

North hosts China, Russia delegations; South invites foreign veterans

27 July 2023
Barricades are placed near the Unification Bridge, which leads to Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, on July 19 in Paju, South Korea.
N Korea at crossroads

U.N. Command has reached out to North Korea over U.S. soldier

Official says 'none of us know' how case of private who ran across border will end

24 July 2023
Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with reporters while attending a NATO meeting in Brussels on June 15.
Interview

Japan 'key' in handling any Indo-Pacific contingency: top U.S. general

India is 'very important' strategic ally for free, open region, says Gen. Milley

22 July 2023
From left, Sung Kim, Takehiro Funakoshi and Kim Gunn, the top U.S., Japanese and South Korean representatives on North Korea, met on July 20 in Japan's Nagano prefecture. (Photo by Ryo Nemoto)
International relations

U.S., Japan, South Korea head into Camp David summit with fast-paced diplomacy

Pyongyang shrugs off 50-plus discussions in 2022 as missile launches continue

21 July 2023
The U.N. and others say stealing cryptocurrencies is North Korea's latest international criminal enterprise to support the hermit regime and facilitate its arms programs.  (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Cryptocurrencies

South Korea asks cyber firms for advice on North's crypto crimes

Pyongyang known for flashing sharp computer skills to boost weapons program

20 July 2023
A Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released July 13 by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea sanctions North Korea over latest missile launch

Move represents escalation of Seoul's increasingly tough approach to Pyongyang

14 July 2023
This image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency depicts the Hwasong-18 ICBM being launched at an undisclosed location.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea takes solid-fuel ICBM threat to unprecedented heights

Test shows ability to strike U.S. East Coast before preparation can be detected

14 July 2023
The North Korean government has clamped down on food sales by private markets. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea struggles with food shortage despite import rebound

Conditions worsen as necessities languish, causing famine even in Pyongyang

13 July 2023
A South Korean instructor describes a facility where North Korean defectors learn IT skills in Anseong, South Korea, on July 10. (Provided by the Ministry of Unification)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea defector tells of plight as Seoul gets tough on Pyongyang

Reporters given access to center for helping refugees adjust to life in South Korea

11 July 2023