Military halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border

SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - South Korea suspended its loudspeaker broadcasts along the heavily armed border with North Korea on Wednesday. The halt came about a year after the South Korean military resumed propaganda broadcasts in June last year, in response to a series of North Korean provocations including its bizarre campaign of sending trash-filled balloons toward the South. The latest move also came shortly after the Unification Ministry earlier this week urged North Korean defec

June 11, 2025

North Korea experiences nationwide internet shutdown

SEOUL, June 7 (AJP) - North Korea experienced a nationwide internet outage on Friday, affecting all routes of online access into the country, according to a British researcher cited by Reuters. Junade Ali, a UK-based analyst monitoring North Korea’s online activities, told Reuters the disruption likely resulted from internal technical issues rather than a cyberattack. Ali said the outage appeared similar to a network overload, suggesting internal problems such as po

June 7, 2025

North Korea issues terse coverage of South Korean presidential election

SEOUL, June 5 (AJP) - North Korea's state media on Thursday reported the result of this year's South Korean presidential election, which took place here earlier this week. The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper devoted just two sentences to it, saying that Lee Jae-myung was elected as the next president in the South's June 3 election, "just two months after [former President Yoon Suk Yeol' was impeached" over his botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law las

June 5, 2025

New report reveals massive arms transfers between Pyongyang and Moscow

SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) - North Korea has supplied Russia with large quantities of munitions and missile-related equipment, according to a report released Thursday by a multinational team that monitors UN Security Council sanctions on the renegade country. In its inaugural report, the Multinational Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) said, "Since began supplying Russia with ammunition in early September 2023, it has transferred over 20,000 containers of munitions and rel

May 30, 2025

North Korea begins repairs on damaged destroyer after failed launch

SEOUL, May 26 (AJP) - North Korea has begun restoring a newly developed warship that was severely damaged during its launch ceremony last week, according to a report by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday. The 5,000-ton-class destroyer sustained major damage on May 21 at the northeastern port of Chongjin. During the launch event, attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the warship’s stern reportedly detached from its transport cradle and tipped to

May 26, 2025

North Korea arrests those responsible for failed destroyer launch

SEOUL, May 25 (AJP) - North Korea has arrested a slew of officials and shipyard workers responsible for the failed launch of its naval destroyer earlier this week and taken steps to investigate them. The country's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Sunday that the investigation into the incident is "being intensified." The development came just a few days after leader Kim Jong-un's fury over the incident, which he blamed on "criminal negligence

May 25, 2025

North Korea admits newly developed destroyer damaged in launch mishap

SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) -North Korea admitted that its newly developed warship was accidentally damaged during a launch ceremony earlier this week. According to the official state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the accident occurred Wednesday when a 5,000-ton destroyer was being launched at a shipyard in Chongjin, a key industrial city in the northeast. The vessel tilted and eventually overturned after a support mechanism at the stern prematurely released as it entered the water

May 23, 2025

US extends ban on travel to North Korea for another year

SEOUL, May 16 (AJP) - The U.S. has extended its travel ban on North Korea for another year. In a notice on the Federal Register on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State said, "All U.S. passports shall remain invalid for travel to, in, or through unless specially validated for such travel under the authority of the Secretary of State." The department said it "has determined there continues to be serious risk to U.S. citizens and nationals of arrest a

May 16, 2025

North Korea remains on list of countries 'not fully cooperating' with US counterterrorism efforts

SEOUL, May 14 (AJP) - North Korea was included in the list of countries that "did not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts," along with Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, the U.S. Department of State said in a press release on Tuesday. The designation on the list, updated annually in May, prohibits the "sale or license for export of defense articles and services." North Korea has been on the list of "Not Fully Cooperating Countries (NFCCs)&qu

May 14, 2025

North Korean IT workers in China linked to remote work scams overseas

SEOUL, May 14 (AJP) - North Korea has set up dozens of front companies in China, helping its IT workers "trick Western companies into hiring them," the American news website Axios reported on Tuesday. Citing a fresh report released by strategic intelligence platform Strider Technologies, the website revealed details of a vast network of China-based companies allegedly involved in facilitating North Korea's clandestine IT operations overseas, evading international sanct

May 14, 2025