North Korea threatens 'super-offensive' response to US-South Korea military maneuvers SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - Pyongyang’s second most powerful official, Kim Yo-jong, issued a stern warning on March 10, characterizing the ongoing joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea as a "provocative and aggressive war rehearsal." The statement, released via the state-run Korean Central News Agency, asserted that the maneuvers currently underway on the Korean peninsula are "intensively revealing once again their inveterate repugnancy t March 10, 2026

North Korean leader highlights 'traditional friendship' with China in letter to Xi SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed his expectations for further cooperation with his country's traditional alley in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media reported on Tuesday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim sent the letter to Xi the previous day, expressing his belief that cooperation between the two countries "will become even closer in the future." He was also quoted as saying th March 10, 2026

Kim Jong-un inspects missile tests from new destroyer SEOUL, March 5 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a shipyard in Nampo for a new destroyer and oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the vessel, state media reported on Thursday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim, accompanied by key military and party officials, conducted a two-day inspection of the 5,000-ton Choe Hyun on Tuesday and Wednesday to "observe its crew members' combat and political training and March 5, 2026

North Korean leader visits family mausoleum with newly-elected party members SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited his family's mausoleum as soon as the country's key party congress wrapped up, state media reported on Friday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim paid his respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where the embalmed bodies of the two Kim seniors lie in state, accompanied by key party officials and other members who were newly elected at the country's ninth party gathering February 27, 2026

Pyongyang sidelines Seoul while signaling potential for Washington ties SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated that there is "no reason not to get along" with the United States if Washington abandons its hostile policy, even as he intensified his rhetoric against South Korea by vowing to permanently exclude the country from the category of "compatriots." North Korea's state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday that Kim delivered a summary report during the 9th Congress of the Work February 26, 2026

Ju-ae or Ju-hae? Name debate over North Korea's young heiress SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday was re-elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, reaffirming the supreme-leader status he has held since 2012. But what has increasingly drawn international attention is not Kim himself, but his brash, omnipresent teenage daughter. The confident, bubbly-looking girl has frequently appeared at her father’s side in recent years, prompting North Korea watchers to speculate that she February 23, 2026

Kim Jong-un unanimously re-elected to lead North Korea's Workers' Party SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was unanimously re-elected general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Monday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the unanimous decision was made the previous day during the fourth day of the party's ongoing ninth congress, which began last Thursday. Lauding Kim, KCNA said the country's "revolutionary armed forces," under his leadership, are able to res February 23, 2026

Satellite images suggest North Korea gearing up for massive military parade SEOUL, February 20 (AJP) - With North Korea's key party congress underway this week, satellite images suggest the country has been preparing for a large-scale military parade, with over 12,000 people believed to have been mobilized. According to Yoo Yong-won of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), satellite images taken between Feb. 9 and 17 by Vantor, formerly Maxar Intelligence, showed around 12,000 troops gathered at Mirim Airport near Pyongyang for the parade's February 20, 2026

North Korea kicks off key party congress SEOUL, February 20 (AJP) - North Korea has kicked off its massive party gathering, state media reported on Friday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the ninth congress of the Workers' Party "opened with splendour" in Pyongyang the previous day. In his opening address, its leader Kim Jong-un said he is "full of optimism and confidence about the future," comparing this year's gathering with the previous one five years ago February 20, 2026

North Korea hails deployment of multiple rocket launchers ahead of party congress SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - North Korea deployed some 50 multiple rocket launchers, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday. According to KCNA, a ceremony for the deployment of a 600-mm large-caliber multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) "took place with splendor" in Pyongyang the previous day, with Kim Jong-un in attendance, accompanied by Workers' Party officials, munitions industry workers and other military personnel. In a speech, Ki February 19, 2026