North Korean FM returns from Russia amid growing bilateral ties SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has returned home from Russia, state media reported on Wednesday. After wrapping up her four-day trip to Moscow, Choe arrived in Pyongyang the previous day and was greeted by Vladimir Topekha, charge d'affaires ad interim of the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, according to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During the trip, Choe held talks with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and July 22, 2026

Putin greets N. Korean foreign minister amid Kim's return visit rumor SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) -Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea’s leadership and people for helping Moscow in its war against Ukraine and declared that the battlefield exploits of North Korean soldiers would “always be remembered in Russia” during a Kremlin meeting with Pyongyang’s top diplomat. Putin met visiting North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on Sunday, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov at July 20, 2026

North Korea condemns 'warmonger' South over RIMPAC role SEOUL, July 17 (AJP) - North Korea denounced South Korea's leading role in the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific naval exercise, branding Seoul a "puppet warmonger" and warning of "proportional" countermeasures against the drill's participants. In a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, Pyongyang cast the biennial exercise as a rehearsal for war that was dragging the Pacific into dangerous turbulence, and said regional July 17, 2026

China's high-ranking official set to visit North Korea this week SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - Wang Huning, one of the Chinese Communist Party's top leaders, is set to visit to Pyongyang this week, North Korean state media reported on Tuesday. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a Chinese delegation led by Wang will visit Pyongyang for a three-day visit starting Wednesday. However, KCNA did not provide details on the purpose of the delegation's visit. The visit is believed to be the Chinese No. 4-ranked lea July 14, 2026

Pyongyang pledges full expansion of China friendship SEOUL, July 13 (AJP) - North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song has pledged to work with China to expand bilateral relations across all fronts, sending a message of thanks to Chinese Premier Li Qiang after wrapping up a three-day official visit to Beijing, the North's state media reported Monday. The visit, timed to the 65th anniversary of the treaty that binds the two countries in a mutual defense pact, capped a month of unusually rapid diplomatic traffic between Pyongyang and Beij July 13, 2026

China, North Korea celebrate 65th anniversary of mutual defense treaty SEOUL, July 12 (AJP) -China and North Korea pledged to deepen strategic coordination and expand practical cooperation as the two countries marked the 65th anniversary of their mutual defense treaty, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency. Chinese Premier Li Qiang made the remarks during talks in Beijing on Saturday with North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song, who is leading a three-day delegation to China commemorating the signing of the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Coope July 12, 2026

North Korea says denuclearization should apply to U.S., allies before Pyongyang SEOUL, July 11 (AJP) - North Korea on Saturday rejected renewed calls for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, arguing that the concept should instead be applied first to the United States, its Asian allies and NATO members. In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, a spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said calls by South Korea, the United States and Japan for Pyongyang's denuclearization had "completely lost their relevan July 11, 2026

North Korea tests cruise missile from new 5,000-ton destroyer SEOUL, July 6 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised weapons tests from a new 5,000-ton destroyer that had been repaired after a failed launch ceremony last year, state media said Sunday, as he pushed to expand the country's naval combat capabilities. The official Korean Central News Agency said the destroyer Kang Kon conducted a test-fire of "strategic cruise missiles" last Friday, along with tests of "major weapon systems such as naval artill July 6, 2026

North Korea, DPRK, or Joseon? Seoul's naming dilemma SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - Defined by its neighbor "hostile state," South Korea is rethinking how to address North Korea. The Unification Ministry said Friday that growing calls to refer to North Korea by its official name are part of a broader process of building public consensus, as a linguistic debate over inter-Korean relations moves from academic and religious circles into the center of national politics. At issue is whether South Korea should continue using the term July 3, 2026

Crypto hacks hit record count, two thirds tied to North Korea SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - North Korea-linked hackers stole about $643 million in cryptocurrency in the first half of 2026, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all funds taken in crypto hacks during the period, according to a new report by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. The findings underscore Pyongyang’s continued reliance on cyber theft as a source of hard currency even as overall losses from cryptocurrency hacks fell sharply from a year earlier. TRM Labs said atta July 3, 2026