4,000 North Korean troops killed or wounded in Ukraine, Zelensky claims

SEOUL, January 10 (AJP) - About 4,000 North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia to support its war in Ukraine have been "killed and wounded in action," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. North Korea holds "no value for people," said Zelensky during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), an alliance of 57 counties, also known as the Ramstein group, which includes members of NATO as well as most of the European Union.

January 10, 2025

North Korea confirms successful test-launch of hypersonic ballistic missile

SEOUL, January 7 (AJP) - North Korea said on Tuesday that it had successfully test-launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) equipped with a hypersonic warhead. "The hypersonic glide vehicle of the missile fired northeastward at a launching ground in a suburb of Pyongyang..... accurately landed on the waters of simulated target," the renegade country's state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, confirming its IRBM launch the previous day.

January 7, 2025

N. Korea to resume international marathon race after five-year hiatus

SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - North Korea will resume its international marathon competition this April, marking the first time the event will be held since its suspension in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The marathon, which features both professional and amateur runners, offers distances of 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, a half marathon, and a full marathon (42.195 kilometers). The course winds through some of Pyongyang’s most iconic landmarks, including Kim Il Sung Squar

January 6, 2025

North Korea fires suspected hypersonic ballistic missile ahead of Trump's inauguration

SEOUL, January 6 (AJP) -- North Korea fired a suspected hypersonic ballistic missile into the East Sea on Monday, just two weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the military detected the projectile around noon. The ballistic missile, launched from the Pyongyang area, flew about 1,100 kilometers before landing in the waters. While the missile was initially believed to use an engine typically found in in

January 6, 2025

Mystery shrouds children spotted with North Korean leader's sister

SEOUL, January 3 (AJP) - The National Intelligence Service (NIS) is currently investigating whether two children recently spotted with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Yo-jong could be her kids, the spy agency here said on Friday. Speculation arose shortly after North Korea's state television aired footage of Yo-jong walking alongside a boy and a girl after attending an event for the New Year's celebrations in Pyongyang earlier this week. The NIS said it is lo

January 3, 2025

North Korean state media details South's martial law crisis

SEOUL, January 03 (AJP) - North Korean state media has extensively covered South Korea's "political turmoil" in the wake of last month's short-lived martial law debacle here. The official state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that the "unprecedented" impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is now facing arrest, has paralyzed state affairs, leading to "social and political chaos" in the South. The cove

January 3, 2025

North Korean leader foregoes annual visit to family mausoleum for another year

SEOUL, January 2 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un apparently skipped his annual visit to the mausoleum of his grandfather Kim Il-sung and father Kim Jong-il on New Year's Day, according to state media. Senior party and military officials visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang to pay their respects to the regime founder and the former leader the previous day, the country's state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday, without mentioning

January 2, 2025

North Korean leader sends New Year's letter to Putin

SEOUL, December 31 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a New Year's greeting to Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media reported on Tuesday. According to the official state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim extended his "warm greetings of best wishes to the fraternal Russian people and all the service personnel of the brave Russian army," calling Putin his "dearest friend and comrade" in a letter sent the previous day. Pledging to s

December 31, 2024

Ukraine warns of 'North Korean troops reaching NATO borders'

SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Ukraine has warned that North Korean troops could appear on the borders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if Russia is not stopped. In a post shared on his Telegram on Sunday, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential office, wrote that European countries and NATO should brace for potential hybrid threats at their doorsteps. "The appearance of North Korean troops dressed in Russian uniforms or Iranian proxies on the borders o

December 30, 2024

'North Korea proposed troop deployment to Russia,' U.S. officials believe

SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - North Korea initially proposed deploying its troops to Russia to assist Moscow's war in Ukraine, The New York Times reported on Monday, citing U.S. intelligence agencies. The deployment was "North Korea's idea and not Russia's," although Russian President Vladimir Putin "quickly embraced it," the daily wrote. Over 10,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been sent to Russia since last fall, with most of them depl

December 24, 2024