Satellite photos have detected signs of North Korea and Russia ramping up the construction of a joint motorway bridge linking the two countries across the Tumen River, Radio Free Asia said Wednesday. The satellite photos taken by SI Analytics, a South Korean satellite imagery analysis platform, showed yellow construction materials and "probable bridge column location(s)" being installed across the frozen river. The pillars extended 300 meters from the Russian side of the border, RFA noted. Const

Third Geneva Convention does not apply to N. Korean POWs, who face likely ‘draconian punishment’ if repatriated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been urged to respect the wishes of two North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine and to allow them to seek asylum in South Korea if they choose, according to a joint letter from North Korean human rights organizations and relatives of detainees in North Korea. The letter to Zelenskyy was made public as authorities in Ukraine and South Korea

North Korea’s state media on Wednesday mentioned the South Korean fighter jets’ accidental bombing of a civilian village last week in lambasting the ongoing annual South Korea-US springtime military exercise. "The enemies should not give a sigh of relief, but they should take seriously an ominous sign of the dangerous US-S. Korea joint military drills and immediately stop a nuclear war simulation, the root cause for the worsening security situation on the Korean Peninsula," the North's Korean Ce

North Korea denounced South Korea and the United States on Tuesday, claiming the two allies are using the annual Freedom Shield exercise ― a large-scale joint military drill that began the previous day ― as a rehearsal for a preemptive strike on its nuclear facilities. The Korean Central News Agency, a North Korean state-run media outlet, accused the two allies of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula by increasing the scale of their joint drills, referring to the Freedom Shield exercise.

North Korea on Monday denounced joint military drills by South Korea and the United States as a "dangerous provocative act," as the allies were set to begin their annual joint drills. The warning was issued by the North Korean foreign ministry in a statement dated Sunday, a day before South Korea and the US were set to begin their annual joint military exercise for an 11-day run, involving computer-simulated drills and on-field training. The ministry accused the allies of "persistently staging t

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, warning that his country's maritime defense capability will be "fully" projected "in any necessary waters without limitation," the North's state media reported Saturday. Kim made the remark when he visited major shipyards tasked with constructing warships, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The report did not disclose the date and location of his inspection. During the inspection, the r

North Korea threatened Friday that South Korea and the United States will pay a "horrible" price for their joint military exercise slated for next week, saying the drills will soon bring a "storm" that deteriorates the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. The North's warning came a day after the militaries of the allies announced that the annual Freedom Shield exercise will kick off Monday for an 11-day run, involving computer-simulated drills and on-field training. The Korean Central New

South Korea, Poland vow united stance on North Korea, Ukraine war, defense cooperation South Korea’s top diplomat stressed that North Korea must not be compensated for its illicit support of Russia’s war efforts in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, while also pledging Seoul’s continued humanitarian and financial assistance to Kyiv. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reaffirmed this stance during his meeting with his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, on Wednesday in Polish capit

A North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine said that the North has military training camps that feature mockups of facilities and buildings in Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island, according to a South Korean lawmaker who recently met the soldier on Thursday. Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party made the remarks in an interview with SBS radio, as he released an audio clip of the North Korean soldier, identified only by his surname Ri. Ri is one of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukra

Korea provided no humanitarian assistance to North Korea in 2024 at both government and private levels, marking the first-ever complete halt since Seoul began its aid efforts in 1995, data from the Unification Ministry showed Wednesday. The cessation follows a steady decline over the past five years. According to the ministry, aid amounted to 10 billion won ($6.9 million) in 2023, down from 26 billion won in 2022 and 31 billion won in 2021. The steepest drop occurred in 2020, when support was ne

Around 1,500 North Korean soldiers who were believed to be additionally deployed to Russia have been already on front lines to aid Russia's war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker who recently visited Kyiv said Wednesday, citing Ukraine's defense intelligence agency. Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party shared the information during a CBS radio interview after his trip to Ukraine on Feb. 23-26, North Korea reportedly sent around 11,000 troops to Russia in October last year and

South Korea's humanitarian assistance to North Korea reached zero last year for the first time in nearly 30 years, amid Pyongyang's continued antagonistic stance toward Seoul, the unification ministry said Wednesday. Not a single humanitarian assistance program for North Korea was carried out last year, either at the government or private level, according to the ministry. It marked the first time that such aid to North Korea has come to zero since South Korea began providing humanitarian assista

Key foreign, security policy officials hint at shift to risk reduction, positioning dialogue as a crucial tactical tool US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has reignited a lingering question over his North Korea strategy: Will he once again pursue high-stakes summitry with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in pursuit of denuclearization, or will he take a fundamentally different course in a vastly changed strategic landscape? Early signals from Trump's key foreign and security ad

South Korea's Defense Ministry on Tuesday urged North Korea to abandon its fixation on nuclear weapons development in response to Pyongyang’s criticism of the recent deployment of the USS Carl Vinson, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea’s nuclear ambitions will never be tolerated. The only path to survival for the regime is to abandon its delusions and obsession with nuclear weapons,” the ministry said in a press statement. Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief said Monday there are signs of North Korea continuing to operate uranium enrichment plants in two different locations, as he stressed further development of its nuclear program is a "clear" breach of UN Security Council resolutions. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi made the remarks in reference to the plants in Kangson near Pyongyang, and Yongbyon, north of the capital, as he delivered an introductory statement during the agency's Board of Governor