North Korea

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N. Korea Is Executing People for Watching Foreign Films

UN reports says executions have been stepped up since 2020

(Newser) - A new United Nations report finds North Korea is increasingly using the death penalty for ordinary citizens, including those caught watching or distributing foreign films and TV shows. The investigation, which drew on interviews with more than 300 people who escaped the country in recent years, says Kim Jong...

NYT Reveals Failed Secret SEAL Mission in North Korea

In 2019, SEAL team aborted mission to plant listening device, killed apparent civilians on boat

(Newser) - The New York Times is for the first time revealing a secret mission by Navy SEALs in North Korea that unraveled in dramatic fashion back in 2019. It reads like an espionage thriller, though one with fatal consequences for up to three North Korea fishermen. Under a top-secret plan approved...

After Kim-Putin Talks End, the Cleaning Begins

Reports indicate both leaders' poop is collected on foreign trips

(Newser) - After a rare Beijing meeting with Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's team meticulously erased any sign of his presence, according to a Kremlin reporter. Video shared online showed aides cleaning the chair Kim used, scrubbing both the backrest and the armrests, and ensuring his drinking...

Trump Sends China Warm Regards Paired With a Jab

As Xi, Putin, and Kim take in military parade

(Newser) - It was a big day in China on Wednesday as President Xi Jinping attended a sprawling military parade in Beijing flanked by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, and President Trump offered some not-exactly-well-wishes to mark the occasion. He wrote on Truth Social :
  • "May President Xi and the
...

Kim Brought a Surprise Guest With Him to China

Daughter and likely successor Kim Ju Ae arrives in Beijing with a smile

(Newser) - Speculation continues to grow that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has privately chosen his middle child as his successor after Kim Ju Ae joined her father's entourage in China—her first known international trip. It's a step up for the girl, believed to be around 12, who'...

In China, a 'Show of Solidarity' Against the US

Putin hails dear friend Xi as North Korea's Kim arrives by train

(Newser) - Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping continued presenting a strong united front to the world—and seemingly to President Trump in particular—on Tuesday.
  • Putin, in China for a summit of the 10-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization, praised Xi as his "dear friend" and said relations between
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Xi, Putin, and Kim Are Getting Together

Chinese leader stands to gain information of use ahead of negotiations with Washington

(Newser) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is making a bold diplomatic play as he prepares to host both Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, which ended its occupation of regions of...

North Korea Flexes Ahead of US-South Korea Meeting

Kim oversees tests of two new air-defense missiles

(Newser) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of two types of new air-defense missiles, displaying his expanding military capabilities ahead of a summit between the leader of South Korea and President Trump, per the AP and Reuters . The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the test...

Kim's Sister Says South Korea Is Lying to Public

Kim Yo Jong disputes claim that North's loudspeakers were taken down

(Newser) - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday dismissed South Korean claims the North is removing some of its loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border, mocking the government in Seoul for clinging to hopes of renewed diplomacy between the war-divided rivals, per the AP . South Korea's...

South Korea: Fine, We'll Take Down the Propaganda Speakers

It's a small conciliatory gesture toward the North

(Newser) - South Korea's military said Monday it had begun removing loudspeakers along its border with rival North Korea in a move aimed at reducing tensions. The speakers had previously been used to blast anti-North Korean propaganda across the border, but the South's new liberal government halted the broadcasts in...

Kim Jong Un's Sister Shuts the Door on a US Hope

She dismissed US intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea's denuclearization

(Newser) - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed America's intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea's denuclearization, saying Tuesday the North flatly opposes any attempt to deny its position as a nuclear weapons state. Since beginning his second term in January, President Trump has repeatedly...

Kim Jong Un's Sister Shuts the Door on South Korea

Kim Yo Jong: 'There is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed with' the South

(Newser) - The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed an appeasement overture by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday that North Korea has no interest in talks with South Korea no matter what proposal its rival offers. Kim Yo Jong's comments suggest again that North...

Arizona Woman Hears Fate for Running N. Korean 'Laptop Farm'

Christina Chapman gets 8 years behind bars for operation that funneled millions to North Korea

(Newser) - An Arizona woman has received an eight-year-plus federal prison sentence for her role in a scheme that allowed North Korean operatives to masquerade as remote IT workers for hundreds of American companies, reports Politico . Christina Chapman, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering, reportedly ran...

North Korea's Beach Resort Shuts Out Foreign Tourists

New resort welcomed its first Russian visitors a few weeks ago

(Newser) - North Korea's much-hyped Wonsan beach resort has abruptly barred foreign visitors, just weeks after welcoming its first Russian tourists and promoting itself as a new international destination . The Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, which opened on July 1, is a centerpiece of Kim Jong Un's efforts to...

After Months Stuck in the South, 6 North Koreans Go Home

Pyongyang didn't make it easy for the fishermen to return

(Newser) - South Korea has returned six North Korean fishermen who drifted into its waters after engine failures, in what appears to be a gesture of good will under new President Lee Jae Myung. The repatriation occurred Wednesday near the maritime border on the peninsula's east coast, with the fishermen...

Man Guided Out of DMZ in 20-Hour Operation

North Korean man was detected around 3am Thursday

(Newser) - A North Korean man made a rare direct crossing into South Korea this week, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced Friday. He was spotted by military surveillance equipment between 3am and 4am Thursday close to a shallow stream within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). According to the...

Kim Jong Un Makes a Beachy Tourism Bet

The Wonsan Kalma resort had originally been due to open in 2019

(Newser) - North Korea has unveiled its latest attempt to boost its struggling economy: the Wonsan Kalma beach resort, a sprawling location on its eastern coast that opened Tuesday. The move highlights Kim Jong Un's ongoing bet on tourism as an economic lifeline amid strict international sanctions—though with a...

6 Americans Tried to Float Bibles, Rice Into North Korea

South Korea makes arrests in border incident

(Newser) - Six Americans were detained Friday in South Korea for trying to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, US dollars bills, and Bibles toward North Korea by sea, police said. The Americans tried to throw the bottles into the ocean from front-line Gwanghwa Island so they could float toward...

North Korea Takes Step Toward 'Tourist Culture'

Wonsan Kalma beach resort to welcome domestic tourists starting next month

(Newser) - North Korea is rolling out a new beach resort on its east coast, hoping to draw tourists—and much-needed revenue—into one of the world's most secretive nations. Leader Kim Jong Un hailed the Wonsan Kalma resort as one of the country's "greatest feats" of the...

North Korean Workers Will Help Rebuild Russian Region

North Korea will reportedly send 5K construction workers to Kursk region

(Newser) - In a striking show of deepening ties, North Korea is set to send 5,000 construction workers to help rebuild Russia's war-damaged Kursk region, reports the New York Times . Russian official Sergei Shoigu, a close Putin aide, made the announcement Tuesday following a meeting with North Korean leader...

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