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S. Korea bolsters space surveillance with 5th satellite launch
South Korea on Sunday launched its fifth military reconnaissance satellite, completing the nation’s space-based surveillance network designed to strengthen its independent intelligence and early-warning capabilities against North Korean threats. The satellite — referred to as the “final eye” of South Korea’s Kill Chain preemptive strike system — lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:09 a.m. — 2:09 p.m. in South Korea — according to Seo
Nov. 2, 2025 -
N. Korea's Kim inspects special operations unit's war readiness
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the combat readiness of a military special operations unit and gave instructions for its development, the North's state media reported Sunday. Kim visited the headquarters of the 11th Corps of the Korean People's Army the previous day and watched a training session, expressing "great satisfaction" with its perfect war posture, the Korean Central News Agency said. The 11th Corps is the North Korean military's most elite special forces unit, which depl
Nov. 2, 2025 -
N. Korea says to hold key party meeting in mid-December
North Korea will convene a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in mid-December to discuss preparations for a key party congress, state media reported Saturday. The WPK's political bureau has decided to hold the 13th party plenary meeting of the eighth central committee in mid-December, according to the Korean Central News Agency. At the upcoming meeting, the North will review the execution of this year's party and state policies and "decide on a series of important issues inclu
Nov. 1, 2025 -
N. Korea, Russia discuss economic cooperation: KCNA
North Korea and Russia held a joint economic committee meeting this week to discuss ways to implement bilateral cooperation plans, its state media reported Saturday. Yun Jong-ho, North Korea's external economic relations minister, and Alexander Kozlov, Russia's minister of natural resources, held the meeting in Pyongyang on Friday to discuss economic cooperation, according to the Korean Central News Agency. North Korea and Russia have been expanding exchanges since they signed a comprehensive st
Nov. 1, 2025 -
Hegseth says US 'not blind' to N. Korean threat, refuses to preview DMZ message
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday the United States is "not blind" to North Korean threats, stressing that Seoul and Washington have shared interests about how the allies look at the threat and security challenges in a broader regional context. Hegseth made the remarks during a press availability on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, responding to a question from Yonhap News Agency about whether he has a message
Oct. 31, 2025 -
South Korea to launch 5th spy satellite from US
South Korea will launch its fifth domestically developed military reconnaissance satellite from the US this weekend, marking the completion of the country’s multiyear “425 Project” aimed at establishing an independent surveillance network to monitor North Korea, the Defense Ministry said Friday. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite is scheduled to lift off around 1 a.m. Sunday (US time) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to the ministry. The launch represents t
Oct. 31, 2025 -
Kim Jong-un visits hospital building site after Trump departs peninsula
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his first public appearance in over a week to inspect a hospital construction site on the outskirts of Pyongyang, according to photos released by the state news agency a day after US President Donald Trump departed South Korea. According to the Korean Central News Agency on Friday, Kim visited the nearly completed construction site of Gangdong-gun Hospital on Thursday, marking his return to public activities following a brief hiatus during Trump’s visit to So
Oct. 31, 2025 -
2 N. Korean captives in Ukraine pled to take them to S. Korea: activist
Two North Korean prisoners of war in Ukraine, captured while fighting for Russia and detained since early 2025, have pleaded with a visiting documentary producer to bring them to South Korea, an activist said Friday. Jang Se-yul, head of a North Korean defectors' group in South Korea, disclosed the meeting between two North Korean captives in their 20s and a South Korean documentary producer Tuesday at a prisoner camp near Kyiv, where they are currently held. The North Korean soldiers first came
Oct. 31, 2025 -
N. Korea's Kim inspects new hospital as Trump departs S. Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a hospital under construction near Pyongyang, calling for a healthcare revolution to promote public health, state media reported Friday, on the day when US President Donald Trump left South Korea on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. Kim visited Kangdong County Hospital, which is near completion, the previous day to inspect the construction and instructed that medical equipment be installed within next month, the Korean
Oct. 31, 2025 -
Trump says willing to return to meet Kim Jong-un
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he could return to the Korean Peninsula to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as he departed South Korea after wrapping up his two-day visit. According to local reports, Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for Washington that he was too busy now to meet and talk with Kim. Trump was in South Korea for summits with President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He spent a night in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province — the ho
Oct. 30, 2025 -
Trump rules out meeting North Korean leader during APEC visit
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were unable to “work out timing,” indicating that a meeting between the two will not take place during his two-day visit to South Korea. In his opening remarks at a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Gyeongju National Museum, Trump said, “I know Kim Jong-un very well. We get along very well. … We really weren’t able to work out the timing,” suggesting that a meeting during his stay was unlik
Oct. 29, 2025 -
N. Korea says fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles ahead of Trump's visit to S. Korea
North Korea said Wednesday it test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea the previous day, a provocation that came ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. North Korea's missile launch came as Trump expressed his wish to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to the South from Oct. 29-30 on the occasion of the APEC meetings. The cruise missiles, improved for ship-based launches, w
Oct. 29, 2025 -
N. Korea is prepared to respond to all threats to Eurasian continent: FM
North Korea is prepared to respond to all threats to the Eurasian continent, the country's top diplomatic said Tuesday, attending a regional security conference in Minsk, Belarus, for the first time, a report said. Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made the remarks at the Third Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in the Belarusian capital, Belta, the country's state news agency, reported. "The meeting is taking place at a time when strengthening security is more important than ever i
Oct. 28, 2025 -
S. Korea, US not discuss agenda for possible Kim-Trump meeting: official
South Korea and the United States have not coordinated agenda items related to a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week, the unification minister said Tuesday. Seoul's top point man on North Korea, Chung Dong-young, made the remarks during a parliamentary audit amid speculation that Kim and Trump could meet this week on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering. "I believe there have been no discussions betwee
Oct. 28, 2025 -
Still uncertain how Pyongyang will respond to Trump’s offer: minister
South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Tuesday that Pyongyang is likely to express its stance on a possible summit with the US through Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, by Wednesday. Chung, however, cautioned that nothing is certain yet, amid mounting speculation that Kim and US President Donald Trump could meet, with the latter set to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this week in Gyeongj
Oct. 28, 2025