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NK News – North Korea News
Breaking North Korea News, Opinion, Culture & Curiosities + Professional, Academic & Student resources on North Korea / DPRK
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- NK News – North Korea News
Russia to deploy up to 50K North Korean soldiers to fight Ukraine: Zelensky
Russia is gearing up to deploy as many as 50,000 North Korean soldiers against Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday while calling on…
- NK News – North Korea News
‘Hana Korea,’ film about life after escaping North Korea, lends fact to fiction
Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers from the film. Movies about North Korean defectors often focus on the dangers of escaping the country. “Hana…
- NK News – North Korea News
Ping-pong propaganda: North Korea’s failed bid to crown a table tennis queen
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on North Korea’s hosting of the World Table Tennis Championships in 1979. Part 1 on how Pyongyang…
- NK News – North Korea News
Seoul’s restoration of inter-Korean railway could still reap benefits: experts
South Korea’s plan to resume work next year on restoring the southern section of the Gyeongwon Line, a railway line that historically linked the two Koreas, is…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea launches short-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: JCS
North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) toward its eastern coast late Thursday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). “At…
- NK News – North Korea News
63 North Korean defectors enter South in first half of 2026: Seoul
Sixty-three North Koreans defected to South Korea between January and June, a roughly 34% decline from the same period last year, the Unification Ministry said…
- NK News – North Korea News
Book review: The struggle in carrying out development work in North Korea
In his new book, Witness to North Korea: Three Years on the Ground in the DPRK, former U.N. official Jerome Sauvage offers a rare firsthand account of working…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia to deploy North Korean missile unit and launchers to Ukraine border: Kyiv
North Korea could soon send a dedicated missile unit to a western Russian region bordering Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s military intelligence agency, amid…
- NK News – North Korea News
Ask a North Korean: Why was stealing so prolific in North Korea?
“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years…
- NK News – North Korea News
Unification Minister urges South Korea to stop calling North the ‘main enemy’
South Korea should ditch its designation of North Korea as the “main enemy,” Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday, arguing that replacing…
- NK News – North Korea News
Vietnam to honor North Korean pilots killed in war with first-ever memorial
Vietnam will build its first memorial honoring North Korean troops who died during the Vietnam War and restore an existing cemetery for the DPRK’s war dead…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea threatens response to Japan’s arms buildup ahead of Asian Games
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Wednesday threatened Japan for transforming into a “war state,” citing Tokyo’s…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korean attack could leave 76,000 unexploded shells in an hour
A full-scale conflict with North Korea could leave the Korean Peninsula littered with millions of explosive remnants of war (ERW), prompting the need for South…
- NK News – North Korea News
Jerome Sauvage on North Korea’s crises, contradictions and quiet moments
Former U.N. official Jerome Sauvage joins this week’s podcast to discuss his new book, Witness to North Korea: Three Years on the Ground in the DPRK, which…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korean defectors near nuclear test site show chromosome abnormalities
More than 60 North Korean defectors who lived near the country’s nuclear test site were found to have chromosomal abnormalities, though researchers have yet to…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea slams 11-nation advisory on remote IT worker schemes
North Korea on Tuesday condemned a recent alert issued by 11 countries about Pyongyang’s information technology (IT) worker operations, dismissing the…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russian military help could strengthen North Korean forces over time: Japan
Russian assistance does not appear to have directly strengthened North Korea’s military yet, but the rapid and expanding cooperation between the two countries…
- NK News – North Korea News
DOJ subpoenas journalist over North Korea SEAL mission report
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly subpoenaed an investigative journalist over a New York Times report about an alleged secret operation to…
- NK News – North Korea News
ROK drone command cut training, budget despite North Korea’s advances: lawmaker
South Korea’s Drone Operation Command slashed drone training by over 50% and reduced spending by over $2 million since last year, a lawmaker from the country’s…
- NK News – North Korea News
11 nations issue first-ever joint alert on North Korean IT worker schemes
The 11 member states of a multilateral initiative monitoring DPRK sanctions evasion issued a joint alert for the first time on Friday about North Korean…
- NK News – North Korea News
South Korea expands Cheongung-II missile shield against North Korean threats
South Korea has begun operating this year’s first batch of domestically developed Cheongung-II medium-range surface-to-air missile (M-SAM-II) systems…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea’s economy grows over 3% annually since 2022: BOK
North Korea’s economic growth topped 3% for a third consecutive year in 2025, South Korea’s central bank announced Friday, despite a slight slowdown compared…
- NK News – North Korea News
Radio broadcasts to North Korea important for would-be defectors: US official
The nominee to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) invoked the struggles of North Korean defectors during her confirmation hearing Thursday in…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea slams US Forces Japan expansion as Tokyo tests Tomahawk missile
Pyongyang accused Washington of turning U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) into a “de facto war command” aimed at a regional conflict as Tokyo announced it successfully…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia used North Korean missile in Ukraine for first time since 2025: Kyiv
Russia attacked Ukraine with a North Korean ballistic missile for the first time since last year, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday, shortly after Kyiv…
- NK News – North Korea News
Korean War concert in Moscow reveals North Korean labor supply scheme: footage
Russian officials exposed an apparent labor recruitment scheme in the Moscow region while attending a Korean War commemoration ceremony at a dumpling factory…
- NK News – North Korea News
South Korean army to conduct mass review of weapons at border with North Korea
The South Korean army will conduct a service-wide inspection of frontline guard operations after reports that machine guns at border outposts facing North…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia seeks to open new car bridge to North Korea in September: official
Russia aims to open its new car bridge across the Tumen River with North Korea in early September, a local official said in a recent interview with Russian…
- NK News – North Korea News
South Korea capable of dealing with North’s unexpected water releases: Seoul
South Korea’s Unification Ministry downplayed a media report suggesting the country has limited capabilities to monitor North Korea’s dam water releases near…
- NK News – North Korea News
Trump warns ideology behind North Korea’s 1950 invasion is heading West
U.S. President Donald Trump used the anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement to warn of a renewed communist threat, saying the ideology behind North…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korean troops for Russia, a new Seoul strategy and the ‘Hero of Panmunjom’
NK News Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins this week’s podcast to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Russia has requested another 30,000…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia picks new ambassador to North Korea months after longtime envoy’s death
Russia has appointed a new ambassador to North Korea following the death of its longtime envoy Alexander Matsegora, which left the post vacant for nearly eight…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea’s trade rebounds as reliance on China reaches near-record high
North Korea expanded its foreign trade in 2025 and deepened its dependence on its key commercial partner China, a new ROK report found, with Pyongyang…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korean defector aid group hit by slew of cyberattacks, lawmaker says
Cyberattack attempts targeting the Korea Hana Foundation, a state-funded organization helping North Korean defectors resettle in South Korea, have surged more…
- NK News – North Korea News
Settling in Seoul: How an alternative school in South Korea helped find my dream
“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few…
- NK News – North Korea News
Kim leads ‘V-Day’ events as North Korea highlights Chinese help in Korean War
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended events Monday marking the 73rd anniversary of the “victory in the Fatherland Liberation War” over the U.S., according…
- NK News – North Korea News
US seeks UN blacklist for 7 vessels tied to sanctioned North Korea trade
The U.S. submitted a motion to designate seven more vessels suspected of breaching the North Korean sanctions regime Monday, bringing the total number of ships…
- NK News – North Korea News
What 30,000 North Korean troops could mean for Russia’s war against Ukraine
Russia plans to enlist 30,000 North Korean soldiers for a fall offensive in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said over the weekend, raising questions…
- NK News – North Korea News
School for North Korean defectors gets a new lease on life in Seoul
An alternative school for North Korean defectors and their children will have a new home in Seoul after relocating three times in 22 years, thanks to support…
- NK News – North Korea News
How South Korea’s sole armistice delegate became a hero in North Korea
For generations of North Koreans, Choe Tok Sin was not merely a former South Korean general who defected to Pyongyang: He was a familiar figure from one of the…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea to face off against South in soccer rematch at Asian Games
Soccer players from both Koreas are scheduled to face off against each other in the upcoming Asian Games in September, four months after a Pyongyang-based…
- NK News – North Korea News
Kim Yo Jong lambasts ‘stupid’ denuclearization calls by ASEAN forum
The North Korean leader’s influential sister Kim Yo Jong dismissed calls by a consortium of Southeast Asian states to denuclearize as “stupid” and “foolish”…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia seeks 30k more North Korean troops in Ukraine war, Zelensky warns
Russia is preparing to receive 30,000 more North Korean troops to help fight its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an…
- NK News – North Korea News
Lee’s North Korea policy ‘reset’ waits on a Pyongyang that sees no need
For years, South Korea’s policy on North Korea has been built on a goal that Pyongyang now refuses to even discuss. Now, the Lee Jae Myung administration is…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korean defectors begin receiving AI phone calls to monitor well-being
Around 200 North Koreans began receiving artificial intelligence-generated phone calls this week, as part of a pilot program aimed at detecting signs of…
- NK News – North Korea News
Rudiger Frank on North Korea’s hidden middle class: North Korea Unpacked
This month, Dr. Rüdiger Frank joins North Korea Unpacked with Jacco Zwetsloot to discuss how decades of marketization have transformed North Korea’s economy…
- NK News – North Korea News
Seoul warns North Korean mines ‘highly likely’ drifted south after rainfall
The South Korean military warned that heavy rainfall in North Korea is highly likely to have washed away land mines planted by North Korean troops in the…
- NK News – North Korea News
Court fines defector $6,700 for helping send money back to North Koreans
A South Korean court fined a North Korean defector over $6,700 for brokering money transfers from other defectors to their families still living in North…
- NK News – North Korea News
Beyond the photo ops: What lies behind North Korea and China’s diplomatic surge
After years of pandemic isolation and sparse political contact, North Korea and China are suddenly back in the business of summitry. A summit between North…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia vows support for North Korea’s nuclear, military buildup
Russia supports North Korea’s military and nuclear arms buildup, Moscow’s top diplomat said Wednesday, reiterating Moscow’s opposition to the notion of…
- NK News – North Korea News
US renews North Korea travel ban for 10th year
The United States extended its ban on Americans traveling to North Korea for the tenth consecutive year, citing continued safety concerns. In a notice…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea’s World Cup miracle and the town that kept the memory alive
This week, the NK News Podcast presents a special episode on one of the most unlikely stories in World Cup history: North Korea’s extraordinary run at the 1966…
- NK News – North Korea News
South Korea detains cargo ship over suspected North Korean sanctions violations
South Korean authorities have detained a cargo ship over suspected violations of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, Seoul’s foreign ministry announced on…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russian doctors remove chicken bone from North Korean man’s chest
Doctors saved a North Korean man by removing a chicken bone that had obstructed his breathing for six months, according to a Russian hospital, in another case…
- NK News – North Korea News
Leading cryptocurrency firm denies reports it hired a North Korean IT worker
A leading cryptocurrency firm disputed claims that it employed a North Korean information technology (IT) worker but acknowledged it had “engaged” with the…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea eyes China’s tech to revamp outdated rail networks: state media
North Korea appears to have eyed China’s railway expertise to revamp its outdated rail or subway networks, Chinese state media revealed in new footage about…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea discharged water from border dam after heavy rain, Seoul says
North Korea released water from its border dam without warning this week after heavy rain hit its southern territory, a practice Seoul warns is a safety risk…
- NK News – North Korea News
North Korea’s Songdowon camp welcomes hundreds of Russian, Chinese children
North Korea’s Songdowon International Children’s Camp has welcomed hundreds of Russian and Chinese kids as it kicked off its summer season on the DPRK’s east…
- NK News – North Korea News
Russia, North Korea’s top envoys accuse U.S. of destabilizing Korean Peninsula
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui accused the U.S. and its allies of stoking tensions on the Korean…
- NK News – North Korea News
Seoul spent $158K to support North Korean soccer club’s visit, ministry says
South Korea’s government revealed it had spent over $150,000 to support a joint cheering campaign during the Asian Football Confederation Women’s…