Category Archives: Kim Jong Un

US condemns North Korea after it launches longest-range missile test since 2017

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Test marks Pyongyang’s seventh weapons launch this month, highlighting expanding arsenal amid stalled denuclearisation talks

North Korea fired what appeared to be the most powerful missile it has tested since the US president, Joe Biden, took office, possibly breaching a self-imposed suspension on the testing of longer-range weapons and sparking condemnation from the United States and its allies.

The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile launched on Sunday travelled on a lofted trajectory, apparently to avoid the territorial spaces of neighbours, and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000km (1,242 miles) and traveled 800km (497 miles) before landing in the sea.

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North Korea bans laughing for 11 days during mourning for anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death – video

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Video from Pyongyang shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un looking very dour as he attends the memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of his father's death. As part of the national memorial, North Koreans have been banned from showing any sign of happiness. The restrictions include an explicit ban on laughter and alcohol during the 11-day period of mourning. On the exact anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death, 17 December, North Koreans were even banned from going grocery shopping

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How has North Korea’s Kim Jong-un held on to power so long? – video

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Kim Jong-un emerged onto the world stage as a virtual unknown in 2011, a young man thrust into power at the head of North Korea – a nuclear-armed state – after his father's unexpected death. 

In the decade since, he has ruthlessly purged alleged political opponents, extended his country's nuclear capabilities, and tightened his grip on power as North Korea's supreme leader.

From diplomatic summits with Donald Trump to executing members of his own family and failing to stave off famine in his own country, Guardian correspondent Justin McCurry charts the highs and lows of Kim's first 10 years in office. 

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From ‘tempestuous’ child to little rocket man: 10 years of Kim Jong-un

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Some observers said he would survive a few months as the head of a nuclear-armed state but, a decade later, the North Korean leader has proved them wrong

It was not, perhaps, the image Kim Jong-un would have wanted to project in his first public appearance as the latest authoritarian leader of North Korea in 2011. As wailing citizens exhibited their grief along the snowbound streets of Pyongyang, Kim, then only in his late 20s, cut a forlorn figure.

Dressed in a long black coat, Kim walked with grim purpose alongside the hearse carrying his father, Kim Jong-il, one hand resting on the bonnet of the 1970s Lincoln Continental, the other executing an awkward salute. He was later seen crying and drying his eyes at the burial service, in footage broadcast on state television.

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Missile tests, horse rides and executions: Kim Jong-un’s leadership in pictures

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Kim Jong-un has defied the expectations of many, to mark 10 years in power following the death in 2011 of his father, Kim Jong-il. In that time, he has presided over famines, executions and nuclear tensions, while finding the time to inspect a fish pickling station and go horse riding

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Defectors tell court they were promised ‘paradise on Earth’ in North Korea

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Five people seeking compensation say they were lured to country and then denied basic human rights

Five people who say they were lured to North Korea decades ago as part of a resettlement programme have told a court in Japan they were promised a “paradise on Earth” but were instead denied basic human rights.

The plaintiffs – four ethnic Korean residents of Japan and a Japanese woman who went to the North with her Korean husband and their daughter – are seeking 100m yen (£644,000) in damages from the regime of Kim Jong-un.

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North Korean leader watches extreme martial arts performance – video

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has watched an extreme martial arts demonstration by soldiers at a military event marking the 76th founding anniversary of its ruling party. In the video aired by the North's state-run television station, KRT, soldiers performed multiple shows of strength: smashing items, breaking free from chains, lying on glass and throwing knives. Kim smiled and clapped as he watched the show at the Defence Development Exhibition 'Self-Defence-2021'. During the exhibition, Kim said his country's weapons development is necessary in the face of the US' hostile policies and a military buildup in South Korea.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marks 76th anniversary of ruling party – video

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The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has attended celebrations for the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' party of Korea. Kim made a speech to a gathering of officials, the KCNA news agency said. State media showed Kim addressing a room full of officials, with little social distancing, masks or other Covid measures apparent. Kim urged officials to focus on improving citizens' lives in the face of a 'grim' economic situation

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North Korea’s Kim Jong-un vows to build ‘invincible’ military and blames US for tensions

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The leader of the nuclear-armed country says there is ‘no basis’ to believe US actions are ‘not hostile’ during military exhibition

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reviewed a rare exhibition of weapons systems and vowed to build an “invincible” military, as he accused the United States of being the “root cause” of instability.

In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim also said his drive to build up his military isn’t targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn’t be another war pitting Korean people against each other.

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North Korea fires new anti-aircraft missile in latest test, state media reports

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Kim Jong-un appears not to have attended test, which was overseen by a central committee member

North Korea has fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, the official KCNA news agency has reported, in the latest in its recent series of weapons tests.

The test on Thursday, conducted by the Academy of Defence Science, a military weapons developer, was aimed at confirming the practical functionality of the missile’s launcher, radar, comprehensive battle command vehicle and combat performance, KCNA said.

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Kim Jong-un orders hotline with the South to reopen as he condemns ‘cunning’ US

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North Korean leader said Biden offer of dialogue is ‘a facade’ and blamed the US for ‘hostile policy’

Kim Jong-un has condemned a US offer of dialogue as a “facade”, state media reported, but said he had ordered officials to restore communication lines with South Korea to “promote peace”.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the North Korean leader accused the US of continuing a “hostile policy” against his nuclear-armed country, despite the Biden administration’s offers of negotiations without preconditions.

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Kim Jong-un’s sister says North Korea open to talks with South if Seoul shows ‘respect’

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Analysts say North Korea’s apparent desire for engagement part of a push to get the US to ease crippling sanctions

The influential sister of North Korea’s leader said that an inter-Korean summit could take place, but only if mutual “respect” and “impartiality” are guaranteed.

The statement on Saturday was the second in two days by Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister and key adviser.

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‘Pushing the nuclear envelope’: North Korea’s missile diplomacy

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Analysis: Fear and uncertainty of the Obama years could return as Kim Jong-un revives nuclear ambitions

North Korea’s recent missile launches signal that the regime has reverted to familiar tactics to attract the attention of the US. Although the rest of the world will take little comfort from this return to “normality”, after a six-month pause Pyongyang last weekend launched what it claimed were new long-range cruise missiles capable of hitting Japan, followed hours later by the test launch of two ballistic missiles into the sea, apparently from a train.

Then came the clearest sign since its last nuclear test in 2017 that the North is not about to abandon its project to build a viable deterrent, with satellite images showing it was expanding a uranium enrichment plant at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

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Kim Jong-un to face human rights abuse claims in Japanese court

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Thousands of ethnic Koreans left Japan for North Korea decades ago lured by promise of a better life

A Japanese court has summoned North Korea’s leader to face demands for compensation by several ethnic Korean residents of Japan who say they suffered human rights abuses in North Korea after joining a resettlement programme there that described the country as a “paradise on Earth”, a lawyer and plaintiff have said.

Kim Jong-un is not expected to appear in court for the hearing on 14 October, but the judge’s decision to summon him was a rare instance in which a foreign leader was not granted sovereign immunity, said Kenji Fukuda, a lawyer representing the five plaintiffs.

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North Korea military threats ‘intended to deflect from economic crisis’

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Regime looking to shift focus from domestic problems with rhetoric around US-South Korea military drills, say analysts

North Korea’s threat to boost its military capacity to counter hostility from Washington before joint US-South Korea military drills is intended to divert attention from its economic crisis but could lead to a resumption of missile tests, according to analysts.

While there is nothing unusual about North Korean opposition to the summer exercises involving American and South Korean forces, its warning this week that Seoul and Washington faced “greater security threats” comes from a position of weakness not seen since Kim Jong-un came to power a decade ago.

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North Korea wants sanctions eased on metal, fuel and ‘liquor and suits’ to restart US talks

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Amid economic crisis, Kim Jong-un wants restrictions relaxed on necessities as well as luxury goods, South Korea lawmakers say

North Korea wants a raft of international sanctions eased – including on imports of luxury items such as high-class liquors and suits – before it will restart denuclearisation talks with the United States, South Korean lawmakers have said.

Pyongyang has also called for sanctions banning its metal exports and imports of refined fuel and other necessities to be lifted, the lawmakers said on Tuesday after being briefed by Park Jie-won, head of the South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).

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Kim Jong-un signal for help could mark a turning point in North Korea’s Covid fight

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Analysis: leader’s talk of huge crisis, despite no admission of Covid cases, comes amid concerns over health infrastructure and food shortages

Almost 18 months after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, North Korea has come close to conceding that its attempts to keep the virus from its borders have failed.

While North Korea’s state-controlled media have not reported any cases, some analysts assume the virus has breached the country’s defences, prompting its leader, Kim Jong-un, to issue a coded request for outside help this week.

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North Korea Covid-19 outbreak fears after Kim Jong-un warns of ‘huge crisis’ in ‘antivirus fight’

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Leader speaks of a grave incident and sacks officials for neglecting duties in fighting ‘global health crisis’

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has sacked several senior party officials over a “grave” coronavirus incident that had threatened public safety, fuelling speculation that the coronavirus has breached the country’s defences.

“In neglecting important decisions by the party that called for organisational, material and science and technological measures to support prolonged anti-epidemic work in face of a global health crisis, the officials in charge have caused a grave incident that created a huge crisis for the safety of the country and its people,” the state-run KCNA news agency quoted Kim as telling a meeting of the ruling party’s politburo.

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Kim Jong-un’s sister dismisses hopes of US-North Korea nuclear talks

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Kim Yo-jong’s intervention appears to have thwarted any prospects for early resumption of negotiations

Kim Jong-un’s influential sister appears to have dismissed hopes for a breakthrough on nuclear talks with the US, warning Washington that it faced “disappointment” if it believed engagement with North Korea was a possibility.

Kim Yo-jong, a senior figure in the ruling party who is considered one of the North Korean leader’s closest confidantes, said any US expectations for a resumption of talks were “wrong”, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

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