Private was sentenced to 12 months of confinement and dishonourably discharged from army but has been released because of time already served
A US soldier who fled into North Korea last year has been sentenced to 12 months of confinement after pleading guilty to desertion as part of a plea agreement, his lawyer has said.
Because of good behaviour and time served, the soldier was released, the lawyer, Franklin Rosenblatt, said on Friday.
Continue reading...South Korea’s intelligence service says it has ‘detected signs’ Kim Jong-un ordered executions of 20 to 30 officials
North Korea may have executed multiple officials over damage from devastating floods in July that wrecked thousands of homes and left up to 1,500 people dead or missing, according to South Korean intelligence.
South Korea’s national intelligence service said it was closely monitoring signs that the regime had carried out the executions after the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, told an emergency meeting of the ruling party’s politburo that he would “strictly punish” those responsible for the damage, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.
Continue reading...Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jong-sik reportedly placed under ‘ideological scrutiny’ and could face punishment if they fail to criticise inappropriate behaviour
For most observers, it was proof of sport’s ability, if only for a fleeting moment, to bring people together – even when they live on opposite sides of one of the world’s most heavily armed borders.
But one of the most celebrated images of the Paris Olympics – a selfie taken by medal-winning table tennis players from either side of the divided Korean peninsula – appears to have landed the North Korea duo in trouble back home.
Continue reading...South Korean military says it is investigating but can’t confirm the person’s ‘exact motivations and goals’
A North Korean has defected to South Korea by crossing the militarised border in the eastern part of the Korean peninsula, with Yonhap news agency reporting that the defector is a soldier.
Seoul’s military said on Tuesday it had picked up “one suspected North Korean individual on the eastern front and handed them over to the relevant authorities”. Yonhap news agency reported that the person was a staff sergeant.
Continue reading...Delivery of first medical aid since Covid raises hopes that country could open up again to UN agencies and NGOs
More than 4 million vaccine doses have been flown toPyongyang, raising hopes that North Korea could open up again to UN agencies and NGOs amid reports of a worsening health situation in the authoritarian state.
“The return of essential vaccines marks a significant milestone towards safeguarding children’s health and survival in this country,” Roland Kupka, Unicef’s acting representative for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said in a statement.
Continue reading...Military officials aim to strengthen war efficiency by following any attack order by Kim Jong-un ‘anytime and without delay’
North Korea has vowed to “totally destroy” its enemies in case of war when leader Kim Jong-un gives an order, state media KCNA reported on Sunday, as the regime marked the end of hostilities in the Korean war.
Senior military officials including Col Ri Un-ryong and Lt Cdr Yu Kyong-song made the comments “out of surging hatred” towards the US and South Korea at a meeting on Saturday attended by Kim, marking the 71st anniversary of the Korean war armistice, according to KCNA.
Continue reading...Olympic Games organisers said they “deeply apologise” for introducing South Korea’s athletes as North Korean during the opening ceremony in Paris.
As the South Korean athletes waved their nation’s flag on a boat floating down the Seine on Friday evening, they were announced in both French and English as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. South Korea is the Republic of Korea.
Continue reading...Resumption of flights comes after South boosted frontline broadcasts of K-pop songs and propaganda messages across the border
Balloons carrying rubbish sent by North Korea have fallen on the compound of South Korea’s presidential office, according to the Yonhap news agency.
Other South Korean media reported the balloons caused no damage. AFP reported that the balloons prompted Seoul to mobilise chemical response teams. Yonhap gave no further details.
Continue reading...US presidential contender’s reference echoes the ‘love letters’ he received from North Korea’s Kim Jong-un as he calls authoritarian leaders ‘smart, tough’ people
Donald Trump has said China’s president wrote him a “beautiful note” after the assassination attempt a week ago, as he continued to court leaders whom Joe Biden has criticised as dictators.
In his first campaign rally since narrowly escaping the attempt on his life in Pennsylvania, Trump told a crowd in Michigan on Saturday: “[President Xi Jinping] wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened.”
Continue reading...Ri Il-kyu was responsible for political affairs at Pyongyang’s embassy in Cuba, the Chosun Ilbo daily has reported
A senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016.
Without giving any further details, South Korea’s spy agency the National Intelligence Service confirmed an earlier report by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, which said that a counsellor responsible for political affairs at the North Korean embassy in Cuba had defected.
Continue reading...Pyongyang calls ‘Freedom Edge’ drills involving fighter jets and nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier ‘provocative’
North Korea has criticised a joint military exercise by South Korea, Japan and the US held this month, state media have said, saying such drills show the relationship among the three countries has developed into “the Asian version of Nato”.
On Thursday, the three countries began the large-scale joint military drills called “Freedom Edge”, involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at boosting defences against missiles, submarines and air attacks.
Continue reading...Several balloons were spotted in and around the airport boundaries, as one balloon landed on the tarmac near passenger terminal two
Takeoffs and landings at South Korea’s Incheon international airport have been disrupted for about three hours because of balloons launched by North Korea filled with refuse, an airport spokesperson said.
One balloon landed on the tarmac near passenger terminal two and the three runways at Incheon were temporarily shut down on Wednesday, the spokesperson said.
Continue reading...The defiant Russia-North Korea friendship pact raises big questions for Washington and Seoul – but also for Beijing
A quarter of a century ago, Vladimir Putin flew to Pyongyang to sign a “friendship treaty” with Kim Jong-il that helped revive Russia’s relations with North Korea without obliging the two sides to come to each other’s aid in case of a military attack.
With his visit last week, Putin has in effect gone further into the past, signing a deal with Kim Jong-un reminiscent of the 1961 security pact that existed under the Soviet Union during the cold war. But today Russia is engaged in a hot war in Ukraine that Putin has made his foreign policy priority, and a nuclear North Korea has become a crucial lifeline of munitions for his military.
Continue reading...Countries in the 27-nation bloc formally approve the launch of accession negotiations on Tuesday
A member of Russia’s lower house of parliament said law enforcement authorities need to do more to protect civilians from ex-convicts who have returned home from fighting in Ukraine.
Nina Ostanina, a Communist Party deputy who has been sanctioned by Western countries over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, told the gazeta.ru newspaper in an interview that violent crimes involving decommissioned soldiers “will be even more numerous” if authorities do not act.
Continue reading...State department warns such a move could destabilise the peninsula, as South Korea considers arming Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that Russia could supply weapons to North Korea is “incredibly concerning”, a senior US official has said, days after Putin and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, signed a defence pact that requires their countries to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.
Matthew Miller, a US state department spokesperson, said the provision of Russian weapons to Pyongyang “would destabilise the Korean peninsula, of course, and potentially … depending on the type of weapons they provide … violate UN security council resolutions that Russia itself has supported”.
Continue reading...Russian president’s trip comes after he signed mutual defence pact with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un
Vladimir Putin has arrived in Vietnam for talks with its communist leaders on the final stop of his two-nation tour of Asia after signing a defence pact with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
The Russian president’s plane touched down at Hanoi airport where he was met on a red carpet by Vietnamese deputy prime minister Tran Hong Ha and top party diplomat Le Hoai Trung.
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un’s agreement raises western alarm about possible Russian help for nuclear programme
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have signed a pact that includes a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if either is attacked, a move that has raised western concerns about potential Russian aid for Pyongyang’s missile or nuclear programmes.
The inclusion of a mutual defence clause in their comprehensive strategic partnership, which Kim described as an “alliance”, will add to the west’s alarm over growing economic and military ties between North Korea and Russia. The deal was finalised on Wednesday after hours of talks in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
Continue reading...Russian leader’s visit to Pyongyang seen as a meeting of minds, but long-term military consequences are unclear
As state visits go, Vladimir Putin’s arrival in North Korea on Wednesday was relatively low-key. There was no long line of senior government officials on the airport tarmac in Pyongyang and only a small guard of honour. Beneath an ink-black sky, the Russian president stepped off the plane to be greeted by a handshake and a hug from Kim Jong-un, before being presented with a bouquet by a woman in traditional hanbok dress. But the modesty of the occasion was deceptive.
Putin arrived in the North Korean capital from Moscow, via the Russian far east, in darkness, the leaders’ motorcade making its way through “charmingly lit” streets to the Kumsusan state guesthouse in the early hours of Wednesday.
Continue reading...Russian president makes first visit to country in 24 years as anti-west relationship deepens
Vladimir Putin has arrived in North Korea for a summit with Kim Jong-un, amid US warnings against any agreement that could add to military pressure on Ukraine and raise tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Making his first visit to the reclusive country since 2000, the Russian president flew to Pyongyang early on Wednesday to be greeted by huge welcome banners and Russian flags. Russian state media said his plane touched down in Pyongyang at about 2.45am local time after a stopover in Russia’s far east.
Continue reading...The Russian president’s visit to Pyongyang signals a deepening relationship between two isolated countries
China accounts for more than 90% of North Korea’s trade and has been its most dependable aid donor and diplomatic ally. But as Vladimir Putin’s imminent visit to Pyongyang proves, the secluded state’s behaviour is being increasingly influenced by its security and economic ties with Russia.
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