Boycott North Korea’s ‘inhumane’ mass gymnastic displays, says ex-diplomat

Defector calls on European tourists and online viewers to shun cultural displays that take children out of school

The highest-ranking official to defect from North Korea has called for Europeans to stop being an audience for the “child exploitation” in the country’s famous mass games.

Thae Yong-ho, the former deputy ambassador to the UK, who defected in 2016, said travel companies and tourists should boycott the cultural displays, which attract large numbers of visitors and social media viewings. He said North Korean children already faced appalling rates of malnutrition, brainwashing and forced labour and the displays were yet another act of cruelty.

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Trump brushes off North Korea’s launch of ‘some small weapons’

President says recent missile tests bother some people, but not him, and praises regime for calling Joe Biden ‘a fool of low IQ’

Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about North Korea’s recent missile tests, calling them “small weapons”, a day after his national security adviser said there was no doubt the launches violated UN security council resolutions.

The US president tweeted on Sunday: “North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me”.

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John Bolton: the man driving the US towards war … any war

Donald Trump’s national security adviser is stoking tensions with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, in line with decades of taking the most hawkish position on any given issue

The US is now engaged in three major confrontations around the world that have the potential to degrade into war. And in the driving seat on all three fronts is John Bolton, one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House.

Related: Elizabeth Warren announces plan to protect abortion rights – live

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New missile launches by North Korea ‘very concerning’, says Seoul

Launching of two suspected short-range missiles casts doubt on nuclear talks with US

North Korea has fired two suspected short-range missiles, South Korea’s military has said, its second weapons launch in five days and a possible warning that nuclear disarmament talks with Washington could be in danger.

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the weapons flew 420km (260 miles) and 270km (167 miles), respectively. It said it was working with the US to determine more details, such as the type of weapon that was fired.

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South Korea rebukes North Korea for firing projectiles into the sea

Experts say Pyongyang is stepping up pressure against US after failed nuclear summit

South Korea has issued a stern rebuke to Pyongyang for escalating military tensions on the divided peninsula after North Korea fired a series of “unidentified short-range projectiles” into the sea.

The projectiles were fired on Saturday from the east coast city of Wonsan at around 9am, and flew 70 to 200km towards the north-east, South Korea’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

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North Korea’s Kim Jong-un receives joyous welcome after returning from Russia – video

The supreme leader was met by cheering crowds as he returned from his first Russia visit. Footage of Kim's arrival back in the country was broadcast on state-run television channel KRT. Waiting at the platform among the crowds were high-ranking officials and guards. During his first Russia visit, Kim told Vladimir Putin that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the US, saying a state of hostility could easily return, KRT reported

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US issues warrant for accused ringleader of North Korean embassy raid in Spain

Adrian Hong Chang sought by Spain in connection with alleged raid, but lawyer says this is based on ‘unreliable’ North Korean account

US authorities are focused on southern California in their manhunt for a one-time human rights activist accused of leading a violent takeover of North Korea’s embassy in Spain, according to a federal arrest warrant unsealed on Friday.

Adrian Hong Chang is wanted by Spain in connection with the alleged embassy raid in February, but his lawyer denounced the US Justice Department for seeking his arrest and extradition based on “the highly unreliable accounts of North Korean government witnesses”.

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North Korea billed US $2m for Otto Warmbier’s hospital care – report

US official who was sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the surprise invoice, the Washington Post reports

The United States was handed a $2m bill from North Korea for the hospital care of American Otto Warmbier, who died soon after his release back to the US in a comatose state in 2017, after being detained for 17 months.

Acting on instructions passed down from Donald Trump, the main US official who was sent to North Korea to bring Warmbier back to the US signed an agreement to pay the surprise invoice he was handed by Pyongyang, according to the Washington Post on Thursday, which cited two anonymous sources familiar with the situation.

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Kim Jong-un meets Vladimir Putin for first time at Vladivostok summit

Russian president offers North Korean leader help to break nuclear deadlock after Kim’s failed summit with Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin has offered Russia’s help to break the deadlock over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme in his first meeting with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

Putin and Kim greeted each other warmly on Thursday, shaking hands before beginning two days of highly anticipated talks at a university in Russia’s far-eastern city of Vladivostok.

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Kim Jong-un arrives in Vladivostok by train for Putin summit

North Korean leader’s entourage ensures dust-free welcome in Russia’s far east

As Kim Jong-un arrived at the Vladivostok railway station on Wednesday, white-gloved attendants ran alongside his armoured train, wiping the dust from any surfaces that the North Korean leader might touch exiting the carriage.

Before he could disembark, the train had to back up precisely so that the carriage doors lined up with the red carpet laid out for Kim’s arrival.

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Kim Jong-un to visit Russia to meet Putin for first time

Summit between North Korean leader and Russian president to take place in late April

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will visit Russia in late April for his first meeting with Vladimir Putin, Moscow has said.

“Following an invitation from Vladimir Putin ... Kim Jong-un will visit Russia in the second half of April,” said the Kremlin in a statement on its website on Thursday.

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Kim Jong-un oversees first weapons test since failed US-North Korea summit

Regime’s leader says test of tactical guided weapon would increase the ‘combat power’ of the country

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the testing of a new type of tactical guided weapon on Wednesday, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday.

It is North Korea’s first public weapons test since the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi ended with no agreement in February.

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North Korea nuclear site shows signs of activity

Satellite pictures show railcars at Yongbyon site, raising concern radioactive material is being transported

Week-old satellite images show movement at North Korea’s main nuclear site that could be associated with the reprocessing of radioactive material into bomb fuel, a US thinktank has reported.

Any new reprocessing activity would underscore the failure of a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi in late February to make progress toward North Korea’s denuclearisation.

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Kim Jong-un sets conditions after Trump suggests third summit

  • US needs to ‘stop its current way of calculation’
  • Trump repeats demand to relinquish nuclear weapons

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is interested in meeting Donald Trump again only if the US comes to talks with the right attitude, state media said on Saturday, after the US president floated the idea.

Related: The art of the no deal: how Trump and Kim misread each other | Julian Borger

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Donald Trump floats idea of third North Korea summit despite failed Hanoi talks

US president said he ‘enjoys the summits’ with chairman Kim Jong-un and is hopeful for progress on sanctions and human rights

Donald Trump has said he is considering a potential third nuclear summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.

“We will be discussing that and potential meetings, further meetings with North Korea and Kim Jong-un,” Trump said in the Oval Office at the start of talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

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UN calls for food aid for starving North Koreans despite sanctions

Exclusive: western donors urged to ‘put children before politics’ in face of food shortfall

The head of the UN World Food Programme has called for the White House and other western donors to put children’s lives before politics and fund a major injection of aid to North Korea despite the failure of Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong-un.

David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina who backed Trump’s campaign for the US presidency, said he had heard concerns that responding to an appeal from Pyongyang would prop up the Kim regime.

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‘Grave terrorist attack’: North Korea condemns raid on its Madrid embassy

In first official comment on February incident, Pyongyang suggests Washington’s possible involvement

North Korea on Sunday described the February raid on its embassy in Madrid by a dissident group as a “grave terrorist attack” and urged an investigation into the perpetrators.

A group of armed men burst into Pyongyang’s Spanish embassy last month and roughed up employees before fleeing with documents and computers.

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