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Residents of a south Korean Border Town have taken shelter after the North began firing on them.

N.K. leader's sister serving as chief of staff: source Published : 2014-03-30 15:12 Updated : 2014-03-30 15:14 (Yonhap) The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been assisting her brother as his chief of staff since last year, a source familiar with North Korean affairs said Sunday. Kim Yo-jung, 27, was appointed chief secretary of the ruling Workers' Party in the first half of last year, a post equivalent to South Korea's presidential chief of staff, the source said, asking that he not be identified. The chief secretary does not take part in policy decisions but is in...

17 March 2014 Last updated at 11:32 China backs North Korea on human rights China has dismissed a UN report that compared human rights abuses in North Korea to those in Nazi Germany. A Chinese diplomat said the report lacked credibility, adding to fears that Beijing will block further action. He said some of the recommendations were divorced from reality. North Korea called the report - which details murder, torture and starvation - a fabrication by hostile forces. It was drawn up by UN-appointed jurists to document abuses in North Korea. The head of the international panel of inquiry, Michael...

Growing Chinese Influence Worries N.Korean Officials There are "serious concerns" among some North Korean officials that North Korea could turn into a vassal state of China amid growing economic dependence on its sole ally, a defector said Monday. Kim Chong-song, who under his real name used to be a senior member of the Workers Party, is the highest-ranking North Korean defector living in the South and spoke to media here for the first time. "Without Chinese capital and goods, it would be impossible for the North Korean government to operate, and ordinary people would not be able to carry on...

(LEAD) N. Korea fires 10 short-range missiles toward East Sea 2014/03/16 20:01 SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired off 10 short-range missiles toward the East Sea late Sunday, a source in Seoul said, the latest show of force in response to the on-going joint South Korea-U.S. military drills. The launches began at 6:20 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes. The fired rockets flew about 70 kilometers before landing in the East Sea, according to the source

North Korea 2014 meets Rome AD 65 In Kim Jong Un's accession to power and brutal purge of his uncle, parallels are evident between the two societies. By James Romm March 14, 2014 This week, as the Ides of March approaches — the March 15 anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar, a determined but ultimately fruitless attempt by Roman senators to stop their government from sliding toward dictatorship — the minds of some ancient historians may turn in a seemingly unlikely direction: toward modern North Korea. The dark and menacing regime of Kim Jong Un seems a long way...

Kim Jong-un's Aunt 'Loses Seat in Rubber-Stamp Parliament' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt and widow of executed eminence grise Jang Song-taek was probably not returned to North's rubber-stamp parliament, an intelligence official here said Thursday. "It appears that Kim Kyong-hui either quarreled with Kim Jong-un or voluntarily stepped down," the official said. The name Kim Kyong-hui was on a list of the 687 Supreme People's Assembly members who were picked at the weekend, but intelligence officials here believe that is another individual of the same name. The representative was elected in the Taepyong district of North Pyongan Province, and...

Kim Jong-un's Sister Secures Place in Nomenklatura North Korea's state-run media have for the first time mentioned leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister Yeo-jong by name, suggesting she has established a position of some influence for herself in the corridors of power. North Korean state TV on Sunday reported that Kim Jong-un visited a polling station at Kim Il-sung University for elections for the Supreme People's Assembly on Sunday, accompanied by military politburo chief Choe Ryong-hae, Workers Party deputy directors Kim Kyong-ok and Hwang Pyong-so, "and comrade Kim Yeo-jong." Left: North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns younger sister Yeo-jong (in circle) walks...

GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korean security chiefs and possibly even Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un himself should face international justice for ordering systematic torture, starvation and mass killings bordering on genocide, U.N. investigators said on Monday.

Experts warn of 'Chernobyl' risk at Yongbyon nuclear plant Sebastien Falletti, Seoul - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly 26 January 2014 North Korea's decision to restart its 5 megawatt electric (MWe) reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear scientific research complex threatens Northeast Asia with a disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl, according to nuclear experts. "This reactor comes from another world. The Yongbyon site has a concentration of so many nuclear facilities that if there was a fire in one building it could lead to a disaster worse than the Ukrainian one," said Seo Kyun Reul, a professor at the nucleonic department of...

Significant Developments at North Korea’s Sohae Test Facility By 38 North 29 January 2014 A 38 North exclusive with analysis by Nick Hansen. Summary Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates that North Korea may be preparing the Sohae Satellite Launching Station (“Tongchang-ri”) for a more robust rocket test program in the future involving larger space launch vehicles and road-mobile ballistic missiles able to attack targets in Northeast Asia and the United States. The Sohae gantry tower has been undergoing significant modifications to enable it to launch a large rocket up to 25 percent longer than the Unha-3 space launch vehicle tested...

N. Korean leader's aunt in Europe: report 2014/01/30 14:27 TOKYO, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt is staying in Europe following the execution of her husband, Jang Song-thaek, a news report said Thursday. Kim Kyong-hui, a senior party secretary and sister of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, stayed in Switzerland after the North executed Jang in December on charges of treason, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing unidentified sources. The newspaper also said it obtained information that she later moved to Poland where Kim Pyong-il, the half-brother of late leader Kim Jong-il, has been serving as...

Orascom prevented to withdraw the asset from NK VOA reported on 22nd that Egyptian mobile provider OrasCom which was prevented from remitting more than 4 hundred million dollars due to the restriction of North Korean regime. According to the audit report published by Deloitte, the Koryo Link which Orascom owns 75 percent stake included $422 million worth of cash balance in North Korea but “North Korea has implemented currency control restrictions and, in particular, rules surrounding the repatriation of dividends to foreign investors. Additionally, the local currency of North Korea is not tradable outside the country. Such restrictions limit the...

(2nd LD) S. Korea holds live-fire drill despite North's warning 2014/01/28 18:23 By Kim Eun-jung SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Tuesday carried out a live-fire drill on its northwestern islands despite North Korea's warning of "grave consequences," but the closely-watched exercise ended without clashes with the communist state. South Korea has carried out live-fire exercises on the frontline islands every two or three months to improve Marine Corps' readiness. The drills have often been met by protest from Pyongyang. Ahead of Tuesday's exercise, the North's National Defense Commission sent a fax through the western military hotline to...

Competition between North Korean Elites over Jang’s Treasure Following the sudden arrest and execution of Jang Song Taek as a result of a bloody fight among North Korea’s leadership over rights and interests, North Korean elites are now climbing over each other to pledge their allegiance to Kim Jong Un as they compete to grab Jang’s secret funds, foreign currency stashes and control over organizations tasked with earning foreign currency, according to a NKIS source in Sinuiju. Kim Jong Un is said to have benefited the most from Jang’s purge because he has become the sole recipient of a one...

Yonhap News Agency January 27, 2014 9:00am With Jang executed, 'internal unrest' possible in N. Korea: CRS By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Uncertainty about North Korea's regime has grown since the downfall of Jang Song-thaek, who was the country's second most powerful figure, a U.S. congressional think tank said. Jang's demise in December indicates the "boldness" of young ruler Kim Jong-un, which could lead to more provocative and unpredictable actions in the future, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). "The chilling effect on the elite in Pyongyang could lead to internal unrest as those who considered...

All relatives of Jang executed too: sources 2014/01/26 10:37 SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- All relatives of the executed uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, including children and the country's ambassadors to Cuba and Malaysia, have also been put to death at the leader's instruction, multiple sources said Sunday. Jang Song-thaek, the once-powerful uncle, was executed last month on charges of attempting to overthrow the communist regime, including contemplating a military-backed coup. All direct relatives of Jang have also been executed, the sources said. "Extensive executions have been carried out for relatives of Jang Song-thaek," one source said on...

American intelligence and security agencies are not currently capable of detecting when foreign nations are building nuclear weapons or ramping up their existing programs, according to a newly released Pentagon report that faults a range of U.S. agencies. “The nation is not yet organized or fully equipped” to detect clandestine nuclear activities across the globe, and in most cases “current solutions are either inadequate, or more often, do not exist,” according to the report, which was compiled over three years by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board.

PLA mobilizes 100,000 troops for N Korean border exercise Staff Reporter 2014-01-15 10:20 (GMT+8) Nearly 100,000 Chinese soldiers and thousands of vehicles from the 16th and 39th Army Groups of the Shenyang Military Region have been mobilized for a winter exercise near the North Korean border to prepare for a potential crisis over the Korean peninsula, reports the Seoul-based Chosun Ilbo. The exercise launched on Jan. 10 is being held in the border region between the Changbai mountain and Heilongjiang river, the paper said. The drill is a normal military exercise to train soldiers to fight in winter and long-range...

Kim Jong-un's Sister Put in Charge of Regime's Coffers North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has put his younger sister Yeo-jong in charge of the regime's coffers since the execution of his uncle Jang Song-taek on Dec. 12 last year. Kim Jong-un ordered the restructuring of hard-currency earners, which used to be controlled by Jang, North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, a group of North Korean activists in South Korea, quoted a North Korean source as saying. The source said Kim Yeo-jong has taken charge of Department 54 and other currency-earning agencies in the Workers Party. Department 54 supplies electricity, coal, fuel, clothes...