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North Korea has passed a new law declaring itself a nuclear weapons state in a move leader Kim Jong Un says is "irreversible." The new law also enshrines Pyongyang's right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself -- updating a previous stance under which it had said it would keep its weapons only until other countries denuclearized and would not use them preemptively against non-nuclear states. At the same time, the US has become increasingly concerned that North Korea may be preparing to carry out its first underground nuclear test in years

As the war in Ukraine lurches toward the 200-day mark, Russia is turning to global pariah state North Korea to purchase Soviet-era weapons, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report. Moscow is preparing to buy “millions of rockets and artillery shells” from Pyongyang, a U.S. official told The Washington Post on Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity about the declassified intelligence, which was first reported by the New York Times. The move by Russia’s Defense Ministry indicates that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions,”...

It was just after midnight on February 21, 1998, and the banks of the frozen Tumen River separating North Korea from China were engulfed in darkness. We would have to cross the icy river on foot. As I walked, I focused on each step so as not to slip. This also helped me forget my fear. But I couldn’t help wondering how many innocent souls had been swallowed up by this river and how many had managed to cross the 20-something yards of frozen water and reach China. And how many others, like me, had abandoned their father on his...

FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26 NEWS) — A Med-Evac helicopter trying to leave Fresno was told to stay put Monday, along with many other flights trying to leave the area. The FAA isn’t saying why it issued the ground stop, but it came immediately after North Korea’s missile tests. The Fresno Airport says it wasn’t notified of a ground stop, because the FAA oversees all air traffic and oversees the tower at FAT. The airport says there were no major delays around the ground stop. We do, know, however, that a CALSTAR Med-Evac helicopter that flew to CRMC was temporarily stuck in...

Government authorities have ordered the public to not show any signs of happiness while North Korea commemorates Kim Jong Il's death. Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea from 1994 until his death in 2011, and was then succeeded by his third and youngest son, current leader Kim Jong Un. Ten years after his death, North Koreans are being forced to observe the 11-day period of mourning where they are not allowed to laugh or drink alcohol. They added: 'In the past many people who were caught drinking or being intoxicated during the mourning period were arrested and treated as ideological...

The move comes a day after leader Kim Jong Un warned North Koreans that they must expect to eat less food until the country re-opens its borders with China in 2025. 'Black swan meat is delicious and has medicinal value,' while the bird's industrial breeding will 'improve the people's living standard', the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. A researcher from the country's agriculture ministry told KCNA in 2020 that the black swan meat has more protein than other meats and is easier to digest, adding that it also has 'anticancer' properties. Despite the current hardships the North Korean people...

North Korea has warned its citizens that they must expect to eat less food until the country re-opens its border with China in 2025. North Korea closed its border with China in January 2020 as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus. But the move had a serious impact on the nation's economy - with prices of everyday goods rising sharply as demand outstripped supply. Speaking about the new government guidance, a resident of the city Sinuiju, who wished to remain anonymous, said that people have been warned that the chances of re-opening the border with China before 2025...

North Korea appears to have resumed operation of its plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon in a move that could enable the reclusive country to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal, the U.N. atomic agency said. The development, disclosed in the agency’s annual report on North Korea’s nuclear activities, adds a new challenge to President Biden’s foreign policy agenda, alongside the dangerous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and stalemated talks on restoring the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

North Korea so far has rebuffed entreaties from the United States to engage in dialogue, the White House said on Monday, as a chill in relations that began under then-President Donald Trump has extended into Joe Biden’s presidency. Biden White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that U.S. officials have reached out to North Korea through a number of channels since taking office nearly two months ago.

The North Korean authorities have reportedly ordered the expansion of political prison camps in the country. A source told Daily NK that North Korea, having declared war on the so-called “anti-socialist and non-socialist phenomenon” during the recent Eighth Party Congress, intends to overhaul its incarceration facilities ahead of a major crackdown. In a phone conversation with Daily NK on Feb. 12, the source, who is based in North Korea, said “the authorities ordered the labor camps to increase capacity at the end of last month,” adding that “this order was handed to the headquarters of all camps managed by the...

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea reported today that Kim Jong Un is not dead and in fact is "the most alive person in the universe." "American fake news says Supreme Leader is dead, but we found that he was more alive than anyone ever in history," said a spokesperson. "If he lies in still vegetative state, it is only because he is stuffed so full of life like a big meal and needs time to properly digest all that life. So much life. Such great life." According to the official statement released by the Korean Central News Agency, the...

(ATTN: UPDATES with details from 5th para) SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, offering help with the communist nation's fight against the coronavirus, Kim's sister said Sunday. The letter is a "a good example showing the special and firm personal relations" between Trump and Kim, said Kim Yo-jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the North's Workers' Party, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. (LEAD) Trump sent letter to Kim offering help on virus outbreak: Kim's sister - 1...

Kim Jong Un guided “strike drill” of two rocket launch systems on Monday: KCNA State media says weapons tests helped improve readiness and accuracy of soldiers North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally led a “firepower strike drill” of “long-range artillery sub-units of the Korean People's Army” (KPA) on Monday, state media reported Tuesday morning. Published on the front page of the Party daily Rodong Sinmun and in the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed at least two types of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) firing at island targets.... (Continued)

North Korea launched at least one unidentified projectile on Monday, just days after its leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of some of its units.

A former U.S. Marine accused of breaking into North Korea's embassy in Madrid and assaulting diplomatic personnel was freed on $1.3 million bond in Los Angeles on Tuesday. As a condition of his release, Christopher Ahn must confine himself to his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills ahead of his possible extradition to Spain and must wear an ankle monitor. “I spent a lot of time reading about you and I’m confident you’re going to do the right thing,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jean Rosenbluth told Ahn, who had several family members in attendance at the hearing.

SEOUL, South Korea — Taking an unprecedented step onto North Korean soil, President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Washington and Pyongyang will relaunch stalled nuclear talks during an extraordinary last-minute meeting with Kim Jong Un. Side-by-side with Kim in the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone, Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to cross the 1953 armistice line separating North and South Korea, then joined Kim for a roughly 50-minute meeting.

I cannot possibly fathom how deeply this dagger has stabbed into the heart of liberal America. The delicious --how can I fully relish it? It boggles the mind.

North Korea has reportedly executed Kim Hyok-chol for failing to secure a deal at the Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam. North Korea has executed an envoy for failing to secure a deal with US President Donald Trump at the Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam, it is claimed. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper reports that Kim Hyok-chol, who was in charge of negotiating the summit, was killed at Mirim Airfield after he and four other officials were investigated in March. Kim Sung-hye, co-negotiator at the talks, and Shin Hye-yong, who interpreted for North Korea's leader in Hanoi, were also sent to political prison camps,...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a "full combat posture" as state media yesterday released photos showing missiles being fired during a long-range strike drill conducted by Pyongyang. The photos came a day after it tested two short-range missiles. Analysts said the regime may have developed a new missile that is easier to hide, harder to strike down and capable of hitting all of South Korea.

Original in Japanese: 北朝鮮の飛翔体、弾道ミサイルか　国連制裁違反の可能性 ("North Korean Launch, Could Possibly Be Ballistic Missile, and Possible UN Violation") Two paragraph synopsis from the original Japanese--my translation (breaking): "Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch of projectiles yesterday from the east coast of North Korea into the Sea of Japan. Now based on photo analysis of the launch from images provided by official North Korean news sources, South Korean military specialists have analyzed the vehicle, and a viewpoint is emerging the launch yesterday was, in fact, likely a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions against North Korea launching such ballistic missiles." "...