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Kim Jong-un

Kim says ‘hostile’ US pushing Korean peninsula to brink of nuclear war

The North Korean leader said his previous experience of talks with Washington only highlighted its ‘aggressive’ policy against Pyongyang.

22 Nov 2024 - 11:16AMvideocam

US-China relations

How Xi’s warning over Korean peninsula highlights Beijing’s diplomatic headache

21 Nov 2024 - 11:37PMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Michelle Yeoh opens up, Thai monkeys run riot: 5 latest Asia news stories

19 Nov 2024 - 5:39PM

North Korea

North Korea may send 100,000 troops to Russia as Kim tells them to ‘go all out’

The 100,000 figure circulating is an indication that Moscow is planning to fight in Ukraine for a long time, a Russian defence insider said.

20 Nov 2024 - 3:54PMvideocam

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gives troops a thumbs-up during a visit to a special forces training base in September. Photo: Korean Central News Agency via KNS/dpa

Asean

Opinion | Pragmatic Southeast Asia will adapt to Trump’s ‘America first’ agenda

The region is already bracing itself for the reinstatement of a more transactional and nationalist policy agenda in the White House.

16 Nov 2024 - 5:58AMvideocam

North Korea

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un orders mass production of suicide drones

The news comes amid rapidly growing military cooperation with Russia, raising questions about whether Moscow is helping develop the weapons.

15 Nov 2024 - 6:40AMvideocam

Ukraine war

North Korea ratifies defence treaty with Russia

Pact seals deepening security cooperation between the nations as North Korea becomes one of most vocal backers of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

12 Nov 2024 - 12:40PMvideocam

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Photo: Sputnik / Vladimir Smirnov / Pool via Reuters

Hong Kong society

Letters | Hong Kong’s working class deserve world-class medical care

Readers discuss proposed reforms to Hong Kong’s outpatient services, the city’s aspirations to be an education hub, Trump’s MAGA movement and North Korea’s continuing missile tests.

11 Nov 2024 - 11:30AM

North Korea

My Take | How North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia is changing attitudes in China

The Chinese public who once derided North Korea as a ‘neighbourhood hooligan’ is now hailing its decision to help Russia in the Ukraine war.

9 Nov 2024 - 4:04AMvideocam

Ukraine war

Opinion | US-China war diplomacy vital as North Korea complicates Ukraine fray

The scale and speed of Pyongyang’s reported troop deployment to Russia strongly suggests premeditation. The US and China must act to prevent escalation.

8 Nov 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

North Korea

Trump’s victory is ‘good news’ for North Korea. But will Kim denuclearise?

Trump and Kim met twice in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019 but the summits failed to yield a commitment by Pyongyang to denuclearise.

8 Nov 2024 - 3:37PM

Then-US President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea on June 30, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Opinion | North Korea’s support for Russia won’t be a game changer in Ukraine

Pyongyang’s support for Russia is part of a public relations campaign for Kim Jong-un, who has his eye on Russian supplies and tech.

7 Nov 2024 - 6:01AMvideocam

North Korea

How rise of Kim Jong-un’s daughter raises questions on North Korea’s leadership

Kim Jong-un’s daughter is emerging in the public eye, but her future leadership role in North Korea remains a mystery.

5 Nov 2024 - 9:18AMvideocam

US presidential election 2024

Ahead of US election, Asians see little difference in candidates’ policies

Many US plans for the region are baked in, analysts note, and won’t change regardless of whether Trump or Harris becomes president.

5 Nov 2024 - 10:38PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Ukraine attacks North Korea troops near Russia border, says official

‘The first North Korean troops have already come under fire in the Kursk region,’ a Ukrainian official said on the Telegram messaging platform.

4 Nov 2024 - 11:39PMvideocam

A Russian soldier aims from a bunker in the Kursk region of Russia. President Putin’s attack on Ukraine began in February 2022. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service photo via AP

US presidential election 2024

Opinion | North Korea’s missile test days before US election sends powerful message

No isolated act of aggression, the missile test was a calculated show of a strengthened alliance and a preview of mounting challenges.

3 Nov 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

North Korea

North Korea says South’s president has raised risk of nuclear war

A white paper from Pyongyang lays the blame for tensions squarely with South Korea’s president.

3 Nov 2024 - 9:13AMvideocam

North Korea

North Korea to stand by Russia until ‘victory’ in Ukraine, expand nuclear arsenal

Comments from North Korea’s foreign minister comes as the US warns thousands of Pyongyang’s troops could be deployed to the Ukraine conflict.

1 Nov 2024 - 7:43PMvideocam

North Korea

North Korea says record test was new Hwasong-19 ICBM

North Korea lauded the Hwasong-19 that was test-fired Thursday as ‘the world’s strongest strategic missile’.

1 Nov 2024 - 4:25PMvideocam

North Korea

Amid Ukraine war tensions, Pyongyang’s ICBM test may be sign of things to come

Missile test is Pyongyang’s way of showing its deepening ‘nuclear alliance’ with Russia and a message to the US ahead of the election, analysts say.

1 Nov 2024 - 9:37AMvideocam

North Korea

Dozens of North Koreans ‘vanish’ after being caught trying to defect

TJWG report says 80 per cent of disappearances occurred inside North Korea, rest in China or Russia.

31 Oct 2024 - 12:23PMvideocam

North Korean soldiers at a guard post, as seen from Paju, South Korea. Photo: AP

Ukraine war

North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, US says

Some advance units have already arrived in the Kursk region, and ‘the likelihood is pretty high’ that Moscow will use them in combat.

31 Oct 2024 - 7:04AMvideocam

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin give a joint press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

North Korea

Russian soldiers voice frustration over North Korean troops in leaked audio

Russian soldiers can be heard using expletives and calling the North Koreans ‘Chinese’ in the audio clips released by Ukrainian intelligence.

29 Oct 2024 - 3:50PMvideocam

North Korea

Video | How North Korea became the world’s most reclusive country

North Korea watchers say the main reason for the country’s extreme isolation and aggressive rhetoric is the regime’s extreme paranoia and fear of collapse.

26 Oct 2024 - 10:00AM

North Korea

How North Korea became the world’s most reclusive country

26 Oct 2024 - 9:00AM

16:26

North Korea

Ukraine war: what does North Korea gain by sending troops to Russia?

The US, South Korea and Ukraine say North Korean troops have been sent to Russia as analysts warn of an escalation in the Ukraine war.

25 Oct 2024 - 4:25PMvideocam

North Korea

How Kim Jong-un keeps Russia-bound troops on a tight leash to stop desertion

Kim, who fears information from abroad entering his country, uses family hostages to ensure loyalty from soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine.

25 Oct 2024 - 2:19PMvideocam

North Korea

‘Fight and die for Russia’: North Korean troops shift balance in Indo-Pacific

Analysts warn the troop deployment could prompt other nations to ‘join the fight’ against Ukraine, triggering a broader global conflict.

24 Oct 2024 - 5:18PMvideocam

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Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un is the supreme leader of North Korea, the third and youngest son of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and the grandson of Kim Il-sung (1912–1994). Following his father's death in 2011, he was announced as the "Great Successor" by North Korean state television. He has held the titles of the First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, First Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and also a presidium member of the Central Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Born

8 Jan 1983

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Leader of North Korea

last updated:

5 November, 2024