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North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a country in East Asia, located in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering South Korea and China. Its capital, Pyongyang, is the country's largest city by both land area and population. It is a single-party state led by the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), and governed by Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un since 2012. It has a population of 24,052,231 (UN-assisted DPRK census 2008) made up of Koreans and a smaller Chinese minority. Japan 'opened' Korea in 1876 and annexed it in 1910. The Republic of Korea (ROK) was founded with US support in the south in August 1948 and the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north in September that year.

Capital

Pyongyang

Head of State

Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un

Head of Government

Premier Kim Tok-hun

last updated:

29 November, 2024

India

India reopens North Korea embassy in ‘strategic’ move in volatile region: experts

Experts believe the embassy’s resumption of operations will allow India to engage in diplomatic discussions on critical issues in Northeast Asia.

20 Dec 2024 - 8:44PMvideocam

Ukraine war

North Korean soldiers take selfie on Ukraine battlefield

20 Dec 2024 - 6:33PM

Diplomacy

Opinion | China can win Japan and South Korea over from a US under Trump

20 Dec 2024 - 10:34AMvideocam

United States

Opinion | How Biden’s memos can ensure continuity in US foreign policy under Trump

For the sake of national security, transition memos must offer a real road map on key specific foreign policy challenges, like the ones Bush did for Obama.

19 Dec 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

US President Joe Biden with president-elect Donald Trump during a transition meeting at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on November 13. Photo: White House / Zuma Press Wire / dpa

Kim Jong-un

Video | North Korea’s Kim Jong-un marks 13 years since father’s death

The North Korean leader was at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where his father and grandfather lie in state.

19 Dec 2024 - 8:23PMvideocam

Kim Jong-un marks 13 years since father's death

Kim Jong-un made his way to North Korea’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun with an entourage, as baskets of flowers were laid outside the mausoleum

19 Dec 2024 - 4:38PM

South Korea martial law 2024

Arrest of South Korea’s former spy chief sheds light on martial law conspiracy

Noh Sang-won, former head of the Defence Intelligence Command, allegedly planned the coercive measures meant to enforce the decree.

19 Dec 2024 - 3:00PMvideocam

A protester wearing a mask of impeached South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol performs in a mock prison during a demonstration calling for Yoon’s ouster in Seoul on December 19. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war

Seoul lawmaker says at least 100 North Korean troops killed in Ukraine war

Lee Seong-kweun said about 1,000 troops also injured in Kursk as they lack drone warfare experience.

19 Dec 2024 - 5:37PMvideocam

Hong Kong

Editorial | Cooperate to tackle Hong Kong money laundering

US allegations against Hong Kong are not only misguided but also counterproductive to battling a crime that recognises no borders.

19 Dec 2024 - 6:15AM

Diplomacy

Opinion | China should seize the moment to promote peace on Korean peninsula

The weakening of the Russia-North Korea alliance, political change in South Korea and Trump’s return create a conducive environment for denuclearisation talks.

19 Dec 2024 - 6:00AMvideocam

South Korea martial law 2024

In South Korea’s ‘power vacuum’, foreign policy uncertainty abounds

The impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol leaves an interim leader with a ‘tainted cabinet’ to grapple with rising diplomatic challenges.

18 Dec 2024 - 9:46AMvideocam

A torn poster featuring the image of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is seen in Seoul earlier this month. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Russia to boost its ballistic arsenal with new missiles and testing, commander says

Moscow, Washington warn each other ahead of intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

17 Dec 2024 - 9:58AMvideocam

Russia

Over 30 North Korean soldiers killed or wounded in Russia’s Kursk: Ukraine

Thousands of troops sent by Pyongyang are reinforcing Moscow’s forces.

16 Dec 2024 - 5:41PM

Yoon Suk-yeol

North Korean state media relishes ‘foolish’ Yoon’s downfall

Pyongyang’s state-run media gleefully eviscerated South Korea’s impeached president on Monday over his failed martial law decree.

16 Dec 2024 - 12:51PMvideocam

A composite image shows North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: AFP/Reuters

Ukraine war

‘Significant number’ of North Korean troops storming Kursk, Ukraine says

Zelensky called it a new escalation and says there is information suggesting the soldiers could be sent to other parts of the front line.

15 Dec 2024 - 5:26AMvideocam

A Russian “Grad” self-propelled 122mm multiple rocket launcher fires toward Ukrainian position in the Kursk region. Photo:: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP

War and conflict

Opinion | Seoul must stop using North Korea threat as an excuse to suppress democracy

Conservative forces have a long, bloody history of using the danger posed by the North to justify quashing dissent and removing checks on the president.

12 Dec 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

South Korea

Yoon’s ‘impossible’ martial law move premeditated, South Korean commander claims

Yoon Suk-yeol, frustrated by his party’s electoral defeat, repeatedly discussed martial law with aides, despite their warnings, Yeo In-hyung said.

12 Dec 2024 - 3:15PMvideocam

Japan

Will ties between Japan and South Korea worsen if Yoon Suk-yeol is ousted?

Japan is concerned that South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung might take over Yoon given his stance against Tokyo, analysts say.

12 Dec 2024 - 8:00AMvideocam

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Lima last month. Photo: dpa

War and conflict

Opinion | US presidential transition is the thread tying world’s crises together

As US allies face mounting challenges and tensions rise with adversaries, Joe Biden and Donald Trump must work together to manage uncertainties.

12 Dec 2024 - 8:24AMvideocam

US-China relations

Trump policies could ‘naturally’ bring US allies closer to China, analysts say

Others do not expect improved ties between Beijing and Brussels, particularly in the next year.

11 Dec 2024 - 10:26PMvideocam

South Korea

‘Paralysed’: South Korea’s diplomacy in limbo after Yoon’s martial law bid

Seoul’s global reputation has been dented as analysts warn of the adverse impact on multiple fronts after Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law saga.

12 Dec 2024 - 1:19PMvideocam

A protester wears a South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol mask during a rally calling for Yoon’s impeachment in Seoul. Photo: Reuters

Diplomacy

Opinion | Korea instability should prompt US, China to put aside self-interests

Fresh geopolitical shifts underscore a need for leaders to transcend parochial interests and embrace a more holistic approach to governance.

11 Dec 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

South Korea

Did South Korea’s Yoon plot to provoke Pyongyang for martial law?

An opposition politician claims a drone flight near the border between the two Koreas was planned as a pretext for imposing martial law.

9 Dec 2024 - 5:55PMvideocam

Japan

My Take | Japan should not just focus on abduction issue and reach out to North Korea

Tokyo has demanded the return of its citizens abducted by North Korea over the decades but any breakthrough on the issue is unlikely.

6 Dec 2024 - 10:30AM

South Korea

Walls close in on South Korea’s Yoon with police probe, US warning

The police are investigating Yoon Suk-yeol for ‘insurrection’ while Washington is concerned about his ‘illegitimate’ martial law decree.

5 Dec 2024 - 9:03PMvideocam

Posters with images of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at a rally calling for his ouster in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AFP

US-China relations

US should blunt ‘collaboration’ by China, North Korea, Russia: senior officials

Outgoing national security adviser urges Trump administration to expand defence cooperation with allies amid ‘dangerous’ global landscape.

6 Dec 2024 - 12:00AMvideocam

Jake Sullivan has served as US national security adviser since the outset of the Biden administration in 2021. Photo: Abaca Press/TNS

South Korea

Yoon’s martial law bid seen as ‘political suicide’ as impeachment looms

As South Korea’s political crisis deepens, the world will closely monitor the outcome of the impeachment motion filed against Yoon Suk-yeol.

5 Dec 2024 - 5:23AMvideocam

Kim Jong-un

Will North Korean party plenum offer signs of renewed dialogue with US?

Analysts say Kim has used previous plenary meetings to announce diplomatic strategies, including messages aimed at the US and South Korea.

4 Dec 2024 - 8:00AM

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