North Korea

N Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles: Seoul

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast Sunday, South Korea's military said, a day after Seoul and Washington completed their first joint drills involving a United States (US) aircraft carrier in more than four years.Pyongyang has doubled down on upgrading its weapons programme this year, despite facing crippling economic sanctions."Our military detected eight short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Sunan area in Pyongyang, North Korea i

5 June 2022
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North Korea Fighting COVID With Tea And Salt Water

North Korea is grappling with the spread of COVID-19 in an unvaccinated population, without access to effective anti-viral drugs.In early 2020, the country sealed its borders to try to insulate itself from the pandemic.Its leadership has so far rejected outside medical support.And state media has recommended traditional treatments to deal with what is referred to as "fever".Hot DrinksFor those not seriously ill, ruling-party newspaper Rodong Simnun recommended remedies including gin

20 May 2022
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North Korean Military Ramps Up COVID Response

North Korean military medics ramped up the distribution of medicines to fight a growing coronavirus outbreak, state media said on Tuesday, with the number of reported cases of "fever" nearing 1.5 million.Leader Kim Jong-un has ordered nationwide lockdowns to try and slow the spread of the disease through the unvaccinated population, and deployed the military after what he has called a botched response to the outbreak.Hundreds of personnel in camouflage uniforms from the Korean Peopl

17 May 2022
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N Korea Reports 15 More 'Fever' Deaths

North Korea on Sunday reported 15 additional deaths from "fever", days after officially confirming its first-ever COVID-19 cases and ordering nationwide lockdowns.The outbreak, which leader Kim Jong-un has said is causing "great upheaval", leaves a country with one of the world's worst healthcare systems on the edge of potential disaster.North Korea has no COVID vaccines, antiviral treatment drugs or mass-testing capacity.While it has maintained a rigid coronavirus bl

15 May 2022
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COVID-19 In North Korea: Five Things To Know

North Korea announced its first official cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, saying the highly transmissible Omicron variant had been detected and a national emergency declared.The isolated country has never reported a case of COVID-19 before, and leader Kim Jong-un has ordered nationwide lockdowns in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.Here's what we know:Is It A Major Outbreak?State media said "persons with fever" at an organisation in the capital Pyongyang had tested positiv

12 May 2022
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N Korea Blasts South’s Missile Strike Claims

North Korea has condemned the South Korean defence minister’s remarks about its ability to strike against the North and warned it would destroy major targets in Seoul if the South takes any “dangerous military action” such as a pre-emptive strike.Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement on Sunday that the South Korean defence minister’s remarks “further worsened the inter-Korean relations and military tension on the Korean peninsula,” according to state

4 April 2022
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Missile Tests: What Does Kim Jong-Un Want?

It's all very different from August 2017 when Japan awoke to the sound of air raid sirens. Without warning North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) over the top of Japan into the Pacific Ocean. It was an audacious act.This time North Korea's missiles have all been short range, and have landed in the sea, well away from the Japanese coast. Kim Jong-un appears to be holding back, for now.

29 January 2022
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North Korea Says It Tested Hypersonic Missile

North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic missile, state media reported Thursday, in the first major weapons test by the nuclear-armed nation this year.This was the second reported North Korean test of a hypersonic gliding missile to date - following one in September last year - as Pyongyang looks to add the sophisticated weapon to its arsenal despite international sanctions and condemnation.Hypersonic missiles move far faster and are more agile than standard ones, making them much har

6 January 2022
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Twilight Of The Kims?

Nearly three years after his failed bromance with Donald Trump, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is once again angling for United States (US) attention. North Korea has tested a new, high-tech missile and hinted that it may agree to restart talks with South Korea, where President Moon Jae-in desperately wants to resuscitate his moribund outreach to the North.

10 November 2021
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N Korean Officials Sacked After COVID Incident

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced several senior officials after a "crucial" coronavirus incident, state media reported Wednesday, potentially signalling a breach in the country's epidemic defences.Pyongyang closed its borders in January last year to try to protect itself against the virus that first emerged in neighbouring China and has gone on to sweep the world.It has not publicly confirmed any cases of the disease at any point, either in state media or in the test st

30 June 2021
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The Party Is Not Forever

Human beings approaching 100 normally think about death. But political parties celebrating their centennial, as the Communist Party of China (CPC) will on 1 July, are obsessed with immortality. Such optimism seems odd for parties that rule dictatorships, because their longevity record does not inspire confidence. The fact that no other such party in modern times has survived for a century should give China’s leaders cause for worry, not celebration.

12 June 2021
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Biden Expects To Run For Re-Election In 2024

United States (US) President Joe Biden said Thursday his "expectation" is to run for re-election in 2024, an apparent effort to douse speculation that the oldest person to assume the office will step down after a single term.The Democratic president also attacked Republican efforts to limit voting, describing the actions in dozens of states that would make it more difficult for millions of people to cast ballots as "sick" and "un-American."In his first extended g

26 March 2021
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