North Korea

This photo shows the South Korean end of an inter-Korean hotline in Seoul, July 27, 2021, after the two Koreas resumed communications.

North Korea Watchers Parse Motives Behind Restored Hotline with Seoul

Pyongyang likely wants something from Seoul after reopening links that it unilaterally froze, experts say.

North Korean soldiers gather on the bank of the Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border town of Dandong in a file photo.

North Korean Soldiers Steal from Civilians to Celebrate End of Korean War

2021-07-27

Citizens go out of their way to avoid military ‘bandits.’

North Korea Commits Two People to Mental Institutions After Public Outbursts

2021-07-23

In two isolated incidents, the coronavirus pandemic ruined their food sales businesses.

A prison camp in North Korea's South Pyongan province is shown in an undated photo.

Death of Two North Korean Prisoners Highlights Starvation Diets

2021-07-21

Prisoners cut off from family visits due to coronavirus are going hungry.

In a file photo, a North Korean farmer walks along a highway outside the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, in Kangwon province, North Korea.

North Koreans Alarmed by Starvation Deaths of Well-Off Ethnic Chinese

2021-07-20

Once the envy of their neighbors, Chinese “Hwagyo” are now starving like the poorest citizens.

A woman walks past an entrance of the customs in Dandong, Liaoning province, China April 21, 2021.

Concern About Fate of 50 North Korean Escapees Sent Home by China

2021-07-19

Witnesses say they are worried that the escapees will be executed.

In an Aug. 2020 file photo, members of the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers' Party were dispatched to the site of a typhoon in South Hwanghae province, North Korea.

North Korea to Hold Local Officials Responsible for Rainy Season Crop Losses This Year

2021-07-16

A nationwide survey is underway to confiscate illegal farmland.

Trucks cross the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge connecting China and North Korea in the northeastern Chinese border town of Dandong, opposite the North Korean town of Sinuiju, Sept. 4, 2017.

Chinese Traders in Dire Straits Over Frozen Border Trade With North Korea

2021-07-15

Medicines and chemicals have decayed in storage since the border was closed in January 2020 to fight the coronavirus.

A bride and groom walk after having their wedding photos taken with the background of the Tower of the Juche Idea in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019.

North Korea Sets Stern Punishments for ‘Anti-Socialist’ Acts

2021-07-13

Party officials forced to study an extra two hours a day to defend socialism from ideological cracks.

A souvenir vendor takes a nap in front of barbed wire marking the border between North Korea and China, just north of Dandong in China's Liaoning province, April 2, 2017.

North Korea Mobilizes Women for Border Wall Construction Near China

2021-07-12

Women in border province must make 10 cement blocks each day through October.

In this Feb. 6, 2017, file photo, a portrait of late leader Kim Il Sung is seen on North Korean banknotes.

North Korea Cracks Down on Counterfeiting, on the Rise as Economy Worsens

2021-07-08

Government labels starving people who forge bills as ‘anti-socialist traitors’ in league with the country’s enemies.

Women work at Jangchon Vegetable Co-op farm during a government organised visit for reporters just outside Pyongyang, North Korea in a file photo.

Facing Chronic Shortfalls, North Korea Tells Citizens to Start Supplying Their Own Food

2021-07-07

People say government is passing on its responsibilities to them.

This picture taken on June 29, 2021 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 30 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending an enlarged meeting of the 2nd Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee at the 8th congress of the Workers' Party of Korea at the Party Central Committee Headquarters in Pyongyang.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Publicly Blames Senior Officials for COVID-19 Failures

2021-07-01

Schools in North Korea shut down for the rest of 2021 due to quarantine emergency.

This combination of file photos provided by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Workers' Party meetings in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Feb. 8, 2021, left, and June 15, 2021. North Korean state TV has cited an unidentified resident as saying that citizens are heartbroken because of leader Kim's “emaciated looks.” The comments are a rare acknowledgement of outside speculation that Kim has recently lost a considerable about of weight.

North Korea Launches Investigation to Stop Gossip about Kim Jong Un’s Health

2021-06-29

Government spins leader’s slimmer appearance as evidence that he suffers along with his people.

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North Korea Won't Gain a New State Sponsor in Russia

Improving relations will be based only on reciprocity and mutual benefit, a North Korea expert says.

Forgive Me, My Son

A North Korean mother laments seven years of separation from her son.

Life in the Shadows

A U.S. aid worker gets a rare glimpse of the lives of North Korean refugees living illegally in China.