June 8, 2026 12:22 PM

Flags, gun salute greet China’s Xi on arrival in North Korea for summit

Ties between China and North Korea are at a "new historical starting point", President Xi Jinping said on Monday in remarks published in the neighbour's state media as he arrived in Pyongyang for a rare summit with leader Kim Jong Un. China's unwavering policy is to develop ties with the North and both will strengthen exchanges in all areas, Xi said in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper ahead of a visit seen as significant because it is his first international trip this year. "We must oppose hegemony...

June 6, 2026 12:15 PM

North Korea to build 10,000-ton destroyer, state media says before Xi visit

North Korea plans to build a 10,000-ton destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons, state media said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, reporting on a Thursday naval test supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, said he ordered the navy to deploy the destroyer Kang Kon and another 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, as soon as possible. The newspaper did not give further details. It is the first time North Korea has mentioned a plan to buil...

February 24, 2026 1:09 PM

North Korea’s Kim pledges economic push as his sister is elevated at party congress

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to solidify and develop the quality of the country's economy over the next five years, state media KCNA said on Tuesday, during a speech at a party congress where his high-profile sister was promoted. North Korea on Monday held the fifth day of the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers' Party, which sets out major policy goals for the nuclear-armed Asian nation for the next five years. Members of the congress started to map out plans and goals by sectors,...

February 12, 2026 10:31 AM

North Korea’s Kim positioning daughter as successor, Seoul spy agency briefing says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to be taking steps to consolidate his daughter's position as successor, and there are signs she is providing input on policy matters, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday, citing a spy agency briefing. South Korea's National Intelligence Agency (NIS) will be closely watching whether the daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, attends an upcoming meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and how she is presented, including whether she takes on any official...

January 4, 2026 12:46 PM

South Korea’s Lee begins China state visit after North fires missiles

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung began a state visit to China on Sunday, hoping to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula hours after rival North Korea launched ballistic missiles. The visit, Lee's first to China since taking office in June, comes amid heightened global tensions after Pyongyang's aggressive display, on the heels of the U.S. attack on Venezuela. Lee is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip for their second meeting in just two months, an unusually shor...

January 2, 2026 9:50 AM

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter makes public visit to state mausoleum

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter, Ju Ae, who is likely being prepared as his successor, accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former leaders, state media photos published on Friday showed. Ju Ae has been making increasingly prominent appearances in state media over the past three years, fuelling speculation by analysts and South Korea's intelligence agency that she may be in line to be the country's fourth-generation leader. Ch...

November 30, 2025 3:24 PM

North Korea’s Kim stresses Air Force’s nuclear war deterrence on its 80th anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un highlighted the Air Force's role in exercising nuclear war deterrence as he celebrated the Air Force's 80th anniversary along with his young daughter, state media reported on Sunday. Photos released by North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim observing what appeared to be unmanned aircraft and mobile missile launchers among others. North Korea has launched mass production of small, short-range First Person View (FPV) drones, as well as larger medium-rang...

October 28, 2025 10:05 AM

Putin says ‘everything going to plan’ with North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin asked North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui during talks in the Kremlin on Monday to tell her country's leader Kim Jong Un that everything was "going to plan" in bilateral relations. Putin and Kim sealed a strategic partnership treaty last year, which included a mutual defence pact, and North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia to support Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine. "We talked in detail in Beijing about our relat...

October 24, 2025 10:47 AM

North Korea’s Kim says military ties with Russia will ‘advance non-stop’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said military brotherhood between his country and Russia would "advance non-stop", state media KCNA reported on Friday. Kim made the comments during a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial for North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian troops in Russia's Kursk region during Moscow's ongoing war with Ukraine, KCNA said. "The years of militant fraternity, in which a guarantee has been provided for the long-term development of the bilateral f...

October 23, 2025 9:56 AM

North Korea tested ‘cutting-edge’ weapons system on Wednesday, KCNA reports

North Korea said it successfully tested "a new cutting-edge weapons system" involving hypersonic projectiles on Wednesday as part of a defence program to enhance strategic deterrence against enemies. Two hypersonic projectiles were launched from a region near the capital, Pyongyang, and hit a target inland in the country's northeast, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday. KCNA did not mention that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was present for the test. North Korea has been developing h...