Category: North Korea

US Charges North Korean Banker Over Crypto Laundering Conspiracies

The United States has indicted a North Korean banker for his alleged role in cryptocurrency laundering conspiracies designed to buy goods and generate revenue for the North Korean regime. Sim Hyon Sop, a representative of the North Korean Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), was accused of conspiring with over-the-counter crypto traders to launder funds stolen from…


Tobacco Giant to Pay $635 Million Penalty for Violating North Korea Sanctions

British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of tobacco products, will pay more than $635 million in fines to resolve bank fraud and sanctions violations charges brought by the U.S. government after a subsidiary of the company admitted to selling tobacco products to North Korea. The agreement to defer prosecution was announced…


North Korean Youth Risk Harsh Punishment to Access Outside Media

Young Koreans are quietly defying censorship laws by consuming foreign music and other media, offering hope for change in one of the world’s most secretive and repressive states. Emissaries of the South Korean government shared that assessment during a forum on human rights in North Korea held in Washington on April 20, emphasizing both the…


North Korea’s ‘DF-41’ Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Commentary After having warned of its development for seven years and revealed its transporter erector launcher (TEL) in a Feb. 8 parade, on April 13 for the first time, North Korea successfully tested its solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it calls the Hwasong-18. With propaganda images and videos of the Hwasong-18 and his daughter…


North Korean Leader Orders Launch of 1st Spy Satellite Amid Regional Tensions: State Media

North Korea’s leader has ordered that the launch of his country’s first military spy satellite proceed “as planned” to ensure its military effectiveness amid regional tensions, the state-run media reported on April 19. During his visit to the North’s aerospace agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country’s military reconnaissance satellite had been…


US, Japan, South Korea Meet to Discuss Holding Periodic Missile Defense Drills

The United States, Japan, and South Korea convened a meeting in Washington on Friday about security on the Korean peninsula and discussed the “regularization” of defense exercises to respond to and deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, according to a joint statement. Representatives from the three countries at the meeting, called the 13th Defense…


‘Forged in Blood’: US, South Korea Draw Closer in Face of North’s Nuclear Threats

The United States’s alliance with South Korea is stronger than ever despite new missile tests from North Korea, according to a South Korean diplomat. The 70-year alliance between the two nations is deepening across every domain, according to Choon-goo Kim, charge d’affaires for South Korea’s embassy in the United States. “The friendship between Korea and…


North Korea Refuses to Answer South Korean Military Hotline Calls Amid Tensions

South Korea’s government said on April 10 that North Korea has refused to answer its calls through both the joint liaison communication channel and the military hotline for the fourth day in a row. The two Koreas typically hold phone calls twice a day through the inter-Korean liaison channel and the military hotline, except for…


North Korea Tests Underwater Drone to Assess Its ‘Fatal Attack Ability’: State Media

North Korea has claimed it tested a new type of nuclear-capable underwater drone this week to assess the weapon’s “fatal attack ability.” State-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Saturday that a “Haeil-2” drone was deployed off the coast of South Hamgyong province on April 4 and reached the target in the waters off…


US, Japan, South Korea Urge UN Members to Repatriate North Korean Workers

The United States, South Korea, and Japan have urged United Nations members to repatriate North Korean nationals working overseas to generate funds for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Gunn and Takehiro Funakoshi, in Seoul on Friday to discuss…