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Top-ranking Chinese official Zhao Leji met Kim Jong-un during three-day visit to PyongyangA top ranking Chinese official reaffirmed ties with North Korea during a meeting in Pyongyang on Saturday with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, China’s state media reported, in the highest-level talks between the allies in years.The visit by Zhao Leji, who ranks third in the ruling Communist party hierarchy and heads the...

Ukraine’s foreign minister calls veto ‘guilty plea’ amid claims Pyongyang is aiding Moscow’s war against KyivRussia has blocked the renewal of a UN panel monitoring sanctions against North Korea, weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.The move was met with a flurry of criticism, including by Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who took to social...

Last-minute decision on Tuesday’s match leaves football bodies searching for alternative venueNorth Korea has abruptly cancelled its 2026 World Cup qualifying match with Japan next week, leaving organisers frantically searching for an alternative venue.North Korea reportedly decided it would no longer host the match, which had been scheduled for next Tuesday at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, a day before the teams met...

The Arch of Reunification – built in 2000 after a landmark inter-Korean summit – has disappeared from satellite imageryNorth Korea has demolished a monument that symbolised hope for reconciliation with the South, days after the regime’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas was no longer possible.In the latest sign of rising tensions on the peninsula, the Arch of Reunification...

Exclusive: Report shows Russian ships loading at North Korean port, amid accusation that Pyongyang supplies missiles and shellsThe UK has provided satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as part of an attempt to trigger an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.North Korea has been accused of supplying ballistic missiles and hundreds...

Footage shows two 16-year-olds being sentenced in front of hundreds of their peers in an amphitheatreVideo footage released by an organisation that works with North Korean defectors shows North Korean authorities publicly sentencing two teenagers to 12 years’ hard labour for watching South Korean videos.The footage, which shows the two 16-year-olds in Pyongyang convicted of watching South Korean films and music videos, was released...

South Korea says backgrounds of recent defectors including some ‘elite class’ indicate growing discontent with regime of Kim Jong-unThe number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea tripled last year, as the easing of border closures imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged students, women and diplomats to make the perilous journey.At 196, the number was still well below the pre-pandemic average, but South...

Intense speculation over future role for Kim Jong-un’s daughter, who is reportedly 10, comes as North Korea fires shells near South Korean islandsThe young daughter of Kim Jong-un is seen as her father’s heir apparent, South Korea’s spy agency has said for the first time, after speculation that the North Korean ruler is grooming her to become the fourth member of the dynasty to...

White House says Moscow likely to supply Pyongyang with advanced technologies in exchangeRussia has started using ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea to attack Ukraine, the White House has said.Washington also alleged Russia was in talks with Iran to buy short-range ballistic missiles. The US intelligence assessment is that Iranian missiles have not yet arrived in Russia, but that the deal will eventually be...