North Korea

HANDOUT - 12 May 2022, North Korea, Pyongyang: A picture provided by the North Korean state news agency (KCNA) on 12 May 2022, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) presides over a politburo meeting of the Workers' Party at the headquarters of the party's Central Committee, over the discovery of the North's first case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 on 08 May 2022. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full.

Coronavirus

PANDEMIC

North Korea reports first official Covid-19 infection

The Nomad Today/dpa 5/12/22

Until now, the isolated authoritarian country had not registered a single coronavirus infection to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva

HANDOUT - 11 January 2022, North Korea, ---: A picture provided by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows a missile launching from a mobile launch pad. North Korea's National Defence Academy said it was a test launch of a hypersonic missile. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa.

World

ASIA

North Korea says latest launch was hypersonic missile

The Nomad Today/dpa 1/12/22

The development of hypersonic weapons is one of the "five core tasks" of the five-year plan set out last year to improve North Korea's defence capabilities

FILED - 26 July 2018, South Korea, Panmunjeom: A border guard standing in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea and looking towards the North. Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa.

World

ASIA

Man who fled South to North Korea defected from North in 2020

The Nomad Today/dpa 1/3/22

The person was seen walking through the 4-kilometre-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which separates the two countries

HANDOUT - 20 October 2021, North Korea, Sinpo: A photo provided by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 20 October 2021 shows a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) being fired in waters off the east coast the previous day. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

World

WEAPON TEST

North Korea confirms test of submarine-launched ballistic missile

The Nomad Today/dpa 10/20/21

The country has tested at least eight missiles this year, including a hypersonic missile

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over an enlarged politburo meeting of the Workers' Party at the headquarters of the party's Central Committee to discuss key issues, such as nationwide anti-coronavirus measures and farm production. North Korea and South Korea have restored their direct communications lines, a spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry confirmed in Seoul on Monday. Photo: -/YNA/dpa.

World

ASIA

South Korea and Japan report North Korean ballistic missile launch

The Nomad Today/dpa 10/19/21

The launch came after North Korea and South Korea earlier this month restored their direct communications lines

HANDOUT - 10 October 2021, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo provided by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 11 October 2021 shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un speaking at an event celebrating the 76th anniversary of the country's Workers' Party. Photo: -/KCNA /dpa

World

DIFFICULTIES

Kim Jong Un admits North Korea's 'gloomy' economic outlook

The Nomad Today/dpa 10/11/21

Over the weekend the Romanian diplomatic delegation left Pyongyang, the last remaining EU mission in the hermetically sealed country to do so

HANDOUT - 17 June 2021, North Korea, Pyongyang: A picture provided by the North Korean state news agency (KCNA) on 18 June 2021, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holding up a document carrying his signature at the third plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of North Korea's Workers' Party on its third-day to discuss international affairs, including the Biden administration's North Korea policy. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

World

PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE

North Korea prepares for 'dialogue and confrontation' with US

The Nomad Today/dpa 6/18/21

President Joe Biden called Kim a "thug" last year, before he took office

16 February 2021, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by the Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un (R) and his wife Ri Sol Ju watching a performance at the Mansudae Art Theater to mark the birthday of Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011, state media reported Wednesday. Kim's wife, Ri Sol Ju, has appeared in public for the first time in more than a year. Photo: -/YNA/dpa

World

AT A CONCERT

Kim Jong Un's wife makes first public appearance in more than a year

The Nomad Today/dpa 2/18/21

Also surprising was that Kim Jong Un was dubbed "president" in the state media reports; the leader is usually referred to as "chairman."

HANDOUT - 11 January 2021, North Korea, Pyongyang: A picture provided by the North Korean state news agency (KCNA) on 11 January 2021, shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un attending the sixth day of the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

World

WORKER'S PARTY CONGRESS

Kim Jong Un consolidates power in North Korea with new title

The Nomad Today/dpa 1/11/21

The new title was granted at the party's 8th congress in the capital Pyongyang.

Coronavirus

CYBER ATTACKS

Microsoft says Russian, North Korean hackers targeting Covid vaccines

The Nomad Today/dpa 11/13/20

The pharmaceutical companies being targeted in the latest attacks are based in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States, Microsoft said.

01 October 2020, North Korea, Kimhwa: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits a reconstruction site in the central border county of Kimhwa. Photo: KCNA.

World

FRIENDSHIP

North Korea's Kim wishes Trump a speedy recovery

The Nomad Today/dpa 10/3/20

The pair appear to have developed an unlikely friendship, exchanging a series of what Trump has called "love letters."

06 August 2020, North Korea, Unpha: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) meets with residents at a flood-ravaged village in Unpha. Photo: YNA/dpa.

World

Sweden keeps embassy in North Korea open despite exodus of staff

The Nomad Today/dpa 8/18/20

"The aim is that our diplomats will return to North Korea," a Foreign Ministry spokesman told.

North Korea, Pyongyang: A picture provided by the North Korean state news agency (KCNA) on 26 July 2020, shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un attending an emergency meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Photo: -/KCNA/dpa

Coronavirus

North Korea locks down border town over suspected virus case

The Nomad Today 7/26/20

Kim Jong Un called an emergency meeting after an individual suspected of having Covid-19 illegally crossed the border from South Korea, state media said on Sunday.

HANDOUT - North Koreans prepare anti-South Korea propaganda leaflets on Saturday, in a photo handout from the North Korean news agency KCNA. North Korea is preparing to send around 12 million propaganda leaflets to South Korea using 3,000 balloons, state media reported on Monday. Photo: -/kcna/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

World

North Korea plans to send South Korea 12 million propaganda leaflets

The Nomad Today 6/22/20

Last week, it blew up a joint liaison office in the border town of Kaesong.

FILED - North Korean workers and trade union members rally on June 8 to denounce South Korean authorities and North Korean defectors for what they say are anti-North Korean acts. North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in its border city of Kaesong, a possible further act of protest, a spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Tuesday. Photo: -/YNA/dpa

World

North Korea blows up border liaison office

The Nomad Today 6/16/20

Tensions have escalated between the neighbours in recent weeks.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. Photo: Reuters/Jorge Silva/Pool/File Photo.

World

South Korea holds emergency meeting on threats from the North

The Nomad Today 6/14/20

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned on Saturday that it was time to "surely break with" South Korea and threatened to take revenge.

World

Kim Jong Un's sister warns South Korea to stop defectors scattering anti-North leaflets

The Nomad Today 6/4/20

Kim Yo Jong has been the most visible presence around her brother Kim Jong Un in the past two years.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the conference of the Central Military Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 23, 2020. KCNA via REUTERS

World

North Korea's Kim vows to further bolster nuclear war deterrence

The Nomad Today 5/24/20

The meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Military Commission marked Kim's first public appearance in three weeks.

Kim-Jong-Un-by-KCNA-via-REUTERS-File-Photo

World

No signs North Korea's Kim received heart surgery

The Nomad Today 5/6/20

Korean leader only made 17 public appearances so far this year, compared with an average of 50 from previous years, which the NIS ascribed to a possible coronavirus outbreak in North Korea.