Kim set to purge more elites following nuclear weapons test
SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who kicked off 2016 with what he says was a hydrogen bomb test, has hinted at sweeping purges on the occasion of (more…)
North Korea-China ties further strained following girl band fiasco
North Korea’s strained relations with China were not improved after the abrupt cancellation of a concert in Beijing by a girls’ music band created by North Korea’s youthful leader (more…)
New face emerges in Kim’s entourage after 4-year reign of terror
Jo Yong-Won has emerged to a key aide to North Korea’s youthful leader Kim Jong-Un, South Korea’s officials and intelligence sources said. (FULL STORY) (more…)
Once No. 2, Choe said demoted weeks after meeting China’s Xi
SEOUL — Choe Ryong-Hae, once considered North Korea’s No. 2 man, is believed to have been sacked and sent to a cooperative farm for re-education only two months after (more…)
More elite North Koreans abroad defecting as loyalty to Kim erodes
SEOUL — More and more North Korean elites dispatched for overseas missions are defecting to South Korea, as loyalty to youthful leader Kim Jong-Un erodes, intelligence sources here said. (more…)
Private finance now tolerated and rapidly expanding in North Korea
Private financing has been spreading rapidly across North Korea where previously any money transactions without the involvement of state organs was not permitted. Now the communist regime has turned (more…)
Impoverished N. Koreans furious at $2 billion 70th anniversary event
North Korea not only spent $2 billion on its lavish 70th anniversary festivities for the Workers’ Party but also collected “loyalty donations” for the event, sources say. (FULL STORY) (more…)
N. Korea shrouded in deepening isolation on its 70th anniversary
By Dr. Jong-Heon Lee SEOUL — Cash-strapped North Korea has failed to secure foreign dignitaries to attend its biggest celebration in years, placing a damper on the isolated nation’s (more…)
Technocrats get more respect with Kim’s renewed economic drive
By Dr. Jong-Heon Lee SEOUL — North Korea’s youthful leader Kim Jong-Un has recently installed economic technocrats to key higher posts in a sign he will focus efforts on (more…)