North Korea teens get 12 years’ hard labour for watching K-pop – video shows
Seoul, South Korea Reuters Video 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 K-pop. The footage, which shows the two 16-year-olds in Pyongyang convicted of watching South Korean movies and music videos, was released by the South […]
Open Doors 2024 Watch List highlights persecution of sub-Saharan African Christians
United States RNS In its annual list detailing countries of concern when it comes to persecution against Christians, the watchdog organization Open Doors International highlighted outbreaks of violence against sub-Saharan African Christians, where 16.2 million were forced out of their homes at the end of 2022. The report, published at the beginning of every year, […]
North Korea’s Kim calls for change in status of South, warns of war
Seoul, South Korea Reuters North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday called for a constitutional amendment to change the status of South Korea to a separate state and warned that while his country doesn’t seek war, it didn’t intend to avoid it, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. Kim said it was his final […]
North Korea poised to admit first known tourists since 2020
Seoul, South KoreaReuters A group from Russia is poised to be the first known tourists allowed into North Korea since anti-pandemic border lockdowns began in early 2020, according to a post from Russian provincial authorities and a Western tour guide. North Korea imposed some of the strictest border controls in the world during the spread […]
New tensions stir old fears on island near North Korean border
Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea Reuters As Kim Jeoung-hee huddled in a bomb shelter on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, scared and confused with around 250 other people, memories flooded back of the day in 2010 when North Korean troops shelled near their homes. Authorities told them to take shelter on Friday as North-South tensions spiked again. […]
Shifting policies: In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South
HYONHEE SHIN and JOSH SMITH, of Reuters, look at how North Korea is changing the way it interacts with South Korea – and what the implications of the changes are…
Russia fires North Korean missiles at Ukraine for first time – Kyiv official
Reuters Russia has hit Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion, a senior Kyiv official said on Friday, corroborating an earlier assertion by the US White House. The statement on social media platform X came after the governor of the north-eastern region of Kharkiv said that his region […]
Second North Korean nuclear reactor appears to be operational, IAEA says
Vienna, AustriaReuters A new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said on Thursday, which would mean an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons. North Korea has for years used spent fuel from a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at […]
Documentary: Pastor rescues North Korean defectors on foot in new documentary ‘Beyond Utopia’
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports that the film features rare footage of the rescue missions led by Pastor Seungeun Kim and his ministry, Caleb Mission…
Up to 600 North Korean defectors deported by China “vanish” – rights group
Seoul, South KoreaReuters Up to 600 North Koreans have “vanished” after being forcibly deported by China in October, a Seoul-based human rights group said on Thursday, warning they may face imprisonment, torture, sexual violence and execution in the isolated state. The report by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) came about two months after South […]