KCNA Archives - Defence Monitor

25 Jul

N.Korea revs up festive mood ahead of Victory Day

Seoul, July 25, North Korea will hold a grand ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, including celebrations that will bring its first known official foreign guests in years, Pyongyang's state media said on Tuesday. North Korea is set to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, signed July 27, 1953, this week, reports Yonhap News Agency. The North refers to the conflict as the Great Fatherland Liberation War and the day of the armistice signing as Victory Day. "Celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Fatherland Liberation War…

13 Jul

N.Korea confirms test-firing of Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile

Seoul, July 13, North Korea on Thursday confirmed that it test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day, with its leader Kim Jong-un vowing to take "stronger" military offensive until the US abandons its hostile policy against Pyongyang. Guided by Kim, the North launched a new type of the Hwasong-18 missile in a test aimed at reconfirming the technical creditability and operational reliability of the country's core weapon system, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It marked the North's second solid-propellant ICBM launch following its first test-firing on April 13,reports Yonhap News Agency.A solid-fuel…

17 Jun

N.Korea opens key party meeting to discuss diplomatic, defence strategies

Seoul, June 17 (IANS) North Korea has convened a key party meeting to discuss the country's diplomatic and defence strategies in response to the "changed international situation," with its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media reported on Saturday. Kim took part in the eighth "enlarged plenary meeting" of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) that opened on Friday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The meeting will discuss "the issue of the state diplomatic and defence strategy to cope with the changed international situation", and review economic projects undertaken in…

15 Jun

Kim Jong-un touts leadership of China’s Xi in b’day greetings

Seoul, June 15 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the latter's 70th birthday, saying that Beijing's national power has "remarkably" strengthened under his leadership, Pyongyang's state media reported on Thursday. In the message, Kim said that Beijing has "built a comprehensively well-off society" and that its "national power and international position remarkably strengthened" under Xi's "energetic" leadership, according to North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The message expressed belief that the struggle for the prosperity of China will surely emerge victorious as there are the leadership of Xi Jinping and…

12 Jun

Kim Jong-un vows stronger strategic ties with Russia

Seoul, June 12 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has voiced his willingness to build closer strategic ties with Russia in his congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's key national holiday, Pyongyang's state media said on Monday. In the message sent on the occasion of Russia Day, Kim said friendly relations between the North and Russia are a "precious strategic asset" and his country will make efforts to ceaselessly develop such cooperative ties, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Russia Day is celebrated on June 12 to mark the adoption of the Declaration of…

02 Jun

N.Korea slams UN, NATO criticism of spy satellite launch

Seoul, June 2 , North Korea on Friday slammed the chiefs of the UN and the NATO, painting their criticism of Pyongyang's spy satellite launch as interference in internal affairs. The North's criticism came in response to remarks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that condemned its launch attempt as a grave violation of Security Council resolutions, reports Yonhap News Agency. The North's botched attempt to launch the satellite on Wednesday goes against the resolutions banning its nuclear and missile programs, as the satellite launch shares the same technology used in ballistic missiles. Jo Chol-su,…

30 Apr

N.Korea vows to bolster ‘military deterrence’ in response to Washington Declaration

Seoul, April 30 (IANS) North Korea will step up its "military deterrence" against South Korea and the US, state media said Sunday, blasting this week's summit agreement between the two sides on strengthening the US extended deterrence as a "product of heinous hostile policy" against Pyongyang. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) ran a commentary criticising President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the US this week as "the most hostile, aggressive and provocative trip and a dangerous one for a nuclear war," Yonhap news agency reported. In Washington, Yoon held a summit with US President Joe Biden and announced the…

08 Apr

Xi tells Kim Jong-un to bolster ‘strategic guidance’ over bilateral ties

Seoul, April 8 (IANS) Pyongyang's state media on Saturday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that the two nations should bolster "strategic guidance" over bilateral ties. The remarks came as Kim received a message from Xi as the latter thanked the North Korean leader for congratulating him on his re-election as president of China, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). In the message, Xi "attaches great importance to the relations between the two parties and two countries, expressing his willingness to accelerate the development of the socialist cause of the two countries…

17 Mar

N.Korea test-fired missile in ‘warning to enemies’ holding drills

Seoul, March 17. North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a show of the "toughest response posture" of its strategic forces against "aggressive" massive combined drills by the US and South Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported on Friday. The nation's leader Kim Jong-un "guided" the launch on Thursday together with his young daughter Ju-ae, as it served as an occasion to "give a stronger warning to the enemies intentionally escalating the tension" on the peninsula, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It cited the "unstable security environment" in the region attributable to "provocative and…

14 Dec

N.Korea conducts another ‘critical’ test at satellite launch site

Seoul: North Korea said on Saturday that it has carried out "another crucial test" at its satellite launch site and the results would be used to strengthen its "reliable strategic nuclear deterrent".The unspecified test took place from 10.41 p.m. to 10.48 p.m. on Friday at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, better known as the Dongchang-ri site, Yonhap News Agency reported citing the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as saying. It did not say what was tested."The research successes being registered by us in defence science one after another recently will be applied to further bolstering up the reliable strategic…