From June 28 to July 1, 2024, the DPRK held “extended session of the 10th Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, contributing to the successful implementation of the priorities and all tasks of the Party and state policy for 2024.” The plenary meeting summarized the results of work for the first half of the year and discussed “a number of next important issues in the continued rise of the phase of comprehensive rejuvenation of socialism in line with the Korean model.”

The space race between North and South Korea continues. Since the launch of its first spy satellite, Pyongyang has managed to produce a second one. The first satellite is still in operation, but the launch of the second satellite, using a new type of rocket, was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the journey has begun, and will continue.

The Russian president’s visit to North Korea (or DPRK) was characterized by reiterating his country’s commitment to fight US-lead sanctions leveled on his host nation (here). It has become clear that UN sanctions on Pyongyang are driven by Washington’s narrow-minded goals, and Russia is responding appropriately. Russia’s veto of the extension of the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts to monitor compliance and sanctions violations in the DPRK in March 2024 reintroduces balance and prevents Washington’s abuse of the UN…

The first thing to note is the launch on April 2, when they tested the hypersonic glider again (the previous launch of such a missile was Jan. 14) by firing a long-range heavy solid-propellant missile with a hypersonic warhead on a shortened trajectory. Hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and are designed to be maneuverable on unpredictable flight paths and fly at low altitudes. At Mach 5 and above, such a missile can cover the 195-kilometer distance between Pyongyang and Seoul…

Pyongyang has successfully conducted a ground-based jet test of a solid-fueled engine for a new type of medium-range hypersonic missile.  Tensions on the Korean peninsula will likely continue to rise, and missile launches, drills, and visits by strategic bombers, aircraft carriers, and nuclear subs to Korea will continue.

The scale of regional tensions has eased somewhat since the end of the joint US-South Korean exercise on March 14, 2024. Both sides made bellicose statements, the South Koreans continued to conduct field training exercises both on their own and with the US, and the North Korean leadership occasionally launched missiles…

We hear all kinds of horror stories about North Korea in the media. Many of the negative stories about the DPRK are myths and exaggerations that have nothing to do with reality. Over the course of a month or two, using reliable sources and personal impressions, the author had to refute a number of common elements of anti-North Korean propaganda based on a certain image of an “evil state”…

In early May 2024, the media reported that a US Army sergeant had been detained in Vladivostok. This incident inspired a number of conspiracy theories, many of which sought to draw parallels with the attempted defection of a US private to the DPRK six months ago.  But in reality the two incidents are very different…

Several status quo situations continue to prevail around the world, including between China and the United States. The status quo is the accepted political term for unresolved global crises, most of which date back to the Second World War. In essence, it means that there is a more or less tacit agreement between rival powers to keep the crises in question frozen. The Korean peninsula, the Taiwan Strait and Western Sahara are just a few examples of these frozen or latent conflicts…

On March 28, 2024, Russia vetoed the extension of the mandate of the UN panel of experts to monitor the sanctions against the DPRK until April 30, 2025. This is important, because according to the established procedure, the decision to extend the term of office of the so-called 1718 Sanctions Committee must be made by April 30, otherwise it will be unable to continue with its activities…

Japan and North Korea do not currently have any diplomatic relations, but Tokyo periodically tries to gain political capital by attempting to establish a dialog with Pyongyang. The most successful such attempt occurred in 2002, when, in a meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, DPRK leader Kim Jong Il admitted that 13 Japanese citizens had been abducted by North Korea’s intelligence services…

On February 10, 2024, the Lunar New Year holiday, Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Second Marine Corps Division in Gimpo, inspected the Cheonmoo multiple rocket launcher system, and urged troops to be prepared for any North Korean provocations. “If the enemy provokes, you have to sternly and overwhelmingly respond under the principle of ‘act first, report later’ to completely crush the enemy’s will.”…