Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Hundreds of North Koreans were believed killed in the recent collapse of a 26-story apartment building in central Pyongyang. The incident could deal a blow to Kim Jong-Un’s fledgling leadership, government officials and sources here say. The North’s state-run media said the accident occurred in the capital’s central […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com China has regulated its relations with Pyongyang by suspending crude oil supplies, reducing food exports and limiting visa issuances for North Korean workers, while Pyonaygng’s ties with Russia getting closer. China exported no crude oil to North Korea in the first three months of this year, data compiled by South […]
UNITED NATIONS — Reflecting the importance of the ongoing efforts to prevent nuclear non-proliferation, the Security Council has reaffirmed its tough stance against the development and transfer of technical components among “non-state actors,” namely terrorist groups, to produce nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. South Korea, who holds the monthly presidency of the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea and China have signed a formal agreement on building a high-speed railroad linking the Chinese border with the North’s capital Pyongyang and the southern city of Kaesong, a source said. The accord signed in February, and which could involve South Korea, calls for the two neighbors […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Cho Chun-Ryong who recently joined in North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission is believed to be in charge of the country’s missile development programs, South Korean government sources said. Cho was named to the NDC at the first session of the newly-formed Supreme People’s Assembly on April 9. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is closing in on his goal of eliminating the network of his late uncle and associates by the April 15 birthday of his grandfather Kim Il-Sung, sources and media reports here said. The North’s once powerful Administration Department of the Workers’ Party headed […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un reportedly told troops to prepare for war next year to occupy South Korea. The youthful leader told military commanders early this year that an “armed confrontation could take place on the Korean peninsula in 2015,” South Korea’s biggest newspaper Chosun Ilbo said, citing […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Hwang Pyong-So, an unknown until recently, has rapidly risen within the core of North Korea’s ruling elite. Hwang was recently named deputy head of the Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers’ Party, one of the most powerful posts in the country, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. The […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com The younger sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un has been introduced to the public as a key Workers’ Party official in what amounts to her anointing as a new fixture in Pyongyang’s power structure. Kim Yo-Jong, 27, accompanied her elder brother to a polling station on March 9 when […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Kim Ki-Sok, son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s chief of staff, and his associate Kim Chol-Jin have emerged as the country’s top officials for handling economic deals with China. They are assuming the role of Jang Song-Thaek who was executed for treason and corruption in December, sources […]