About our North Korea news
Latest news on North Korea (DPRK), covering Kim Jong Un, nuclear weapons, missiles, sanctions, human rights, Russia ties, cybercrime and the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), remains one of the most isolated and heavily militarised nations on earth. Under the totalitarian rule of Kim Jong Un, the regime continues to prioritise weapons development over the welfare of its roughly 26 million citizens. The country's nuclear arsenal has expanded significantly during Kim's rule, with estimates suggesting a stockpile of at least 50 warheads alongside intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the United States. Pyongyang has declared its nuclear status "irreversible and permanent", rejecting all denuclearisation talks.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain acute. In March 2026, North Korea fired approximately 10 ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan during the annual US-South Korea Freedom Shield military exercises, which Pyongyang views as invasion rehearsals. Kim Jong Un has also called for the development of submarine-launched ICBMs, AI-enabled unmanned attack systems, and anti-satellite capabilities, underscoring a new five-year military modernisation plan outlined at the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party, held in Pyongyang in February 2026. At the congress, Kim was re-elected as general secretary and designated South Korea as the DPRK's "principal enemy", formally abandoning the goal of Korean reunification.
North Korea's deepening military alliance with Russia has reshaped the geopolitical landscape. Thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's Kursk region under a mutual defence treaty signed in 2024, sustaining heavy casualties in fighting linked to the war in Ukraine. Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery shells, ballistic missiles and multiple rocket launchers. In return, North Korea is believed to be receiving advanced military technology, financial support and energy supplies. Meanwhile, state-backed North Korean hackers have become the world's most prolific cryptocurrency thieves, stealing over $2 billion in 2025 alone — funds widely believed to finance the regime's weapons programmes.
Human rights conditions inside North Korea remain among the worst globally. A 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry found systematic abuses constituting crimes against humanity, and a 2025 UN report confirmed that surveillance, censorship, forced labour and collective punishment have intensified over the past decade. Access to foreign media is severely restricted, with citizens facing years of forced labour for watching South Korean television. Escaping the country has become near-impossible, with a shoot-on-sight border policy and mass surveillance reducing the number of defectors reaching South Korea to fewer than 100 in the first half of 2025. Kim's daughter, Kim Ju Ae, has appeared at multiple high-profile events, fuelling speculation about a fourth-generation succession within the Kim dynasty.
The Korean Peninsula's division stretches back to 1945, when the Allied powers partitioned the peninsula at the 38th parallel following Japan's defeat. The devastating Korean War of 1950–53, which ended in armistice rather than a peace treaty, left the two Koreas technically still at war. The DMZ separating North and South remains one of the most fortified borders in the world. Decades of diplomacy — from the Sunshine Policy of the early 2000s to the Trump-Kim summits of 2018–19 — have failed to deliver lasting breakthroughs. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who took office in June 2025, has pledged to restart inter-Korean dialogue and respect the North's political system, but Pyongyang has so far rebuffed his overtures. China, the DPRK's largest trading partner and traditional ally, remains a crucial factor in any diplomatic equation.
The NewsNow North Korea feed brings together the latest headlines from a wide range of reliable sources, providing comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of Kim Jong Un's regime, missile launches, nuclear developments, sanctions, human rights issues, cybercrime, and diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula. Whether you are a researcher, policymaker, or simply want to stay informed about one of the world's most pressing security challenges, this feed is your essential resource for North Korea news.