Colin Zwirko
NK NEWS
Korea, Republic of
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Past articles by Colin:
North Korea says it tested ‘strategic cruise missiles’ from submarine
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates. North Korea says it tested two “strategic cruise missiles” from a submarine on Sunday in a demonstration to the U.S. and South Korea of the country’s “diverse” nuclear strike methods, as the allies kick off large-scale joint drills. State media said the “underwater launching […] → Read More
Kim Jong Un takes daughter to soccer match celebrating her grandfather
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a soccer game on Friday with his daughter to celebrate the birthday of her grandfather Kim Jong Il, according to state media, marking the daughter’s first appearance at an event not overtly related to promoting nuclear weapons. A brief Rodong Sinmun report Saturday characterized the contest between the […] → Read More
North Korean leader attends military parade featuring nuclear missiles
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates (Last updated on Feb. 9 at 11:07 a.m. KST with new details from a KCNA text report) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday featuring the country’s largest nuclear missiles, according to state media and analysis of satellite […] → Read More
Kim Jong Un missing for 35 days as Politburo meets to discuss food problems
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un skipped his third Politburo meeting in the last year on Sunday, according to state media, as top officials reportedly discussed the country’s chronic agricultural problems. Monday marks the 35th day without a new public appearance by Kim in state media, tying his second-longest ever break. It comes as soldiers […] → Read More
Kim Jong Un vows to ‘exponentially’ increase nuke production to counter US, ROK
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he will “exponentially increase” nuclear weapon production in 2023 to counter perceived threats from the U.S. and South Korea, according to state media on Sunday. Speaking on the last day of a six-day party plenary meeting (plenum), Kim said “another new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system” is under […] → Read More
Kim and daughter meet ICBM launch teams as nukes declared ‘irreversible’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter took group photos with soldiers, scientists and other contributors to this month’s Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch, state media reported Sunday, declaring the missile system’s development complete. Pyongyang also awarded the missile’s launch vehicle with the “DPRK Hero” and other awards. Kim promoted over a […] → Read More
Kim Yo Jong calls on South Koreans to turn against ‘idiot’ Yoon ‘regime’
South Koreans should turn against their president and give up cooperation with the U.S. on sanctions against North Korea, sister of the DPRK leader Kim Yo Jong suggested in a new statement released by state media Thursday. Kim called South Korea a U.S. “stooge” and “no more than a stray dog gnawing at a bone […] → Read More
Seoul detects 180 ‘trails’ from North Korean warplanes, scrambles 80 jets: JCS
The South Korean military detected around 180 “trails” from North Korean warplanes across the country on Friday, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), leading the ROK air force to scramble around 80 F-35A and other fighter jets in response in a show of its “dominant air power.” JCS did not specify precisely how […] → Read More
North Korea launches more missiles, prompting evacuation warnings in Japan
This is a developing story, please check back for further updates. (Last updated at 11:59 a.m. KST with flight distances, NSC statements) North Korea fired at least three ballistic missiles Thursday morning including a long-range missile that Japan initially said flew over their territory before retracting that assessment later. South Korean military officials have reportedly […] → Read More
Kim Jong Un says children must join military drills, construct apartments
Young North Korean children and orphans of “revolutionary” families must join live-fire military drills and work at major construction sites in order to become hardened “loyalists” of the ruling party, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un reportedly said in a speech Wednesday. Kim also said students of “revolutionary schools” must reject foreign influence and go through […] → Read More
North Korea says it tested long-range cruise missiles to boost ‘nuclear forces’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of two “long-range strategic cruise missiles” on Wednesday to “expand” the capabilities of units in charge of nuclear weapons, according to state media. The missiles, launched at an undisclosed time at night, struck a target after flying around 1,240 miles (2,000 km) in oval and figure-eight […] → Read More
North Korea opens largest greenhouse farm in country to address food shortages
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended an opening ceremony for what appears to be the country’s largest greenhouse farm on Monday, according to state media, commending the military for completing the high-profile project to address food problems on schedule. But it’s unclear whether the Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm on the east coast is fully outfitted […] → Read More
North Korea fires two suspected ballistic missiles eastward: Tokyo
This is a developing story. Please check back for further updates. (Last updated at 10:16 a.m. KST with NSC statement, JCS’ missile range and altitude estimates, additional context) North Korea launched at least two suspected ballistic missiles eastward Thursday morning, according to the Japanese defense ministry, the country’s sixth missile test event in the last […] → Read More
North Korea appears to test rocket engine at main spaceport: Imagery
North Korea appears to have tested a rocket engine at its main spaceport in recent days, NK News analysis of satellite imagery shows, as the U.S. and South Korean conducted joint military drills south of the border. Planet Labs and Sentinel-1 imagery indicate vegetation died under the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground’s vertical engine test stand […] → Read More
North Korea declares COVID-19 ‘eradicated,’ implies Kim Jong Un caught virus
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “declared victory” over the country’s recent COVID-19 outbreak at a national meeting Wednesday, stating the country had “eradicated” the virus despite a weak health system and lack of vaccines, according to state media. But while celebrating the end of the “quarantine war,” Kim said the DPRK will maintain anti-epidemic […] → Read More
800 North Korean families ‘suffering’ from outbreak of new disease: State media
“Over 800 families” in North Korea’s southwest region are “suffering” from an intestinal disease, state media reported Friday, a day after announcing the new epidemic in the country’s agricultural heartland. The Rodong Sinmun printed multiple reports on top elites in the leadership, including Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong, “donating” medicines from their “family” […] → Read More
Kim Jong Un sits out politburo meeting for first time as party preps for plenum
Top North Korean officials convened a politburo meeting without leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, the first time state media has publicized the DPRK leader’s absence from such an event. Politburo Presidium member and secretary for Organizational Affairs of the Party Central Committee Jo Yong Won led the meeting “upon authorization” by the politburo, the […] → Read More
North Korea says it tested 'reconnaissance satellite' system
North Korea tested systems for a new “reconnaissance satellite” on Sunday, according to state media, coming after South Korea’s military initially described the test as a “probable” ballistic missile launch. Pyongyang “conducted vertical and inclined photographing of the specified area of the ground with cameras to be loaded on satellite and confirmed the characteristics of […] → Read More
North Korea and China cooperating to fight US military threat: Kim Jong Un
North Korea and China are fighting the U.S. “military threat” together through “strategic cooperation,” DPRK leader Kim Jong Un reportedly said in a new note to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The message was delivered to Xi in recent days to mark Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, according to the ruling party-run Rodong […] → Read More
North Korea says it tested Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile
North Korea launched a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) on Sunday to “verify its accuracy,” state media reported on Monday, without mentioning the presence of leader Kim Jong Un. The test — the longest-range weapon that the DPRK has tested since Nov. 2017 and the first of the Hwasong-12 since Nov. 2017 — was carried […] → Read More