Just 67 North Korean defectors arrived last year. Inter-Korean dialogue and exchange have ground to a halt. Seoul's Unification Ministry has a new, hawkish head who wants to change the agency's role.
In a summit in Russia, President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un showed how geopolitical tensions have brought the two neighbors isolated by the West into closer alignment.
The leaders met at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome for a summit that underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their countries' separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S.
On Monday, a dark green train with yellow trim was spotted at the border where Russia, China and North Korea meet. It runs with one passenger in mind: the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.
U.S. officials announced last week that the two leaders would meet in Vladivostok, as Russian President Putin seeks more arms to supply his war in Ukraine.
According to new U.S. intelligence, the potential agreement would allow North Korea to ship "significant quantities and multiple types" of weapons to Russia for deployment in Ukraine.
The failed launch prompted neighboring Japan to issue brief a "J-alert" ordering some residents to evacuate to safe places as the North Korean rocket flew over its southernmost islands of Okinawa.
For 80 years, presidents have used the rustic mountain retreat at Camp David to host foreign leaders. President Biden is hoping to tap into that history for talks with Japan and South Korea on Friday.
The report from the government-owned and run news agency marks North Korea's first public confirmation of the incident since 23-year-old Travis King crossed the border in July.
The deputy commander of the U.N. Command said Monday it has started conversations with North Korea over an American soldier who ran into the North last week across the Koreas' heavily armed border.
King, 23, was stationed in South Korea, but was scheduled to fly back to the U.S. to face disciplinary action when he escaped an airport outside of Seoul and managed to flee into North Korea.
Travis King crossed the border into North Korea on Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. service member to do so since 1982. A handful of American soldiers defected in the years after the Korean War.
The man was touring the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula when he crossed into North Korea without authorization, according to the United Nations Command.
Following the launch, officials in South Korea's capital of Seoul sent alerts for residents to prepare for evacuation, but there were no immediate reports of damages or disruption.
