North Korea

North Korea and China resumed an international passenger train service linking their capitals Thursday for the first time in six years, with a train spotted crossing the border bridge between the two countries.

A nine-car train traveling from Pyongyang to Beijing was seen by Yonhap News Agency passing over the Amnok River bridge, also known as the Yalu River bridge, connecting North Korea’s Sinuiju and China’s Dandong, at around 4:23 p.m.

Some train cars had closed curtains, while passengers were visible in others.

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, a five-car passenger train departed from the Chinese border city of Dandong at 10 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang at 6:07 p.m.

The Dandong-Pyongyang passenger line will operate daily in both directions, Xinhua said, quoting a Chinese official as saying the service will serve as a “dynamic link strengthening the friendship between these two nations.”

Also on Thursday, North Korea and China were set to resume a rail route connecting their capitals, Pyongyang and Beijing.

The resumption marks the first cross-border passenger train service between the two countries since operations were suspended in 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, North Korea resumed direct flight and train services between Pyongyang and Moscow, Russia’s capital.

The reopening of the North Korea-China rail services comes as the two countries appear to be aligning more closely as they seek to repair relations frayed by Pyongyang’s military cooperation with Russia, amid speculation that the United States may seek to reengage Pyongyang for talks.

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SEOUL, March 12 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a munitions factory that produces light arms, state-run media reported Thursday, where he test-fired newly developed pistols alongside his daughter Ju Ae.

Kim visited the factory on Wednesday accompanied by officials from the ruling Workers’ Party, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The report did not specify the location of the facility.

During the visit, Kim stopped at the factory’s shooting range to test-fire a pistol that he said was “superior in its structural performance, rate of hits, concentration fire and combat utility,” KCNA reported.

Kim “expressed satisfaction over the development of a really excellent pistol,” the report said.

The handgun was approved for production at a meeting of the party’s Central Military Commission last month, according to KCNA. The factory operates under North Korea’s Second Economy Commission, which oversees the country’s weapons production and defense industry.

While Ju Ae was not mentioned in the KCNA report, photographs released by state media showed her accompanying her father during the inspection. The pair wore matching leather jackets and fired pistols at the factory’s indoor range alongside senior officials.

Ju Ae, believed to have been born around 2013, has appeared alongside her father at public events with increasing frequency, including missile launches, military demonstrations and major political gatherings.

On Wednesday, she was also seen beside Kim as he oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a naval destroyer via a video feed.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said last month that Ju Ae appears close to being designated as Kim’s successor.

The factory visit comes in the wake of last month’s Workers’ Party congress, where Kim outlined defense priorities for the next five years. While Pyongyang continues to prioritize the expansion of its nuclear arsenal, the North Korean leader has also emphasized strengthening conventional weapons production.

During the congress, Kim presented newly developed sniper rifles to senior officials and military commanders, with state media releasing images of Ju Ae inspecting and firing one of the weapons.

During Wednesday’s visit, Kim stressed the importance of factories producing pistols and other light arms to strengthen “the combat efficiency of the army, public security forces and militia forces,” KCNA said.

He also announced plans to convene a meeting of the party’s Central Military Commission next month to review plans for modernizing munitions factories and allocating funds to upgrade three key defense production facilities.

The inspection comes as the United States and South Korea conduct their annual Freedom Shield joint military exercise, which Pyongyang routinely condemns as a rehearsal for invasion. Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, warned the drills could bring “unimaginably terrible consequences.”

South Korea said it remains capable of deterring threats from North Korea even if the United States redeploys some weapons stationed on the Korean peninsula to the Middle East amid the war involving Iran.

The comments by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung come after reports that key U.S. missile defence systems and military assets could be moved from Asia to support operations linked to the Iran conflict.

The potential redeployment has sparked concern among Asian allies that shifting military resources could weaken regional deterrence against China and North Korea at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Seoul Says Deterrence Remains Strong

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee acknowledged that reports about the relocation of U.S. military equipment had triggered controversy in South Korea.

He said that while Seoul had expressed opposition to the removal of certain weapons, it could not dictate U.S. military decisions.

However, Lee emphasised that South Korea’s own defence capabilities are strong enough to maintain deterrence against North Korea even if some American systems are temporarily relocated. He noted that South Korea’s defence spending and conventional military strength significantly exceed those of the North.

South Korea hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops as part of the long-standing alliance designed to deter aggression from nuclear-armed North Korea.

Missile Defence Systems May Be Redeployed

Officials have indicated that the U.S. and South Korean militaries are discussing the possible redeployment of Patriot missile defense system batteries to the Middle East.

South Korean media reported that some missile batteries may have already been shipped from Osan Air Base and could be redeployed to U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

There were also reports that parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system could be moved from South Korea to the Middle East.

While Patriot systems provide lower-tier defence against shorter-range missiles, THAAD systems are designed to intercept ballistic missiles at high altitude.

United States Forces Korea declined to comment on the possible relocation of equipment, citing operational security.

Analysts Warn of Miscalculation Risks

Military analysts say that although South Korea possesses strong military capabilities, the presence of U.S. forces and weapons in the country serves as a crucial signal of Washington’s commitment to the region.

According to Choi Gi-il, a military studies professor at Sangji University, the removal of some systems could carry strategic risks.

He warned that North Korea might interpret the redeployment as a weakening of allied defences and could attempt limited provocations to test the alliance’s response.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has recently signalled a more aggressive posture, pledging to expand the country’s nuclear arsenal and describing South Korea as its “most hostile enemy.”

Wider Regional Impact

The redeployment of U.S. assets reflects the broader strategic impact of the Iran conflict on global military posture.

Japan, which also hosts major U.S. bases, has seen two U.S. guided-missile destroyers stationed in Yokosuka deployed to the Arabian Sea to support operations linked to the Iran campaign.

The movements have raised concerns in Tokyo as well, with opposition politicians questioning whether U.S. forces stationed in Japan should be used for operations outside the region.

The developments highlight how the conflict in the Middle East is beginning to reshape global military deployments, drawing resources away from Asia and prompting questions about the balance of security commitments across different regions.

With information from Reuters.

SEOUL, March 11 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a naval destroyer, state media reported Wednesday, as the United States and South Korea began a large-scale joint military exercise this week.

The North’s Choe Hyon destroyer launched the missiles at island targets in the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said, with Kim watching via a video feed. The missiles flew for roughly two hours and fifty minutes before striking their targets, KCNA said.

Pyongyang described the weapons as “strategic,” a term it typically uses for systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The launches came days after North Korea conducted a similar cruise missile test from the destroyer ahead of its commissioning.

The test also coincided with the start of the allies’ annual Freedom Shield exercise on Monday, an 11-day program of command-post simulations and field training drills.

North Korea has long condemned the joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion. On Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, warned that the drills could destabilize the region and lead to “unimaginably terrible consequences.”

After observing the launch, Kim praised the “superiority of the destroyer’s integrated combat system,” according to KCNA.

“The components of our war deterrent are now being included in the very sophisticated operational system … and the country’s nuclear forces have made a switch to the phase of multifaceted operation,” Kim said.

Images released by state media showed Kim watching the test alongside his daughter Ju Ae, who has appeared frequently with her father at major events. South Korea’s spy agency said last month that Ju Ae, believed to have been born in 2013, appears close to being designated as Kim’s successor.

Pyongyang launched the Choe Hyon, its first 5,000-ton destroyer, last April as Kim called for strengthening the country’s naval capabilities. North Korean reports say the vessel carries a range of weapons, including nuclear-capable cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles.

Photos released by state media show the ship’s missile and radar systems resembling those found on Russian vessels, prompting speculation Pyongyang may have received technical assistance from Moscow.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and is believed to be receiving financial support and advanced military technology in return.

A second destroyer, the Kang Kon, suffered an accident during its launch ceremony last year that left it listing on its side before it was repaired and relaunched in June.

Kim has ordered another 5,000-ton destroyer completed by Oct. 10, the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

Cruise missiles were seen launching into the sky as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests from a new naval destroyer aimed at assessing the warship’s capabilities.

The deterrence posture against North Korea will not be hindered regardless of a potential shift of military assets owned by the U.S. military stationed in South Korea, a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, amid media reports that the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has shipped out some of its air defense assets from the Korean Peninsula.

“Given our level of military capability, defense spending, defense industry capacity and the high morale of our troops, there is no problem with deterrence against North Korea regardless of whether some USFK assets are relocated overseas,” the official said.

The official, however, declined to comment on media reports that parts of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and other air defense units owned by the USFK were moved from South Korea amid a raging war in the Middle East.

“It is not appropriate for our government to comment on military operations between Korea and the U.S.,” the official said.

The official said South Korea and the U.S. have remained in close coordination to maintain a robust combined defense posture.

“Korea and the U.S. will maintain a robust combined defense posture to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region,” the official said. “To that end, the two countries will continue close communication and coordination.”

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Train service linking Pyongyang and Beijing will resume this week for the first time since it was suspended six years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sources said Tuesday.

The Beijing-Pyongyang train route will resume operations Thursday, running four times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, an official at China State Railway Group told Yonhap News Agency.

The train will depart from Beijing at 5:26 p.m. and arrive in Pyongyang at 6 p.m. the following day, stopping once at the Chinese border city of Dandong en route. The last two train cars will be reserved for passengers, according to sources.

The resumption marks the first cross-border train service between the two countries since operations were suspended following the outbreak of the pandemic.

Last year, North Korea resumed direct flight and train services between Pyongyang and Moscow, Russia’s capital.

The Chinese official said the upcoming Beijing-Pyongyang train will primarily serve diplomats and those on official business trips, while plans to accommodate general passengers will be considered if empty seats are available.

China’s foreign ministry said maintaining a regular passenger train service between China and North Korea takes on “significance” in facilitating exchanges of personnel between the two nations.

“China supports creating more convenient conditions for both sides’ exchanges of personnel by strengthening communication between relevant authorities of the two nations,” Guo Jiakun, spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

The move comes as North Korea and China appears to be seeking to promote cooperation amid the fluid international situation, highlighted by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent intensifying conflict in the Middle East.

North Korea also seems to be trying to expand cooperation with China as speculation arises that U.S. President Donald Trump may seek to resume diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of his planned trip to Beijing on March 31-April 2.

North Korea’s ties with China, the North’s traditional ally and economic benefactor, became cool amid Pyongyang’s deepening military cooperation with Russia on the occasion of Moscow’s war with Ukraine.

Kim held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in September last year on the occasion of a Chinese military parade and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties.

But relations between Pyongyang and Beijing do not appear to be restored in a full-fledged manner with no signs of high-level exchanges of personnel spotted.

“The government is closely monitoring the development of Korean Peninsula affairs, including North-China relations,” an official at South Korea’s foreign ministry said.

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North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong said the annual ‘Freedom Shield’ exercises could lead to ‘unimaginably terrible consequences’.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has accused the United States and South Korea of “destroying the stability” of East Asia, as the two countries start their annual 10-day joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.

“The muscle-flexing of the hostile forces near the areas of our state’s sovereignty and security may cause unimaginably terrible consequences,” Kim Yo Yong said on Tuesday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“The enemies should never try to test our patience, will and capability,” Kim said.

“We will watch to what extent the enemy violates the security of our state and what it is playing at,” she continued.

Kim’s remarks follow the start of the joint Freedom Shield exercises on Monday, which will run for 10 days and involve 18,000 South Korean and US military personnel.

The military manoeuvres are designed to “enhance the combined, joint, all-domain, and interagency operational environment, thereby strengthening the Alliance’s response capabilities,” United States Forces Korea said.

This year’s Freedom Shield will involve 22 field training drills, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, which is fewer than half the number carried out last year.

Kim added on Tuesday that there was no justification to hold the exercises, which have been called a “defensive” action by Washington and Seoul in the past.

“No matter what justification they may establish and how the elements of the drill may be coordinated, the clear confrontational nature of the high-intensity large-scale war drill staged by the most hostile entities in collusion at the doorstep of [North Korea] never changes,” she said.

“The recent global geopolitical crisis and complicated international events prove that all military manoeuvres of the field warfare troops, to be conducted by the enemy states, assume no distinction between defence and attack, training and actual warfare,” she continued, in an apparent reference to the US-Israel war on Iran.

South Korea and North Korea have technically been at war since 1953, when an armistice agreement paused fighting but did not formally end the armed confrontation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in 2024 that he would no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea, although it remains Seoul’s long-term goal.

An official at South Korea’s Ministry of Unification told Yonhap that Kim’s remarks on Tuesday were relatively muted by North Korean standards.

The statement did not refer directly to the US or threaten to use nuclear weapons, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Kim appears to have limited her response to merely pinpointing the South Korea-US exercise, taking the current security situation into account,” the official told Yonhap.

SEOUL, March 9 (UPI) — The United States and South Korea began their annual Freedom Shield joint military exercise on Monday, as speculation swirled that Washington may be shifting some military assets from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East amid its widening conflict with Iran.

About 18,000 South Korean troops will participate in the exercise, which runs through March 19 and includes command-post simulations and field training drills. U.S. Forces Korea has not disclosed the number of American personnel involved.

The drills come as local media reports have raised questions about whether U.S. military equipment stationed in South Korea could be redeployed to support operations in the Middle East.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday that U.S. C-5 and C-17 transport aircraft landed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, late last month before departing between Wednesday and Saturday.

The aircraft movements followed reports that U.S. Forces Korea relocated some Patriot missile defense systems to Osan from other American bases in the country.

Two Patriot batteries deployed with USFK were temporarily rotated to the Middle East in June last year during strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, before returning to South Korea in October.

The Patriot system detects, tracks and intercepts drones, cruise missiles and short-range or tactical ballistic missiles at low- to mid-range altitudes. It forms a key component of South Korea’s layered missile defense network designed to counter threats from North Korea.

U.S. Forces Korea said last week it could not comment on the relocation or movement of its assets due to operational security.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry also declined to address the reports directly during a briefing Monday.

“There is constant communication between the U.S. military and our side,” ministry spokeswoman Jeong Bit-na told reporters. “We are always communicating closely to ensure that there are no security concerns or gaps.”

She added that the Freedom Shield exercise was proceeding as planned.

“The South Korea-U.S. joint exercise is being implemented normally regardless of the situation in the Middle East, and we are thoroughly implementing it as agreed and planned,” Jeong said.

The drills come as the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung seeks to stabilize relations with Pyongyang, which routinely condemns the allies’ joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion.

The number of field training exercises during this year’s Freedom Shield has been reduced to 22, down from 51 conducted during the previous iteration of the drills under the conservative government of impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

North Korea recently concluded a major congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, where leader Kim Jong Un pledged to expand the country’s nuclear arsenal and improve its delivery systems and operational capabilities.

At the same time, Kim appeared to leave the door open to future negotiations with the United States, saying there was “no reason” the two sides could not improve relations if Washington abandons what he described as its hostile policy.

Kim has previously said he has “fond memories” of U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he met three times during Trump’s first term. South Korean officials have pointed to Trump’s planned visit to China later this month as a possible opportunity to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang.

Kim has continued to take a hostile tone toward Seoul, however, recently describing South Korea as “the most hostile entity.”

March 7 (UPI) — The author prefers to use the lowercase “n” to challenge the Kim family regime’s legitimacy.

Calls for an end of war declaration on the Korean peninsula return with steady rhythm. Each time they appear, they promise a step toward reconciliation.

The latest proposal came when South Korea’s Unification Ministry urged a political declaration formally ending the Korean War as part of a broader effort to restart dialogue with north Korea and move toward a peace regime.

The argument is simple: A declaration would signal political will for peace and reduce tension on the peninsula.

The desire for peace is genuine. Koreans want peace. Americans want peace. Soldiers who have stood watch along the Demilitarized Zone for seventy years want peace.

The real question is not whether peace is desirable. The real question is whether a declaration contributes to peace when the military reality remains unchanged.

Paper and rhetoric do not trump steel.

The Military Reality That Has Not Changed

The Korean War ended in July 1953 with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty. The armistice halted the fighting but preserved the underlying conflict.

The security architecture that followed rests on deterrence. It rests on the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance, the presence of American forces in Korea, extended deterrence and the readiness of combined forces.

Across the DMZ sits the fourth largest army in the world, as north Korea fields roughly 1.2 million troops.

More than seventy percent of those forces remain deployed between Pyongyang and the Demilitarized Zone. Their posture is offensive. Their purpose has not changed since 1950.

The Republic of Korea’s forces are organized differently. They are structured for defense. They rely on alliance integration and American reinforcement in crisis. The combined posture has deterred major conflict for seven decades.

None of that changes with a declaration.

Artillery remains within range of Seoul. Ballistic missiles remain deployed. Nuclear weapons remain part of the regime’s strategy.

Words do not move artillery tubes.

The Strategic Misreading Behind the Proposal

Supporters of an end of war declaration often argue that symbolic gestures can change political dynamics in Pyongyang.

The belief is that such a declaration would demonstrate that the alliance is abandoning what the regime calls its “hostile policy.” This signal, the argument goes, might restart negotiations and encourage denuclearization.

This logic rests on a misunderstanding of the Kim family regime.

For more than seventy years the regime has pursued the same strategic objective. It seeks to dominate the Korean peninsula under its rule. The tools have changed over time, but the objective has not.

The regime uses coercion, subversion, diplomacy, and military pressure in combination. Negotiations are not an alternative to this strategy. They are part of it.

When the regime speaks about hostile policy, it does not refer to rhetoric. It refers to the structural pillars of deterrence. The regime defines hostile policy as the ROK/U.S. alliance, the presence of U.S. forces in Korea, and the nuclear umbrella that protects South Korea and Japan.

Removing these pillars is central to the regime’s long-term strategy.

How a Declaration Can Undermine Deterrence

Advocates often describe an end of war declaration as symbolic and not legally binding. That may be correct in a narrow legal sense. In strategic terms, however, symbolism matters.

Politics follows narrative.

Once the war is declared over, critics of the alliance will ask a simple question. If the war is over, why are U.S. forces still stationed in Korea?

The argument will not remain academic. Political factions in both countries will push for reductions in American troop presence. They will question combined exercises. They will challenge extended deterrence.

The declaration would not cause these debates, but it would accelerate them. It would provide rhetorical oxygen to arguments that already exist.

From Pyongyang’s perspective this outcome would be ideal. The regime has long defined the alliance and U.S. military presence as the central obstacles to its objectives. Weakening alliance cohesion through political pressure achieves what military confrontation cannot.

The Political Warfare Dimension

An end of war declaration would not occur in a vacuum. It would unfold in a contested information environment shaped by political warfare.

north Korea, China, and Russia have repeatedly used narrative and diplomacy to shape perceptions about security on the peninsula. If negotiations over a declaration stall, the narrative battlefield will shift quickly.

Pyongyang will argue that peace is blocked by American hostility. Beijing and Moscow will echo that message in international forums. The United States will be portrayed as the obstacle to reconciliation.

Sanctions policy will become the central battleground. north Korea has already signaled that meaningful progress requires sanctions relief. Yet the United Nations Security Council resolutions remain in force precisely because of the regime’s nuclear and missile programs.

If sanctions remain in place, the regime and its partners will claim that Washington refuses to embrace peace. The propaganda line will be clear. The United States talks about diplomacy while clinging to confrontation.

The goal is not persuasion alone. The goal is alignment. By shaping public debate in South Korea and internationally, these narratives seek to weaken alliance unity and pressure policymakers.

This is political warfare conducted through diplomacy, media narratives, and strategic messaging.

Diplomacy Without Illusions

None of this means the United States or South Korea should reject diplomacy. Peace on the peninsula remains the long-term objective of the alliance.

Diplomacy, however, must be grounded in reality.

An end of war declaration can only contribute to security if it is tied to concrete military measures. Negotiations would need to address conventional force deployments near the DMZ. They would need to include ballistic missile programs and nuclear weapons. Verification would be essential.

Absent those steps, a declaration would alter language while leaving the balance of power untouched.

The alliance cannot afford that illusion.

Strategic Theater Versus Strategic Stability

Political leaders understandably seek symbolic achievements that demonstrate progress toward peace.

A declaration ending the Korean War would carry powerful historical meaning. But symbolism is not strategy.

A declaration without corresponding changes in military posture risks becoming strategic theater. It produces headlines but not stability. Worse, it may erode the deterrent structure that has preserved peace for generations.

The paradox is clear. A gesture meant to signal peace could weaken the very mechanisms that prevent war.

The Question That Matters

The central question remains unchanged.

Will the Kim family regime behave like a responsible member of the international community?

If it reduces conventional forces, dismantles nuclear weapons, and abandons its hostile posture, then an end of war declaration could become part of a genuine peace settlement.

If those conditions remain absent, the declaration becomes something else. It becomes leverage in a broader campaign aimed at weakening the alliance.

History suggests caution.

For seven decades the regime has used negotiations to gain concessions while preserving its core capabilities. It has advanced nuclear weapons even during diplomatic engagement.

Why should a symbolic declaration suddenly transform that pattern?

Conclusion

Peace on the Korean peninsula is a worthy goal. It is a goal shared by Koreans, Americans, and the broader international community.

But peace is not achieved through declarations alone.

It is secured through credible deterrence, alliance unity, and diplomacy grounded in the behavior of adversaries rather than hopes about their intentions.

The ROK/U.S. alliance has preserved stability for generations because it rests on credible military power. That credibility depends on readiness, presence, and integration. Until the military threat from the north changes, the war cannot truly be declared over.

Paper and words do not trump steel.

David Maxwell, executive director of the Korea Regional Review, is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel who has spent more than 30 years in the Asia-Indo-Pacific region. He specializes in Northeast Asian security affairs and irregular, unconventional and political warfare. He is vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy and a senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation, where he works on a free and unified Korea. After he retired, he became associate director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. He is on the board of directors of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the OSS Society and is the editor at large for the Small Wars Journal.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Friday that Ukraine has assured him that two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting alongside Russia will not be repatriated to Moscow.

Cho made the remarks during a parliamentary session, responding to a lawmaker’s question regarding the captives who remain in Ukrainian custody since they were captured during combat on Russia’s side in the front-line Kursk region in January last year.

Earlier this month, Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party said after visiting Ukraine that Russia had included the two soldiers on its list of prisoners it demanded be released in a prisoner-of-war (POW) exchange.

“I have received confirmation from my Ukrainian counterpart that the soldiers will not be repatriated (to Russia),” Cho said. “There is no need to worry about the possibility of them being sent back to North Korea or Russia.”

Asked to confirm whether the soldiers were on the POW exchange list, Cho avoided giving a straight answer, indicating that Ukraine would not share such details with Seoul.

Cho stressed that disclosing any details about the soldiers could jeopardize their safety, adding that the foreign ministry is making every effort to ensure their safety and bring them to South Korea in accordance with the Constitution.

Through media interviews, the soldiers have expressed their intention to come to South Korea rather than being sent back to the North.

Yu has called for sending a presidential envoy to Ukraine to discuss their defection, saying their repatriation to Pyongyang cannot be ruled out.

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SEOUL, March 6 (UPI) — South Korea’s Unification Ministry called Friday for pursuing a declaration formally ending the Korean War, describing it as a step toward restarting dialogue with North Korea and easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The ministry outlined the proposal in a policy report presented to the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and unification committee and shared with reporters, as part of President Lee Jae Myung’s broader effort to stabilize inter-Korean relations after years of heightened tensions.

Seoul “will promote a ‘peace declaration’ reflecting the political will to end the Korean War and initiate discussions on establishing a peace regime, including the signing of a peace treaty,” the report said.

North and South Korea remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace agreement.

The ministry said the declaration could serve as an initial step toward transforming the armistice system into a lasting peace framework and helping institutionalize what it described as a policy of “peaceful coexistence” between the two Koreas.

The report comes amid mixed signals from North Korea following its recent Workers’ Party congress, where leader Kim Jong Un said there was “no reason” Pyongyang could not improve relations with the United States if Washington abandons what he called its hostile policy.

Kim maintained his dismissive stance toward South Korea, however, calling it “the most hostile entity.” The Lee administration has pursued a series of confidence-building steps aimed at lowering tensions — efforts Kim described as “a clumsy deceptive farce.”

Lee has said South Korea aims to act as a “pacemaker” for renewed diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, working with regional partners to create conditions for dialogue between the United States and North Korea.

The ministry’s report noted that U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed willingness to address the unresolved wartime status of the Korean Peninsula and said Washington has reaffirmed its openness to talks with Pyongyang without preconditions.

Seoul said it will also seek the appointment of a U.S. special envoy for North Korea and expand coordination with neighboring countries to encourage the North to return to negotiations.

Despite those efforts, tensions could rise again soon.

South Korea and the United States are scheduled to begin their large-scale springtime military exercise, Freedom Shield, on Monday. Pyongyang routinely condemns the allies’ joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion, and the report noted that North Korea may respond with statements or military provocations.

SEOUL, March 5 (UPI) — A South Korea-based human rights organization said Thursday it has identified specific Chinese public security officials and command structures allegedly involved in the systematic forced repatriation of North Korean escapees — a practice it argues could amount to crimes against humanity under international law.

The findings were presented at a seminar in Seoul hosted by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, or NKDB, which released a new report examining how Chinese authorities detain and return North Koreans who cross the border seeking refuge.

The event brought together international human rights experts and officials such as former South Korean ambassador for North Korean human rights Lee Shin-wha, and included video messages from U.N. Special Rapporteur on North Korean human rights Elizabeth Salmón and U.S. State Department official Julie Turner.

The report marks a shift from documenting abuses against North Korean escapees to identifying operational responsibility within Chinese security institutions, Donghwi Shin, a human rights analyst at NKDB and one of the report’s authors, said at the seminar.

“Ultimately, the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors can be understood as a structural processing system,” he said. “It is not a simple act of administrative enforcement.”

Human rights groups have long accused Beijing of violating the principle of non-refoulement, a core rule of international refugee law barring the return of people to countries where they face persecution.

China maintains that North Koreans who cross its border illegally are economic migrants rather than refugees and routinely returns them under bilateral border agreements with Pyongyang, despite being a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and the Convention Against Torture.

Human Rights Watch said in an October 2025 report that Chinese authorities have forcibly returned at least 406 North Koreans since 2024, warning that those repatriated face a high risk of torture, imprisonment and other abuses upon return.

NKDB’s report, The Machinery Behind the Forced Repatriation of North Koreans in China, analyzes how those returns are carried out through what researchers describe as an organized cross-border system involving multiple government agencies.

Drawing on more than two decades of documentation, the study examines 8,245 recorded cases of forced repatriation and testimonies from 96 survivors who were returned to North Korea after being detained in China.

Researchers said the process typically involves Chinese public security organs arresting North Korean escapees, detaining them in border regions such as Liaoning and Jilin provinces, and transferring them to North Korean authorities at designated crossing points.

The report also includes survivor testimony describing what happens after repatriation.

At the seminar Thursday, one North Korean escapee shared the experience of being repatriated from China in 2014, detailing a brutal 19-month period of processing, interrogation and eventual detention at a forced labor camp in Ryanggang Province near the Chinese border.

The escapee, whose identity was withheld for safety reasons, described routine beatings, torture, malnutrition and humiliation, including a public trial at a marketplace where crowds spat, cursed and threw stones.

“At the prison camp we were forced to work from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. without rest,” the escapee said. “We ate rats and maggots just to stay alive, the only source of protein we could have.”

Ultimately, the escapee’s parents sold their house to pay a bribe that allowed for an eventual release and relocation to South Korea.

However, the experience left lasting scars, including damaged legs and psychological trauma that requires ongoing therapy and medication.

“My only wish is to have one night of deep, peaceful sleep,” the escapee said. “We demand that the facts of our suffering be brought before international courts.”

Such testimony reinforces the legal arguments presented in the report.

Under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, deportation or forcible transfer carried out as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians can constitute a crime against humanity.

The report argues that repeated forced repatriations may meet that threshold if officials knowingly participate in returning individuals to a system where such abuses are foreseeable.

Previous investigations by U.N. bodies and human rights organizations have documented harsh treatment of repatriated North Koreans, including detention, interrogation and abuse inside the country’s prison and labor camp system.

NKDB researchers said the findings raise questions about accountability not only for abuses carried out inside North Korea but also for officials involved in facilitating forced returns.

The organization called on U.N. member states and governments with sanctions authorities to examine the findings and consider possible accountability measures.

Speakers at the seminar said the research should serve as a foundation for policy action.

“The challenge now is translating this research into actual policy change,” former ambassador Lee said. “We must confront the structural causes of repeated forced repatriations in China with clarity.”

Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of sea-to-surface ‘strategic cruise missiles’ from country’s new naval destroyer.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of “strategic cruise missiles” from a new 5,000-tonne naval destroyer before the vessel’s official commissioning, according to state media.

Kim supervised the launch of sea-to-surface missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon on Wednesday, assessing the test as a “core” element of the new warship’s capabilities, which he described as a “new symbol of sea defence” for his country.

Calling for the production of more warships of a similar class or better, Kim said his navy’s adoption of nuclear weapons was making progress.

“Our Navy’s forces for attacking from under and above water will grow rapidly. The arming of the Navy with nuclear weapons is making satisfactory progress,” Kim said at the Nampo Shipyard in the west of the country, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“All these successes constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century,” he said.

South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency noted that North Korea uses references to “strategic” weapons to indicate they could have nuclear capabilities.

According to KCNA, over a two-day visit to the shipyard, spanning Tuesday and Wednesday, Kim inspected the Choe Hyon, the lead vessel in a new series of 5,000-tonne “Choe Hyon-class” destroyers currently under construction in North Korea.

‘Wage a more active and persistent struggle’

In May 2025, North Korea’s ambitious naval modernisation programme suffered a major setback when a second Choe Hyon-class destroyer capsized during a botched side-launch ceremony at Chongjin Shipyard, an incident witnessed by the Korean leader.

Later, and in a rare admission of failure, KCNA reported that a launch mechanism malfunction caused the stern of the 5,000-tonne destroyer to slide prematurely into the water. The accident crushed parts of the hull and left the bow stranded on the shipway.

At the time, Kim characterised the launch failure as a “criminal act”, blaming the incident on “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” across multiple state institutions.

This week’s missile tests come after the North Korean leader pledged in late February to lift living standards as he opened a rare congress of the governing Workers’ Party, held once every five years.

Kim told the congress that the ruling party was “faced with heavy and urgent historic tasks of boosting economic construction and the people’s standard of living”.

“This requires us to wage a more active and persistent struggle without allowing even a moment’s standstill or stagnation,” he said.

North Korea has prioritised nuclear weapons development and military strength above all else, claiming that it must be militarily strong to resist pressure from the United States and its ally, South Korea.

Since taking power in late 2011, Kim has maintained the military as a core priority while simultaneously emphasising economic strengthening to address the country’s chronic impoverishment.

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (UPI) — The United States and South Korea will kick off a major joint military exercise next month, both countries announced Wednesday, as they prepare for the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.

The annual springtime Freedom Shield exercise will take place March 9 to 19 and will incorporate “realistic threats, including lessons learned from recent conflicts … to further strengthen the Alliance’s readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations,” the militaries said in a joint statement.

“This exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a conditions-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement,” the statement added.

South Korea is looking to complete the handover of wartime command from the United States before President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term ends in 2030.

The exercise will feature computer simulation-based command post exercises as well as “Warrior Shield” field training, the allies said.

Freedom Shield comes as the Lee administration attempts to improve frayed relations with Pyongyang, which frequently condemns the allies’ joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion.

Local media have reported that Seoul is proposing scaling down field training during this year’s exercise — a move that Washington has allegedly resisted.

At the summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises in August, half of the 40 planned field training exercises were rescheduled to later in the year.

“Complex combined exercises often require additional coordination, looking at the scale and sequencing of these events,” Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of U.S. Forces Korea, said at a press conference Wednesday. “The important thing to remember is Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield will go on this March as a major defensive-oriented exercise.”

In addition to U.S. and South Korean forces, personnel from other member countries of the United Nations Command will join the exercise, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe to monitor compliance with the Armistice Agreement.

“You’ll see U.S., South Korean and United Nations Command member states participating in tough, realistic, demanding training — and that is the real measure of the alliance,” Donald said.

Col. Jang Do-young, public affairs director of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the press conference that field training exercises were still being coordinated.

He added that March’s Freedom Shield will not include scenarios directly related to a North Korean nuclear attack, but would include training for “deterrence of nuclear threats.”

Last week, a South Korean lawmaker said that Pyongyang is planning to hold a large-scale military parade to show off its latest weapons at the conclusion of the ongoing Workers’ Party Ninth Congress.

A Russian professor specializing in Korean studies and teaching at a South Korean university, Andrey Lankov, has been detained by police in Latvia, where he was giving a lecture on North Korea, Russian media has reported.

Professor Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul was detained in Latvia and was added to the Latvian authorities’ “blacklist,” Russian news outlet RBC reported Wednesday (Russian time), citing an interview with the professor.

“Andrey Nikolaevich is safe and awaiting the arrival of his lawyer. The Australian consul has been notified of the situation,” RBC quoted the lecture organizers as saying. The professor is reported to hold both Russian and Australian citizenship.

Citing a local Latvian report, the news outlet also said the professor was taken away by Latvian police officers during a lecture in Riga. The lecture, titled “North Korea: What the Leaders Want and Fear”, was supposed to focus on North Korea, it said.

RBC did not provide reasons for Lankov’s detention.

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Kim focuses on improving economic activity in opening speech at Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

North Korea has kicked off a rare party congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, held once every five years, that will see the leadership in Pyongyang set major policy goals in defence, diplomacy and the economy, state media reports.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday that the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) was under way, marking the start of the country’s most consequential political event since 2021.

“The Ninth Congress of the WPK opened with splendour in Pyongyang, the capital city of the revolution,” KCNA said, reporting that the high-level meeting started on Thursday and observers say it is expected to run for several days.

South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency said the gathering will be closely followed for any signs regarding North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons or overtures towards the administrations in Seoul and the United States, which the North considers its chief foes.

Yonhap reports that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, made no mention of relations with either South Korea or the US in his opening speech to the congress on Thursday and, instead, focused on boosting the country’s economy.

“Ahead of our party are heavy and urgent tasks of advancing economic development and improving people’s livelihoods, and transforming all aspects of social life in the country as quickly as possible,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

While the true state of North Korea’s often struggling economy is hard to gauge, The Associated Press news agency reports that outside experts suggest the country has seen a gradual recovery in economic activity, helped by a post-COVID boost in trade with China and the export of weapons to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Several thousand North Korean troops have fought on Moscow’s side against Ukraine, and Pyongyang is believed to have exported large amounts of ammunition to help the Russian invasion of its neighbour.

North Korea’s ‘biggest enemy’

South Korea’s spy agency said last week it was monitoring the congress for any sign that Kim will officially designate his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his potential successor, formalising her position as heir apparent in a fourth-generation succession of the Kim family as North Korea’s leaders.

At the previous party congress five years ago, Kim declared that the US was his nation’s “biggest enemy”, the AFP news agency reports, and there is deep interest in whether the North Korean leader will soften his rhetoric – or double down – at this year’s congress, particularly amid the US presidency of Donald Trump.

Trump – who met Kim in 2019 when he briefly stepped foot into North Korea to shake Kim’s hand and pose for photos – said during a tour of Asia late last year that he was “100 percent” open to meeting Kim again.

So far, Kim has demurred on Trump’s overtures to meet again.

Observers of North Korean politics are reported to be scouring satellite imagery for any signs of the vast military parades that have accompanied previous congress meetings in Pyongyang.

Such parades will be closely watched for signs of a shift in North Korea’s weapons capabilities, as the country has used previous processions to show off its newest and most advanced weapons.

Kim held a ceremony on Thursday to unveil the deployment of 50 new launch vehicles for nuclear-capable short-range missiles as the congress kicked off.

According to Yonhap, the congress brings together some 5,000 party representatives from across the country, including 200 senior officials from the WPK’s headquarters. More than 4,700 officials from regional and industrial sectors are also in attendance.

North Korea has been designated a “high-risk jurisdiction” for money laundering and terrorism financing for the 16th consecutive year, financial authorities said Wednesday.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is tasked with combating money laundering and terrorism financing, has put North Korea in the highest risk category along with Iran and Myanmar, according to the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Financial Services Commission.

“The FATF remains concerned by the DPRK’s continued failure to address the significant deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regime and the serious threats posed by the DPRK’s illicit activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing,” the organization said on its website, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The FATF, which works under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has categorized North Korea as a “high-risk jurisdiction” since 2011.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has showcased a newly constructed residential street for families of soldiers who have died fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to state media.

Intelligence agencies from South Korea and Western nations have reported that North Korea has dispatched thousands of soldiers to fight for Russia, and Seoul estimated they have suffered 2,000 casualties.

Experts suggested North Korea receives financial aid, military technology and essential supplies from Russia in exchange for this support.

Its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photographs showing Kim touring the new homes on Saeppyol Street in Pyongyang with his daughter, Ju Ae, widely regarded as his heir apparent.

South Korea’s intelligence agency recently claimed she has been “designated as a successor”, citing her involvement in high-profile events with her father.

One image depicted families inspecting utilities in their new apartments.

“The new street has been built thanks to the ardent desire of our motherland, which wishes that … its excellent sons who defended the most sacred things by sacrificing their most valuable things will live forever,” Kim said in a speech released by KCNA.

Although Monday’s report did not mention Russia, Kim recently pledged to “unconditionally support” all policies and decisions made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Before their death, the heroic martyrs must have pictured in their mind’s eye their dear families living in the ever-prospering country,” he added.

The unveiling preceded the ruling Workers’ Party congress in Pyongyang, the nation’s most significant political event, scheduled this month. Observers are closely monitoring Kim’s announcements on foreign and domestic policy directions as well as whether Ju Ae will be granted any official party titles.

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the AFP news agency that the timing of the street inauguration represents a “highly calculated political move to justify its soldier deployment” before the party congress.

“It visualises the state providing tangible compensation to the families of fallen soldiers … as a symbolic showcase,” he said.