Kim Jong

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has escalated tensions with South Korea, branding it as the nation's "main enemy" and issuing a stark warning of obliteration if provoked.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expects to make a rare trip abroad to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss providing arms to Moscow for its war in Ukraine, the United States said Monday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory over the coronavirus in his country, world agencies reported, citing official media.

Kim "solemnly declared victory in the highly extraordinary anti-epidemic campaign to eradicate the new coronavirus," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a U.S. analyst said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources.

Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated.

He allegedly ordered the execution of a customs officer who improperly handled imported goods, CNN reports, as Jutarnji list informs.
According to the data of the Chinese customs administration, goods worth only 253.000 US dollars were exported to North Korea in October, which is a drop of as much as 99 percent compared to September.

The South Korean government has stated that no unusual activity has been observed in North Korea after unconfirmed reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in critical condition after heart surgery.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a parachuting drill of military sharpshooters and vowed to build an "invincible army,'' displaying more defiance even as the United States and South Korea called off their own exercises to create space for nuclear diplomacy.

North Korea hailed the latest weapons tests as successful and said the launch proved the "perfection" of a system designed to "completely destroy" super-enemy targets, the DPA reported, citing North Korean state media.

North Korea says negotiations with the US in Stockholm have failed. According to the country's chief negotiator, Washington has presented "nothing to the negotiating table," AFP reports.

The launch of tactically-guided missiles from North Korea on Tuesday is a warning to Washington and Seoul that are carrying out joint military exercises. This was stated by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, quoted by KCNA and BTA.