North Korea

Leader of North Korea

11 Apr 2024 1 1

Leif-Eric Easley

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“The Kim regime prioritizes advancing its military capabilities and doesn't care to stay quiet during the South Korean legislative election campaign. But firing an intermediate-range missile lacks the shock value of a full-range ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] launch or a nuclear test, so it's unlikely to swing any National Assembly seats. Although Pyongyang's weapons development remains a major concern, Seoul is currently focused on health care reform, economic policies, and domestic political scandals.”

Professor at Ewha University in Seoul

01 Apr 2024 6 4

Yang Uk

Inserted 1 month ago

“The South Korean-U.S. training is over, but the North's isn't over yet. They won't just stand still … they've been talking about war.”

Analyst at Asan Institute for Policy Studies

14 Mar 2024 3 2

Kim Jong-un

Inserted 1 month ago

“It is necessary to more vigorously push forward the work for making preparations for regular combat mobilization so that all the artillery sub-units can take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war.”

Leader of North Korea

08 Mar 2024 3 2

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 month ago

“The drill started with the power demonstration firing of the long-range artillery sub-units near the border who have put the enemy's capital in their striking range and fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence.”

Statement by Korean Central News Agency

08 Mar 2024 2 2

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 2 months ago

“Kim Yo Jong courteously conveyed Kim Jong Un's thanks to Putin to the Russian side, saying that the gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders of the DPRK and Russia and as the best one.”

Report by North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

19 Feb 2024 5 1

Mason Richey

Inserted 3 months ago

“What we do know about it, if it's close to what they tested last year, is that this underwater unmanned vehicle is likely quite slow. It's a very exotic system. It probably runs only something around eight knots per hour, which is somewhere around 14 or 15km [8.6-9.3 miles] per hour. It's probably quite vulnerable to anti-submarine warfare. Its value is more likely political in light of the US, South Korean, and Japanese drills. This does not make North Korea happy, and the political signal from this message here is quite clear - that it's going to continue to develop its nuclear arsenal in this sort of … spiral situation that we find ourselves in now.”

Professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul

19 Jan 2024 2 4

Kim Yo-jong

Inserted 3 months ago

“As already declared, the KPA [Korean People's Army] will launch an immediate military strike if the enemy makes even a slight provocation.”

North Korean politician serving as the Deputy Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea

07 Jan 2024 3 2

Han-bum Cho

Inserted 3 months ago

“Kim [Kim Jong-un] has officially declared his intention not to engage in any dialogue with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. It's a clear indication that Pyongyang will walk away from inter-Korean relations. If you read between the lines, what Kim meant is that his regime will achieve its ultimate goal of unification through the use of force, not through peaceful means. It seeks the collapse of South Korea.”

Senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification

31 Dec 2023 6 2

Kim Jong-un

Inserted 3 months ago

“I believe that it is a mistake that we must no longer make to deal with the people who declare us as 'the main enemy' and seek opportunities for 'our regime collapse' and 'unification by absorption' by collaborating for reconciliation and unification.”

Leader of North Korea

31 Dec 2023 1 2

Yang Moo-jin

Inserted 6 months ago

“North Korea could have decided to release King relatively quickly after seeing little advantage in keeping him. The North Korean authorities may have opted to use the case as a chance to highlight themselves as a 'normal state,' showing that they are no longer using these detainees for political, diplomatic purposes.”

Professor at the University of North Korean Studies

28 Sep 2023 3 2

Andrei Lankov

Inserted 7 months ago

“Discussions of any open violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea would signal that major international agencies will be paralysed. The summit is an indicator that North Korea-related Security Council resolutions are dead, as are all attempts to stop North Korea or penalise it for having a nuclear program. It creates an important precedent that is likely to be used not only by Russia but pretty much every major international player that if you don't like a UNSC resolution you just ignore it. Russia may be unlikely to provide North Korea with advanced technology that it could eventually lose control of. But its excessive signalling at defence cooperation allows it to send a strong message to South Korea not to directly provide military aid to Ukraine.”

Professor at Seoul's Kookmin University

14 Sep 2023 6 3

Leif-Eric Easley

Inserted 7 months ago

“If they simply wanted a secret arms deal, the two leaders did not have to meet in person. Putin and Kim's diplomatic display is meant to claim success in challenging the U.S.-led international order, avoiding over-reliance on China, and increasing pressure on rivals in Ukraine and South Korea.”

Professor at Ewha University in Seoul

14 Sep 2023 5 2

Duyeon Kim

Inserted 7 months ago

“Putin and Kim would both gain from a transactional bargain but they would also gain geopolitically by giving off the impression that their nuclear-armed countries are cooperating militarily and sending a warning about potential consequences to America's allies and like-minded partners that support Ukraine. Kim would also be signalling to Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that Russia has his back in Northeast Asia.”

Adjunct senior fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS based in Seoul

14 Sep 2023 4 2

Daniel Salisbury

Inserted 7 months ago

“That Putin and Kim can satisfy one another's strategic interest is of concern beyond the war in Ukraine. North Korea desperately wants commodities such as food, oil, fertiliser and other goods. On the other hand, Russia has a vast military, nuclear and missile industrial complex, which…could provide Pyongyang much-needed technological fruits. If Moscow does move towards becoming a regular customer for embargoed North Korean arms, it will help Putin sustain his illegal war on Ukraine. But the potential technological payoff for Pyongyang could pose longer-term hazards for the world and must also be considered.”

Visiting research fellow at King’s College London

13 Sep 2023 (approx) 6 2

Fyodor Tertitskiy

Inserted 7 months ago

“The relationship between these two nations is based on lots of deception and rhetoric. While North Korea's Western-facing media output may take a strong stance in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the media North Koreans consume has remained silent on the war. Many North Koreans may not even know that Russia has invaded its neighbour.”

Leading researcher at Kookmin University's Institute for Korean Studies

13 Sep 2023 2 2

Ramon Pacheco Pardo

Inserted 7 months ago

“The deepening relationship between Kim and Putin signals a further global split over the war. North Korea's support will allow Putin to wage his war for longer, which is bad news for Europe. It is further proof that much of the world doesn't support Ukraine in the way the US and Europe do, and some countries such as North Korea will openly support Russia without fear of any real consequences.”

Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance

11 Sep 2023 5 2

Leif-Eric Easley

Inserted 7 months ago

“If conflict were imminent on the Korean Peninsula, you wouldn't want to be a crew member on that submarine. Even if its nuclear attack capability is largely a bluff, that loud, slow boat could be sunk as soon as it left port. It's another example of North Korea misallocating resources against the welfare of its people. Kim wants to increase military power, but when Pyongyang is more threatening, it is actually less secure.”

Professor at Ewha University in Seoul

08 Sep 2023 2 1

Kim Jong-un

Inserted 7 months ago

“Achieving a rapid development of our naval forces … is a priority that cannot be delayed given … the enemies' recent aggressive moves and military acts.”

Leader of North Korea

08 Sep 2023 1 2

Robert Kelly

Inserted 7 months ago

“This is pretty new. The core issue is the propulsion system; the louder it is, the easier it is to find. It's not really clear if North Korea's long range missiles have good guidance to land at a specific target so the submarine would probably not be able to go that far away.”

International relations expert at Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea

08 Sep 2023 2 3

Sung Ki-young

Inserted 7 months ago

“I don't think that any economic assistance from Russia could be more than symbolic. But North Korea needs technological help from Russia. North Korea's five major weapons projects are all based on original Russian technology.”

Nytimes

Analyst at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service

05 Sep 2023 3 2

Lee Byong-chul

Inserted 7 months ago

“It's shocking news for the U.S. and countries in Europe hoping for an early end to the war in Ukraine. North Korean munitions can add fuel to the fire.”

Nytimes

Professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University in South Korea

05 Sep 2023 2 2

Lim Eul-chul

Inserted 8 months ago

“North Korea will likely highlight racism in the United States and use it as a means to counter the United States' criticism of North Korea's human rights situation, rather than engaging in negotiations with the U.S.”

Professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University

16 Aug 2023 2 2

Leif-Eric Easley

Inserted 10 months ago

“Pyongyang presumably notified Tokyo of the impending launch because the rocket may fly over Japanese territory, and the Kim regime wants to claim it is conducting a legitimate space program. But the notification does not appear to meet international standards, and any North Korean satellite launch is illegal under UN Security Council resolutions that ban North Korean ballistic missile tests.”

Professor at Ewha University in Seoul

29 May 2023 2 2

Fyodor Tertitskiy

Inserted 11 months ago

“The main message is that [Kim Ju Ae, North Korean leader's daughter] sort of like a symbol of power because the first time she appeared was near missiles, and missiles are probably the biggest symbol of North Korea's military. The idea is, look how stable we are. No one can attack us because we have these missiles … and our system can last for another generation.”

Author of 'North Korea before Kim Il Sung', Seoul-based historian and leading North Korea scholar

08 May 2023 3 2

Kim Yo-jong

Inserted 11 months ago

“The more the enemies are dead set on staging nuclear war exercises and the more nuclear assets they deploy in the vicinity of the Korean peninsula, the stronger the exercise of our right to self-defence will become in direct proportion to them.”

North Korean politician serving as the Deputy Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea

29 Apr 2023 (approx) 1 3

Leif-Eric Easley

Inserted 1 year ago

“The days of North Korea disguising ICBM activity as satellite launches were long-gone. Kim's blatant violations of UN Security Council resolutions showed that his goal was to make North Korea a full-fledged nuclear power and demand concessions from other countries.”

Professor at Ewha University in Seoul

14 Apr 2023 2 4

Ankit Panda

Inserted 1 year ago

“This is a significant breakthrough for the North Koreans, but not an unexpected one. Because these missiles are fuelled at the time of manufacture and are thus ready to use as needed, they will be much more rapidly useable in a crisis or conflict, depriving South Korea and the United States of valuable time that could be useful to preemptively hunt and destroy such missiles.”

Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

14 Apr 2023 2 3

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 year ago

“A new type of intercontinental ballistic missile was test fired on Thursday as the key means of strategic military force. The Hwasong-18 weapons system to be run by the country's strategic forces would play its mission and role to defend (North Korea), deter invasions and preserve the country's safety as its most powerful method.”

Report by North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

13 Apr 2023 3 3

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 year ago

“The underwater nuclear attack drone Haeil-2 … cruised 1,000km [621 miles] of simulated underwater distance. The test perfectly proved the reliability of the underwater strategic weapon system and its fatal attack ability.”

Report by North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

08 Apr 2023 0 2

Kim Jong-un

Inserted 1 year ago

“We should never be satisfied with the work to consolidate the thoroughgoing response posture of our nuclear force and should continuously strive to strengthen nuclear force steadily.”

Leader of North Korea

28 Mar 2023 0 2

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 year ago

“Saying that they will surely annihilate the enemy if they fight it, the commander of the unit resolved to thoroughly have the ability to fully carry out its duty of fire assault any time by further intensifying the training of every fire assault company.”

Report by Korean Central News Agency

15 Mar 2023 1 2

Chun In-bum

Inserted 1 year ago

“More missile launches with variations in style and scope should be expected, with even a nuclear test. More acts of intimidation from North Korea should not come as a surprise.”

Retired South Korean army general

14 Mar 2023 1 3

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 year ago

“His [Kim Jong Un] concluding speech based on profound originality and scientific accuracy is a weapon of change that provided a springboard for an epochal leap in pushing forward with the gigantic process for implementing the programme for rural revolution in the new era.”

Report by North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

01 Mar 2023 1 2

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 year ago

“He [Kim Jong Un] expressed the fixed determination and will of the Party Central Committee to bring about a revolutionary turn in the agricultural production without fail, saying that nothing is impossible as long as the strong leadership system is established in the whole Party and there is the united might of all the people.”

Report by North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

28 Feb 2023 2 2

Yang Moo-jin

Inserted 1 year ago

“Tension on the peninsula is likely to reach its peak in coming months as North Korea is accelerating its military actions with higher frequency, and her [Kim Yo Jong's] statement indicates that it would continue impromptu missile tests using the Pacific as its shooting range.”

Professor at the University of North Korean Studies

20 Feb 2023 2 2

Andrei Lankov

Inserted 1 year ago

“You have to keep in mind that if they only care about defending themselves, they don't need tactical nukes. Their existing nuclear forces are sufficiently large to provide absolutely reliable deterrence, so what they are doing now is for offensive operations - for attack. Not now. Maybe many decades later, maybe never. But they have passed the defensive stage and they are actually now getting weapons whose only conceivable task is to be used as tools for aggression.”

Professor at Seoul's Kookmin University

20 Feb 2023 1 3

Kim Yo-jong

Inserted 1 year ago

“We are carefully examining the influence it would exert on the security of our state. The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces.”

North Korean politician serving as the Deputy Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea

20 Feb 2023 2 2

Kim Yo-jong

Inserted 1 year ago

“I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us.”

North Korean politician serving as the Deputy Director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea

18 Feb 2023 0 3

Korean Central News Agency

Inserted 1 year ago

“The surprise ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) launching drill … is an actual proof of the DPRK strategic nuclear force's consistent efforts to turn its capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces into the irresistible one.”