Posts Tagged ‘North Korea’

Poverty, hunger drive suicides in North Korea

Monday, June 12th, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered local authorities to take suicide prevention measures after various media reports revealed families committed suicide due to hunger and poverty. Kim officially defined suicide as an “act of treason against socialism” and issued a confidential suicide prevention order during emergency meetings of the party leaders all over Read more

North Korean women told to have more children to boost military

Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Government officials in a North Korean province have urged women to have more children as an act of “greatest patriotism” to help boost the military numbers, says a report. The message was part of a series of ideological lectures arranged by North Korean officials for housewives in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, Radio Free Read more

North Korea executes teens for distributing foreign films

Thursday, December 8th, 2022

Terrified residents expressed grave shock as North Korean authorities publicly executed three teenagers by firing squad including two who allegedly watched and distributed South Korean movies, says a report. A third teenager was accused of murdering his stepmother, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Dec 2 quoting witnesses. The officials in the ultra-communist pariah state Read more

North Korea forcing citizens to change their names to sound more ideological

Monday, December 5th, 2022

In the past, North Koreans were encouraged to give their children patriotic names that held some ideological or even militaristic meaning, such as Chung Sim (loyalty), Chong Il (gun), Pok Il (bomb) or Ui Song (satellite). In recent years, though, as the county has become more open to the outside world, North Koreans have been Read more

North Korea fires missile ahead of South Korea’s election

Monday, March 7th, 2022

North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile on Saturday, Seoul’s military said, continuing this year’s record-breaking blitz of weapons tests. The launch came just days before South Korea’s presidential election. From hypersonic to medium-range ballistic missiles, Pyongyang test-fired a string of weaponry in January. Then last week launched what it claimed was a component of Read more

New report details detention and torture of North Korean Christians

Monday, November 8th, 2021

A new report based on interviews with North Korean defectors details two decades’ detention and torture of North Korean Christians. Some of the human rights violations occurred as recently as 2019. The report and accompanying database, documents 167 serious human rights violations perpetrated against 91 Christians. The report’s eyewitness interviews are current: human rights NGO Read more

North Korean gulag prisoners ‘forced to drink river water with ashes of dead inmates’

Monday, October 12th, 2020

North Korean gulag prisoners are allegedly being forced to drink river water tainted with the ashes of their dead fellow inmates. The horrific reality of life within Kim Jong-un’s gulags was exposed by former prisoners who survived the living nightmare of Chongori concentration camp. North Koreans can find themselves locked up there for acts as Read more

Pope praises Trump meeting with North Korean leader

Monday, July 1st, 2019

In what is being dubbed a “surprising development,” U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday became the first American commander-in-chief to set foot in North Korea, at the invitation of Kim Jong Un. According to Pope Francis, speaking shortly after the meeting, it was an example of the “culture of encounter.” “In the last few hours we Read more

North Koreans can’t sleep while their leader is away

Thursday, February 28th, 2019

North Koreans are pining for their leader and enduring sleepless nights during his week-long trip to Vietnam, if the reclusive country’s state-controlled media is to be believed. According to NK News, some North Koreans have decided to give up alcohol for the duration of Kim’s trip to Hanoi in order to demonstrate their loyalty. Continue reading

South Korea’s Cardinal will go with Pope to North Korea

Monday, November 12th, 2018

South Korea’s Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung says he would greatly welcome a visit from Pope Francis to North Korea and would be willing to accompany him during his trip. Yeom, who is the archbishop of Seoul, also serves as the acting chief of North Korea’s Pyongyang Diocese. According to Lee Hae-chan, the chief of the Read more