Tag: North Korea

None of this should be a surprise to anyone:

This footage from the Korean Central Television aired on June 15, 2026, shows advertising boards for South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. shown during the state-run North Korean outlet’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

North Korea’s state media excluded games involving South Korea, the United States and Japan from its apparently unauthorized coverage of the ongoing FIFA World Cup matches.

The North’s state-run Korean Central Television aired four- to six-minute broadcasts on the results of the World Cup group-stage matches at the end of its daily evening newscasts from Monday through Thursday but excluded the results of games involving the three countries.

The North, however, aired footage that showed pitch-side advertising boards for South Korean and U.S. companies, such as Hyundai Motor Co., The Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s.

In the past, the North often blurred images related to South Korea and the U.S. in broadcasts of major sports events, such as advertising boards of companies from the two countries and the South Korean national flag.

The North Korean broadcaster included major scenes from the World Cup matches in its coverage, raising suspicions the North aired them without authorization.

North Korean state media outlets are not among the media rights licensees authorized by FIFA to broadcast the World Cup games.

The North appears to have been excluded from the broadcasting rights for the ongoing World Cup after it aired matches from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand without authorization.

The outlet has ceased broadcasting scenes from the ongoing World Cup since Friday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The June 2000 summit was bought and paid for by the Korean government via Hyundai in what became known as the Cash for Summit Scandal. At the time North Korea was desperate for cash and agreed to the summit. This is not the case now since the Kim regime is having their cash and resource needs met currently by the Russians and thus have no incentive to cut a deal with the South Koreans:

President Lee Jae Myung (L) attends a special Mass at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, celebrated by Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik (R) on June 14, 2026. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday he believes the “ember of hope” for reviving dialogue and cooperation with North Korea still exists, reaffirming his commitment to making the utmost efforts to establish peace with Pyongyang. (……)

Lee referred to the inter-Korean joint statement adopted June 15, 2000, calling it a “historic turning point” that, he said, signaled the possibility of overcoming inter-Korean tensions and opening up dialogue and cooperation. 

The president noted the first inter-Korean joint statement had led to reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, as well as humanitarian cooperation and other exchanges, opening the door to new hopes for building peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears the U.S. and Japan are remaining committed to achieving the fantasy of a denuclearized North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front R) inspects a newly launched nuclear material production facility at an unspecified location on June 3, 2026, in this image captured from the website of North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day.

The United States and Japan reiterated their commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea and rejected Russia’s notion that Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear arms was a “closed” issue, as they held key defense talks in Tokyo this week, according to a joint statement.

The allies held the bilateral Extended Deterrence Dialogue at Japan’s foreign ministry on Monday and Tuesday as they seek to reinforce security cooperation in the face of China’s growing assertiveness and North Korea’s advancing nuclear and ballistic missile threats.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Xi pays tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers in Pyongyang

Chinese President Xi Jinping places a wreath at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on June 9, 2026, in this photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Xi’s visit to the tower, which commemorates Chinese soldiers who died while fighting for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War, came one day after he held summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, agreeing to put the two nations’ friendly relations “on a more solid basis” and expand cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other fields. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

If Kim Jong-un wants to improve relations with Xi, strongly stating support for the One China Policy is a way to do it:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Monday deepening ties with China is his country’s top policy priority, as he held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, according to a report.

The Kim-Xi talks came hours after the Chinese leader arrived in Pyongyang for his first state visit in nearly seven years.

Developing friendship between the North and China is “the people’s choice and the calling of the times,” China’s Xinhua News Agency quoted Kim as saying during the talks with Xi.

Kim said Pyongyang viewed the development of mutual ties as the country’s “most important strategic priority.”

With the international community “going through unprecedented, grand change,” he reaffirmed Pyongyang’s support for Beijing’s “One China” principle and pledged to keep helping safeguard China’s core interests, according to the report.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The North Korean regime has been saying this for years and feel the need to say it yet again:

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said her country’s status as a nuclear-armed state is absolutely irreversible, calling it a “line of no retreat” and vowing not to tolerate any threats against it, the North’s state media reported Sunday.

Kim Yo-jong made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), in which she reiterated Pyongyang’s position that its nuclear weapons program is nonnegotiable while rejecting international efforts aimed at denuclearization.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.