Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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Russian students return to N. Korea after 4-year hiatus over COVID-19

SEOUL -- Five Russian university students have arrived in North Korea for a language program, marking Russian students' first entry to Pyongyang after a four-year hiatus since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said Friday.

The students from MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry visited the embassy Wednesday, and they will participate in a language program at Kim Il Sung University, the Russian Embassy said on its Telegram account.

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N. Korea slams U.S. approval of sale of Apache attack helicopters to S. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday denounced the United States' approval of a potential sale of Apache attack helicopters to South Korea as a provocative act that deliberately aims to increase security instability in the region.

A North Korean foreign ministry official issued the statement after the U.S. announced a decision earlier this week to approve a proposed sale to South Korea of 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and other items for US$3.5 billion.

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N. Korean children not vaccinated against polio for 3rd straight year in 2023: WHO

SEOUL -- North Korean children were not vaccinated against polio for the third straight year in 2023, with key inoculations for its infants also not being properly administered, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed Thursday.

The immunization coverage with the type 3 oral polio vaccine (OPV3) for North Korea stood at zero last year, unchanged from that for 2021 and 2022, according to the 2024 Expanded Program on Immunization fact sheet.

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