Summary of inter-Korean news this week

NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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Unification ministry issues English version of report on N. Korea's economic, social situation

SEOUL -- The unification ministry said Friday it has published the English version of its report on North Korea's economic and social situation in a bid to help the international community better understand evolving changes in the North's society.

In February, the ministry released the 280-page report on North Korea's economic and social situation for the first time. The report is based on in-depth interviews with 6,351 North Korean defectors conducted between 2013 and 2022.

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Unification ministry verifying report on arrest of N. Korean defectors in China

SEOUL -- The unification ministry said Tuesday it is trying to verify a report that 15 North Korean defectors seeking to flee to South Korea were arrested by Chinese police last week.

The defectors -- 13 women and two children -- were arrested in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Aug. 21 in an ambush as they were preparing to board a ship to cross into a Southeast Asian country, U.S.-based media outlet Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday, citing a local civic group advocating North Korean human rights.

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Yoon urges enhanced cybersecurity against state-sponsored hacking attacks

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol called for stronger cybersecurity measures Tuesday to protect national security against increasingly sophisticated state-sponsored hacking attacks.

Yoon highlighted cyber threats posed by state-sponsored organizations in an apparent reference to North Korea during an address to the International Symposium on Cybercrime Response hosted by the Korean National Police Agency.

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NIS voices doubt over N. Korea's ability to supply missiles to launchers

SEOUL -- The National Intelligence Service (NIS) expressed skepticism Monday over North Korea's ability to supply missiles to the hundreds of new launchers it plans to deploy to the front lines, lawmakers said.

Earlier this month, North Korea reported that its leader Kim Jong-un attended a ceremony to mark the transfer of new tactical missile launchers to front-line units, describing them as "new pivotal attack" weapons.

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