Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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N. Korea says it takes note of Seoul's announcement military not involved in drone incursions

SEOUL -- North Korea takes note of South Korea's announcement that its military has not been involved in recent drone incursions, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a statement released Sunday.

"The ROK Ministry of Defence repeatedly stressed that the recent drone infiltration was not a military operation and expressed its will to thoroughly investigate the possibility as a civilian deed. We pay attention to the publication of such stand," Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said in a statement dated the previous day.

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N. Korea slams Japan's push to revise 3 key national security documents

SEOUL -- North Korea on Sunday slammed Japan for its push to revise three key national security-related documents aimed at stepping up its defense capabilities, warning the move would only lead to complete self-destruction.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in an article, focusing on Japan's ongoing push to draw up three new documents by the end of the year -- the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program.

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N. Korea drums up renewable energy use amid sanctions-caused electricity shortage

SEOUL -- North Korea is drumming up the utilization of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, local media showed Monday, as the country faces a chronic shortage of fuel and electricity amid continuing international sanctions.

The North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper ran an article introducing a pickled seafood processing factory in Unryul County, South Hwanghae Province, as a model case of utilizing natural energy sources.

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N. Korean leader's sister demands apology for drone incursion

SEOUL -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday demanded that South Korea acknowledge and apologize for a provocation violating its sovereignty after Pyongyang blamed Seoul for drone incursions.

Kim Yo-jong made the demand in a statement following the North Korean military's claim last Saturday that Seoul sent drones carrying surveillance equipment across the border to the North in September and on Jan. 4.

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N. Korea to stage large-scale youth events ahead of party congress

SEOUL -- North Korea will stage large-scale events marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of its largest youth organization, state media reported Friday, in what is seen as an effort to drum up youth loyalty ahead of a key party congress.

Exemplary youth and army service members from across the country arrived in Pyongyang the previous day to participate in various events marking the 80th founding anniversary of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

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