NK weekly-domestic news
Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.
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N. Korea denies news report of munition supplies to Russia
SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday denied a Japanese media report that it has transported munitions to Russia by rail.
An unnamed spokesperson at the North Korean foreign ministry said the North has never had any arms transactions with Russia which has staged war with Ukraine, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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N. Korea denounces U.S.-led UNSC discussions against its missile launches
SEOUL -- North Korea's foreign ministry on Friday slammed the U.S. push for a presidential statement of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemning the regime's recent missile provocations.
The United States has reportedly produced a draft of the document and circulated it among the other members of the UNSC. It features a strong condemnation of North Korea for its saber-rattling, including the launch last month of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.
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N. Korea likely to hold children's union congress this week: unification ministry
SEOUL -- North Korea is likely to convene its first congress of a major youth group in five years in Pyongyang this week, according to South Korea's unification ministry Thursday.
Members of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) from across the country arrived in the capital Tuesday to attend its 9th Congress, the North's state media said Wednesday, without specifying when the event will open.
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(3rd LD) NK leader's sister dismisses doubts about N. Korea's satellite, ICBM technologies
SEOUL -- The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a statement Tuesday criticizing those who question the secretive regime's assertion of having made significant progress in its satellite and long-range ballistic missile development.
Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, took issue with a view among experts in the outside world, including those in South Korea, that low-resolution, black-and-white images of Seoul and Incheon, released by Pyongyang the previous day, are too crude to be satellite photos.
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(LEAD) N. Korea warns of 'actual action' against Japan's counterstrike capability policy
SEOUL -- North Korea accused Japan on Tuesday of having formalized its invasion-oriented security strategy, which revolves around enemy base "counterstrike capability," and warned of "actual action" in response.
Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a statement that Tokyo is triggering a grave security threat to the region by adopting the new policy of acquiring the ability to carry out preemptive strikes against other nations.
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(3rd LD) N. Korea says it conducted 'important' test for developing reconnaissance satellite
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has conducted an "important final-stage" test at its rocket launching facility on putting a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, with a plan to complete preparations for the project by April next year, according to its state media Monday.
The test was conducted at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on Sunday mainly to "evaluate the capabilities of satellite photography and data transmission system and ground control system," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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