Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un ‘training’ his young daughter to be his successor
Believed to be about 11 years old, Kim Ju-ae, was first revealed by her father in November 2022 and has since been mingling with top generals at major military events.
- by Nicola Smith
Latest
‘Bad spiral’: Feeling the heat in Ukraine, Putin turns up the temperature elsewhere on the West
Some analysts worry that Western desensitisation to Putin’s warnings, particularly about using nuclear weapons, has created a precarious situation.
- by Paul Sonne
Putin and Kim getting behind the wheel of new ‘alliance’
The Russian president’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years is being watched closely by Seoul and Washington.
- by Kim Tong-Hyung
Analysis
North Korea diplomacy
Russia needs North Korean weapons, but there is more to Putin’s rare visit
Kim has made two trips to Russia’s Far East since 2019. Putin is now expected to arrive in North Korea on Tuesday for the first time since 2000.
- by The Economist
Explainer
World politics
Why is North Korea sending trash balloons into the South?
K-pop is blasting into North Korea once more as bizarre tactics ratchet up tensions on the peninsula. We explore what’s behind this “tit-for-tat” in an Explainer updated from earlier this year.
- by Angus Holland and Jackson Graham
Kim changes his mind about reunification with South Korea, warns of war
The North Korean leader has declared the South an enemy to be subjugated, through nuclear war if necessary, and has dismantled all agencies dedicated to diplomacy.
- by Choe Sang-Hun
Kim’s IT army: How North Koreans are duping tech companies into hiring them
Landing a software development job overseas to secretly earn foreign currency for the isolated country demands highly creative strategies – but comes with risks for the regime.
- by James Pearson
Analysis
China relations
Why Kim Jong-un’s meeting with Putin is an embarrassment for China
Greater co-operation between North Korea and Russia could throw off the delicate balance in the Indo-Pacific, a region where China has for so long pulled the puppet strings.
- by Sophia Yan
Kim Jong-un offers support for Putin’s ‘sacred fight’ against Ukraine
The leaders met at a remote Siberian rocket launch facility, where the North Korean leader peppered a Russian space official with questions about the rockets.
- by Kim Tong-Hyung and Dasha Litvinova
Updated
North Korea diplomacy
Steaming ahead: Kim arrives in Russia despite US warnings
Kim Jong-un does not travel abroad much, having made just seven trips away and twice stepping briefly across the inter-Korean border in his 12 years in power.
- by Josh Smith and Hyunsu Yim
Luxury, lobsters, and armour-plating: Inside Kim Jong-un’s train to Russia
Like his father and grandfather, the North Korean leader has predominantly travelled internationally in a specially manufactured train – an unusual mode of transport for a 21st-century world leader.
- by Adam Taylor