South Korean nutritional supplements are becoming a desired luxury among the North Korean elite with parents wondering how they can get their kids to grow as fast as the young teen daughter of the supreme leader, sources told RFA.
Kim Ju Ae made her latest appearance in state media on April 25, when she attended the launch ceremony for a North Korean warship at Nampo shipyard.
In a photo of the event, where she’s pictured next to her father on the dockside, she appears about the same height as Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be about 5 feet 7 inches (170 centimeters) tall.
Even if Kim Ju Ae is wearing heels, that would make her significantly taller than most girls of her age. She’s thought to be 12 or 13. That’s based on an account from former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman who says he saw Kim Jong Un’s daughter when she was a baby during a visit to the country in 2013.
Even in South Korea, where children are much better nourished, the average height of a 12-year-old girl is about 155 centimeters.
Ju Ae is certainly noticeably taller and appears more mature than in past photos. Her first public appearance was in November 2022, when as a chubby pre-teen, she accompanied her father on an inspection of what experts said was an intercontinental ballistic missile. She’s since cropped up at other events, including missile launches, official banquets and visits to troops.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Kim Ju Ae at an event launching a “new multipurpose destroyer,” in this North Korean government photo, April 26, 2025.(KCNA via REUTERS)
“Three years ago, when the supreme leader’s daughter first appeared on TV, she still looked like a young child,” a source from North Hamgyong province, speaking on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, said.
“But recently, at the destroyer launch event, she had grown so much that her height was almost comparable to her father’s.”
“Residents, who have long struggled with food shortages, couldn’t focus much on their children’s growth,” the source continued. “But now, with the supreme leader’s child growing rapidly before their eyes, many residents have started to pay more attention to their own children’s development.”
Demand for South Korean nutritional supplements
According to the 2023 Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates released by UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank, 16.8% of North Korean children under five were stunted due to chronic malnutrition as of 2022. This rate is nearly ten times higher than South Korea’s, where only 1.7% were stunted.
The stark contrast between the North Korean leader’s visibly well-nourished daughter and the malnourished general population has fueled some public resentment. But it has also stimulated interest in children’s height and physical development, multiple local sources say.
The source from North Hamgyong province said that interest has extended to nutritional supplements, particularly “Tenten chu” supplements from South Korea.
Tentenchu tablets from Hanmi Pharmaceuticals of South Korea.(Hanmi Pharmaceuticals)
Tenten was launched in 1994, marketed as a vitamin-rich growth aid for children and for immunity and recovery from fatigue among adults. Some criticize its high sugar content.
According to the source, Tenten currently sells at four times the South Korean price in North Korea – the equivalent of about 500 yuan or $69. Despite that high price, it’s still in high-demand among high officials and others who can afford it, the source said.
A source from North Pyongan Province, who also sought anonymity for security reasons, said there’s another reason why people want their children to be taller: social status.
In North Korea, young men are generally expected to join the military after high school. Those who do not meet the required height standard are often rejected from conscription.
“These days, residents are increasingly focused on their children’s height,” the source said. “Previously, children in North Korea were considered socially disadvantaged due to their short stature, especially when they graduated from high school at 17 and could not even reach 150 cm (5 feet).”
“Some children couldn’t even join the military and were instead sent to work in construction or on farms. Naturally, those with short stature tended to feel socially inferior,” the source said.
The source said residents are resorting to growth supplements, even if it means forgoing other necessities.
The source added that the supplements from South Korea are sometimes re-packaged as Chinese products before being smuggled into North Korea.
Edited by Sungwon Yang and Mat Pennington
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Kim Ji-eun for RFA Korean.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korea’s recent test launches of key weapon systems aboard its new destroyer – including supersonic strategic cruise missiles – suggest possible assistance from Russia, according to a Seoul-based military expert.
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported that the country carried out the “combat application test” of weapons systems mounted on Choe Hyon, its new 5,000-ton destroyer.
It conducted a test firing of supersonic cruise missiles, strategic cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and 127 millimeter ship-based automatic guns Monday. A test of firing ship-to-ship tactical guided weapons, the ship’s automatic guns, smoke and electronic jamming guns took place the following day.
Dubbing the new warship as North Korea’s “Aegis Combat System,” Yu Yong-weon, a military journalist-turned-lawmaker, said North Korea may have received assistance from Russia.
The supersonic strategic cruise missile unveiled by North Korean state media resembles Russia’s ship-launched hypersonic cruise missile, the Zircon, he said in an analysis published on his website.
The four-faced phased array radar mounted on the Choe Hyon is similar in layout and installation angle to the radar systems deployed on Russia’s Karakurt-class warships. Phased array radars, also found on Aegis destroyers, enable 360-degree surveillance.
Additionally, the integrated air defence system installed on the Choe Hyon – including vertical missile launchers, tracking radar, autocannons, and actuating shafts – bears a striking resemblance to Russia’s Pantsir system, suggesting it may be a replica, according to Yu.
“There is a strong possibility that North Korea received advanced military technology from Russia in exchange for its involvement in the war in Ukraine,” said Yu.
North Korea and Russia have been deepening their military and economic ties in recent months. Pyongyang reportedly supplied Moscow with large quantities of munitions and other military aid for its war in Ukraine.
North Korea on Monday acknowledged for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, six months after reports of their presence first emerged.
In return, Russia has provided technological assistance and expanded cooperation in various sectors, fueling concerns over potential arms transfers and security threats.
The North’s latest firing tests came amid Pyongyang’s increased focus on strengthening its naval power in an effort to build a platform capable of delivering nuclear attacks from the sea.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for building more warships of “Choe Hyon class” and larger cruisers, as well as various types of escort ships, next year and also developing “nuclear-powered submarines” in the future.
In March, the North unveiled what appears to be a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, with its leader warning that his country’s maritime defense capability will be “fully projected in any necessary waters without limitation.”
Edited by Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
Rudy Yoo, co-founder of Armored Fresh and Pureture, has big plans for the future food industry, featuring yeast-based casein, barley-derived coffee, and clean-label, complete plant proteins.
How does a five-ingredient, sugar-free, “zero-dairy” shake with 25g of protein per serving sound to you? How about coffee made from roasted barley instead of, well, coffee beans? Or an additive-free functional bar with complete protein from plants, designed as pre- and post-workout fuel?
Rudy Yoo is working to make all this (and more) a reality. The co-founder of oat milk cheese brand Armored Fresh and vegan casein maker Pureture is embarking on several new projects this year, all to unlock nutrition that’s sustainable for both the human body and the planet.
South Korea-based Armored Fresh has been expanding its US footprint over the last year with the launch of its oat milk cheese slices and parmesan shakers. Pureture, based in New York City, has developed a fermentation-derived casein that ditches the cows for yeast and comes 30-40% cheaper than the conventional protein.
Now, Yoo is taking things a few steps further. This year, he will launch Piilk (“Pure + Milk”), a new line of protein shakes combining Pureture’s casein tech with Armored Fresh’s product development expertise. They replicate the functional and sensory attributes of dairy with a clean and animal-free ingredient list.
Then, under Armored Fresh, he has announced JustAlt, a functional food brand with high-protein, low-sugar products, and Barley Brew, a beanless coffee alternative made from grains.
“Pureture is a biotech company specialising in innovative raw materials and B2B supply, while Armored Fresh is a B2C food brand offering alternative dairy products directly to consumers,” Yoo tells Green Queen. “Through strategic partnerships, both companies are working together to lead the next-generation alternative dairy market.”
Clean-label is a ‘necessity’ in the alt-dairy world
Courtesy: Pureture
The teams at the two startups tested more than 400 yeast strains to optimise the protein yield and eliminate off-notes in taste and colour. The result is an animal-free casein that provides “the same essential amino acid profile as dairy proteins” and “replicates dairy-like emulsification, texture, and nutritional properties without additives”.
Casein is the main protein found in cow’s milk, and is a market worth $3B. Pureture employs a six-step liquid fermentation process that combines yeast with plant-based ingredients to make its version. It begins by cultivating a yeast strain and enriching it. Then, it separates the protein and tests the emulsification functionality, before sterilising and drying the casein.
Pureture’s casein is said to maintain “excellent taste and functionality”, and can naturally bind water and fat. It contains 25g of protein, with a complete amino acid profile (like dairy). Yoo explains that it “offers high digestibility and bioavailability without requiring dairy-based fortification”, and has “a nutritional profile superior to traditional plant proteins”.
“Most dairy-free products rely on emulsifiers, gums, and stabilisers to mimic dairy texture, requiring heavily processed ingredients. In contrast, Pureture’s yeast-based alternative casein offers natural emulsification, overcoming the limitations of existing dairy-free products and providing a cleaner, more natural solution,” says Yoo.
“Consumers are increasingly favouring transparent ingredients and minimal processing, making clean-label products essential for building trust,” he adds. “In the alternative dairy market, clean-label is not an option – it’s a necessity.”
Globally, around half of consumers say they’d pay more for clean-label products. And as plant-based alternatives get knocked for some long ingredient lists, especially in the ultra-processed food context, developing cleaner labels will only become a more attractive proposition.
Armored Fresh to launch clean-label protein shake
Courtesy: Armored Fresh
The vegan casein will help Armored Fresh create products that are “nutritionally competitive” with dairy. To begin, it is launching a five-ingredient protein shake under the Piilk brand in July.
“We aim to set a new standard, creating products that are cleaner and healthier than traditional dairy protein shakes,” says Yoo. “While dairy-based protein shakes rely on various additives, we are proving that superior nutrition and functionality can be achieved without them. We may not surpass nature itself, but our goal is to maintain maximum nutritional integrity with minimal processing.”
After more than 100 rounds of testing, the product is now being finalised. There were several considerations for the teams at Pureture and Armored Fresh, including the inherent tasting notes of the protein, and choosing the appropriate flavours and sweeteners.
“Natural flavours are widely trusted by consumers but may react unpredictably with protein, making flavour consistency a key challenge,” describes Yoo. “Synthetic flavours effectively balance protein’s inherent taste and ensure uniform flavour quality, but they need to align with clean-label standards and consumer preferences.”
In addition, he and his colleagues are evaluating sugar alternatives like stevia and erythritol in their bid to optimise the taste for the public’s palate. “Our ultimate goal is to deliver the most natural and satisfying taste, ensuring the best balance between functionality and consumer preference,” Yoo says.
“We are at a critical decision point – prioritising taste enhancement or committing to all-natural ingredients,” he adds. While the final ingredient list is still under wraps, it is likely to contain cocoa, a sweetener, flavourings, and the Pureture casein.
The company is in talks with Whole Foods Market and other premium retail stores for the Q3 launch of this shake, dubbed ‘Only 5’. It will be followed by ‘Only 7’ and ‘Only 9’, with each protein shake featuring distinct functionalities and flavours. “Each product is designed for specific performance needs, from balanced nutrition to enhanced recovery and beyond,” he says.
Could barley-based coffee counter caffeine crashes and climate change?
Courtesy: Armored Fresh
Beyond protein shakes, Yoo recently detailed plans for another product. Describing his struggles with the side effects of caffeine consumption, he explained that Armored Fresh has developed a coffee alternative made from roasted barley.
“Coffee is a part of daily life for millions, but many struggle with side effects from caffeine crashes and jitters to digestive discomfort and poor sleep,” he tells Green Queen. “Barley Brew is our roasted-barley coffee alternative that keeps the bold, roasted flavour of coffee, while eliminating its downsides.”
The team landed on the grain after “countless trials”, finding that it delivered sustained, gentle energy (minus the caffeine crashes) and gut-friendly digestion with low acidity. In addition, it contains natural antioxidants, beta-glucan, and GABA for immunity and focus.
In a blind taste test of a cold brew made from the barley-derived coffee, consumers praised its clean finish, depth, and smoothness. The company is offering a Half-Caf blend as well, combining roasted barley with coffee beans for those who still need a light caffeine lift. More than 80% of taste testers were unable to distinguish it from conventional coffee.
“Barley Brew isn’t just a caffeine-free option – it’s a new, flexible coffee ritual that adapts to different needs, supports gut health, and aligns with sustainable agricultural practices,” says Yoo. Coffee prices have reached record highs as climate change strains the commodity’s supply. Globally, 60% of coffee species are endangered, and the area suitable for cultivating Arabica is shrinking.
It has led to the rise of several beanless coffee startups, including Atomo, Minus Coffee, Northern Wonder, and Prefer. Now, Armored Fresh is joining that list, targeting a Q3 launch in Manhattan. “As barley cultivation requires significantly less water and fewer resources than coffee, it’s better for both people and the planet,” says Yoo.
More products in the pipeline
Courtesy: Armored Fresh
Last month, Armored Fresh unveiled JustAlt, whose debut product line features protein bars in chocolate, peanut butter, and fruit flavours.
“Most plant-based snacks lack performance, or sacrifice taste and ingredient integrity,” argues Yoo. “JustAlt is our new functional alt-food brand, launching with zero-sugar, high-protein, clean-label protein bars and spreads. These are designed for everyday performance, blending science-based nutrition with delicious flavours.”
The brand will enable “flexitarians, athletes, and busy consumers to make better daily choices without compromising on taste, convenience, or quality” through products designed for workout fuelling, snacking, or meal replacement.
“We are also exploring various plant-based milk and processed dairy alternatives using the emulsification function of our casein, with research on coagulation properties in progress,” Yoo says of further product development plans.
“As for Armored Fresh cheese, we plan to integrate this alternative casein into its formulation, with a target launch next year,” he adds.
“Additionally, we are developing a new research pipeline to use yeast protein peptides to mimic dairy protein peptides, further expanding functionality and applications.”
Armored Fresh, Pureture gear up for fundraising
Courtesy: Armored Fresh
To kickstart this new era, both Armored Fresh and Pureture are preparing to fundraise. The former closed a $23M Series B round in 2022, and as it continues to scale, it will initiate a Series C round in 2026. This is set to “support explosive growth, expand our zero-dairy and functional alt-food product lines, and accelerate our retail footprint”, says Yoo.
Pureture, meanwhile, secured $1M in SAFE funding led by Forward Deployed VC in 2023, and is now preparing for its Series A in 2025. The startup was previously close to finalising a $12M round, though despite “significant interest”, Yoo abandoned the effort as he couldn’t find the “right kind of investor”.
“I secured the flexibility last year to raise funds freely in the US, which allows us to move faster when the investment environment improves,” he says. “Thanks to this decision, Pureture is now in a much stronger position, and I’m confident the next round will happen under far better conditions.”
The fresh capital will help Yoo’s companies scale up yeast-based casein production, expand R&D efforts for functional proteins and peptides for sports nutrition and medical food applications, strengthen global partnerships, and optimise production efficiency and quality control.
Pureture has secured 50,000 sq ft of land to build a new production facility, and has begun research into functional peptides extracted from dairy proteins, aiming to “advance beyond plant-based alternatives into the future of smarter, more functional nutrition”.
“Through this funding, Pureture aims to set the new standard for alternative casein and functional protein markets,” he says. Scaling up will also help the firms make their products more competitive on price. “Typically, technology-driven zero-dairy products are more expensive, but Pureture’s protein is significantly cheaper than dairy proteins and requires no additives, reducing production costs.”
Yoo adds: “This allows us to maintain clean-label standards while ensuring pricing parity with conventional dairy products. As production scales, we can further reduce consumer prices, positioning Armored Fresh protein shakes as competitively priced within the high-protein alternative dairy category. By delivering superior quality without a price barrier, we aim to set a new standard beyond traditional dairy.”
TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korea on Monday acknowledged for the first time that it deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, saying its soldiers “completely liberated the occupied area of Kursk region.”
Ukraine estimates as many as 14,000 North Korean soldiers, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, are in Russia to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of Russia’s Kursk in an August counter offensive.
“The operations for liberating the Kursk area to repel the adventurous invasion of the Russian Federation by the Ukrainian authorities were victoriously concluded,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported, citing the country’s Central Military Commission.
The North’s deployment was made by “the order” of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in accordance with Pyongyang’s mutual defense treaty with Moscow, said the KCNA.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for talks with Kim in June last year when they announced the treaty, agreeing to offer each other military assistance “without delay” if either were attacked. They also underscored their shared defiance of Western sanctions and expanded cooperation in various sectors.
KCNA cited Kim as describing the activities as “a sacred mission to further consolidate” friendship and solidarity with Russia and “defend the honor” of North Korea.
A monument praising their heroism and bravery will be erected soon in Pyongyang and flowers will be placed before the tombstones of the fallen soldiers to pray for their immortality, said Kim, acknowledging troops killed in combat.
The North’s confirmation of the troop deployment came after Russia acknowledged that North Korean soldiers had been fighting in its war with Ukraine.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, confirmed their combat participation during a videoconference with Putin on Saturday, recognizing the crucial role they played in “liberating” the Kursk region.
In response, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukraine’s army was still fighting in Russia’s Kursk despite Moscow claiming the “liberation” of its western region.
“Our military continues to perform tasks in the Kursk and Belgorod regions – we are maintaining our presence on Russian territory,” he said.
The U.S. State Department also called for North Korea to stop its troop deployment and for Moscow to end any support to Pyongyang.
“The deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia must end. Third-party countries like North Korea bear responsibility for the war,” said the State Department in a statement on Sunday.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump met Kim three times, but made no progress on persuading him to give up his nuclear and missile programs in exchange for relief on sanctions.
Since the start of his second term, he has expressed an interest in re-establishing contact with Kim, although no developments appear to be imminent.
U.S. online publication Axios reported on Sunday that the Trump administration has quietly been holding discussions and consulting outside experts as it considers options for potentially resuming dialogue with the North.
Axios cited an unnamed senior U.S. official as saying that U.S. agencies are assessing North Korea’s current position and exploring potential avenues for engagement.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
North Korean women’s soccer has enjoyed an unprecedented year of success and the government recently allowed outside news media rare access into its training program, a move likely intended to boost its international profile.
In 2024, its national women’s teams surprised the global soccer community by winning both the FIFA under-17 and under-20 women’s World Cups.
Video: An exclusive look inside North Korean women’s football
Unlike their male counterparts, who haven’t prospered on the international stage since qualifying for the 1966 World Cup quarterfinals, the women’s team have fared much better, qualifying for the Women’s World Cup four times and reaching the quarterfinals in 2007.
Offering a rare glimpse into their training regimen and communist North Korea’s cloistered elite sports infrastructure, SNTV — a global sports video agency jointly operated by The Associated Press and IMG – released a report this week including interviews with players and coaches and footage of training sessions.
It featured players from the elite Amnokgang Sports Club, including core members of the national team, such as Jeon Il-cheong, who was named most valuable player at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. She expressed determination to build on their success.
“What we achieved last year is only the beginning,” Jeon told SNTV. “We will not rest. We are running hard on the training ground to win future international competitions.”
Kim Jong Un meets with the North Korea’s U-20 women’s football team, which won the World Cup in Colombia, at the ruling Workers’ Party headquarters in Pyongyang, Sept. 30, 2024, in this photo released by the North Korean government.(KCNA via Reuters)
Much of the soccer talent originates from the Pyongyang International Football School, an elite youth development facility that combines academic education with intensive athletic training. According to school director Kim Gwang-chol, the school admits students with both academic aptitude and athletic potential from across the country.
“We provide a dual education system that includes general secondary education and specialized football training,” Kim told SNTV.
Graduates of the school often go on to play for top-tier domestic clubs like Amnokgang and April 25 Sports Club, eventually feeding into the national team.
But experts believe there’s more than simple pride in North Korea’s success on the soccer pitch behind the sudden display of openness to outside media.
Lee Hyun-seung, who defected from North Korea in 2014 and is now senior strategy adviser on North Korea at the U.S.-based Global Peace Foundation, told Radio Free Asia that the move is likely part of a broader propaganda strategy.
“North Korea can’t keep relying on outdated 1980s and 1990s strict propaganda tactics forever,” said Lee. “The regime’s propaganda arm seems to be shifting its strategy – using international achievements to promote the superiority of the North Korean system to the outside world.”
He added that internally, this success is also framed in ideological terms: as the result of the “grace and care” of the supreme leader, Kim Jong Un.
North Korean players celebrate with the trophy after winning the U-20 Women’s World Cup final soccer match against Japan in Bogota, Colombia, Sept. 22, 2024.(Ricardo Mazalan/AP)
Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, told South Korea’s Segye Ilbo that North Korea was using sporting achievements to “consolidate the system, as it faces economic difficulties and lacks other accomplishments to promote.”
Jean Lee, presidential chair at the U.S.-based think tank, the East-West Center, said the SNTV footage provides an interesting glimpse into the “sports regimen and machinery in North Korea” and hints that North Korea is ready to start opening up.
“This type of propaganda is meant to inspire as well as show off an industry – sports – that the North Koreans are immensely proud of and invest quite a bit in. Sports are a relatively low-cost way to generate international recognition, and sporting competitions are one arena where North Koreans are welcome abroad,” said Lee, former Seoul and Pyongyang bureau chief for The Associated Press.
But she added that watching the video also gives a sense of the kind of pressure that the young women soccer players are under.
“They train from a young age to serve their country as athletes. They are truly talented, and it’s heartwarming to see their dedication, but I can’t help but also feel that the pressure to excel is immense,” she told RFA.
Edited by Mat Pennington.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jaewoo Park for RFA Korean.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has grown “exponentially,” and urged talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “communication” with North Korea and that Washington “may do something” with Pyongyang.
“I have been saying that we need to engage,” said Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
“You cannot have a country like this which is completely off the charts with its nuclear arsenal,” he said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. thinktank.
North Korea’s nuclear program, said Grossi, has “spawned exponentially” and it is currently building a third enrichment facility – a crucial part of building nuclear bombs.
The U.N. has imposed sanctions on North Korea aimed at limiting its nuclear weapons development, but these measures have largely failed to stop Pyongyang’s programs. The North may have up to 50 nuclear warheads, according to a 2024 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Grossi challenged the approach that demands Pyongyang “disarm or we don’t talk,” arguing that “things are more complicated … you have to start by talking.”
He praised high-level diplomacy, specifically mentioning Trump’s letters during his first term to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“Presidential diplomacy is important,” the IAEA chief said.
Asked if Beijing and Moscow would encourage renewed IAEA dialogue with North Korea, Grossi said he doesn’t see the two countries as “against” some form of engagement. But he added that he doesn’t see either country pushing it as a priority.
The watchdog’s chief has consistently expressed concern about North Korea’s nuclear advancements.
During his visit to Japan in February, he advocated for renewed engagement with North Korea, suggesting the IAEA should reestablish its presence in the country.
The IAEA’s inspectors were kicked out of North Korea in April 2009, when Pyongyang told the agency it was “immediately ceasing all cooperation” with the U.N. body.
In November, Grossi reported continued development of a reactor at Yongbyon and apparent work on an undeclared centrifuge enrichment facility at the Kangson complex. More recently, in March, he noted indications of a new reprocessing campaign at the Yongbyon reactor.
As official policy, the U.S. has long refused to recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear power, despite its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
However, the Trump administration has veered from the official line, as the president has called North Korea a “nuclear nation” numerous times since taking office.
Most recently, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, in which he discussed security challenges facing the United States, including from China, Russia and Iran.
“We live in a world with a nuclear-armed North Korea, with a nuclear-ambitious Iran,” the secretary said in the podcast hosted by The Free Press, according to a transcript provided by the State Department.
The phrase “nuclear power” has sparked concern in South Korea, as it could be interpreted as formal U.S. recognition of North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability – potentially legitimizing Kim’s regime.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
Authorities in North Korea have ordered schools across the country to raise more rabbits to supply and feed its army or face punishment, sources told Radio Free Asia.
Ahead of the 93rd founding anniversary of North Korea’s armed forces on Friday authorities have launched inspections of rabbit breeding farms in schools across the communist country, demanding they increase the livestock supplied to local army units.
Reeling from persistent food shortages since the mid-1990s, the North Korean regime has been actively promoting the raising of “grass-fed” livestock like rabbits and goats as sources of meat.
In particular, it has emphasized the breeding of bunnies, as they provide both meat and high-quality fur, with authorities establishing rabbit breeding associations and farms in cities and counties across the country and making it a key state initiative.
The inspections of school rabbit pens – that began last week for the first time in schools – are being carried out by the provincial-level youth league committee leaders under orders from the provincial party, said a source based in South Pyongan province.
In North Korea, the children’s union, which students aged 9-13 are required to join, and the youth league, which include those in the 14-18 age group, are mass political organizations that educate young people in socialist ideology and loyalty.
The instructors in charge of the youth league at each school are tasked with meeting the breeding targets.
“While it’s been common for the authorities to emphasize expanding rabbit farms every year to supply more meat and leather to the military, this is the first time they are actually inspecting schools,” the source told Radio Free Asia. He requested anonymity for safety reasons.
These inspections focus on the scale of the farms and the number of bunnies – both breeding rabbits and their young offspring, he said.
Youth league instructors at schools that fail to meet the target of at least 1,000 rabbits are being warned or subjected to punishment, including expulsion from the committee or dismissal from their positions, he said.
“Responsibility falls on the youth league instructors because the rabbit farm management and feeding activities are carried out through organized teams made up of children’s union and youth league members,” he said.
“The breeding rabbits tallied during inspections — excluding seed stock — are to be sent to local military units as support supplies by April 25,” he added.
Despite the challenges of running these farms, authorities have ordered all schools in Gowon county to provide 300 breeding rabbits each to the military by April 25, said a source based in South Hamgyong province, in North Korea’s northeastern corner.
“To mark the (army’s founding) anniversary, inspections of school rabbit farms began in Gowon County alongside support efforts for the military,” he said.
“Some teachers are expressing frustration,” the source noted. “They’re saying schools are meant to be places for students to learn — not military supply bases.”
To feed the rabbits in breeding farms at schools, teenage students are forced to wander the fields to source grass as they are not allowed to collect clover in the mountains due to forest protection rules, he said.
Since the 1970s, North Korea has required middle and high school students to raise rabbits and offer them to the state, while farmers must fulfill the country’s annual meat purchase quotas.
Many will never taste the meat they produce as most is submitted to the authorities, with the remainder consumed or sold by corrupt officials, previous reports have said.
In 2010, several international charities raised money to send giant rabbits to North Korea to breed as a cheap source of protein, but the animals vanished amid speculation that they had been quickly seized and eaten by officials.
Translated by Jaewoo Park. Edited by Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Son Hye-min for RFA Korean.
President Donald Trump is again loudly complaining that the US military bases in Asia are too costly for the US to bear. As part of the new round of tariff negotiations with Japan and Korea, Trump is calling on Japan and Korea to pay for stationing the US troops. Here’s a much better idea: close the bases and return the US servicemen to the US.
Trump implies that the US is providing a great service to Japan and Korea by stationing 50,000 troops in Japan and nearly 30,000 in Korea. Yet these countries do not need the US to defend themselves. They are wealthy and can certainly provide their own defense.
President Donald Trump is again loudly complaining that the US military bases in Asia are too costly for the US to bear. As part of the new round of tariff negotiations with Japan and Korea, Trump is calling on Japan and Korea to pay for stationing the US troops. Here’s a much better idea: close the bases and return the US servicemen to the US.
Trump implies that the US is providing a great service to Japan and Korea by stationing 50,000 troops in Japan and nearly 30,000 in Korea. Yet these countries do not need the US to defend themselves. They are wealthy and can certainly provide their own defense. Far more importantly, diplomacy can ensure the peace in northeast Asia far more effectively and far less expensively than US troops.
The US acts as if Japan needs to be defended against China. Let’s have a look. During the past 1,000 years, during which time China was the region’s dominant power for all but the last 150 years, how many times did China attempt to invade Japan? If you answered zero, you are correct. China did not attempt to invade Japan on a single occasion.
You might quibble. What about the two attempts in 1274 and 1281, roughly 750 years ago? It’s true that when the Mongols temporarily ruled China between 1271 and 1368, the Mongols twice sent expeditionary fleets to invade Japan, and both times were defeated by a combination of typhoons (known in Japanese lore as the Kamikaze winds) and by Japanese coastal defenses.
Japan, on the other hand, made several attempts to attack or conquer China. In 1592, the arrogant and erratic Japanese military leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched an invasion of Korea with the goal of conquering Ming China. He did not get far, dying in 1598 without even having subdued Korea. In 1894-5, Japan invaded and defeated China in the Sino-Japanese war, taking Taiwan as a Japanese colony. In 1931, Japan invaded northeast China (Manchuria) and created the Japanese colony of Manchukuo. In 1937, Japan invaded China, starting World War II in the Pacific region.
Nobody thinks that Japan is going to invade China today, and there is no rhyme, reason, or historical precedent to believe that China is going to invade Japan. Japan has no need for the US military bases to protect itself from China.
The same is true of China and Korea. During the past 1,000 years, China never invaded Korea, except on one occasion: when the US threatened China. China entered the war in late 1950 on the side of North Korea to fight the US troops advancing northward towards the Chinese border. At the time, US General Douglas MacArthur recklessly recommended attacking China with atomic bombs. MacArthur also proposed to support Chinese nationalist forces, then based in Taiwan, to invade the Chinese mainland. President Harry Truman, thank God, rejected MacArthur’s recommendations.
South Korea needs deterrence against North Korea, to be sure, but that would be achieved far more effectively and credibly through a regional security system including China, Japan, Russia, North Korea, South Korea, than through the presence of the US, which has repeatedly stoked North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and military build-up, not diminished it.
In fact, the US military bases in East Asia are really for the US projection of power, not for the defense of Japan or Korea. This is even more reason why they should be removed. Though the US claims that its bases in East Asia are defensive, they are understandably viewed by China and North Korea as a direct threat – for example, by creating the possibility of a decapitation strike, and by dangerously lowering the response times for China and North Korea to a US provocation or some kind of misunderstanding. Russia vociferously opposed NATO in Ukraine for the same justifiable reasons. NATO has frequently intervened in US-backed regime-change operations and has placed missile systems dangerously close to Russia.
Indeed, just as Russia feared, NATO has actively participated in the Ukraine War, providing armaments, strategy, intelligence, and even programming and tracking for missile strikes deep inside of Russia.
Note that Trump is currently obsessed with two small port facilities in Panama owned by a Hong Kong company, claiming that China is threatening US security (!), and wants the facilities sold to an American buyer. The US on the other hand surrounds China not with two tiny port facilities but with major US military bases in Japan, South Korea, Guam, the Philippines, and the Indian Ocean near to China’s international sea lanes.
The best strategy for the superpowers is to stay out of each other’s lanes. China and Russia should not open military bases in the Western Hemisphere, to put it mildly. The last time that was tried, when the Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons in Cuba in 1962, the world nearly ended in nuclear annihilation. (See Martin Sherwin’s remarkable book, Gambling with Armageddon for the shocking details on how close the world came to nuclear Armageddon). Neither China nor Russia shows the slightest inclination to do so today, despite all of the provocations of facing US bases in their own neighborhoods.
Trump is looking for ways to save money – an excellent idea given that the US federal budget is hemorrhaging $2 trillion dollars a year, more than 6% of US GDP. Closing the US overseas military bases would be an excellent place to start.
Trump even seemed to point that way at the start of his second term, but the Congressional Republicans have called for increases, not decreases, in military spending. Yet with America’s 750 or so overseas military bases in around 80 countries, it’s high time to close these bases, pocket the saving, and return to diplomacy. Getting the host countries to pay for something that doesn’t help them or the US is a huge drain of time, diplomacy, and resources, both for the US and the host countries.
The US should make a basic deal with China, Russia, and other powers. “You keep your military bases out of our neighborhood, and we’ll keep our military bases out of yours.” Basic reciprocity among the major powers would save trillions of dollars of military outlays over the coming decade and, more importantly, would push the Doomsday Clock back from 89 seconds to nuclear Armageddon.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korean forces deployed in Russia’s Kursk region may soon be sent into annexed regions of Ukraine that remain fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces, a senior Ukrainian official said.
As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia, according to Ukraine and the United States, to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of Russia’s Kursk region in an August counter offensive. Neither North Korea nor Russia have acknowledged their presence.
“Russia plans to use the DPRK soldiers for war on the territory of Ukraine,” said Andrei Kovalenko, head of the National Security Service’s Center for Countering Disinformation.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
“But the Russians will manipulate and indicate that the North Korean soldiers are fighting on Russian territory by the Russian Constitution,” he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday.
Russia annexed four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – after holding widely condemned referendums in September 2022. Kovalenko suggested that these occupied territories are the most likely destinations for North Korean troops.
The international community has not recognized Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian land and fierce fighting continues as Ukraine pushes back in those areas.
Kovalenko said Russia is also importing labor from North Korea, mainly young people aged 18-25, for industrial work. In return, the North Korean authorities receive US$1,000 per person from Russia.
Radio Free Asia has not independently verified his claims.
South Korea’s main spy agency reported in October that Russia would pay North Korean troops about US$2,000 per month each, although it was likely that most of the money would “remain with the state.”
Kovalenko’s remarks came amid reports that Russian artillery units were relying almost entirely on ammunition supplied by North Korea to sustain their bombardments along the Ukrainian front.
Between September 2023 and March 2025, four Russian-flagged vessels made 64 trips transporting nearly 16,000 containers from North Korea to Russian ports, according to satellite data analysed by the U.K.-based Open Source Centre. The shipments are estimated to have included between 4 million and 6 million artillery shells.
By comparison, Russia is believed to have produced no more than 2.3 million artillery shells domestically in 2024, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.
Although the Kremlin denied any arms transfers from North Korea in October 2023, at least six Russian artillery unit reports reviewed by Reuters news agency confirmed that between 50% and 100% of the munitions used in Ukraine this year were of North Korean origin. Three other unit reports made no mention of North Korean ammunition.
North Korea and Russia have been deepening their military and economic ties in recent months, with Pyongyang reportedly supplying Moscow with large quantities of munitions and other military aid for its war in Ukraine.
In return, Russia has provided technological assistance and expanded cooperation in various sectors, fueling concerns over potential arms transfers and security threats.
High-level meetings between officials from both countries, including defense ministers, have signaled a growing strategic partnership.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – A growing unofficial power network led by North Korea’s parliamentary chief Choe Ryong Hae is reshaping the country’s political hierarchy, potentially becoming a destabilising force within leader Kim Jong Un’s regime, according to a new South Korean analysis.
Choe, one of North Korea’s most influential officials, is a close ally of the Kim family. He gained major influence after becoming director of the Organisation and Guidance Department, or OGD, in 2017, effectively acting as the regime’s second-in-command with a wide-reaching informal power network.
Since then, Choe’s inner circle has rapidly ascended to key positions across the party, military, and state institutions, said South Korea’s National Assembly Research Service in a report published on Saturday. Its findings are based on an analysis of publicly available information, including reports from North Korea’s state-run media outlets.
The report identifies key military figures – Ri Yong Gil, No Kwang Chol, and Kim Su Gil – as part of Choe’s informal network. All three worked closely with Choe during his earlier stint as director of the General Political Bureau in 2012 and were later promoted to top military posts: Chief of the General Staff, Minister of People’s Armed Forces, and Director of the General Political Bureau, respectively.
Similarly, several lesser-known party figures, including cabinet premier Pak Thae Song, have emerged in prominent central roles, riding the wave of Choe’s expanding influence, according to the report.
This concentration of power has come at the cost of internal checks and balances that shore up the North’s authoritarian Supreme Leader system among the elite, the report said.
Once seen as a potential Choe counterweight, Kim Yo Jong – leader Kim Jong Un’s sister – stepped down from all formal posts at the 8th Party Congress in January 2021, following a surge in succession rumors the previous year.
Several media reports, citing Chinese sources, have claimed that Kim Yo Jong married Choe’s son, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Another former challenger, Jo Yong Won, attempted to bolster his influence by holding dual positions in the party and military, but was curbed by Choe’s aggressive consolidation of power. Jo’s recent appearances have been largely limited to provincial development events.
The Kim family has historically maintained its grip on power through a tightly controlled hereditary system, centralizing authority around the Supreme Leader.
Key positions in the party, military, and state have consistently been filled by loyalists or family members, reinforcing dynastic rule.
The founder Kim Il Sung established the model of absolute leadership, which was passed down to Kim Jong Il and later to Kim Jong Un, with propaganda, purges, and elite surveillance used to eliminate rivals and ensure total loyalty to the ruling family.
Decline in purges
The report also noted a striking decline in Kim Jong Un’s once-routine purges of senior officials – a hallmark of his earlier rule – after Choe’s appointment to the OGD in 2017.
It cited the survival of cabinet premier Kim Tok Hun, who was harshly criticized by Kim as a “political novice” in 2023, and Pak Thae Song, who botched a military satellite launch but was nonetheless granted further opportunities.
These developments, according to the report, reflect Kim Jong Un’s tacit reliance on Choe’s authority to navigate mounting economic hardships under sanctions and rapidly shifting international dynamics.
“Kim Jong Un appears to have entrusted Choe Ryong Hae with a stabilising role to maintain regime continuity amid external pressures,” the report said.
But the report also noted that the weakening of competition and oversight within North Korea’s elite class could eventually lead to instability.
“The dismantling of internal checks among the ruling elite undermines the guiding principle of surveillance and restraint that underpins the Supreme Leader system – a paradox that could compromise regime stability in the long run.”
Edited by Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
South Korean alternative protein pioneer Intake has secured ₩13.5B ($9.2M) in Series C funding to commercialise its precision-fermented dairy, meat and egg proteins.
Seoul-based food tech leader Intake is expanding its alternative protein portfolio to include precision fermentation, raising ₩13.5B ($9.2M) in its latest funding round to advance this effort.
The parent company of plant-based meat maker Innocent and sugar-free konjac jelly brand Sugarlolo, Intake has developed a yeast strain from locally grown grapes with 1.5 times higher protein than conventional yeast, designed to replace whey protein. It’s also working on recombinant meat and egg proteins.
The Series C round was led by CJ Investment, HB Investment, Woori Venture Partners, KDB Industrial Bank Capital, J Curve Investment, and Wonik Investment Partners, and takes its total raised to $20M.
“As consumer interest in healthy eating habits continues to rise, industry attention toward advanced alternative food technologies is surging,” said Kim Hyun-kyu, a senior analyst at CJ Investment. “Intake, led by food science entrepreneurs from Seoul National University, has successfully developed patented alternative food ingredients and commercialised them.”
Intake working on several protein suites
Courtesy: Intake
Founded in 2013 by Han Nok-yeob, Intake specialises in alternative proteins across both B2B and B2C channels. Its move into precision fermentation comes at a time when investors are betting their dollars on the technology over plant-based proteins or cultivated meat.
Globally, fermentation-derived protein startups received 43% more capital in 2024, against a 64% drop for plant proteins and 40% decline for cultivated meat.
The firm is leveraging precision fermentation to produce what it calls “first-generation protein powders” for “second-generation alternative proteins” like meat, dairy and egg alternatives. Its “super protein” yeast strain is derived from grape yeast. It is earmarked to replace whey from cow’s milk.
“It is a naturally derived wild-type strain that has been enhanced through adaptive evolution and processed into a protein ingredient. We use Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the base strain,” said Han. After enhancing the strain, it optimises and cultivates the fungi. This is followed by the harvesting and disruption of cells to extract protein, and the processing of the material for various applications.
“Since the strain is naturally evolved and not classified as GMO, it falls outside major regulatory concerns,” he explained. “Nevertheless, we are preparing all necessary data to obtain the US FDA’s NDI (New Dietary Ingredient) and GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) approvals to ensure there are no safety issues.”
Additionally, Intake is working on heme protein – a primary component known to give beef its red colour and meaty flavour – by leveraging CRISPR-based gene editing and expression in native strains. Plant-based meat giant Impossible Foods also uses precision fermentation to produce heme protein for its beef analogues.
The firm is also developing albumen, or egg white protein, via the technology. California’s The Every Company and Finland’s Onego Bio are leading this space, with the former selling recombinant egg proteins for a few years now, and the latter being cleared to sell its ingredient in the US recently.
Alternative proteins heat up in South Korea
Courtesy: Intake
Intake’s whey protein replacer is currently in its early commercialisation phase, but the company has its sights set on the North American market for 2026, given “it is the largest and most advanced market in the whey-related protein segment”.
It will use the Series C funds to supercharge this effort, with a focus on accelerating the R&D and global infrastructure expansion specifically for the microbial protein business.
“This Series C funding is proof that our alternative food technologies and products have earned consumer and market trust,” said Han. “Our goal is to finalise the development of core microbial-based alternative food technologies, positioning them as a viable alternative to the conventional food industry.”
Intake’s existing businesses, which also include hydration brand Vital Water, netted the firm ₩22.4B ($15.2M) in revenue last year, achieving a 30% annual growth rate. Under its Innocent brand, it sells vegan dumplings, meatballs and falafels, among others.
The firm plans to “apply our protein ingredients across” its B2C brands, but its primary focus will continue to be on the B2B side.
It’s also leading a government-backed project to develop plant-based and cultivated fish products. The five-year research project is fuelled by a ₩29B ($21M) investment by the Ministry of Oceans, and involves two other startups and five universities. Here, Intake will introduce edible ingredients to mimic the taste and texture of salmon and tuna using “blue protein” derived from seaweed and kelp.
“Our goal for 2025 is to commercialise yeast-derived concentrated protein as a replacement for whey protein,” said Han. “Starting in 2026, we plan to develop heme protein, albumin, and whey alternatives through both GMO and non-GMO tracks.”
Its investment comes as alternative proteins become more popular in South Korea. Experts believe it could be one of the countries that issue regulatory approval for cultivated meat this year, with significant public investment going into this sector. Cultivated seafood company CellMeat filed for approval in early 2024, while Simple Planet has indicated that it aims to obtain the green light this year too.
Some North Korean hospitals are posting prices for treatment and medicine in a break from past practice that suggests authorities are abandoning the goal of providing free health care, sources in the country have told Radio Free Asia.
The communist country’s Public Health Act stipulates that the state provides complete and comprehensive free care. While the reality has long been different, with patients paying for medicines and other expenses out of pocket, now prices are being openly displayed, according to two sources in two different provinces.
“Recently, hospitals in the province have changed their signs and begun displaying medical fees inside the buildings,” said the first source in North Hamgyong province who requested anonymity for safety reasons. “As soon as you enter the hospital, the fees are posted prominently at the reception area.”
The source said hospitals began posting treatment fees in February and that many residents were “quite shocked.” In the past, residents were used at least to getting consultations for free, even if they had to pay out for medicines.
The source in North Hamgyong province, which lies in the northeast of the country, said that since fall 2024, hospitals also began changing their names from “people’s hospitals” to names based on the district or city, and began posting treatment costs as well.
Fees are listed in the reception area of hospital, such as 5,000 won (50 cents) for registration, 5,000 won for consultation, 20,000 won ($2) for an X-ray, and 50,000 won ($5) for medical certificates, according to a second source in North Pyongan province, which lies in country’s west. Also displayed are prices for various medicines, including painkillers and antibiotics, ranging from 200 won (2 cents) for an aspirin tablet, to 8,000 won (80 cents) for penicillin.
In theory, North Korea has universal health coverage but its ability to provide it has been hamstrung for decades by chronic shortages, which grew acute after the fall of the former Soviet Union and the subsidies it offered, and then famine in the late 1990s. Anecdotal evidence indicates a pervasive lack of basic amenities such as electricity at clinics and hospitals.
Independent research on the North Korean health care system, based on responses from North Koreans who fled to South Korea and published in 2020, actually suggests that out-of-pocket of expenditures for health services have been widespread for years, even for medical consultations. More than 80 percent of the 383 respondents in the research said they had paid for medicines and medical supplies.
Edited by Yang Seong-won and Mat Pennington.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jieun Kim for RFA Korean.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Japan said it will extend its ban on trade with North Korea for two more years as part of sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and the unresolved abductions of Japanese nationals.
Under the current sanctions, Japan bans port entry by North Korea-registered vessels and ships that have made port in the country, as well as trade. The sanctions were due to expire on Sunday.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, cited Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs and the unresolved issue of its decades-old abduction of Japanese nationals as reasons for the extension.
“We’ve decided the extension after comprehensively examining these situations and the need to secure the implementation of U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions,” he said.
The historical abductions remain a significant obstacle to normal diplomatic relations between North Korea and Japan.
Tokyo says it has confirmed the abduction of 17 Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, to work as language teachers for North Korean spies. It says 12 are still in the North.
Pyongyang contends that of the 12, eight have died and four never entered North Korea. It insists there is no issue to be resolved.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to prioritize the return of all Japanese nationals abducted by the North.
“The abduction issue, which is time-bound as the abductees and their families are aging, is a humanitarian issue, a violation of national sovereignty, and the most important task of the regime,” Ishiba told parliament in October shortly after he was elected as the country’s leader.
In recent months, North Korea has intensified its military activities, including multiple missile launches and advancements in its nuclear development program.
On March 10, Pyongyang fired several ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea in response to military exercises between the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
Apart from that, the North announced the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine equipped with missile capabilities, a development that observers believe could significantly enhance its strategic deterrent capability.
Separately, Tokyo police referred two Japanese men to prosecutors Monday for allegedly providing their identification data to assist an individual believed to be a North Korean IT worker in fraudulently obtaining freelance work online.
Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department believes that the IT worker was involved in North Korea’s efforts to obtain foreign currency.
The two men in their 30s were charged with providing scans of their driver’s licenses and bank account details in 2020 so that the IT worker could register on the freelance work site and accept work assignments in their names, according to the police.
Remuneration for tasks undertaken by the IT worker posing as the two Japanese men was paid into the two men’s bank accounts, but was later transferred abroad at the instruction of the worker. The two men reportedly received about 10% of the revenue.
The IT worker communicated with the two Japanese men through social media, while data from the job-matching service’s website suggests access from North Korea, police said.
A U.N. Security Council panel of experts, which monitors sanctions against North Korea, has reported that IT workers in the country obfuscate their identities to accept online work and earn income to funnel into the development of nuclear and ballistic missiles.
In March last year, Japan’s National Police Agency warned businesses and organizations that North Korean IT workers may be impersonating Japanese citizens to earn income through online work.
Edited by Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
Surging inflation in North Korea has some people complaining that they need to carry a backpack full of cash just to go shopping, residents in the reclusive country told Radio Free Asia.
Despite government attempts to tightly control prices, the cost of many items on informal markets called jangmadang, which became part of the economy after the famine that hit North Korea in the 1990s, have steadily risen.
North Korean authorities initially forbid jangmadang, but they gradually allowed the markets because they provided a means for people to survive. Many women in particular have set up stalls and small businesses to earn money for their families because the salaries their state-employed husbands receive is so low.
But over the past two years, the price of eggs, sugar, pork, rice and cooking oil have jumped twofold to fivefold, according to two sources from Yanggang province.
North Korean customers get assistance at a supermarket in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 12, 2018.(Kin Cheung/AP)
The main reason appears to be a shortage of supplies and the depreciation of the North Korean won against the Chinese yuan and U.S. dollar, which makes goods more expensive in local currency, the sources say.
“Market prices have jumped at least twofold and, in some cases, more than fivefold,” said a Yanggang province resident who requested anonymity for security reasons. “Now, instead of carrying a money pouch to the market, people literally have to bring a backpack full of cash.”
North Korea doesn’t report consumer price data, so examples of specific products reflect the changes.
For example, a kilogram of sunflower oil, used for cooking, has nearly tripled to 75,000 won over the past two years, while sugar has jumped fourfold to 40,000 won. A kilogram of pork has more than tripled to 87,000 won.
Since 1,000-won notes are commonly used for daily transactions, buying a kilogram of sugar would require a stack of 40 such bills. Smaller bills would require even more.
North Korea is chronically short of food, and most people struggle to get food on their tables amid poor harvests and a weak economy still recovering from COVID-19 shutdowns. Every year, people starve to death, experts say.
Also, prices appear to have increased after the government raised wages in January 2023.
In North Korea, nearly everyone’s salaries are set by the state. In 2023, workers’ base salaries were raised from 2,000 won a month to 30,000 won.
The apparent goal of this plan was to raise wages while keeping prices stable. Authorities wanted to encourage workers to rely on their salaries for living expenses rather than engaging in side businesses or money-making activities in the jangmadang markets.
However, because of the widespread shortages of food and many other goods, the plan failed. On jangmadang markets across the country, prices have been steadily climbing, residents say.
Two years ago, before the wage hikes, a kilogram of salt cost 500 won, but now it goes for 2,000 won. A carton of eggs has risen from 800 won to 2,000 won, residents say.
Footwear is also more expensive. Before the wage hike a pair of sneakers made at the Sinuiju Shoe Factory sold for 19,800 won, but now they cost 170,000 won on the black market.
“As wages have risen, so have the prices of all other necessities, making it unclear why the government decided to raise wages in the first place,” he said. “Instead of improving people’s livelihoods, the wage increase has only made daily life even more difficult.”
A party official from Yanggang province who also requested anonymity said the price of rice has nearly doubled to 9,400 won per kilogram in the jangmadang markets.
Tobacco and cigarette prices have surged. Last March, a kilogram of “Yanggang wild tobacco” cost 400,000 won, but now it has soared to 2.5 million won.
“To buy just 1 kilogram of tobacco, you would need 500 of North Korea’s highest-denomination 5,000-won bills,” said official said.
Weaker won
Meanwhile, the domestic currency has weakened against the U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan, which are widely used in the markets — despite authorities’ attempts to restrict their use.
It has also raised the price of goods if customers pay in won.
Before the 2023 wage hike, 1 Chinese yuan bought 1,260 won and 1 U.S. dollar equaled 8,500 won on the black market. But now, a yuan is worth about 3,500 won and a dollar is worth 24,000 won.
“The North Korean currency has become so worn out that it is barely recognizable, and with prices skyrocketing, people have no choice but to use Chinese yuan,” said party official said.
Using foreign currency has even become a status symbol.
“Among young and wealthy people, a common way to show off is to say, ‘I don’t play with North Korean money,‘” the official said. “Those with financial means only use Chinese yuan or US dollars, while North Korean currency has essentially become the currency of the poor.”
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Korean.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine could be placed under a “temporary administration” as part of a peace process that could include help from North Korea and other Moscow allies.
The announcement came as South Korea reported that the North appeared to have dispatched at least another 3,000 soldiers to Russia in January and February.
Speaking about efforts to settle the war during his visit to Murmansk, Russia, Putin said not just the United States, but also all BRICS countries, as well as North Korea, could be partners for cooperation, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
“This is not only the United States but also the People’s Republic of China, India, Brazil, South Africa, all BRICS countries,” Putin said.
“And many others, for example, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” he said, using North Korea’s official name, without elaborating.
The United States brokered a tentative ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia this week to halt hostilities in the Black Sea and ensure safe navigation for commercial vessels.
However, Russia’s compliance is contingent upon the lifting of certain Western sanctions, particularly those affecting its agricultural exports. European leaders have expressed skepticism about easing sanctions, saying that the time is not right for such actions.
China has maintained a complex stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, emphasizing respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty while also acknowledging Russia’s security concerns regarding NATO expansion.
North Korea has reportedly deployed up to 12,000 troops and supplied ballistic missiles to support Russia’s efforts in Ukraine, marking its first significant military involvement abroad since the 1950s. Neither Russia nor North Korea has confirmed the claims made by the U.S. and South Korea.
Additional troops to Russia
The Russian leader’s remarks came as the South Korean military confirmed that North Korea appeared to have additionally dispatched at least 3,000 soldiers to Russia in January and February in support of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
“Of the some 11,000 North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia, 4,000 casualties have occurred, and it appears that some 3,000 or more have been additionally dispatched in January and February,” the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS, said.
The JCS said the North continued to supply missiles, ammunition and artillery equipment to Russia, including “a considerable amount of short-range ballistic missiles and around 220 pieces of 170 millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240 mm rocket launchers.”
It added Pyongyang appeared to be making technological upgrades to launch another military spy satellite, although there were no imminent signs of such a launch.
The JCS also noted that North Korea appeared to be carrying out a smaller number of wintertime military training sessions compared with last year, attributing the fall to troop mobilization for various construction works, preparation for additional deployment to Russia and chronic energy shortage.
North Korea unveiled on Thursday what appears to be its first airborne radar system and suicide attack drones equipped with artificial intelligence, adding to indications that Russia has provided technical assistance in exchange for the North sending troops to fight Ukraine.
Separately, Russia’s top official said preparations were under way for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia this year, the latest sign of deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Speaking to journalists in Moscow on Thursday, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko said Moscow was preparing for Kim’s visit to the country, Tass reported, without elaborating.
It would be Kim’s third visit to Russia, following his trip to Vladivostok in 2019 and the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in the Amur region in 2023.
Russia and North Korea have aligned closely since Putin and Kim signed a mutual defense treaty during the Russian leader’s visit to Pyongyang last year. It elevated military cooperation and resulted in the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
Recently, when entering restaurants or leaving official events, North Korean trading officials dispatched to China have been seen taking off lapel pins featuring the smiling faces of national founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il and pretending to be South Korean, two sources in China told Radio Free Asia.
All North Korean officials overseas are required to wear the “Kim Bu-ja” — or “father-son” — pins to show their allegiance to the men known respectively as “Great Leader” and “Dear Leader.”
The Kim dynasty is now in its third generation. Kim Il Sung, who ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994, was succeeded by Kim Jong-il, who ruled until 2011, after which his son Kim Jong Un took over as supreme ruler.
“Last week, I visited a famous restaurant in Shenyang with an executive from a North Korean trading company I knew through business,” a source from the Chinese city told RFA Korean, requesting anonymity for personal safety.
“When he arrived at the restaurant, he took off his Kim Bu-ja badge, put it in his pocket, and asked me not to say that he was North Korean,” he said.
“Furthermore, he not only hid Kim Bu-ja’s badge, but also asked me to introduce him as a South Korean,” he continued.
Easy to tell
Another source in Yanji city, in China’s Jilin province, said he had witnessed the same behavior.
“Recently, it’s hard to see North Korean officials wearing portrait badges,” he said. “North Korean officials take off their Kim Bu-ja badges and pretend to be South Koreans when they leave official events.”
It wasn’t clear why the North Korean officials wanted to hide their identity, the first source said. He speculated that it was because South Koreans in China are treated as wealthy.
“We don’t know the exact reason why these officials are taking off their Kim Bu-ja badges, but they might be embarrassed to be officials from North Korea, one of the poorest countries in the world,” he said.
Despite their efforts, the second source said that it was easy to tell that the men were from North Korea as soon as they started talking given their accent and manner of speech.
“North Korean officials can dress like South Koreans in terms of clothing and hairstyles, but if you talk to them, it’s immediately obvious” that their from the North.
Many Chinese can also easily tell the difference, he said.
“Some North Korean officials who have been in China for a long time are actually lamenting their situation,” with the North Korean economy on the brink of collapse, to their acquaintances in China, he said.
“It’s understandable how North Korean officials feel about not being able to reveal that they’re North Koreans overseas,” he said.
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Kim Ji-eun for RFA Korean.
US Elites want South Korea to be a “dictatorship for democracy”
Morse Tan, a high ranking former US State Dept. official, recently let the cat out of the bag on the US ruling elite position on South Korea’s Martial Law. He declared that “Yoon declared Martial Law to preserve South Korea’s Democracy.” Having previously labeled South Korea a model democracy, this is a No-Scotsman-move taken to absurdity.
Now, Tan is not a current US government official, buthe is an indicator of what the US national security state is thinking, in particular, what its neocon wing is thinking. Tan also recently claimed that “the impeachment against Yoon is an insurrection” led by opposition party leader Lee Jae Myung “who wants to turn the country over to the Chinese communists”.
As absurd and conspiratorial as these allegations sound, these are actually finely-tuned and well-honed Washington-CPAC talking points about Chinese threats and interference in Korea, and they are echoed endlessly, if histrionically by US flag-waving foot soldiers at South Korean protests and on Youtube. These anti-China messages were also repeated in German State TV ARD’s documentary“Staatskrise im Schatten von China und Nordkorea” (State Crisis in the Shadow of China and North Korea), released to its German public television website on Feb 25th. The documentary claimed that China had hacked South Korea’s legislative election to put the opposition DP party into power, who are now taking their orders from North Korea and China to impeach YoonThere is clearly a highly convergent and disciplined campaign of anti-China propaganda around the impeachment. ARD has removed its documentary, but the damage has clearly been done.
It’s impossible not to highlight the absurdity of Tan’s statement–“Yoon declared martial law (i.e. military dictatorship) to preserve democracy”. And as a foreign national, Tan is breaking South Korean law by directly participating in domestic Korean politics. But the free reign he is given, and the lack of disavowal or reprimand from the State Department–if only for his own safety–is very revealing.
Tan’s position in the state department was Ambassador at Large. These are powerful, Viceroy-type postings: they represent US policy and US interests on a (grand) strategic level. Consider other Ambassadors-at-Large: Averell Harriman, Henry Cabot Lodge, Paul Nitze, Paul Bremer III, StrobeTalbott, Robert Gallucci. These are not individuals given to improvising and airing idiosyncratic personal opinions. As a former state Viceroy, with the enduring prestige and power of state connections, the platforms that Tan has been given to expound his views signal that he is expressing the direction of official doctrine, reflected both in Tan’s public statements, state media talking points, and the coordinated erasure of counterviewpoints.
Strategic Unambiguity: What the US wants
US policy on South Korea’s dictatorship/martial law is analogous to its policy on Taiwan: Strategic “ambiguity” in language, concrete support and escalation in actions. The “ambiguity” serves to pretextually mask war preparations against China. Of course, there is nothing ambiguous about the strategy, other than the desire for a fig leaf of plausible deniability.
What the US wants from Korea is that which is strategically most advantageous for the US: a right wing Korean client regime to do the bidding of the US: escalate and prepare for war with China. This is a war that it has been envisioning since the early 2000’s and which was institutionalized by Obama’s “Pivot to Asia”. In fact, the reason Yoon was selected, elected, and lionized as South Korea’s president is because he was a walking neocon fulfillment list for this war.
As these war preparations accelerate and intensify, a South Korean military dictatorship with the US in control of the South Korean military is the easiest and most advantageous configuration to enact these plans. The US will settle for a client-plutocratic democratic state, but dictatorship has actually been the historical norm since South Korea was created by the US. Given the tight timelines involved, it is also possible for this configuration to be instituted again: this project of war is urgent and time-bound–US natsec heavyweights have calendared 2025 and 2027 (“the Minihan” & “Davidson windows”) as the propitious date range to trigger war with China.
Easy-peasy political proxy
South Korea offers two key strategic advantages. First, geographically and historically, Korea has always been the on ramp and bridgehead for invasion into China. War with China has always started from the Korean peninsula or Taiwan island, usually as interlinked pairs. Second, South Korea has the world’s 3rd largest standing army–including reservists, 3.6 Million troops–,larger than the militaries of China and Russia combined. The US gets operational control over these troops immediately if there is war. War with China is thus most compatible and convenient with a South Korean dictatorship.
There is very strong circumstantial evidence that the US knew beforehand about Yoon’s Martial Law declaration, due to the length and intricacy of the preparation and the aggressive military nature of the operation-which would have required coordination and communication with US forces in Korea. At the very least, they would have been aware. And regardless, they would have benefitted, geostrategically.
Sworn testimony shows that Yoon’s gambit was to trigger war with North Korea (through drone attacks, missile attacks, shelling, false flag assassinations of opposition) to justify declaring Martial Law. Only poor execution, North Korean forbearance, and rapid citizen mobilization prevented the seamless rollout of this military coup. Evidence has come out that Yoon was preparing repeated coups. Historically, all military coups on the southern peninsula have been greenlighted by the US.
On that point, Morse Tan is the Nancy Pelosi of Korea: he functions like a Track II US envoy–cheerleading for a right-wing South Korean military coup, with just the slightest hint of plausible deniability.
Note the dead radio silence out of Washington throughout this whole process: silence during the Martial Law declaration, silence after the rejection of Martial Law, silence after the impeachment, and silence throughout. Not a word of critique or condemnation. Note also the deafening hush of the mainstream corporate media.
Meanwhile, the fissures in SK society are approaching civil war.
Institutional Civil War, Governmental chaos
There is already intergovernmental war: on March 22 the CIO (Corruption Investigation Office, similar to the US Inspector General) raided the Prosecutor’s Office (similar to the Attorney General) for corruption, just days after the Prosecutor’s Office raided the CIO for evidence of warrant shopping on Yoon’s impeachment. This would be like the Inspector General raiding the Attorney General after the Attorney General raided the Inspector General.
Yoon has been released from custody on a technicality (“counting hours, not days”) despite being indicted for insurrection. His co-conspirators are still incarcerated, but the ringleader is free, highlighting the absurdity of the ruling. The prosecutor’s office, ostensibly committed to prosecuting Yoon, did not even bother to file an appeal. The prosecutor’s office is considered to be Yoon’s private army–Yoon was the former prosecutor general of Korea, and he promised to create a “Republic of Prosecutors”. That much he has been successful on.
The Return of the Zombie
Han Duck Soo, the impeached South Korean Prime minister (and former acting president) has just had his impeachment reversed yesterday, and is now acting president again.
The constitutional court found that Han had violated the constitution (by refusing to appoint already approved justices to the Constitutional Court to rule on the impeachment issue) but they reinstated him anyway. Never mind the irony that the court could have lacked standing to try his case if he had been successful in disabling the court. Han had also been tasked with appointing an independent counsel to investigate Yoon (to avoid the conflicts of interest that have appeared with the prosecutor’s office), but he had declined, leading to the current debacle of suspect loyalties and suspicious/delayed/tampered/sabotaged legal processes. One Constitutional Court justice claimed that the current political chaos was directly related to Han’s malfeasance and non-cooperation in these matters and found for impeachment–but she was a tiny minority of one in the ruling.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Han Duck Soo was already problematic in that it was out of sequence. The fact that they ruled first before Yoon’s case, and ruled against impeachment is an ominous signal. Two other high officials, Kim Seong-hun, and Lee Kwang-woo (of the presidential security service), indicted for impeding Yoon’s arrest, have recently also had their arrest warrants rejected. These are powerful figures who are now at large, with huge axes to grind. The trends are not in favor of impartial justice or peaceful resolution.
Washington’s Dirty Hand
The delayed impeachment ruling of Yoon itself is widely thought to be due to Washington’s pressure: it has been one month since the testimony was completed, but still there has been no ruling. This is abnormally long for what is an open-and-shut case: there is no doubt that Yoon declared Martial Law (he is on television declaring it!), and there is no doubt that he used extra-constitutional means–military force–to implement it and to try to prevent its rescission. But it’s widely considered that the ruling is delayed so that Lee Jae Myung’s appeal ruling (due on 3/26) will be decided before the Constitutional court’s ruling on Yoon is made public.
This is because Lee Jae Myung, the opposition DP party chair, would be the leading candidate for president if the impeachment of Yoon triggers a snap election (in 60 days). He is currently 20+ points ahead of any other potential candidate by polling. The presidency would be his to take under normal circumstances.
However, if Lee’s guilt is sustained by the appellate court, he would be stripped of all political rights for a decade, and the opposition DP would lose its strongest candidate. Washington does not want Lee Jae Myung as president, because it’s understood that he would balance with China against the US, and de-escalate the coming war on China. Hence the delay. Opposition party representative Park Sun-won has verified that the US is exerting pressure through diplomatic channels to align the impeachment date as close to Lee Jae Myung’s sentencing as possible.
On the Brink of Explosion
South Korea is now a tinderbox on the brink.
One million protestors hit the streets over the weekend, demanding the Constitutional court deliver its verdict immediately. Some of these protestors had been previously protesting in the snow for weeks, demanding justice. From the right, there has been open aggression by right wing counter-impeachment protesters, paid up or pumped up with “anti-communist” fervor by religious leaders and the ruling party, repeating ARD and CPAC tropes on “Chinese communist intervention”. These shock troops have destroyed and rampaged through Seoul’s Western District Courthouse, assaulted opposition party politicians, as well as attacked Chinese tourists as “spies”. The right have openly spoken of reconstituting the North West Youth league–the genocidal red-baiting death squads of the Korean war.
And so, it seems the American flag-waving beatings will continue until the anti-communist morale improves in the country. Regardless of the rulings to come, South Korea’s destiny is precarious: more potential turbulence, more violence, even potential civil war. Certainly more twists and turns. If the constitutional court acquits Yoon, there will be mass popular protests in the millions: Yoon will be incapable of ruling and is likely to declare Martial Law again, if only to save his bacon (he is facing insurrection charges). Recent news has revealed that Yoon had plans to declare Martial Law multiple times.
On the other hand, if the constitutional court successfully impeaches Yoon, the ruling party and its followers will pull out all the stops: street violence and a Maidan-type insurrection by the right wing cannot be ruled out. The quiet acquiescence of the right as was the case after the Park Geun Hye impeachment is unlikely, given the heated propaganda allegations and the polarized ideology.
So, South Korea is facing risky outcomes either way. The forces acting on this small country are immense. Whether Koreans get a clear diamond or spontaneous combustion from the immense pressure remains to be seen.
There is a tiny, narrow path that would relieve pressure and facilitate a more peaceful outcome. If the US removes its finger from the scale in South Korean affairs–and disavows the US-flag-waving right that it is stoking and supporting–a single word of reprimand would deflate the South Korean rightwing like a sharp pin to a blow up doll.
But that would take a geostrategic shift–a downshifting and downsizing dreams of US Hegemony, and a turn towards peace and win-win.
Is the US capable of this? Or will it continue its dangerous ways? The fate of the peninsula–and possibly the planet–lies in the balance.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korea has continued to impose strict controls on the movement of its citizens, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of defectors escaping the country, a recent U.N. report showed, despite recent signs of easing its COVID-19 border closure.
A total of 181 North Korean defectors – 59 women and 22 men – entered South Korea between January and September of last year, according to a report submitted by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, to the U.N. Human Rights Council.
In 2023, the number of defectors who made it to South Korea was 196.
The report highlighted that these numbers represent a drastic drop compared to pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, some 1,047 defectors arrived in South Korea, meaning the latest figures amount to only about one-quarter to one-fifth of the previous count.
The report attributed the steep decline to North Korea’s continued restrictions on freedom of movement, despite partially reopening its borders.
It also noted a shift in defector demographics. Many of those arriving in South Korea in recent years were laborers who had been dispatched overseas – mainly to China and Russia – to generate foreign money for the Kim Jong Un regime, rather than the trafficked women who once comprised the majority of defectors.
The OHCHR’s report also documented severe human rights abuses within North Korea, based on testimonies from 175 defectors collected between November 2022 and October 2023. These testimonies detailed violations in detention facilities, chronic food shortages, ideological control through public executions, and other acts that could constitute international crimes.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged North Korea to acknowledge the existence of human rights violations and grant access to international human rights groups.
He also called for the punishment of inhumane treatment, protection against enforced disappearances and rapid compensation for victims.
“The United Nations Security Council should take measures, such as referring the case to the International Criminal Court, to hold those responsible for serious human rights violations in North Korea accountable,” said Türk.
North Korea reportedly closed its only gateway for foreign tourists in early March, weeks after allowing visitors back in, which had suggested it was opening up for the first time since imposing a COVID-19 ban on arrivals in 2020.
Impact on public health
The North’s strict movement controls also have far-reaching consequences on public health and sanitation because the lack of mobility hampers access to essential services and resources.
Despite some foreign embassies, such as those of Cuba, India, Poland, and Sweden, resuming operations in Pyongyang since the latter half of 2024, U.N. and humanitarian aid organizations still face restrictions on entering the country, according to a separate report presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council by Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea.
The report said that North Korea’s chronic food insecurity has left nearly half of the population suffering from malnutrition.
It estimated the country’s malnutrition rate at an average of 45.5% over the past three years. Based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, approximately 11.8 million North Koreans were estimated to be malnourished during this period.
The report attributed the severe food crisis to a combination of outdated production infrastructure, inadequate technology, a lack of investment, and frequent natural disasters. Additionally, the government’s restrictive policies on private enterprise, including the reinstatement of state control over essential goods like rice and corn, have worsened the situation.
The national vaccination rate has plunged from over 96% before the pandemic to below 42% by mid-2021, with no children receiving vaccinations for major diseases, including tuberculosis, throughout 2022, according to the report.
North Korea has been designated as one of 30 high-burden nations for drug-resistant tuberculosis by the World Health Organization.
The report also revealed that 52% of North Korean households rely on unsanitary waste disposal, posing serious public health risks, including increased cases of diarrhea.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
North Korea is advising its people to unplug their TV sets in a nationwide effort to save electricity, but residents complain that the effort won’t amount to much, residents told Radio Free Asia.
Every electronic device plugged into the wall consumes a small amount of electricity, even when not in use. Certain appliances like TVs — even when turned off — can consume around 5% of the power it would cost when turned on. North Korean TVs consume about 2 watts per hour when turned off, one of the residents said.
But the residents said they felt like unplugging their TVs would do nothing to fix North Korea’s tattered economy.
“The authorities claim that the country’s scarce electricity is being illegally overused and insist that this phenomenon must be eliminated,” a resident from the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The party told the people that it was a misconception that they could use electricity freely at home if they pay their electric bills, she said.
“They instructed that we should keep in mind that even 1 watt of electricity is a valuable asset for the country, so we should unplug the TV at home,” she said. “But residents are resisting, saying that the state does not provide enough electricity to make demands that we save it.”
She pointed out how there are almost no places across North Korea that receive electricity around the clock. Rolling blackouts are the norm, and in some places, electricity is only available for a few hours in the morning and evening, around breakfast and dinner time.
She acknowledged that power shortages are taking their toll on the country’s economy and causing inconvenience for the people.
“But the country is saying the way to solve this is to engage in the power saving project with a patriotic spirit,” she said.
In the northwestern province of North Pyongan, power is only available for about an hour each day, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“In some cities, electricity is supplied in several 10-minute bursts each day, adding up to about one hour,” he said. “The party is urging people to make it a habit to conserve even 1 watt of electricity, considering it as a valuable national asset, and each hour a TV consumes 2 watts (when plugged in).”
He said that the initiative would likely have no effect.
“No one believes that the collapsed national economy can be restored by unplugging the TV at home.”
Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Kim Jieun for RFA Korean.
South Korea’s largest Muslim organisation has issued a fatwa recognising that cultivated meat can be Halal if it meets certain requirements, with one startup already pursuing the certification.
Cultivated meat can be considered Halal and consumed by Muslims, provided they’re sourced and produced in accordance with Halal standards, according to the Korean Muslim Federation (KMF).
The KMF’s Halal Committee recently issued the world’s second fatwa recognising cultivated meat as Halal, following a similar ruling by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore last year.
A fatwa is a non-binding legal opinion based on Sharia law, and is an important guideline for Muslims on matters not specifically defined in the Quran.
Korean startup Simple Planet has been looking to obtain Halal certification for its cell-cultured ingredients, an effort that will now be accelerated thanks to the ruling.
Simple Planet pursues Halal certification
Courtesy: Simple Planet
Simple Planet produces protein powders and unsaturated fatty acid pastes for cultivated meat products, and has established at least 13 different animal cell lines, including beef, pork, chicken, bluefin tuna, and lobster.
Last month, it signed an MoU with the Halal Science Center at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand to integrate Halal Good Manufacturing Practices into biotech-powered food solutions, such as Simple Planet’s cell culture production system.
The two entities will collaborate on Halal science and tech research via resource-sharing, joint academic programmes, and industry-led seminars. In addition, they will support student internships, faculty exchanges, and joint research initiatives to foster a cross-disciplinary approach to Halal certification.
The startup developed an edible, serum-free culture medium using metabolites derived from probiotics, laying the groundwork for Halal adherence while potentially reducing production costs by 99.8%.
“By developing cell-based ingredients that can be safely supplied without being affected by environmental factors and establishing a sustainable food production system, we aim to enhance accessibility to cell-based foods, contribute to food security, and help alleviate hunger worldwide,” said Simple Planet co-founder and CEO Dominic Jeong.
The company has raised $7.5M from private investors and $8M in a government grant and is pursuing regulatory clearance in South Korea, which laid out a framework for the safety approval of these products last year. Working to make its products Halal-certified will open the company up to a bigger audience when it eventually gets to market.
Halal certification clears a significant market barrier
Courtesy: Simple Planet
Halal diets refer to food consumption in accordance with Islamic law. When it comes to meat, this means animals must be slaughtered in a prescribed way, and certain types of meat and byproducts – including pork and blood products – are prohibited.
According to the KMF’s fatwa, a thorough inspection of production facilities and processes is required for final Halal certification. But it’s still a significant development that paves the way for local cultivated meat producers to enter the Halal market and attract Muslim consumers. There are around 200,000 Muslims in South Korea today, and 40% of them live in Seoul, data from the KMF shows.
Globally, Halal consumers represent a quarter of the population, and the halal meat market is estimated to grow by 7% annually to reach $1.6T by 2032.
Cultivated meat producers understand the opportunity. A 44-company survey in 2023 revealed that complying with halal requirements was a priority for 87% of the firms. A lack of resources outlining how products can adhere to such religious certifications remain a significant entry barrier, the study added.
The fatwas in Singapore and South Korea follow similar advice from scholars elsewhere. In 2023, three leading Shariah scholars in Saudi Arabia told cultivated chicken maker Good Meat that cultured meat can be considered halal. A year earlier, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America adjudged cultivated meat as provisionally permissible by default, provided Halal criteria are followed.
“More than a billion people around the world adhere to halal food standards, so for cultivated meat to make the leap from novelty to the norm, it is crucial that there are viable pathways to achieve this certification,” Mirte Gosker, managing director of the Good Food Institute APAC, said last year.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Ukraine said its military struck three long-range artillery guns supplied to Russia by North Korea, underlining the extent of the authoritarian Asian nation’s involvement in Russian efforts to defeat the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kursk.
The Ukrainian military said Wednesday that an aerial reconnaissance unit from the 14th Separate Drone Regiment identified the M-1978 howitzers hidden among trees and coordinated fire from Ukrainian rocket artillery.
“The M-1978 Koksan self-propelled artillery system is North Korea’s longest-range tubed artillery. Equipped with a 170mm gun, it has a range of up to 60 kilometers,” the unit said on its official Telegram channel.
“The system was originally designed with the capability to strike Seoul from the north of the demilitarized zone. Now, the Russian Armed Forces are using it in the war against Ukraine to offset their artillery losses,” it said.
As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of Kursk in an August counterattack, according to the U.S. and Ukraine. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow has acknowledged their presence.
Evidence also has mounted that impoverished North Korea has supplied weaponry to Russia, likely to offset Russian artillery losses.
In February, Ukraine reported that its drone squad struck a North Korean self-propelled howitzer in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.
The Khortytsia, or east, group of forces said it was the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that a “very rare” North Korean M-1978 Koksan howitzer had been hit by a Ukrainian drone.
A troop formation with North Korean equipment was spotted in Russia’s Tyumen region in December. It had 10 modernized Koksan howitzers known as the M-1989.
South Korea said in October that the North had sent about 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia over the previous two months, bringing the total number of containers at that point to 20,000.
The Washington Post this week cited Ukrainian soldiers and officials as saying that a fresh influx of North Korean troops along with air superiority, and overwhelming numerical advantage enabled Russia to recapture the town of Sudzha last week, Ukraine’s final stronghold in Kursk.
The heavy reliance on North Korean forces and equipment to reclaim nearly the entire Kursk region after seven months of Ukrainian control highlights the Kremlin’s determination to regain lost territory at any cost, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Since the signing of a mutual defense treaty in Pyongyang in June, North Korea and Russia have deepened relations across various sectors.
A Russian delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, visited North Korea last week, holding meetings with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong Gyu.
The North’s state media did not provide details, but the two sides were expected to discuss defense matters related to North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia amid a U.S.-proposed ceasefire for the war.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
The North Korean army is ordering soldiers to stop scrounging the streets for cigarette butts to smoke even as commanders keep some of the soldiers’ monthly cigarette rations for themselves, members of the country’s military told Radio Free Asia.
The subject was broached during a video conference of the General Political Bureau of the army on March 14, a member of the military in the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“The meeting very seriously discussed the issue of lax discipline among commanders and soldiers,” the military member said, adding that desertion and theft were also brought up as examples of lax discipline.
“At this meeting, soldiers were strongly warned against picking up cigarette butts,” he said. “It was officially declared that any soldier caught picking up cigarette butts on the street would be punished with revolutionary labor for at least three months,” a reference to getting the toughest chores.
According to the military member, people sifting through cigarette butts to salvage unsmoked tobacco is a recent problem, but it’s a breach of decorum for a uniformed soldier to do it.
“Each soldier is provided with 15 packs of cigarettes per month, but the commanders take them all up. So, the soldiers are left picking up the butts because they don’t have any cigarettes to smoke,” he said.
“In the past, it was just the lower-ranked soldiers who looked for butts, but now even the higher-ranked soldiers are doing it too.”
Cigarette rations have declined, another member of the military from the same province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“In the case of the border guards, each soldier used to be supplied with 15 packs of Baekseung-brand cigarettes per month, but since last fall, they have only been supplied with 10 packs,” he said.
“After the commanders skim off the top, the soldiers are left only 7 packs per month,” he explained.
He said that every afternoon the leaders of the border guards send two soldiers to go collect cigarette butts because every unit has a shortage of cigarettes.
“Even the border guard units, which are supposedly well-supplied, is in this state, and situations are much worse with other infantry units,” the second source said. “What is more troubling is that this year, even female soldiers have been spotted out on the streets, picking up cigarette butts.”
Male units of the border guard are after the tobacco, but the female guards are after the filters, which contain cotton that can be used to make clothes or ceremonial blankets for newlyweds, a customary gift at weddings, he said.
So the women — who aren’t allowed to smoke at all — trade the tobacco they collected in exchange for the filters that the men collected. With the money they get for selling the filters, they buy food for their unit.
“The supply chain for soldiers is in such a sad state that soldiers are selling cigarette butts for food,” he said. “I wonder if threats like revolutionary labor can even work against these soldiers.”
Translated by Clare S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Moon Sung Whui for RFA Korean.
North Korea has ordered that parents give their children names that reflect the country’s revolutionary spirit — and in some cases has even told people to change their names if they sound too South Korean, residents told Radio Free Asia.
Almost every Korean name has a specific meaning, and in the South, parents have the freedom to choose any name without much interference from the state.
But in the North, the government prefers that children be given names that convey loyalty to the state, sound militaristic or express personal virtues.
Recently, it’s become trendy in North Korea to give children names that have good meanings and are easy to pronounce, a resident from the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
For girls, they include Su Bin (outstanding brilliance), Da On (all good things coming), A Ri (noble and precious), or Si A (righteous and pure character).
For boys, there’s Do Yun (inner strength), Ha Yul (the word of God), Ji U (close, similar-minded, friend), and Min So (good citizen).
But these have now somewhat fallen out of favor according to the order — and residents think it might be because the government is implying they sound kind of South Korean.
Instead, the government has suggested names that convey the party’s eternal love for the people, like Eun Hye (grace), Eun Dok (benevolence), and Haeng Bok (happiness). Or names that reflect loyalty to the party, like Chung Song (loyalty), Chung Sil (Sincerity) and Chung Bok (Devotion).
The resident said that if names sounded too South Korean, people would be required to change them, but didn’t provide any examples of that happening.
Commitment to the revolution
The new naming rules are meant to reinforce commitment to the revolution, the resident said.
“The party’s directive is to name children in a way that preserves Juche ideology and national identity,” she said, referring to the country’s founding ideology of self-reliance.
“This essentially means that children’s names should never be given in a way that could allow the South Korean puppets to be considered as fellow compatriots.”
(The North Korean government often uses the derogatory term “puppets” to refer to South Koreans, implying that the South is a U.S. puppet state.)
The government hopes that if North Koreans have patriotic names, then fewer will share names with South Koreans, the resident said.
Ordinary people are not happy with the order, she said.
“Some people are expressing discontent, saying, that naming a child should be the parents’ decision, not the party’s,” she said. “The authorities are forcing this revolutionary name changes, controlling every aspect of our lives.”
‘Not Loyal’
In some cases, people with a perfectly acceptable given name are made to change it because of their family name, a resident of the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA.
“One resident named their child Chung Song (loyalty), but had to change it because their surname is An,” he said.
“An” means peace, but it has the same pronunciation as the word that means “not.”
“The name An Chung Song therefore means ‘not loyal,’ so the authorities ordered the name to be changed,” the second resident said.
When people heard this, they sarcastically started suggesting negative names for people with the name An, he said.
“Maybe Chung Song should change his name to Byon Jol (treacherous), so he’d be An Byon Jol (not treacherous),” the second resident said. “They are laughing at the authorities’ behavior.”
He said that most residents consider the order baffling, because the parents chose these names with hopes for their children’s success, and shouldn’t have to change simply because the government thinks they are South Korean.
“If socialism can be shaken by just a name, where is the so-called invincibility of the North Korean system?”
Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Kim Jieun for RFA Korean.
