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North Korea

The leader of the world's most isolated country Kim Jong Un has flouted international sanctions to develop North Korea's weapons program -- viewed as a direct threat to neighboring South Korea and Japan. Kim, a dictator who inherited power from his father in 2011, has also pledged to strengthen the country's nuclear arsenal, despite signals earlier in his reign he would support denuclearization. View the latest North Korea news and videos.

Latest news

  • 02_GettyImages-961849298.JPG
    DigitalGlobe via Getty Images
    North Korea’s nuclear tests may have reactivated seismic faults
  • A satellite image shows a nuclear material production factory, in Yongbyon, North Korea, May 17, 2026.
    2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout/Reuters
    North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility, UN’s nuclear watchdog says
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the commissioning ceremony of the destroyer "Kang Kon", in North Korea, on September 6, 2026
    KCNA
    Nuclear-capable warship that capsized when launched finally joins North Korea’s fleet
  • U.S. President Donald Trump walks as he attends to host a back-to-school-themed event to highlight his administration's education policies, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 24, 2026.
    Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
    Six months on, Trump’s Iran ‘excursion’ risks igniting crises far beyond the Middle East
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they attended a ceremony last year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
    KCNA/Reuters
    North Korea boosts support for Russia to include drone operators, Ukraine says
  • Kim Yo Jong is the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
    Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images
    Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister says she is ‘completely unaware’ if he contacted Trump
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  • Japan outlines its military build-up plan, citing threats from China, Russia and North Korea
  • US expert on underground nuclear tests detained in China for 18 months
  • Iran war heats up while US weapon stocks remain depleted, risking military’s ability to fight future wars
  • North Korea jump-starts naval buildup by commissioning its largest-ever warship
  • Ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to 30 years in jail over Pyongyang drone plot
  • Why China’s Xi wants a ‘brighter’ future with North Korea
  • China’s Xi Jinping calls for strengthened ‘strategic cooperation’ with North Korea in rare summit with Kim Jong Un
  • Kim Jong Un is loving North Korean women’s soccer. What drives its remarkable success?
  • China’s Xi Jinping to make rare trip to North Korea next week
  • Kim Jong Un inspects new nuclear plant, plans ‘exponential’ weapons production ramp-up

Latest Videos

  • thumbnail trump south korea drills 1.jpg
    • Video 0:47
    Video 0:47
    Getty Images via Truth Social
    Video Why Trump is scaling back ongoing US-South Korea military drills 0:47
  • 120444_DPRKHeatBeachBusy-huk-digvid-hori-clean-thumbnail.jpg
    • Video 1:49
    Video 1:49
    Korean Central TV
    Video North Korea promotes beach resort amid deadly heat wave 1:49
  • CNN aircheck Will Ripley reporting.jpg
    • Video 3:27
    Video 3:27
    CNN
    Video Ukraine President Zelensky: Putin on verge of getting 30K North Korean Troops 3:27
  • still_22753385_3108528.241_thumb.jpg
    • Video 3:27
    Video 3:27
    CNN
    Video North Korea commissions its largest ever war ship 3:27
  • <p>In a rare breakthrough after years of frozen relations, North Korea’s women’s soccer team has arrived in South Korea for the first time in over seven years. The 39 players, hailed as national heroes by Kim Jong Un and under tight supervision, landed at Incheon Airport Sunday and will face Suwon FC Women in a high-stakes Asian Club Cup semifinal. With no direct talks between the two governments, the visit raises hopes that football and joint cheer squads can spark a rare moment of goodwill. CNN's Will Ripley reports. </p>
    • Video 3:06
    Video 3:06
    Clipped From Video
    Video North Korean women’s soccer team arrives in South Korea for the first time in over 7 years 3:06
  • thumbnail npw russian ship nuclear 1.jpg
    • Video 7:29
    Video 7:29
    Telegram
    Video A Russian ship carrying nuclear reactors sank. Where was it headed? 7:29
  • NK 16x9 1.jpg
    • Video 0:49
    Video 0:49
    CNN
    Video Kim Jong Un memorializes troops killed fighting for Russia 0:49
  • 118877_NorthKoreaNuclearProgram_Horizontal_Clean_Thumb.jpg
    • Video 0:46
    Video 0:46
    Korean Central TV
    Video Watchdog warns of rapid North Korea nuclear expansion 0:46

Politics

Show all

  • US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
    Getty Images
    Trump says he intends to meet Kim Jong Un this year
  • President Donald Trump addresses the crowd as he departs the David Mack Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, on Friday, August 14.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Trump’s chaos may be destroying his own foreign policy
  • This photo from the US District Court District of Massachusetts shows North Korean information technology workers on a multi-member team that the US Department of Justice says works with the North Korean government to fund its regime. Note: Parts of the image provided by the US District Court District of Massachusetts have been obscured.
    US District Court District of Massachusetts
    Two Americans sentenced to prison for North Korean tech worker scheme
  • Kim Jong Un at an opening of Saeppyol Street apartment complex for families of soldiers killed in Russia deployment in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 16, 2026.
    Rodong Sinmun/KCNA/File
    North Korean hackers bug software used by thousands of US companies in potential crypto heist attempt
  • PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - JANUARY 3: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (L), and CIA Director John Ratcliffe monitor U.S. military operations in Venezuela, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club on January 3, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores were brought to New York on Saturday after being captured by the U.S. military in Caracas. They are expected to face federal charges related to drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. (Photo by Molly Riley/The White House via Getty Images)
    • Video 1:29
    Video 1:29
    Handout/Getty Images North America/White House via Getty Images
    Video Inside Trump’s makeshift situation room at Mar-a-Lago during Maduro’s capture 1:29

Style

Show all

  • 20260120-north-korean-film-final-IN-STORY.jpg
    Photo Illustration by Jason Lancaster/CNN/Getty Images/Film stills via Korean Central TV
    Sex, death and betrayal: This North Korean movie shows things audiences have never seen before
  • This picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows Hwasong, the new high-rise neighborhood being constructed in Pyongyang, North Korea.
    KCNA
    North Korea unveils new 10,000-home showpiece residential district
  • A 3D visualization of the Hwasong development shows a tall skyscraper on the left, with other towers lining a wide street.
    EyePress News/Shutterstock
    North Korea breaks ground on 10,000-home residential project in major housing drive
  • Hyun Mi experiences her hometown in North Korea through VR in September, 2020.
    Courtesy Ministry of Unification
    This woman left North Korea 70 years ago. Now virtual reality has helped her return
  • north korea virtual reality intl hnk_00015616.png
    • Video 2:40
    Video 2:40
    Ministry of Unification
    Video This woman left North Korea 70 years ago. Now virtual reality has helped her return 2:40

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