DPRK news

N. Korea likely behind hacking of South Korean program North Korea is likely behind the hacking of a word processing program used in South Korea, according to a recent report from cyber-security FireEye. The program – called Hangul Word Processor – was developed by South Korean company Hancom Inc. and is commonly used in the country’s government and public institutions.Since the exploit’s discovery, the program has been patched by Hancom. Visit NK News for more Defectors in S. Korea dying of suicide, unknown reasons: Lawmaker Over the last 10 years 31 North Korean defectors have committed suicide and 72 have died for unknown reasons, an opposition party lawmaker revealed Friday. New arrivals are often disappointed that South Korea is not the paradise portrayed in dramas. Defectors described their social status in North Korea as “upper class” in 12.7 percent of cases and “middle class” in 36.6 percent. Currently in South Korea, only 3.3 percent of them said they are “upper class,” and 23.1 percent think they are “middle class.”  Visit NK News for more Court case reveals Chinpo Shipping's ties to North Korea The ongoing trial in Singapore of Chinpo Shipping and its director Tan Cheng Hoe for making payments to a now sanctioned North Korean shipping company currently awaits a verdict after a two-month, often-delayed court battle. Tan is accused of facilitating the voyage of the Chon Chong Gang as it carried weapons from Cuba to North Korea, as well as making illegal remittances to North Korean companies. NK News sat in on the trial. Visit NK News for more Opening up about North Korean defection, By David Tian At age 11, Eunsun Kim (a pseudonym), would have succumbed to the famine had her mother not made the risky decision to take her and her sister across the Tumen River to China in search of food. The group fell into the clutches of people traffickers and was sold to a Chinese farmer, before being denounced, returned to North Korea and imprisoned. In July 2015, their story was published in English by under the title A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea. Here, Kim speaks to David Tian about her journey and her decision to speak out. Visit NK News for more 'The North will rise again!': Anticipating Korea's post-unification attitudes, By Fyodor Tertitskiy How will the Koreans of the future feel about the DPRK? Parallels have previously been suggested with the "Ostalgie" and "Soviet nostalgia" trends in the former Eastern Bloc, but here Fyodor Tertitskiy draws another connection: with US nostalgia for the Confederacy. While not politically correct, many Americans retain a certain admiration for the Confederacy and its leaders - something that is likely to happen in a reunified Korea. Visit NK News for more

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Unification Ministry marks up next years budget proposal (Yonhap News)
The Ministry of Unification has increased its budget proposal for next year to reflect the government's will to improve ties with North Korea, a government official said Thursday.

N. Korea says fresh probe into Japan abductees almost done (Mainichi Shimbun)
North Korea has nearly completed a fresh investigation it promised Japan last year into the fates of Japanese citizens allegedly abducted by the country decades ago.

Seoul 'Preparing for N.Korean Nuclear Threat' (The Chosun Ilbo)
Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Thursday said the South Korean military is preparing for the "high likelihood" that North Korea will deploy nuclear weapons warfare-ready.

South Korea, U.S., China need plan for nukes in post-Kim North Korea (The Korea Herald)
South Korea, the U.S. and China should initiate a mechanism to head off a possible handover of North Korean nuclear weapons to terrorist groups and boost substantive top-level talks. 

In North Korea, deals on the bus make markets go round (Reuters)
It's not Amazon or FedEx, but in North Korea's fledgling market economy a fleet of repurposed old passenger buses is the next best thing for moving trade goods.