North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the "serious consequences" of failing to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country, state media reported Saturday. The impoverished nation, with a weak and ill-equipped healthcare system, has closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease into its territory.

The test was the country’s second in a week and came as its main rival, South Korea, grappled with a large coronavirus outbreak.

The aunt of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has re-emerged in Pyongyang, the capital, the country’s media said Sunday, dispelling rumors that she was purged after her powerful husband was executed on charges of plotting a coup to topple Kim in 2013.

North Korea has had no cases of the new coronavirus that is spreading in neighboring China, a health ministry official said on state media on Sunday. North Korea has ended most flights with China and Russia, imposed mandatory quarantines on any foreigners arriving in the country and ended international tourism programs, among other measures.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first appearance in state-run media in three weeks on Sunday, the birthday of his father and late leader Kim Jong Il. The official Korean Central News Agency reported in the morning that Kim Jong Un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of the two former leaders -- his grandfather and father -- lie in state.

Michael Hay, who founded and managed the longest-running foreign-backed law firm to be based in North Korea, died last Wednesday in South Korea, aged 58. His death was confirmed by friends and former colleagues to NK News. Hay – also a friend of this author – was well known among businesses and NGOs as one of the few lawyers to have ever successfully won commercial disputes in North Korea’s opaque legal system.

They scored $80 million by tricking a network into routing funds to Sri Lanka and the Philippines and then using a "money mule" to pick up the cash.

Pyongyang’s famous traffic ladies have mostly disappeared from intersections throughout the city, multiple informed sources have indicated to NK News.

Smartphones are driving major changes in North Korean lifestyles, several Daily NK sources in Pyongyang recently reported. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent condolences over the passing of the mot...

"Under a rather extreme hypothetical situation in which war may break out between North Korea and Japan, 45.5 percent would choose to help North Korea, and 15.1 percent Japan," a new survey shows.

Japan's national intelligence agency issued a warning regarding potential North Korean interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and South Korea's parliamentary election next year.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were use...

Microsoft said it won a court order that allowed the tech giant to take control of 50 websites that a North Korea-linked hacking group was using to carry out cyberattacks.

The Czech intelligence services foiled a secret plan by North Korea to smuggle weapons parts and surveillance drones, leading to the expulsion of a North Korean diplomat from the country, according to a report. The report, published this week by the Czech daily Deník N, claims that the alleged plot was foiled by the Czech Security Information Service, known as BIS.

Kim Jong Un sent a message of condolence following the death of North Korean actor Choe Chang Su, state media said Tuesday.

Pyongyang claims there have been no cases of the virus in the country. So why it is taking increasingly desperate measures?

He has thought of everything. He has cut the wires to the surveillance cameras. He has volunteered for a longer night shift. He has even laid out shoes for her by the back door.

Award-winning photographer David Guttenfelder’s best shots.

An important lesson on what sorts of sanctions work against Pyongyang.