29 Chinese fishermen kidnapped by North Koreans have finally been freed and are now home in China. more ›

Three Chinese fishing boats were allegedly seized by a North Korean ship in Chinese waters last week. The unidentified hijackers are demanding a ransom of RMB1.2 million. If that sum is not handed over by the end of today, they threatened to "dispose" of the captives. more ›

For those who have the rare opportunity, the train linking Dandong in China to Pyongyang in North Korea offers a unique glimpse of the most closed country in the world. [AFP] more ›

Korean folk song Arirang as performed by North Korea's National Symphony Orchestra. more ›

About 100 North Koreans living in the border city of Dandong in Liaoning province gathered last Thursday to celebrate their identity. [Euronews] more ›

North Korea unveils giant statues of its former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il amid the communist state suffering major blow as its long-range rocket fails. [Euronews] more ›

In a major embarassment to North Korea and the country's new leader, Kim Jong-un (also known as Üter Zörker), their controversial rocket launch has not exactly gone to plan. The Glorious Nation briefly managed to get it's rocket up, but only for one underwhelming minute before it plunged back down again, shamefully failing enter into orbit. No words of comfort were offered to orbit, who has always been insecure about the size of her curvature and may or may not believe she was responsible. Instead, North Korea slumped into an icy silence lasting for hours, before finally admitting to the world what had happened. more ›

Things are looking rather festive up north in the DPRK, despite the ongoing furore over a rocket launch that the United States and allies say is a ballistic missile test in violation of a United Nations ban. The Spring Friendship Art Festival opened yesterday in Pyongyang to to celebrate the centennial of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. The Choson Sinbo, a DPRK-owned paper published in Japan, said the festival, which runs till April 19, would bring together about 800 artists from 23 countries. International delegations have been made to visit the supposed birthplace of the Eternal President at Mangyongdae to be "briefed on the glorious and revolutionary history of Kim Il Sung". Also read the KCNA report of the festival here. more ›

“The ardent yearning for leader Kim Jong Il has inspired us to make fresh innovations in the project. We have been devoting all our efforts to finishing the project in time, even under the strained situation caused by the Lee Myung Bak regime of south Korea.” more ›

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Is the Cold War Bloc Party still going strong? A non-binding UN General Assembly resolution to denounce the violence in Syria passed 137 votes to 12 while 17 countries abstained, with China and Russia among the 12 countries who voted against the measure. Other states who voted against the measure were Syria, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe. more ›

The first bronze statue of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been unveiled in Pyongyang as part of celebrations marking what would have been his 70th birthday this week. [AP] more ›

Last Friday, rumours that Kim Jong-un was assassinated at the Beijing embassy began on Weibo, hopped over to Twitter, then went around the world. The "Great Successor", as it turns out, is still alive and kicking, and the rumours were actually sparked by his daddy's 70th birthday celebrations (even though he's pickled kimchi now). more ›

Jende Huang writes on Sino-NK about the illicit trade in crystal meth between North Korea and China. Curiously, China doesn't seem to be too keen in reprimanding the DPRK for the production and export of meth, or bingdu (冰毒) in Chinese. more ›

Remember that video of the five young North Korean accordionists' rendition of A-ha's Take On Me? It's totally gone viral since we showed it to you last Friday (watch it if you haven't!). Evan Ramstad, the Wall Street Journal's Seoul correspondent, caught up with Morten Traavik, the artist behind the performance that will soon open at Barents Spektakel, an international arts fest in Norway. He writes of Traavik's long labour of love in making the project happen: more ›

A group of young accordion players from Pyongyang's Kum Song School perform Take On Me by A-ha as part of a multi-genre project that opens next week at Barents Spektakel, an arts festival in Norway. Seriously, now. What would the Dear Leader think as he looks down on this from wherever he is now in socialist paradise? more ›

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo has translated some very interesting comments by Kim Jong-nam -- the eldest son, and at one point, the presumed successor of the late Kim Jong-il -- made to Yoji Komi, an editor at the Tokyo Shimbun daily, in private emails sent between 2004 and 2011. In the emails, Kim reveals he has never met his half-brother Kim Jong-un, that his regime will not last very long, and that the "Great Successor" once went to Japan on a fake passport. He also admitted to being "protected" by the Chinese government: more ›

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Watch the documentary after the jump... more ›

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"I will change sorrow into strength and courage and remain faithful to respected Comrade Kim Jong Un," says the woman at the end of this video from Korean Central News Agency. more ›

James T. Areddy of the Wall Street Journal paid a visit to some of Shanghai's most popular North Korean restaurants following news of the demise of the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il. Here's what he found more ›

Kim Jong Il, Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, passed away Saturday of exhaustion brought on by a sudden illness, according to the Korean Central News Agency. more ›

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The South Korean government has asked China not to repatriate 35 North Korean refugees that were arrested in several cities last week. more ›

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AP's Alexa Olesen recently travelled to North Korea's Rason special economic zone where it's said any foreigner may now enter visa-free as long as their trips are booked through an approved travel agency. more ›

Anthony Tao, who writes over at the Heart of Beijing blog, has just returned to China from North Korea, and he has some amazing footage from this year's mass games. more ›