Six North Koreans with 'strong desire' to go back repatriated by South Korea
Source: South Korean Ministry of Unification, 2025
South Korea repatriated six North Koreans who drifted into South Korean waters; all consistently wished to return home.
Failed efforts to coordinate repatriation persisted for months between South and North Korea. This return is the first under South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who campaigned on improving inter-Korean ties.
Upon their return to North Korea, the six individuals will face extensive interrogation, according to Nam Sung-wook, the former head of the Korea National Strategy Institute think tank.
North Korea bars foreigners from newly opened 'world class' beach resort days after opening
Aerial view of Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area
Just days after opening with significant fanfare and hosting its "first foreign guest," the Russian Foreign Minister, North Korea's official tourism site announced the massive resort for 20,000 people was "temporarily not receiving foreign tourists."
The move dims economic prospects for the resort and Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, which was a major national construction project intended to attract much-needed foreign currency.
Analysts cited in the article speculate the ban could be due to a Russian media report that suggested the "local tourists" seen during the official visit were staged, causing embarrassment for the regime.
The story provides a glimpse into the unpredictability of state policy and its direct impact on both the country's economic ambitions and the image it projects to the world.
Sources: BBC, Independent.co.uk
Six American arrested in South Korea for trying to float rice and bibles to North Korea
Heavily guarded Gwanghwa area of South Korea that borders North Korea
South Korean police detained six U.S. citizens attempting to float 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, $1 bills, USB drives, and Bibles up the coast to North Korea.
Since taking office earlier in June, South Korean President Lee suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts on the border and asked activists in the South to stop launching helium balloons with leaflets.
North Korea drove South Korean border residents to tears and pleading with their local government officials over a mixture of ghastly and “evil” sounds pointed towards the south over the past several months.
Justice Department charges North Koreans posing as IT contractors using stolen credentials
The Justice Department charged four North Koreans who posed as IT workers using stolen credentials, scamming U.S. companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The reports show a U.S. company unknowingly hired North Korean operative Jong Pong Ju, believing him to be Malaysian IT worker "Bryan Cho."
Authorities said that it is not only for financial gain for the North Koreans, but access is used to attempt to steal U.S. secrets as well.
Source: ABC News
