Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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(2nd LD) NK leader vows to build 'forward-looking' ties with Russia in talks with FM

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to build a "forward-looking" relationship with Russia during his meeting with its foreign minister, state media said Friday, as the two countries move to strengthen military ties amid speculation over their suspected arms deal.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a two-day visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday in a follow-up to the Sept. 13 summit between the North Korean leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Far East.

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N. Korea warns U.S. strategic assets will be '1st targets of destruction'

SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday condemned the arrival of a U.S. B-52 bomber in South Korea, threatening that U.S. strategic assets deployed on the Korean Peninsula will become the "first targets of destruction."

Pyongyang's criticism came in response to the landing of the nuclear-capable bomber, a key U.S. strategic asset, at an air base in South Korea on Tuesday in its first known arrival in the South in a show of force against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

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(4th LD) Russian FM meets N. Korea's Kim, reaffirms solidarity with Pyongyang

SEOUL -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moscow's foreign ministry said Thursday, as the top diplomat vowed "complete solidarity" with Pyongyang during his trip to the reclusive country, which came a month after a rare summit between their leaders.

Lavrov, who arrived at Pyongyang for a two-day visit Wednesday, met with Kim in a meeting that lasted over an hour, Russia's foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

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Key N. Korea missile official heading missile bureau: Seoul

SEOUL -- A key North Korean official in charge of Pyongyang's missile development has been leading an agency considered to be handling the country's policy of strengthening its nuclear force, South Korea's unification ministry said Thursday.

Jang Chang-ha, president of the Academy of National Defense Science, has been identified as the chief of the Missile General Bureau, as the name tag on his military uniform points to his new title, the ministry said, citing photos carried by the North's state media outlets.

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N. Korea's Kim family spends up to millions of dollars per year on luxury goods: Seoul

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his family are growing less hesitant to show off their luxury goods, often worth up to millions of dollars a year, to a population largely suffering from chronic food shortages, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.

Exports of luxury goods to North Korea are banned under a 2006 U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution, but the reclusive regime has managed to bring in luxury vehicles and consumer goods, including French designer bags and watches.

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N. Korea sends delegation to Russia sports forum

SEOUL -- North Korea said Tuesday it has sent a delegation of sports officials to attend a forum in the Russian city of Perm in another exchange between the two countries seeking to strengthen military ties.

A delegation led by Sports Minister Kim Il-guk departed the previous day to attend the 11th International Sports Forum, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a short dispatch, without providing further details.

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N. Korea vows 'overwhelming' response over U.S. deployment of strategic assets

SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday lambasted the recent deployment of strategic assets by the United States to the Korean Peninsula and vowed to counter it with an "overwhelming and decisive response strategy."

The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier arrived at the southeastern port city of Busan on Thursday for a five-day visit following trilateral naval drills involving the U.S., South Korea and Japan. A U.S. nuclear-capable B-52 bomber also plans to land at a South Korean air base this week.

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