Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) N. Korea warns of 'unprecedentedly' strong counteractions against S. Korea-U.S. drills

SEOUL -- North Korea warned Friday that South Korea and the United States will face "unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions" should they press ahead with their planned combined military drills.

A spokesperson of the North's foreign ministry issued the warning as Seoul and Washington plan to stage their combined springtime Freedom Shield exercise in the coming weeks.

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N. Korea cracks down on grain trade at markets, food supply likely disrupted: Seoul ministry

SEOUL -- North Korea has been conducting crackdowns on the trade of grains at marketplaces, as it adopted a new policy in October last year to tighten state control on the distribution of grains, according to Seoul's unification ministry Thursday.

The crackdown has disrupted the distribution amid the North's serious food crisis, according to the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.

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(LEAD) N.K. leader attends groundbreaking ceremony for housing project in Pyongyang

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a groundbreaking ceremony to build 10,000 homes in Pyongyang, the country's state media reported Thursday, part of the nation's five-year project to supply more housing.

Kim attended the ceremony for the second stage of the housing project to build 10,000 homes in Pyongyang's Hwasong district Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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N. Korean leader calls for strong defense power in meeting with army activists

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the strengthening of the country's defense during a meeting with local activists who support the nation's army, according to Pyongyang's state media Wednesday.

Kim made the remarks in a photo session Tuesday with "activists in the traits of assisting the army," who were invited to Pyongyang as special delegates to last week's military parade marking the 75th founding anniversary of the armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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N. Korea unveils stamp featuring leader's daughter Ju-ae for 1st time

SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday unveiled the designs of a new stamp featuring the daughter of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, known as Ju-ae, for the first time.

The stamp designs uploaded on the website of the North's Korea Stamp Corp. show photos of the North's leader and his daughter attending the test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November last year.

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China's defense chief sends congratulatory message to N. Korea over army anniversary

SEOUL -- China's defense minister has sent a congratulatory message to his North Korean counterpart on the occasion of the North's 75th founding anniversary of its armed forces last week, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday.

In the letter to North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam, China's defense chief Wei Fenghe pledged efforts to promote the ties of the two nations' armies and defend regional peace, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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N. Korea 'expands, reorganizes' military units with operational combat missions: KCNA

SEOUL -- North Korea has "expanded and reorganized" many of its military units in accordance with new security situations, assigning operational combat missions to them, state media said Monday.

The report came after North Korea held a massive military parade last week to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), displaying intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other advanced weaponry, as well as new military units.

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