Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) Head of abolished N.K. party organ on inter-Korean affairs appears to retain political status

SEOUL -- Ri Son-gwon, director of North Korea's abolished United Front Department (UFD) in charge of affairs with South Korea, appears to have retained his political status even after the department's purported dissolution, according to state media on Friday.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that Ri attended a banquet held the previous day for a visiting art troupe of Korean schoolchildren from Japan and gave a speech, referring to his official title as department director of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK)'s Central Committee.

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N. Korea includes Russian language in official postal stamp description for 1st time

SEOUL -- North Korea has included Russian in the description of its new postal stamps set to be issued in the new year, the website of its stamp agency showed Friday, reflecting the country's growing alignment with Russia.

A stamp release notice uploaded on the Korea Stamp Corp.'s website included images and descriptions of four postal stamps scheduled for issuance on Jan. 20 in four languages -- Korean, English, Chinese and Russian -- along with an order form.

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N. Korean media make no mention of leader Kim's birthday on anniv.

SEOUL -- North Korea's state media has made no mention of leader Kim Jong-un's birthday, which reportedly falls on Wednesday, despite speculation the North may formalize its celebrations this year amid its glorification campaigns for him.

North Korea has not officially designated Kim's birthday, known to be Jan. 8, for special celebrations, though the birthdays of late state founder Kim Il-sung and his successor, Kim Jong-il, have been marked as national holidays.

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N.K. leader attends factory launch ceremony, urges upsurge in regional construction

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony to inaugurate factories in the southwestern county of Jaeryong, reaffirming his plan to push for an "upsurge" in regional construction, state media reported Wednesday.

An inauguration ceremony of regional-industry factories in Jaeryong County for the "Regional Development 20x10 Policy" took place on Tuesday, with Kim in attendance, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

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(3rd LD) N. Korea claims successful test of new intermediate-range hypersonic missile

SEOUL -- North Korea said Tuesday it has successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) tipped with a hypersonic warhead, claiming that the weapons system will reliably deter any rivals in the Pacific region.

But the South Korean military said the North's claimed success of a hypersonic missile launch could be "deception," raising questions about its flight distance and other specifications.

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(3rd LD) N. Korea launches suspected hypersonic missile weeks before Trump's inauguration

SEOUL -- North Korea fired a suspected hypersonic missile into the East Sea on Monday, the South Korean military said, marking its first provocation this year ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch of a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at about 12 p.m. from the Pyongyang area and it flew some 1,100 kilometers before splashing into the sea.

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N. Korea appears set to hold Pyongyang Int'l Marathon for 1st time in 6 years

SEOUL -- North Korea has begun attracting participants for its annual Pyongyang International Marathon, scheduled for April, marking the resumption of the event after a six-year hiatus, if held as planned, a North Korean website showed Monday.

Sports in the DPR Korea, a website operated by North Korea's sports ministry, carried application guidelines for the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon, scheduled for April 6.

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