NK weekly-domestic news
Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week
SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.
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N. Korea, Russia hold celebrations marking 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties
SEOUL -- North Korea and Russia have pledged to further develop their relations, as they held celebrations in Pyongyang earlier this week to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the North's state media reported Friday.
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il and Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora attended a banquet and watched a documentary film about the bilateral ties on Thursday to mark the anniversary, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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(LEAD) Pyongyang dismisses speculation over Hamas' use of N. Korean weapons against Israel
SEOUL -- North Korea on Friday dismissed speculation that the Hamas militant group used North Korean weapons for its surprise attack on Israel as "groundless," accusing the United States of cooking up a false accusation against the North.
Ri Kwang-song, a North Korean commentator on international affairs, said the U.S. is resorting to its stereotyped smear campaign against North Korea to deliberately link the recent Middle East crisis to the North.
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N. Korea threatens to strike U.S. aircraft carrier
SEOUL -- North Korea threatened Friday to stage the "most powerful and rapid first strike" against U.S. strategic assets deployed to the Korean Peninsula, in the latest bellicose rhetoric that underscored Pyongyang's concerns about U.S. military capabilities in the region.
The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier docked at the southeastern port of Busan on Thursday for a five-day visit -- the first since September 2022 -- in a show of force against North Korea. The visit came soon after trilateral naval drills involving the United States, South Korea and Japan.
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(LEAD) N. Korea's Kim, Putin exchange congratulatory messages marking 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have pledged to move relations between the two countries further forward as they exchanged messages marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties after a summit last month, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday.
Kim expressed his firm belief that North Korea-Russia relations will steadily develop to a new level in the future in a letter to Putin to celebrate the anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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N.K. vice sports minister says team performed well in Asian Games despite tough conditions
SEOUL -- North Korean athletes performed well at the Asian Games in Hangzhou despite challenging circumstances, such as a yearslong absence from international competitions, the country's vice sports minister has said.
North Korea finished in 10th place in the medal table with 11 golds, 18 silvers and 10 bronzes. At the previous Asian Games in 2018, North Korea also ranked 10th, but with 12 golds, 12 silvers and 13 bronzes.
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(LEAD) N. Korea blames Israel for conflict with Hamas
SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday denounced Israel over its escalating conflict with the Hamas militant group, saying it is the "consequence of Israel's ceaseless criminal actions" against the people of Palestine.
The criticism marked Pyongyang's first response to the conflict after Hamas launched rocket attacks on Israel during a major Jewish holiday Saturday and Israel staged retaliatory strikes against it.
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N. Korea defends military spy satellite as 'indispensable strategic option'
SEOUL -- A North Korean official on Tuesday called the country's military spy satellite an "indispensable strategic option" to counter the United States, which is "getting hell-bent on space militarization."
Following two botched attempts to launch the military spy satellite, named the Malligyong-1, mounted on the Chollima-1 rocket in May and August, North Korea has announced plans for a third attempt in October without specifying a specific launch date.
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N. Korea touts Kim's leadership on 78th founding anniversary of ruling party
SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday lauded leader Kim Jong-un for "exceptionally" strengthening the country's combat power as Pyongyang marked the 78th founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party.
The Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said Kim "exceptionally strengthened the combat power" over the past decade to "firmly secure the party's future that would successfully carry on for thousands of millions of years."
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N. Korea denounces deadly drone attack in Syria
SEOUL -- North Korea on Monday condemned a deadly drone attack on a Syrian military academy, saying it opposes all sorts of terrorism.
"We strongly denounce the terrorist attack as an undisguised infringement on the Syrian people's desire for national sovereignty," a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry said in comments carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
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