Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

NK weekly-domestic news

Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) N. Korea adopts law on protection of 'state secret'

SEOUL -- North Korea has adopted a new law aimed at safeguarding state secrets at a parliamentary meeting, its state media said Friday, amid apparent efforts to tighten internal discipline.

The plenary meeting of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), held in Pyongyang the previous day, also adopted other laws on the country's management of railways and the education of prodigies, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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(3rd LD) N. Korea warns of 'toughest reaction' to U.S. military drills with S. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea said Thursday it will take the "toughest reaction" to the U.S. move to expand joint military exercises with South Korea, as the U.S. defense chief has pledged to deploy more strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula to ensure its security commitment.

The North's warning came as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Seoul earlier this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart and said there would be more deployments of strategic assets, including F-22 and F-35 jets, to Korea in order to deter the North's evolving military threats.

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N. Korea highlights its ties with Vietnam on 73rd anniv. of diplomatic relations

SEOUL -- North Korea has highlighted its friendly relationship with Vietnam, hoping to continue to develop their ties on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, according to its state media Wednesday.

Vietnam's ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff members laid a flower basket at the statues of late North Korean former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang the previous day to mark the anniversary, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

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N. Korea lifts respiratory illness-related lockdown in Pyongyang: Russian embassy

SEOUL -- North Korea has notified diplomatic missions in Pyongyang of its move to lift a five-day lockdown in the capital area imposed due to rising cases of seasonal respiratory diseases, according to Russia's embassy in the North on Monday.

On its official Facebook account, the embassy has uploaded an image of an official letter sent by the North's foreign ministry on the country's decision to end the "special" quarantine mandate starting Monday.

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N. Korea slams NATO chief's visit to S. Korea as 'prelude' to confrontation, war

SEOUL -- North Korea on Monday denounced a visit to South Korea by the chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a "prelude" to war, saying the move could bring a "new Cold War" to the Asia-Pacific region.

In an article carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Tong-myong, a researcher of the North's organization on international political study, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's current trip to Northeast Asia appears to be aimed at "instigating" the creation of the Asian version of NATO.

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