North Korea & Kim Jong Un News

The Daily Signal provides news reporting and commentary on North Korea’s leadership, missile tests, and growing tensions in East Asia. Explore news, analysis, and conservative commentary on Kim Jong Un’s regime and America’s strategy to counter North Korean aggression.
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    • News

    John Bolton on North Korea, China, Syria, and Other National Security Threats

    America’s former ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, speaks exclusively to The Daily Signal about China, North Korea, and other threats to the U.S. He also assesses Nikki Haley’s tenure at the U.N. An edited transcript of the on-camera interview is below.  >>> Update, March 22: President Donald Trump announces that Bolton will replace Army…
    Rob Bluey
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    • Opinion

    Trump’s New North Korea Sanctions Are Good, but Not Tough Enough

    President Donald Trump announced on Friday the “largest package of sanctions yet” on North Korea, targeting an extensive tranche of regime entities who had been thus far untouched by U.S. sanctions. This action is welcome and is another significant step forward in the international effort to increase pressure on North Korea for its repeated violations…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    Look Beyond the Olympic Facade. The Real Face of North Korea Is a Prison State.

    Millions around the globe gathered around their TVs beginning Feb. 8 to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics, which are taking place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, a mountainous rural village, 110 miles east of Seoul. As the world turned its gaze to the Korean Peninsula, it witnessed North Korea and South Korea unified, together under one flag, during the opening ceremony. The symbolic…
    Olivia Enos
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    • Opinion

    Podcast: Why Is the Media So Enthralled With North Korea at the Olympics?

    The media can’t contain their excitement over North Korea at the Olympics. We talk to Jarrett Stepman about that, along with the new portraits released of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Plus: the Senate is looking to take action on immigration, and a new Peter Rabbit movie has angered some.
    Katrina Trinko
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    • Opinion

    Media Fawning Over North Korean Envoy Does No Favors for an Oppressed People

    When North Korea announced it would be participating in this year’s winter Olympics in South Korea under a joint flag with the South, it was clear that some would attempt to “normalize” the regime. The speed at which the American media lapped up North Korean propaganda in the first weekend of the Olympics was stunning….
    Jarrett Stepman
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    • Opinion

    In 7 Tweets, the Media’s Strange, Glowing Coverage of North Korea at Olympics

    The Winter Olympic games are well underway in Pyeongchang—giving the media endless opportunities to highlight (in addition to the incredible feats of athleticism) the developing political climate and tension between North Korea and, well, just about every other country on Earth. In an attempt to thwart the U.S. from drawing attention to its abysmal human…
    Lyndsey Fifield
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    • Opinion

    What Lies Behind North Korea’s ‘Charm Offensive’ at the Olympics

    The Winter Olympics open on Friday with North and South Korean athletes marching together behind a single Korean unification flag, rather than their respective national flags. The moment will be emotionally uplifting, raising hopes of reconciliation and reduced tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The presence at the games of Vice President Mike Pence, North Korean…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    Don’t Fall for North Korea’s Winter Olympics Trap

    On Friday night, millions of Americans will unknowingly witness what can only be described as the greatest image rebranding attempt the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with some down on its luck automobile or tech company’s latest TV spot. Oh no, this has everything to do with one of the…
    Harry J. Kazianis
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    • Opinion

    Cartoon: Will North Korea Medal or Meddle at the 2018 Olympics?

    Michael Ramirez
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    • Opinion

    Cartoon: North Korea’s Nuclear Button Problem

    Michael Ramirez
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    • Opinion

    North Korea, Afghanistan Top List of Dangerous Places to Be Christian

    As if North Korea weren’t taking up enough headlines, Open Doors USA just added another one: Kim Jong Un’s country is topping the list of the world’s “Most Dangerous Places to Be a Christian.” Of course, the distinction is nothing new for the regime, which has owned the No. 1 spot for the last 15…
    Tony Perkins
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    • Opinion

    Once Again, North Korea Is Reaching Out to the South. We Should Be Receptive, but Wary.

    It has become tradition among North Korea watchers to dissect Pyongyang’s annual New Year’s Day speech for clues of potential policy changes. Each year, some experts interpret benign-sounding passages as indicating North Korean reform or greater willingness to engage diplomatically with Washington or Seoul. Others interpret passages that extol North Korea’s military accomplishments as threats…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    What Trump’s Designation of North Korea as State Sponsor of Terrorism Will Mean for Country’s Future

    The Trump administration has re-designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. It’s a proper and pragmatic, if belated, acknowledgement that North Korea’s repeated, deadly actions legally constitute terrorist acts under U.S. law. As President Donald Trump commented, “It should have happened years ago.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the re-designation was to…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • News

    James Mattis Walks Out Onto Kim Jong Un’s Doorstep. Here’s His Message.

    Standing in the tense demilitarized zone dividing North Korea and South Korea, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said America isn't looking for a fight, but is ready for one. “Our goal is not war,” Mattis said Friday of the nuclear missile threat from North Korea under dictator Kim Jong Un, “but rather the complete, verifiable, and irreversible…
    Ryan Pickrell
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    • News

    Trump Warns North Korea, Defends NFL Stance

    President Donald Trump issued another clear warning Tuesday to North Korea over its aggression and defended his criticism of the National Football League for its treatment of the national anthem. “I don’t think that you can disrespect our country, our flag, our national anthem,” @POTUS says. During a joint press conference in the Rose Garden…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    Iran Could Become Fiercer Adversary Than North Korea, Experts Say

    In a decade, Iran could emerge as a major nuclear power—and an entirely legal one under the international nuclear agreement reached by the Obama administration, experts fear. “In about 10 years time, Iran will have, thanks to this deal, an industrial-sized nuclear program,” said Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, during…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    Ukraine Says Its Rocket Engines Not Behind North Korea’s Missile Success

    KYIV, Ukraine—In 2011, Denys Antipov, who was then a Korean language student at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, received an unusual request from the Security Service of Ukraine—the country’s successor agency to the KGB. The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, needed Antipov’s help in a delicate counterintelligence operation. In an undercover sting, the…
    Nolan Peterson
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    • News

    Trump: Maybe Warning to North Korea ‘Wasn’t Tough Enough’

    President Donald Trump said Thursday that his “fire and fury” warning to North Korea’s dictator may not have been strong enough. He also turned up the heat on Kim Jong Un’s threats toward the U.S. territory of Guam. “Let’s see what he does with Guam. He does something in Guam, it will be an event…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    Trump Promises ‘Fire and Fury’ If North Korea Advances Nuclear Threat

    President Donald Trump issued his strongest warning yet to North Korea after published reports that the communist dictatorship has developed a nuclear warhead. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” @POTUS says. “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump said Tuesday from…
    Fred Lucas
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    • Opinion

    Why Trump’s Ban on Travel to North Korea Is a Positive Step

    Following the tragic death of American student Otto Warmbier, who was in a coma for a year in North Korean captivity, the Trump administration has decided to ban U.S. citizens from traveling to North Korea. The ban would also target a source of finances for North Korea’s ballistic missile programs and nuclear weapons. North Korea…
    Shiyi Zhang
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