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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    • Opinion

    U.S. Talks of Stronger North Korea Sanctions….and Talks…and Talks

    While in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry lambasted Pyongyang for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, flagrant disregard for international law, and human rights abuses. Kerry criticized the regime’s “provocative, destabilizing and repressive actions [and] unacceptable behavior.” To respond, Secretary Kerry declared international intent to “increase the pressure and increase the…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    The Growing North Korean Missile Threat

    On May 8, North Korea successfully conducted its first underwater ejection test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Analysts had predicted it would be several years before that would happen. Small wonder North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was jubilant. He declared the development a “time bomb attached to the backs of our enemies when the…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    Maintaining Focus on North Korea’s Human Rights Violations

    In commemoration of the 12th annual North Korea Freedom Week, The Heritage Foundation hosted a panel discussion on human rights violations in North Korea. The discussion emphasized the importance of maintaining focus on the issue and sustaining the momentum generated by the United Nations commission of inquiry (COI) into human rights violations in North Korea….
    Eunjoong Kim
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    • Opinion

    The Latest Aggressive Moves From China, North Korea

    Like a moth to a flame, it’s easy to be drawn to issues in the Middle East (Yemen, Islamic State and Iran) or Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine), but it’s important to keep an eye on other emerging foreign policy and national security issues, too. For example, the Pacific isn’t really that “pacific.” Let’s start with…
    Peter Brookes
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    • Opinion

    How Our North Korea Negotiations Should Guide Our Iran Negotiations

    The interim Iranian nuclear framework is a vague accord with significant shortcomings. Moreover, the ink had barely dried before Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei disputed the Obama administration’s depiction of what had been agreed to. Khamenei declared that all sanctions against Iran must be removed immediately upon signature of a final accord in three months. He…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    Why Are We Going Down Same Path With Iran We Did With North Korea?

    A U.S. president reaches a nuclear agreement with a rogue state. He steps before the microphones and declares, “This is a good deal for the United States.” The pariah nation will, he continues, “freeze and then dismantle its nuclear program” and the “entire world will be safer as we slow the spread of nuclear weapons.”…
    Kim Holmes
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    • Opinion

    How Obama Should Respond to North Korea’s Attack on Sony

    The recent cyberattack on Sony was a direct assault on free speech in America. Dictators or terrorist groups must be made to realize that attempts to squelch free speech, or any other fundamental right, via extortion or threat of violence will generate a strong and painful response. Once the FBI determined that North Korea was…
    David Inserra
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    • News

    Group Launches #HackThemBack, a Campaign to Bring Information to North Korea

    How should the United States respond to the cyberattack on Sony Pictures? One group says we should hack them back. After the FBI said North Korea was responsible for the hack, the Human Rights Foundation launched a campaign called #HackThemBack, an initiative to “hack” the Kim regime by providing its citizens with information about liberty,…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • Opinion

    What ‘The Interview’ Taught Us: We Must Fight Back Against North Korea

    Americans have seen the future, and they don’t much like it. The Sony hack reminds us that everything online is vulnerable. Worse, malicious digital acts can be a bridge to the real world with threats of blackmail, extortion and physical violence. We are not safe in our own cyber homes. That’s not the holiday message…
    James Carafano
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    • News

    Activist Will Deliver ‘The Interview’ to North Korea Using Balloon Drop

    An activist has decided to bring “The Interview” to the people of North Korea. Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector and an activist against its regime, will launch into North Korea balloons carrying DVDs and USBs containing the controversial film, according to the Associated Press. “The Interview” depicts the death of the country’s dictator, Kim Jong…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • News

    Sony OKs Limited Release of ‘Interview,’ Despite North Korean Threats

    Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced a limited release for the film “The Interview” amid widespread criticism for pulling it because of threats by North Korea. Distribution of the comedy, about a plot to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, had been canceled by Sony after threats of terrorism linked to the Communist regime. Sony…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • Opinion

    Put North Korea Back on the Terrorist List

    North Korea’s cyber attack on Sony has generated debate as to whether it was an “act of war” or “cyber-vandalism.” The answer lies in between the two extremes – the cyber attack was an act of international terrorism intended to coerce or intimidate the population. As such, the United States should return North Korea to…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • News

    Who Might Be Behind the Internet Outage in North Korea

    In the wake of North Korea’s hacking of Sony Pictures in response to the film “The Interview,” the Communist-led country’s Internet is reportedly “under duress,” although it was unknown if the situation is the result of a cyber attack. As first reported by The New York Times, the Internet in North Korea went dark today. “Their…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • Opinion

    Debunking Six Myths About North Korean Sanctions

    Myth 1. The U.S. and other nations face a policy choice between sanctions or engagement All instruments of national power should be used simultaneously in conjunction with each other as part of a comprehensive, integrated strategy. No tool is meant to be used in isolation, so statements such as “Sanctions by themselves won’t be effective”…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • News

    Canadians Fight Back Against North Korea, Plan ‘The Interview’ Showings

    Sony Pictures’ controversial cancellation of a new movie, “The Interview,” following North Korean terrorist threats has inspired planned independent screenings in Toronto and Montreal. Taylor Scollon’s Toronto Facebook event “The Interview Screening/Suck It, Kim Jong Un/Liberty in North Korea Fundraiser” launched Dec. 19 and has already garnered 4,400 “attending” responses. “The North Korean regime maintains…
    Natalie Johnson
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    • News

    Is North Korea Capable of Organizing a 9/11-Style Attack?

    On “Morning Joe” today,  Willie Geist asked if the North Koreans were capable of organizing a 9/11-style attack. “North Korea never carries out its threats—except when it does,” said Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation who focuses on North Korea. Klingner detailed attacks orchestrated by the North Koreans, mostly on South…
    Daily Signal Staff
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    • Opinion

    North Korea Can’t Take a Joke Because Dictators Don’t Like Being Mocked

    Kim Jong Il, the former leader of North Korea, once made 11 holes-in-one in a round of golf. On a well-publicized scuba dive, Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, happened to find two ancient artifacts. Iran's Supreme Leader claims the United States, Britain, and Israel created the Islamist rebels in Syria. Dictators say a lot of crazy…
    Ted Bromund
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    • Opinion

    Is North Korea Behind This Hollywood Studio Getting Hacked?

    Last week, Sony Pictures was the victim of a cyber intrusion. So far, at least 5 motion pictures, including war film “Fury” with Brad Pitt and the remake of “Annie” starring Jamie Foxx, have subsequently been leaked online. Speculation has it that North Korea, a known cyber aggressor, may be behind the attacks, even though…
    Riley Walters
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    • Opinion

    Why North Korea Released Its Last Two American Captives

    North Korea unexpectedly released the final two American citizens it had been holding on trumped-up charges of espionage. Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller were freed Saturday following a secret mission by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to Pyongyang. North Korea’s gesture follows its recent release of Jeffrey Fowle, who had been arrested and held…
    Bruce Klingner
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    • Opinion

    US General: North Korea Now Has Nuclear Warheads for Missiles

    North Korea now has the ability to produce a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be mounted atop a ballistic missile. That is the assessment of Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the senior U.S. commander on the Korean Peninsula, as he talked to reporters Friday. Scaparrotti also concluded that Pyongyang has a functioning long-range mobile missile launcher….
    Bruce Klingner
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