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South Korea Detains Americans Trying to Send Food, Bibles to North Korea

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South Korean police detained six Americans on Friday caught with over 1,000 bottles carrying rice, Bibles, and American money that they reportedly intended to send across the sea to North Korea.

The incident is the largest scale of its kind in years, since leftist former President Moon Jae-in began cracking down on missionary activities targeting the repressive communist state as part of its campaign to ingratiate Seoul with the rogue regime. While Moon’s successor, Yoon Suk-yeol, was a hardline conservative during his term, he did not lift many of the restrictions imposed on individuals seeking to send political leaflets, religious material, or humanitarian aid towards Pyongyang.

Yoon was recently impeached following an attempt to impose martial law in December and replaced this month by the winner of a special election, currently President Lee Jae-myung, another leftist who has promised to increase engagement attempts with the North.

According to the South’s Korea JoongAng Daily, the six Americans were found carrying over 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, Bibles, USB sticks featuring foreign media banned in North Korea, and American money and admitted to engaging in missionary work. Missionaries often use plastic bottles in this manner as they float and easily travel across the sea via currents into rural, impoverished areas of the North.

Authorities did not name the individuals in question, identifying them only as men “in their 20s to 50s” who had entered the country two to three months ago with American passports and did not speak fluent Korean. Authorities stated that they did not have and would not pursue an arrest warrant for the men, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, as the activities the men were engaging in did not rise to the level of public security threats meriting an arrest. South Korean maintains exceptionally positive relations with the United States and, following an especially volatile six months in which five presidents took helm of the country, its government is likely to consider aggressive law enforcement action against American missionaries needlessly aggravating of a delicate situation. (Read more from “South Korea Detains Americans Trying to Send Food, Bibles to North Korea” HERE)

Chinese Illegal Alien Admits To Buying Gun Store So He Could Ship Weapons To North Korea

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Officials said Monday that a Chinese national and alleged illegal alien in California purchased a Texas gun store in a plot to ship firearms to North Korea.

Forty-two-years-old Shenghua Wen resided in Ontario, California, and was taken into custody in December 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Central District of California stated in a press release.

Wen pleaded guilty to “illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea by concealing them inside shipping containers,” according to the USAO. He admitted to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the press release said.

Wen is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and entered the U.S. in 2012 on a student visa, the USAO said. However, he allegedly stayed in the U.S. illegally after his visa expired in December of 2013, according to a plea agreement obtained by the USAO.

Wen was accused of meeting with North Korean officials before entering the U.S. at a North Korean Embassy in China, and these government officials directed Wen to obtain goods on behalf of North Korea, per the press release. (Read more from “Chinese Illegal Alien Admits To Buying Gun Store So He Could Ship Weapons To North Korea” HERE)

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Smartphone Smuggled Out of North Korea Reveals the Insane Things Kim Jong Un Does to Control His ‘Suffocated’ People

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A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea has revealed the astonishing levels of control the secretive dictatorship is exercising over its people.

The phone, which from the outside appears no different from a normal device, issued warnings about using South Korean slang words to users, and auto-corrected “South Korea” to read “puppet state,” an investigation from the BBC found.

It would also covertly take a screenshot every five minutes, storing the images in a secret folder which the user couldn’t access, but which presumably were accessible to North Korean authorities.

When the user tried to type in the word “oppa,” which means older brother in Korean, but has come to be used to refer to a boyfriend in South Korean slang, the phone would auto-correct the word to the more communist-friendly alternative, “comrade.”

A warning would then flash up, warning the phone’s user that the term “oppa” could only be used for older siblings, the BBC investigation found. (Read more from “Smartphone Smuggled Out of North Korea Reveals the Insane Things Kim Jong Un Does to Control His ‘Suffocated’ People” HERE)

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North Korea-Linked Gang ‘Stole’ Billions From Americans Through ‘Pig Butchering’ Romance Scams

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A Cambodia-based gang with ties to North Korea has “stolen” billions of dollars from Americans through romance scams and other cyber-heists since August 2021, federal officials said Thursday in announcing a crackdown on the malign network.

For years, the online marketplace Huione Group has helped North Korea and other transnational criminal gangs rip people off by sending texts or direct messages on social media platforms and sites to bilk them for fake investments or “pig butchering.”

The cons, which also take place on dating or professional networking sites, have gotten US retirees and others to invest in crypto or other virtual currencies — before eventually defrauding them.

Between August 2021 and January 2025, Huione raked in at least $4 billion in proceeds from the romance and investment racket, with affiliates helping facilitate payments (Huione Pay PLC), provide fiat currencies (Huione Crypto), and furnish an online marketplace with illicit goods and services (Haowang Guarantee).

The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shared the findings of its investigation into the Huione’s scam network in a press release obtained exclusively by The Post, tallying up $37 million that went toward North Korean cyber-heists and another $336 million in the romance and investments grift. (Read more from “North Korea-Linked Gang ‘Stole’ Billions From Americans Through ‘Pig Butchering’ Romance Scams” HERE)

North Korea Just Allowed Tourists to Visit for the First Time in 5 Years — And What They Saw Was Shocking

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A group of Western tourists were treated to a surreal performance of North Korean schoolchildren dancing and singing against a backdrop of animated ballistic missiles during the first officially sanctioned trip to the Hermit Kingdom in five years.

The unsettling choreographed display was just the tip of the weirdness iceberg for the handful of thrill-seeking travelers from the UK, France, Germany and Australia who made the four-day trek to the Asian country’s remote Rason region last week.

One tourist revealed the trip was so closely monitored by Kim Jong Un’s repressive regime that he even had to ask permission to use the bathroom.

“They’ve had five years to fix things. North Koreans are so sensitive about what they show tourists. If this is the best they can show, I dread to think what else is out there,” another visitor remarked.

It was the first time since 2020 tourists were allowed to enter — the notoriously secretive nation locked itself down at the start of the pandemic, leaving many to wonder whether Westerners would ever again be able to cross its border. (Read more from “North Korea Just Allowed Tourists to Visit for the First Time in 5 Years — And What They Saw Was Shocking” HERE)

Russian Soldiers Killed by North Koreans After Enlisting Them for Help, Ukraine Says

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Russian paramilitary soldiers were accidentally targeted and killed by North Korean troops in a recent bout of friendly fire, according to Ukrainian officials.

In a statement published on Saturday, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) detailed how Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) soldiers have recently assisted Russian troops in the Kursk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials estimate that around 11,000 DPRK personnel are stationed in Russia.

“The aggressor state of Russia has begun to use DPRK soldiers in assault operations in the Kursk region, in particular, as part of the combined units of the marines and airborne troops of the Russian Armed Forces,” the statement read.

“The North Korean troops suffer sanitary and irreversible losses as a result of a successful fire attack by the Ukrainian Security and Defense Forces,” the DIU added. “In particular, at one of the positions in the Kursk region, the DPRK army was effectively targeted by FPV drones.”

The DIU noted that, in a recent incident, the language barrier between Russian and North Korean troops ultimately led to the death of eight soldiers in the Akhmat special forces unit, which is a paramilitary group in Chechnya. (Read more from “Russian Soldiers Killed by North Koreans After Enlisting Them for Help, Ukraine Says” HERE)

North Korean Soldiers In Russia Reportedly Got Better Access To Internet — And Immediately Started Watching Porn

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North Korean soldiers who have been deployed to Russia are getting “unfettered” access to the internet in Russia and are using it to watch pornography, according to a Tuesday report.

The Pentagon estimates that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia in recent weeks as the two countries’ military alliance grows closer. Typically, North Korean soldiers and all civilians who live in the country have strictly restricted or zero access to the internet, but the troops who have been deployed to Russia now have more accessibility and are using this newfound internet access to watch pornography, according to an unnamed source who spoke to The Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman.

“A usually reliable source tells me that the North Korean soldiers who have deployed to Russia have never had unfettered access to the internet before. As a result, they are gorging on pornography,” Rachman wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

What exactly Pyongyang’s goal in sending North Korean troops to Russia is unclear, although reports indicate that they are present to help Russian forces in their fight against Ukraine, whether through physical combat means or logistics support. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has commented on the matter.

The troops would, at the very least, bolster Russia’s manpower, which has experienced constant turnover since the war began. Russia recruits nearly 30,000 new troops a month, but that’s roughly equivalent to the amount of troops who are killed in combat in the same time frame. (Read more from “North Korean Soldiers In Russia Reportedly Got Better Access To Internet — And Immediately Started Watching Porn” HERE)

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Threatens to Unleash Nuclear Weapons on South

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has threatened nuclear retaliation against the South after recent remarks by his South Korean counterpart.

During a parade on Tuesday to mark Armed Forces Day, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol unveiled weapons intended to keep the North at bay. “That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” Yoon vowed.

According to the Associated Press, Yoon unveiled the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, which observers say can destroy underground bunkers in North Korea.

Yoon warned that if Pyongyang were ever to use nuclear weapons, United States and South Korean forces would mount a “resolute and overwhelming” response.

“The North Korean regime must abandon the delusion that nuclear weapons will protect them,” the South Korean president added. (Read more from “North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Threatens to Unleash Nuclear Weapons on South” HERE)

Kim Jong Un Executes 30 Officials Over Floods in North Korea That Killed 4,000: Report

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered up to 30 officials to be executed over their alleged failure to prevent massive flooding and landslides in the summer that resulted in the death of some 4,000 people, according to South Korean media.

An official under Kim’s regime said between 20 to 30 leaders in North Korea had been charged with corruption and dereliction of duty, with the state sentencing them to capital punishment, TV Chosun reported.

“It has been determined that 20 to 30 cadres in the flood-stricken area were executed at the same time late last month,” the official told the outlet. . .

The North Korean Central News Agency previously reported that Kim ordered authorities “strictly punish” the officials after catastrophic flooding hit the Chagang Province in July, claiming about 4,000 lives and displacing more than 15,000 people.

The officials who were executed were not identified, but the report noted that Kang Bong-hoon, the Chagang Province Provincial Party Committee Secretary since 2019, was among the leaders dismissed by Kim in an emergency meeting during the flooding disaster. (Read more from “Kim Jong Un Executes 30 Officials Over Floods in North Korea That Killed 4,000: Report” HERE)

‘There’s a Price for Being Russia’s Enemy’: Putin, Kim Aim to Intimidate U.S.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin needs North Korea — not just for its weapons, but also to help deliver a warning to the U.S. and its allies: There will be a significant price to pay for any nation that gets on the Kremlin’s bad side.

That was one of the key points made by former CIA Moscow station chief Daniel Hoffman, who said during an online forum Tuesday that Mr. Putin’s recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was an acknowledgment by Moscow that it has become increasingly reliant on pariah states such as North Korea amid diplomatic isolation and heavy economic sanctions from the West.

But Mr. Putin had another motivation, one that seems to have driven the decision to publicly play up the mutual defense pact that the two often wary neighbors signed during their historic summit last month.

“I think that Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang — it’s definitely part of his cold calculus. It’s also a bit of an act of desperation. He needs North Korea, and he also needs the relationship to be very much public,” Mr. Hoffman told the Washington Brief, a monthly forum hosted by the Washington Times Foundation.

The mutual defense agreement, which on its surface seems to indicate Russia and North Korea will come to the other’s aid if attacked, may have also given Mr. Putin a powerful messaging tool against those who seek to isolate the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine. (Read more from “‘There’s a Price for Being Russia’s Enemy’: Putin, Kim Aim to Intimidate U.S.” HERE)