https://www.voanews.com/z/8554 VOA Korean content in English. https://www.voanews.com/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.voanews.com/z/8554 en 2026 - VOA 60 Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:22:22 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA Two North Korean oil tankers sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council have been repeatedly spotted off China’s coast, according to the public record by vessel-tracking Marine Traffic website, raising concerns that they may be circumventing sanctions while continuing to operate at sea.  https://www.voanews.com/a/two-un-sanctioned-north-korean-tankers-spotted-repeatedly-off-china/8215347.html https://www.voanews.com/a/two-un-sanctioned-north-korean-tankers-spotted-repeatedly-off-china/8215347.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 14:25:17 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) North Korea has continued to expand and renovate detention facilities across the country, while estimates of the number of prisoners held in its political prison camps vary widely, reflecting the limited information available about the secretive system. https://www.voanews.com/a/north-koreas-secretive-prison-camps-building-the-case-for-accountability/8214236.html https://www.voanews.com/a/north-koreas-secretive-prison-camps-building-the-case-for-accountability/8214236.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:04:23 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Soyoung Ahn) The United States has reiterated that wartime operational control, or OPCON, of allied forces on the Korean Peninsula will transition to South Korea only after mutually agreed conditions are met, despite renewed calls from Seoul to accelerate the process.  https://www.voanews.com/a/us-says-wartime-command-transfer-to-south-korea-remains-conditions-based/8213749.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-says-wartime-command-transfer-to-south-korea-remains-conditions-based/8213749.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:45:59 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) Since the international express carrier DHL announced the suspension of services to North Korea in August, the country's mission to the United Nations in New York has become a key route for serving U.S. court documents tied to lawsuits against Pyongyang. https://www.voanews.com/a/with-direct-delivery-to-pyongyang-limited-us-litigants-turn-to-north-korea-un-mission/8213408.html https://www.voanews.com/a/with-direct-delivery-to-pyongyang-limited-us-litigants-turn-to-north-korea-un-mission/8213408.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:33:56 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) United Nations Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmón has issued a stark warning regarding the worsening human rights situation in North Korea, highlighting an alarming expansion in the scope and application of the death penalty as a tool for social, political, and ideological control. https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea---special-rapporteur/8212112.html https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea---special-rapporteur/8212112.html Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:20:56 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Young Gyo Kim, Sangjin Cho) The U.N. Security Council committee overseeing sanctions on North Korea has approved an exemption allowing U.S. nonprofit organization IGNIS Community to bring medical and rehabilitation equipment into the country, according to a letter recently made public by the committee.  https://www.voanews.com/a/un-approves-us-ngo-medical-aid-to-north-korea-as-pyongyang-slams-south-korean-plan/8211648.html https://www.voanews.com/a/un-approves-us-ngo-medical-aid-to-north-korea-as-pyongyang-slams-south-korean-plan/8211648.html Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:54:56 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) A federal grand jury in Ohio has indicted two Americans, 10 Chinese nationals and two defendants whose identities remain under seal for helping North Korean IT workers obtain remote jobs at U.S. companies using stolen or fabricated identities, the Justice Department said Tuesday.  https://www.voanews.com/a/doj-charges-14-in-north-korean-it-worker-scheme/8211282.html https://www.voanews.com/a/doj-charges-14-in-north-korean-it-worker-scheme/8211282.html Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:56:51 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Joeun Lee) It has been more than four years since the North Korean Human Rights Act expired; with little chance the legislation will be reauthorized by U.S. Congress this year. https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea-human-rights-legislation-remains-stalled-in-us-congress/8210766.html https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea-human-rights-legislation-remains-stalled-in-us-congress/8210766.html Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:15:40 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Joeun Lee) Once a symbol of economic cooperation between the two Koreas, the Kaesong Industrial Complex brought together South Korean companies and North Korean workers. It has remained a symbol of the breakdown in inter-Korean ties since operations were suspended in 2016. https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea-shows-signs-of-using-former-joint-industrial-complex/8210532.html https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea-shows-signs-of-using-former-joint-industrial-complex/8210532.html Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:58:00 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) The U.S. 7th Air Force is seeking combat-proven drone countermeasure capabilities to modernize joint base defense in the Korean Peninsula operational theater.  https://www.voanews.com/a/us-7th-air-force-seeks-combat-verified-anti-drone-capabilities-on-korean-peninsula/8209517.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-7th-air-force-seeks-combat-verified-anti-drone-capabilities-on-korean-peninsula/8209517.html Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:24:26 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Eunjung Cho) The U.S.-led United Nations Command this week determined that North Korea violated the 1953 armistice agreement with South Korea, after landmine explosions injured three South Korean soldiers inside the Demilitarized Zone. https://www.voanews.com/a/why-a-mine-blast-in-demilitarized-zone-fuels-tensions-between-the-koreas/8208678.html https://www.voanews.com/a/why-a-mine-blast-in-demilitarized-zone-fuels-tensions-between-the-koreas/8208678.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:49:39 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Joeun Lee, Sangjin Cho) Individuals and companies who say they were harmed by North Korean weapons and military assistance provided overseas, as well as by cyberattacks, have begun seeking to hold Pyongyang legally accountable. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-lawsuits-against-north-korea-expand-beyond-detentions-to-overseas-activities/8208081.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-lawsuits-against-north-korea-expand-beyond-detentions-to-overseas-activities/8208081.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:24:09 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Korean article. What is WaterPlum? The name that seven intelligence and law enforcement agencies from the United States, Japan, Australia and Germany use for this North Korean hacking group in a joint warning. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3); Japan’s National Police Agency and National Cybersecurity Office; the Australian Cyber Security Centre; and... https://www.voanews.com/a/waterplum-fake-job-interviews/8207210.html https://www.voanews.com/a/waterplum-fake-job-interviews/8207210.html Sun, 04 Oct 2026 20:56:38 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Sangjin Cho)