SEOUL, Aug 15: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a "drastic boost" in missile production during visits to key weapons factories, state media said Monday, as South Korea and the United States prepared for joint drills next week.

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug 20: In unusual candor, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un admitted U.S.-led sanctions, the pandemic and devastating floods had hurt his country’s dismal economy as the ruling party scheduled a rare congress in January to set development goals for the next five years.

SEOUL, South Korea, July 27: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a national cemetery and handed out commemorative pistols to army officers, state media reported Monday, as he pushes to muster public support for efforts to contain a potential coronavirus outbreak.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, May 2: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he may be seriously ill.

SEOUL, April 27: South Korean officials are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill or is being isolated because of coronavirus concerns, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements in North Korea.

BEIJING/SEOUL, April 25: China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.

SEOUL, Dec 31: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to make a closely watched New Year address on Wednesday which is likely to offer a glimpse of a “new path” he has vowed to take if the United States fails to meet his deadline to soften its stance over denuclearization.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, Dec 30: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military and diplomats to prepare unspecified “offensive measures” to protect the country’s security and sovereignty, the North’s state media said on Monday, before his end-of-year deadline for the Trump administration to make major concessions to salvage a fragile nuclear diplomacy.