North Korea showed Kim Jong-un at a "nuclear submarine" site; analysts: it aims to justify its nuclear push and cast Seoul's sub debate as a threat.

SEOUL: Russia's President Vladimir Putin touted an "invincible friendship" with North Korea in a New Year letter to leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported Thursday (Dec 25).In the message, received in Pyongyang last week,

Kim Jong Un inaugurates a luxury mountain resort in Samjiyon, projecting prosperity even as North Korea struggles with poverty and hunger.

North Korean media increasingly refer to Kim Jong Un as general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party rather than chairman of the State Affairs.

Kim Byung-yeon, a distinguished professor in the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, said on the 22nd, “A ‘hidden battle’ is unfolding between the North Korean regime and the markets it seeks to control.

The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week. ------------ N. Korea's Kim attends opening for regional factories in western Jangyon County SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended the ceremony to inaugurate new factories in the western county of Jangyon,