National

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw tactical drills "simulating a nuclear counterattack" over the weekend, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed Monday.

The big picture: The drills that included a fifth missile test this month came as the U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted a days-long joint exercise that Seoul described as a "defense posture in the face of North Korea’s continued regional instability," but which Pyongyang regards as hostile.

Details: Kim expressed his "satisfaction" over the drills that included test-firing a "tactical ballistic missile tipped with a mock nuclear warhead," according to KCNA.

The state-run agency shared photos of Kim with his middle-school-aged daughter attending the missile test.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday it detected that Pyongyang had fired a short-range ballistic missile that flew some 500 miles before landing in the East Sea.

U.S. Forces Korea tweeted Sunday that it was aware of the launch and was consulting further with allies and partners.

What we're watching: The United Nations Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting Monday at the request of the U.S. and several other allies to discuss Pyongyang's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week, per AP.

North Korea drills simulated "nuclear counterattack," state media claims

Kim's young daughter attended missile test, per KCNA.

People watch a television news screen showing a picture of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un witnessing the recent test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at a railway station in Seoul on Friday. Photo: Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

North Korea's military test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were due to meet for a key summit on Thursday, South Korean and Japanese officials said.

The big picture: The missile that the officials said landed in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on Thursday morning local time came as U.S. and South Korean militaries conduct an 11-day joint drill that began Friday, which they said involves the integration of elements of "live exercises" and simulations to symbolize "the defensive nature of the exercise."

Pyongyang has said it regards such action as hostile and a North Korean missile test had been expected. 

The North Korean missile that South Korean officials said flew for some 620 miles with a maximum altitude of 3,730 miles was the fourth launch this week, though this was the first ICBM test this month.

What they're saying: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told reporters ahead of his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Thursday afternoon that there was "an increasing need" for Seoul and Tokyo "to cooperate in this time of a polycrisis" amid increasing nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang and world supply chain disruptions, per CNN.

Of note: The meeting in Tokyo is the first between the leaders of South Korea and Japan for 12 years, the New York Times notes.

North Korea's military launches ICBM ahead of South Korean-Japanese summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told reporters cooperation was needed "in this time of a polycrisis."

 A man walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on March 16.

A person at a railway station in Seoul on Thursday morning local time walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea missile program

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, issued a warning to the U.S. on Tuesday, one day after a B-52 bomber was deployed during a joint American and South Korean military drill.

Driving the news: Seoul said the deployment was an act of deterrence in response to "advancing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea." Kim Yo-jong said she wanted to send her own message to the U.S. — that any attempt to intercept a missile test would be considered a "declaration of war," per state media.

A screenshot of a U.S. Korea Forces tweet stating: :ROK Air Force F-15s & F-16s escorted a  @usairforce  B-52H Stratofortress as it entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone as part of combined flight ops today. "

She added that North Korea's military was always ready "to take proper, prompt and overwhelming actions."

Of note: Her statement also referenced Japan, which reported that North Korea's military had launched a ballistic missile that flew over the nation last October and that Pyongyang test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed in its exclusive economic zone a month later — prompting a warning to residents to take shelter.

"The Pacific does not belong to the United States or Japan," Kim Yo-jong said.

Kim's sister warns U.S. not to intercept North Korean missile tests

"The Pacific does not belong to the United States or Japan," she said.

 Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attends wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, March 2, 2019. 

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019. Photo: Jorge Silva/ Pool/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea's state media said Friday its military conducted a "strategic cruise missile" drill off its eastern coast the previous day.

Details: KCNA claims that the North Korean military fired four "Hwasal-2" long-range missiles in the North Hamgyong Province. Seoul officials said there had been a launch but added without further elaboration that South Korean and U.S. intelligence detected differing flight details to Pyongyang's claims, per AP.

"The drill clearly demonstrated once again the war posture of the [North Korean] nuclear combat force bolstering up in every way its deadly nuclear counterattack capability against the hostile forces," KCNA said.

Of note: The latest missile launch occurred on the same day as the U.S. and South Korean militaries held a simulated "table-top" exercise in Washington, D.C. 

The Pentagon said Thursday's drill was due to threats from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about bolstering his military's nuclear arsenal.

The big picture: North Korean officials first said they'd successfully launched long-range cruise missiles in September 2021 and later claimed they'd built weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

North Korea's military also conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test last Saturday and fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday.

Pyongyang said Monday's test was in response to the U.S. holding joint air exercises with South Korea and Japan over its Saturday launch.

Between the lines: The North Korean military's demonstrations "might be considered missile exercising rather than developmental testing," the U.S.-based Center for International and Strategic Studies said in a report on Tuesday.

Pyongyang says it test-fired cruise missiles as U.S., South Korea held drill

The U.S. and South Korean militaries held a simulated "table-top" exercise in D.C. due to nuclear threats from Pyongyang.

A woman watches a tv screen showing a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul earlier this month.

A woman watches a TV screen showing an image of an earlier North Korean missile launch during a news program at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

North Korea launched at least two short-range ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast on Monday, marking its second test in three days, AP reports.

Why it matters: The missile launches come after the U.S. held joint air exercises with South Korea and Japan in response to Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday.

What they're saying: Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said after Monday's ballistic missile tests that Pyongyang will continue using the Pacific Ocean "as our firing range," depending on "the U.S. forces’ action character," according to AP. 

 The U.S., South Korea and Japan have condemned North Korea's recent missile tests, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would request an emergency Security Council meeting over the launches.

Go deeper: North Korea says latest ICBM launch shows capacity for "fatal nuclear counterattack"

North Korea launches 2 ballistic missiles days after ICBM test

The launches come days after it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday.

A person watching a tv screen in Seoul on Feb. 20 showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch.

A person watching a tv screen in Seoul on Feb. 20 showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch. Photo: Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday was meant to showcase the country's efforts to strengthen its capacity for "fatal nuclear counterattack," Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a statement Sunday.

Driving the news: The agency added that the launch was organized "suddenly" without prior notice and at the direct order North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The ICBM launch also offered "clear proof of the sure reliability of our powerful physical nuclear deterrent," according to KCNA.

This was North Korea's first missile test since Jan. 1, AP reported.

The big picture: “This launch needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Saturday.

The U.S. also responded by conducting bilateral joint air exercises with both South Korea and Japan on Sunday.

South Korea's military said in a statement Sunday that the exercise demonstrated the U.S.' "ironclad commitment to the defence of the Korean Peninsula and the implementation of extended deterrence," Reuters reported.

Japan's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the bilateral exercise "reaffirms the strong will between Japan and the United States to respond to any situation," adding that the security environment is "increasingly severe," per Reuters.

What they're saying: Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, accused the U.S. and South Korea in a statement Sunday of "openly showing their dangerous greed and attempt to gain the military upper hand and predominant position in the Korean Peninsula," AP reported.

“I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us,” she added.

What to watch: The U.S. and South Korea are slated to conduct joint nuclear drills on Feb. 22, per Reuters.  

North Korea: latest ICBM launch shows capacity for "fatal nuclear counterattack"

The U.S. responded by conducting bilateral joint air exercises with both South Korea and Japan.

U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, F-16 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jets fly over South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill on February 19, 2023

U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, F-16 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jets fly over South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill on Feb. 19. Photo: South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and his young daughter watched a parade of Pyongyang's largest nuclear missiles and newest military hardware in the capital on Wednesday night.

Why it matters: The parade marking the 75th founding anniversary of the North Korean army featured Pyongyang's largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), per Reuters.

North Korean tanks carrying missiles during Pyongyang foundation anniversary celebrations on Wednesday.

The military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday night celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army. Photo: KCNA

Meanwhile, the prominent presence of the North Korean leader's middle-school-aged daughter Kim Ju-ae at the parade one day after she visited an army base with her father and attended an official dinner has increased speculation that she's being groomed as his successor. 

The state-run Korean Central News Agency for the first time referred to her as "the respected daughter" of Kim in its report — "an apparent upgrade" from its previous reference to her as "beloved," the Washington Post notes.

Of note: Analysts believe among the weaponry showcased was an ICBM launcher that's intended for a solid-fuel missile, which could provide greater mobility and launch quicker than liquid-fuel ones.

Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the BBC this was "one of North Korea's major nuclear modernisation goals" and the world "should expect to see the first flight tests of longer-range solid fuel missiles in the coming months."

Kim Jong-un's daughter center stage as Pyongyang showcases largest-ever ICBM parade

Analysts say it's a sign she's being groomed as his successor.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with his daughter Kim Ju-ae during a military parade celebrating  the 75th anniversary of the founding of the military in Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with his daughter Kim Ju-ae during a military parade celebrating  the 75th anniversary of the founding of the military in Pyongyang. Photo: Korean Central News Agency

Trump discussed nuclear strike on North Korea and blaming another country, book says

A new afterword of "Donald Trump v. the United States," by New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt details the event.

Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15,

Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on Nov. 15. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for “exponential” growth of the country's nuclear arsenal in a recent ruling party meeting, per the Associated Press, citing state media reports Sunday.

Why it matters: Kim's remarks underscore his intent to push for more nuclear production and potentially run more weapons tests, which took place at an unprecedented rate last year.

Details: Kim called for mass production of short-range nuclear missiles and ordered the development of a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile during a multi-day meeting of the country's ruling Workers’ Party, per AP.

Per AP, experts say Kim's push for more weapons production indicates a desire to reinforce his negotiating power and help him "win greater outside concessions." He has previously called for boosting the arsenal to deal with the United States, AP reports.

“They are now keen on isolating and stifling (North Korea), unprecedented in human history,” Kim said at the meeting, AP reports. “The prevailing situation calls for making redoubled efforts to overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle.”

Zoom in: The North Korean leader said at the meeting that South Korea has become the North’s “undoubted enemy” under its new president, Yoon Suk Yeol, according to the New York Times. 

Kim cited Yoon's government, which has had a tough stance on the North, as an impetus for the "mass-produc​tion of tactical nuclear weapons​” and “exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal​," according to the Times.

North Korea will “respond with nuke for nuke, and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation, in order to deal with the enemy’s rash acts and reckless moves," Kim said to the ruling party, per the Times.

The other side: The South’s Defense Ministry warned Sunday that Kim’s regime “will meet its end” if it tries to deploy nuclear weapons, per The Times. “It must realize that the only way to improve the lives of its people is through denuclearization,” the ministry added.

Context: North Korea has been testing more missiles than ever before in recent years, Axios' Dave Lawler writes. The amount of tests has been growing exponentially since 1984.

Experts told Axios that Kim has increased the amount of weapons tests in order to push the United States to set an agenda on North Korea, even though President Biden would rather focus on China, Ukraine and Russia.

Kim Jong-Un's daughter makes second public appearance

North Korea's military claims missile tests were practice for attack

Kim Jong-Un reveals daughter during a ballistic missile launch

North Korea test-fires missile with range to strike U.S. mainland, Japan says

North Korea’s Kim calls for "exponential increase" of nuke arsenal

Kim called for mass production of short-range nuclear missiles in a meeting with the country's ruling Workers’ Party.

 TV screen shows footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a news program at the Yongsan Railway Station in Seoul. 

A TV screen shows footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un's daughter made another public appearance with the North Korean leader during an event over the weekend, per photos released by state media on Sunday.

The big picture: It's the second time this month that the father-daughter pair have appeared publicly together, increasing speculation over which of Kim's family members may succeed him.

Kim earlier this month revealed his daughter publicly during the launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, in what was the first confirmed public sighting of the North Korean leader's daughter. 

Driving the news: The photos released on Sunday are at an unnamed location with North Korean soldiers, showing the pair posing with what state media said is the Hwasong-17 ICBM. 

Kim's daughter is shown walking next to her father and holding her father's hand in the photos. 

State of play: Kim this weekend said that North Korea's "ultimate goal is to possess the world's most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century," Reuters reports.

Those remarks come after the launch of a Hwasong-17 missile earlier this month, which is a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, per Reuters. 

Go deeper... North Korea fires ballistic missile after warning to U.S.

Kim earlier this month revealed his daughter publicly during the launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

Pedestrians walk under a large video screen showing images of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news update in Tokyo on October 4, 2022

Pedestrians in Tokyo walk by a video screen featuring North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un on Oct. 4. Photo: Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea has been secretly supplying Russia with a "significant number" of artillery shells to support its war in Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a press briefing Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Driving the news: North Korea is “trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa," Kirby added, per AP.

Kirby did not offer estimates of how much ammunition North Korea has sent, but he insisted that the shipments were “not going to change the course of the war,” because of Western efforts to aid Ukraine, Kirby added.

"Our indications are that the DPRK is covertly supplying, and we are going to monitor to see whether the shipments are received," Kirby said, referring to North Korea, per Reuters.

The big picture: The development comes nearly two months after U.S. intelligence indicated that Russia was buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for its war in Ukraine.

Russia's reliance on other powers such as North Korea and Iran for supplies is indicative of the shortages it is facing in maintaining its war in Ukraine.

U.S.: North Korea "covertly supplying" artillery shells to Russia for Ukraine war

The shipments are “not going to change the course of the war,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.

Kim Jong Un watches an honor guard before his departure to North Korea at the railway station in Vladivostok, Russia in April 2019. Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia

Axios World

Data: CSIS Missile Threat, Axios; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios

North Korea tested yet another ballistic missile on Friday, launched a barrage of rockets near the border with South Korea, and flew warplanes so close to South Korean territory that Seoul scrambled jets of its own in response, South Korea's military says.

Why it matters: North Korea is testing missiles at an unprecedented rate this year. U.S. and South Korean officials are still awaiting a seventh nuclear test, which they believe could take place at any time.

Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the launch of two long-range cruise missiles that could carry tactical nuclear weapons, according to North Korean state media.

State of play: Experts believe Kim wants to force North Korea onto the U.S. agenda at a time when President Biden would prefer to focus on China and the war in Ukraine.

But the North Korean leader has thus far rejected the Biden administration's offer of talks without any preconditions, and Biden has been unwilling to offer concessions to get Pyongyang to the table.

North Korea is testing more missiles than ever before

U.S. and South Korean officials are waiting on a seventh nuclear test.

Joe Biden will face three urgent nuclear challenges upon entering the White House.

Why it matters: Arms control with Russia is crumbling, Iran’s uranium stockpiles are growing, and North Korea is as vexing and threatening as ever.

The last treaty constraining the world's two nuclear superpowers, New START, is due to expire 15 days after Biden takes office.

President Trump was skeptical of that Obama-era deal, but both Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin want to activate a five-year extension. Their approval and a bit of protocol are all that’s required.

That will avert an immediate arms race. It won’t address Russia’s new weapons systems and smaller "tactical" nukes — not to mention China’s unconstrained nuclear buildup.

The Trump administration pushed a proposal for the "future of arms control," involving both Russia and China, but it arrived to the issue late and didn't get very far.

The state of play: Biden sees New START, once extended, as the "foundation for new arms control arrangements." But in a climate of distrust with Moscow and Beijing — and with a plethora of competing priorities — he might struggle to break much more new ground than Trump did.

Biden also wants to move quickly to salvage the Iran nuclear deal — promising to re-enter it by lifting sanctions if Iran returns to compliance.

Iranian leaders have said they’d hold up their end of that deal. But they want the U.S. to make the first move and have waved away the idea of a broader, longer-lasting deal, which is Biden's ultimate objective.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog also revealed this week that Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium is currently 12 times what is permissible under the deal. Iran has also advanced its nuclear research and updated its facilities since Trump withdrew in 2018.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is attempting to block the path back to the deal by piling on new non-nuclear sanctions that Biden might find politically tricky to lift.

What to watch: Negotiations on a follow-on deal will probably have to wait for Iran to elect its next president in June.

Trump will soon hand back the challenge Barack Obama said would be the most difficult of his presidency: North Korea.

Where things stand: Besides parading a giant new missile through Pyongyang last month, Kim Jong-un has gone relatively quiet. Things won't stay that way.

North Korea has a history of testing incoming U.S. administrations, and Kim has been clear that his suspensions of nuclear and long-range missile tests were only temporary.

The leaders aren’t starting on great terms. Biden called Kim a “thug” during the campaign, while North Korea labeled Biden a “rabid dog.”

Biden has proposed a bottom-up approach to negotiations, while working in conjunction with U.S. allies as well as China to apply pressure on Kim’s regime. In the meantime, North Korea's nuclear capabilities will continue to advance.

The bottom line: North Korea might be Biden's most difficult foreign policy challenge too.

Trump leaves Biden tough choices on China

Nuclear challenges from Russia, Iran and North Korea now fall to Biden

North Korea may prove the most difficult of all.

Illustration of serious looking Joseph Biden on a nuclear icon pattern

Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Nuclear weapons

Joe Biden

Iran

Future

Axios Future

March 5 marked the 50th anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) going into force.

Why it matters: While the number of  atomic warheads in the world has fallen considerably since the darkest days of the Cold War, the club of nuclear-armed countries has expanded. With countries including the U.S. updating their nuclear arsenals and  arms control treaties in danger of collapsing, many experts believe the risk of nuclear conflict is rising.  

Flashback: In the early days of the Cold War, it seemed inevitable that we would face "a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have [nuclear] weapons," as President John F. Kennedy said in 1963.

That didn't happen thanks to renewed arms control efforts in the 1960s that led to the signing of the NPT, under which states that lacked nuclear weapons pledged not to acquire them and existing nuclear powers committed to eventual disarmament.

Another factor was Washington's willingness to extend its nuclear umbrella to its allies so that they didn't need to develop their own nuclear programs.

Yes, but: More recently that commitment has wavered, as former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder wrote in the New York Times. 

Russia has shown its willingness to use force in Ukraine, while North Korea has defied Washington in developing a growing nuclear program. Last year the Trump administration withdrew from a treaty banning short-range nuclear missiles.

The New START Treaty between the U.S. and Russia is set to expire in less than a year. If it isn't extended, it would signal that for the first time in more than four decades "there is no arms control regime in the world," as Sen. Jack Reed said in a congressional hearing last month.

The bottom line: The NPT was one of the first steps the world took to reduce the risk of a global nuclear holocaust. If we forget its lessons, we will be risking our future.

Editor's note: The photo in this story has been changed to depict the USS Arizona Memorial 

A landmark nuclear arms treaty shows its age

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is at risk of becoming outdated in a more dangerous world.

Aerial view of the USS Arizona Memorial, monument in memory of the USS Arizona battleship which was sunk during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, World War II, Oahu island, Hawaii. Photo: 
DEA / M. BORCHI / Contributor/ Getty Images

Nuclear war

A new report from the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), which includes interviews from 610 escapees, unearths fresh details on how North Korea executes its citizens.

By the numbers: TJWG found 318 reports of public execution sites in North Korea over the last 4 years. There were 19 reports of  "public executions of more than 10 people at once." Almost all of the reported state-sanctioned killings were public executions by firing squad.

"Brief 'trials' almost always occur on the spot immediately before a public execution, where charges are stated and a sentence given without legal counsel for the accused."

Guards use hand-held metal detectors in a recent incident "to find and confiscate mobile phones from witnesses at a public execution to prevent them recording the events," interviewees reported.

Interviewees said executions happen most often in places like "river banks, open spaces and fields, market places, hills/mountains, sports grounds and school grounds."

TJWG found 25 reports of sites where dead bodies had been disposed of by the state. Interviewees said those "killed by the regime are not usually returned to family members."

Between the lines: 80% of the escapees interviewed were women, reflecting the fact that the vast majority of escapees are women.

"It is much easier for them [women] to flee, because they are not usually enrolled in formal employment at a factory or a state firm where any absence would be immediately reported. ... They are in charge of the household and can thus slip away unnoticed."

How North Korea executes people

Most are public executions by firing squad.

All North Korea stories