North Korea Financial News

The attack on crypto exchange CoinEx which drained at least $55 million was carried out by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist and on-chain investigator ZachXBT. The hacker group was identified after they mistakenly connected their address to the recent Stake and Optimism hacks. 

‘Layover’, the solo debut album of BTS member Kim Taehyung has made history. It has sold over 2 million albums, thereby making V, the first Korean soloist in 23 years, with this distinction. He is also currently the best-selling soloist of all time on Hanteo. Fans were ecstatic, celebrating the idol’s milestone. Several diehard V stans had a field day, gushing about this landmark achievement on X (formerly Twitter). “Layover is now officially the first album by a soloist to sell over 2 million copies in its first week in Hanteo history! DOUBLE MILLION SELLER V CONGRATULATIONS TAEHYUNG,” wrote an overjoyed fan. Another gushed, “It's insane that Taehyung is the first K-pop artist to have a DEBUT album with 2 million first-week sales!!”

Kim Jong Un on Wednesday toured Russia's most modern space launch centre, where President Vladimir Putin promised to help Pyongyang build satellites. The unprecedented visit comes as North Korea seeks to put its first spy satellite into orbit, an effort that has seen two failed attempts this year. The promised Russian aid comes as North Korea's scientists have vowed to try another launch of the new Chollima-1 booster in October. Here's what we know about North Korea's race for space, why it's so controversial, and how Russia might help: WHY DOES NORTH KOREA WANT A SATELLITE? Since 1998 North Korea has launched six satellites, two of which appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit. In 2015, a senior North Korean space official said the country wanted to develop cooperation with Russia on «peaceful» use of outer space, the official told TASS. The most recent successful satellite launch was in 2016.

Kim Jong Un told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that his country offers its “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s “sacred fight” to defend its security interests, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine, and said Pyongyang will always stand with Moscow on the “anti-imperialist” front. Through a translator, Kim called North Korea’s relations with Russia “the first priority.” Putin in his opening remarks welcomed Kim to Russia and said he was glad to see him. Putin listed economic cooperation, humanitarian issues and the “situation in the region” among the agenda items for their talks. Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un began on Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome, Russian state news agency Tass reported. The talks, which included their delegations, began shortly after Putin and Kim toured various facilities at the cosmodrome, including two launch pads. The leaders met at the remote Siberian rocket launch facility for a summit that underscores how the two leaders’ interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The two men began their meeting with a tour of a Soyuz-2 space rocket launch facility, at which the North Korean leader peppered a Russian space official with questions about the rockets. Kim's meeting with Putin came hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the sea, extending a highly provocative run in North Korean weapons testing since the start of 2022, as Kim used the distraction caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine to accelerate his weapons development. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t immediately say how far the North Korean missiles flew.

Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would help North Korea build satellites and, when asked if he and Kim Jong Un would talk about weapons supplies, replied that the two leaders would discuss all issues. When asked by reporters if Russia would help Kim build satellites, Putin replied: «That's why we came here. The leader of the DPRK shows great interest in rocket engineering, they are also trying to develop space.» Putin showed Kim around Russia's most modern space rocket launch site, the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which is nestled among the forests of eastern Russia not far from the Chinese border. Kim arrived at Vostochny by train, after crossing into Russia early on Tuesday. «I am glad to see you,» Putin said as he shook Kim's hand for around 40 seconds at Vostochny. «This is our new cosmodrome.»

President Vladimir Putin. That meeting underscores how the two leaders’ interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The launch extended a highly provocative run in North Korean weapons testing since the start of 2022, as Kim used the distraction caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine to accelerate his weapons development.

North Korean missiles flew. Japan’s Coast Guard, citing Tokyo’s Defence Ministry, said the missiles have likely already landed but still urged vessels to watch for falling objects. Putin's meeting with Kim is an opportunity to refill ammunition stores that the 18-month-old war has drained.

President Vladimir Putin, a rare encounter between isolated leaders driven together by their need for support in escalating standoffs with the West. Kim is expected to seek economic aid and military technology for his impoverished country, and, in a twist, appears to have something Putin desperately needs: munitions for Russia’s grueling war in Ukraine. It’s a chance for the North Korean leader to get around crippling U.N.

Bloomberg. However, no time or venue has been announced by either side for the summit. Some media reports suggested that Putin may soon visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in the Amur region, fueling speculation this could be the summit site.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un rolled through Russia on an armored train Tuesday toward a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, a rare encounter between isolated leaders driven together by their need for support in escalating standoffs with the West. Kim is expected to seek economic aid and military technology for his impoverished country, and, in a twist, appears to have something Putin desperately needs: munitions for Russia's grueling war in Ukraine. It's a chance for the North Korean leader to get around crippling U.N. sanctions and years of diplomatic isolation.

By David Shepardson

Also Read: ‘Russia likely to invest trapped rupees in India’: Sergei Lavrov says. Top Points The Russian President made it clear that Ukraine needs to cancel the ban on negotiations imposed by a drecree of the Ukranian President by which he prohibited himself and all others from conducting negotiations, reported TASS, a Russian state-owned news agency. The EEF is being hosted by Vladivostok from September 10-13.

North Korea, Russia, and China on one side against South Korea, Japan, and the United States. In case North Korea chooses to supply arms to Russia, the already heavy Western sanctions against the country can intensify. The experts claim that Russia has everything, the troubled North Korean economy demands.

Kim Jong-un embarked on a rare journey to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He arrived in Russia aboard a distinctive bulletproof train known for its opulence.

BBC, Kim's preference for train travel during international trips is well-known, and he spent approximately 20 hours covering 1,180km on his slow-moving, green-and-yellow luxury train. Notably, the train's heavy armoured protection causes it to travel at a relatively slow speed of about 50km/h, much slower than modern trains.

The hackers behind cryptocurrency casino Stake’s $41 million hack have shifted another $328,000 million worth of Polygon (MATIC) and Binance Coin (BNB) tokens — its latest moves following the Sept. 4 exploit, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.

Amazon Prime Video will premiere Wilderness, an original thriller, on 15 September. The series is created by Marnie Dickens, based on B.E. Jones’ novel, directed by So Yong Kim, and executive produced by Elizabeth Kilgarriff.

The train carrying North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has already arrived in Russia, RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday. The Russian agency, citing one of its correspondents in Russia's Far East, where Kim is expected, posted also a video of a train, with dark green and grey cars, moving forward and saying it was the train carrying the North Korean leader.

The Ukrainian military says it recaptured strategic gas and oil drilling platforms from Russia in the Black Sea

Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that is likely to focus on Russia's desire to buy ammunition to refill reserves drained by its war in Ukraine. The meeting will also underscore deepening cooperation as the two isolated leaders are locked in separate confrontations with the U.S. In return for providing ammunition, North Korea will likely want shipments of food and energy and transfers of sophisticated weapons technologies. A meeting with Putin would be Kim's first with a foreign leader since North Korea closed its borders in January 2020. They met for the first time in April 2019, two months after Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-U.S.

Also Read: Kim Jong Un Travels to Russia, His Bulletproof Train Spotted Ahead of Putin Meeting "The presence of Jo Chun Ryong indicates that North Korea and Russia will conclude some type of agreement for munitions purchases," said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center. Reuters reported that images released by state media depicted military honour guards and crowds of individuals in formal attire, including both dark suits and colourful dresses.