The move has raised questions about the sincerity of Pyongyang's recent offer for talks with South Korea.

North and South Korea have reopened a hotline that was closed for nearly 14 months. "We hope that inter-Korean communications are never again suspended," a South Korean official said.

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Wilson Center senior fellow Jean Lee about North Korea acknowledging a tense food situation and how flooding, sanctions and other issues are adding to the problem.

The North Korean leader didn't say exactly what the incident was, nor did he contradict the country's official line, which is that it has not had a single COVID-19 infection so far.

Earlier this week, the U.S. and other leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations issued a statement calling for North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and return to talks.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet with President Biden on Friday. He sees this year as representing "the last opportunity to move from an incomplete peace toward one that is irreversible."

Combining elements of animism, ancestor worship and folk religion, shamanism remains popular on both sides of the border. But it's illegal in the North, and some who practice it have been executed.

Citing President Biden's speech to Congress, North Korea says the United States will face a grave situation if it continues to pursue its "hostile policy" toward the country's nuclear program.

President Biden meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday, his first in-person summit since taking office. Talks are expected to focus on shared concerns about China.

The top U.S. intelligence officials detailed concerns to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, with many questions raised about cyberthreats and espionage targeting U.S. technology.

Kim Jong Un calls for the country to prepare for another "arduous march" — using a phrase that has come to describe the disastrous and prolonged food shortages of the '90s.

Pyongyang will skip the games, shattering South Korea's hopes that the games might revive stalled peace talks between the bitter rivals.

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan Thursday, in its first provocation of the Biden White House.

The Biden administration is in the final stages of reviewing its North Korea policy, and sees the recent test as on the "low end" of a "familiar menu of provocations."

The trip showed different policy approaches between the U.S. and allies such as South Korea and Japan to two big issues: North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal and China's growing assertiveness.