Sanctions
Information related to sanctions developments
North Korea in December 2025: A month in review and what’s ahead
An analytical look at the main developments from December 1 to December 31, 2025
Chinese merchant boasts he provided carpets for new North Korean luxury hotels
Social media posts claim export of 18,000 square meters of carpet, showing designs that match those at Samjiyon hotel
North Korean weapons firms set to export beer and drugs to Russia: records
Missile parts supplier Ryongsong and sanctioned panacea peddler Pugang seek to expand commercial presence in Russia
YouTubers, K-pop defectors and Trump: The top North Korea stories of 2025
From a radioactive Russian delivery to influencers in Pyongyang, NK News revisits our best reporting from this year
Year-end special: A look back at the most compelling North Korea stories of 2025
NK News journalists share the stories that meant the most to them and offer insights into how they reported on the DPRK
High-level North Korean defector reports top official was executed by burning
New memoir by ex-diplomat Ryu Hyun-woo also reveals existence of secret organization managing Kim Jong Un’s slush fund
North Korea’s record year of crypto theft lays bare a ‘modern-day pirate state’
Embrace of AI and cooperation with Chinese networks have turned DPRK threat groups into financial juggernaut for regime
Few sanctioned items appear in North Korea-China trade data despite smuggling
Beijing reports usual suspects of fabrics, soybean oil and hair led exchange in November, omitting sensitive goods
North Korean crypto theft hits new high in 2025 on back of Bybit heist: Reports
Researchers say DPRK actors stole up to $2B this year, accounting for over half of all global crypto theft
North Korea-China trade rockets to six-year high, months after Kim-Xi summit
Imports from China rise to nearly $244M and drive exchange to highest level since Oct. 2019
