2024 in North Korea

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Centuries:	20th 21st
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See also:	Other events of 2024 Years in North Korea Timeline of Korean history 2024 in South Korea

The following is a list of events from the year 2024 in North Korea .

Incumbents

Photo	Position	Name
	General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea	Kim Jong Un
	Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly	Choe Ryong-hae
	Premier of North Korea	Kim Tok-hun (until 29 December)
		Pak Thae-song (since 29 December)

Events

January

• January 5 – North Korea fires 200 artillery shells near South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, prompting evacuations. ^[1]
• January 15 – North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un says that Korean reunification is "no longer possible" and asks the Supreme People's Assembly to amend the constitution to formally recognize South Korea as a separate state. ^[2]
• January 16 – Kim Jong Un declares South Korea as the "primary foe", rejects unification, and calls for war planning, severing ties and closing organizations amid escalating tensions. ^[3]
• January 19 – North Korea announces that it has tested a nuclear weapon delivered by an unmanned underwater drone system in the Sea of Japan. ^[4]
• January 19-23 – The Arch of Reunification is demolished some time between the said dates, according to satellite imagery. ^{[5] [6]}

March

• March 29 –
  • North Korean state media cites foreign minister Choe Son Hui as saying that North Korea rejects any talks with Japan on any issue, including the Japanese abductees, after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he was willing to meet in person with Kim Jong Un. ^[7]
  • Russia vetoes the continuation of the monitoring of UN sanctions on the North Korean nuclear weapons program. ^[8]

April

• April 1 – North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan near South Korean territory. ^[9]
• April 23 – North Korea claims it has tested a new command-and-control system in a simulated nuclear counterstrike. ^[10]

May

• 27 May – North Korea announces the failure of an attempt to launch its second spy satellite into orbit after the rocket carrying it explodes mid-air. ^[11]
• 29 May – North Korea deploys 260 balloons carrying garbage and possible human waste over South Korea, which Pyongyang says is in retaliation for balloons sent into the North by anti-regime activists. ^[12]
• 30 May – North Korea launches a series of short-range ballistic missiles from Sunan-guyok towards the sea near South Korea. ^[13]

June

• 4 June – The State Council of South Korea suspends the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration due to border tensions over balloons sent by North Korea. ^[14]
• 6 June – North Korea receives 200,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets, U.S. bills, and USB sticks containing K-pop songs and South Korean dramas to North Korea with 10 balloons, sent by a South Korean activists’ group led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak in retaliation for North Korea sending balloons carrying trash to South Korea. ^[15]
• 9 June – A group of North Korean soldiers enter the South Korean side of the DMZ, prompting warning shots from South Korean forces that force them to retreat. ^[16]
• 18 June – A group of North Korean soldiers enter the South Korean side of the central section of the DMZ, prompting warning shots from South Korean forces that force them to retreat. ^[17]
• 19 June – Russian president Vladimir Putin visits Pyongyang as part of the first visit of a Russian leader to North Korea since 2000, the two sign an agreement to grant mutual aid and support in case either nation faces aggression. ^[18]
• 20 June – A group of North Korean soldiers enter the South Korean side of the DMZ, prompting warning shots from South Korean forces that force them to retreat. ^[19]

July

• 16 July – The South Korean National Intelligence Service announces the defection of North Korean diplomat Ri Il Kyu and his family from his posting in Cuba in November 2023. ^[20]
• 23 July – Belarusian foreign minister Maxim Ryzhenkov visits Pyongyang. ^[21]
• 24 July – A balloon from North Korea carrying rubbish lands on the Presidential Residence of South Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. ^[22]
• 26 July – 11 August 2024: North Korea at the 2024 Summer Olympics ^[23]
• 31 July – More than 5,000 people in Sinuiju, Uiju and Chagang are reported stranded due to floods that inundate 4,100 houses and 3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) of farmland. ^[24]

August

• 1 August – South Korea reports that up to 1,500 people may have been killed by floods in North Korea, caused by the remnants of Typhoon Gaemi. ^[25]
• 4 August – Kim Jong-un denounces the information declared by South Korea regarding deaths related to flooding as part of a "smear campaign" ^[26]
• 20 August – A North Korean soldier defects to South Korea by crossing through a section of the DMZ in Goseong County, Gangwon Province. ^[27]

September

• 13 September – Sweden redeploys diplomats to its embassy in Pyongyang, making it the first Western country to do so since the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[28]
• 16 September – North Korea announces that it will revise its constitution on 7 October, with changes including designating South Korea as its primary enemy. ^[29]
• 22 September – North Korea wins the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup after defeating Japan 1-0 in the championship final in Bogota, Colombia. North Korea becomes the joint most successful side in the tournament's history, with three championship titles that equal Germany and the United States. ^[30]

October

• 11 October – North Korea accuses South Korea of sending drones carrying propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang on three occasions since 3 October. South Korean officials deny the claims. ^[31]
• 13 October – Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses North Korea of sending soldiers to participate in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[32]
• 15 October – North Korea blows up sections of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads leading to the DMZ. ^[33]
• 17 October – North Korea revises its constitution to formally designate South Korea as a "hostile" state. ^[34]
• 24 October – A balloon from North Korea carrying rubbish lands on the Presidential Residence of South Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. ^[35]
• 31 October – North Korea conducts an ICBM test over the Sea of Japan, with the missile's flight time being confirmed by Japan as the longest held by Pyongyang. ^[36]

November

• 4 November – Ukraine announces its first combat engagements with North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk Oblast. ^[37]
• 9 November – South Korea accuses North Korea of jamming GPS signals in the Yellow Sea from locations in Haeju and Kaesong, causing disruptions to shipping and aviation. ^[38]
• 11 November – Kim Jong-un ratifies the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty providing strengthened military cooperation with Russia. ^[39]
• 15 November – Poland announces the reopening of its embassy in Pyongyang, making it the second Western country after Sweden to do so since the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[40]

December

• 17 December – Nigeria announces the reopening of its embassy in Pyongyang following a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[41]
• 27 December – The South Korean National Intelligence Service says that a North Korean soldier has been taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces for the first time during the Russo-Ukrainian war in Russia's Kursk Oblast. However, the soldier is reported to have died later in the day from injuries sustained in combat. ^[42]
• 29 December – Politburo member Pak Thae-song is named Premier of North Korea. ^[43]

Deaths

• 11 January – Kim Kyong-ok, 93, military officer, deputy (1998–2003) and member of the central military commission (2010–2021). ^[44]
• 20 January – Choe Thae-bok, 93, politician, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly (1998–2019). ^[45]
• 7 May – Kim Ki-nam, 94, politician, director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (1989–2017). ^[46]

References

1. Jie, Lim Hui (2024-01-05). "North Korea fires 200 artillery shells near Yeonpyeong Island; South reportedly orders evacuation". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
2. "North Korea's Kim calls for change in status of South and warns of war". The Japan Times . 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
3. "North Korea's Kim Jong Un warns of war against South Korea: 'Occupy and reclaim'". Hindustan Times. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
4. Irwin, Lauren (2024-01-19). "North Korea says it tested underwater nuclear attack drone". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
5. "North Korea demolishes symbolic unification arch, satellite imagery suggests". NK News. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
6. "North Korea tears down monument symbolizing union with the South - report". Reuters . 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
7. "North Korea rules out any meetings with Japan". Reuters . March 29, 2024.
8. "Russian veto brings an end to the UN panel that monitors North Korea nuclear sanctions". AP News. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
9. "North Korea fires an intermediate-range missile into its eastern waters, South Korea says". AP News. 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
10. Lendon, Brad (2024-04-23). "North Korea claims it tested new command-and-control system in simulated nuclear counterstrike". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
11. "North Korean rocket carrying its 2nd spy satellite explodes shortly after launch". Associated Press . 2024-05-27.
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36. "North Korea confirms launch of ICBM in longest-ever ballistic missile test". Al Jazeera. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
37. Martin Fornusek (4 November 2024). "First North Korean troops come under fire in Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian official claims". The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
38. "South Korea's military blames North Korea for GPS signal 'jamming attack'". Al Jazeera. 9 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
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40. "Poland moves to reopen embassy in North Korea closed during COVID pandemic". Associated Press. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
41. Kim Soo-yeon (17 December 2024). "(LEAD) Nigeria reopens embassy in N. Korea following years of COVID-19 closure". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
42. Koh Ewe (27 December 2024). "North Korean soldier captured in Ukraine dies, reports say". BBC. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
43. Park Boram (December 29, 2024). "N. Korea appoints Pak Thae-song as new premier at year-end party meeting: KCNA". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
44. 김, 지헌 (2024-01-13). "'김정은 권력세습 역할' 북한 김경옥 전 부부장 사망". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
45. "N. Korea's Former SPA Chairman Dies: State Media". Barron's. AFP. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
46. 현혜란 (2024-05-08). "'3대 세습 우상화' 김기남 前비서 사망…김정은이 국가장의위원장(종합)". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-05-08.