This week, an emotional young traffic officer named Ri-Kyong Sim was honored at a military ceremony with the North Korean equivalent of the Medal of Valor — for what, nobody on the outside is ...

North Korea caused even more bafflement than usual when, on Wednesday, it announced that a lowly traffic cop would receive the state's highest honor, a medal called "The Hero of the Republic."The ...

In North Korea, where women keep their elbows covered, don’t ride bicycles and play few roles in public life, the female traffic wardens at Pyongyang’s intersections are an anomaly.