Seoul proposes talks with Pyongyang, hopes to set up videoconference system

The South Korean government on Thursday proposed talks with North Korea on the establishment of a videoconference system, as part of efforts to rekindle stalemated inter-Korean talks, according to Unification Minister Lee In-young on Friday.  “Yesterday, we proposed to the North via the joint liaison channel that we consult on setting up a videoconference system,” Lee told reporters during a press conference at the ministry’s office in central Seoul. “The North has

July 30, 2021

NK leader accuses 'hostile forces' of intensifying 'war drills for aggression'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused "hostile forces" of intensifying "frantic and persistent war drills for aggression" as he presided over the first-ever workshop of military commanders and political officers this week, state media reported Friday. The remark came as South Korea and the United States are mulling over whether and how to conduct their annual military exercise expected for mid-August amid concern that it could negatively affect a conciliatory mood created

July 30, 2021

Xi vows to strengthen China-N. Korea ties in letter to Kim

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged efforts to "defend, consolidate and develop" relations with North Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported Friday, after the North's Kim Jong-un said he will push to elevate the two countries' ties to a "new strategic point." Xi made the remarks in a reply to Kim's earlier letter to mark the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China, touting the "message of fervent congratulations at an early hour" as a sign

July 30, 2021

N. Korea's trade down 73.4% in 2020: KOTRA

North Korea's annual trade plunged a whopping 73.4 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, as the country shut down its border amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday. The combined amount of North Korea's trade came to $863 million in 2020, compared with $3.24 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). "The decrease came as both exports and imports lost ground after North Korea closed down its bord

July 29, 2021

Inter-Korean military hotlines back to normal operation: defense ministry

Direct military communication lines between South and North Korea are back to normal operation Thursday after technical problems with one of the lines were fixed, the defense ministry said. On Tuesday, the two sides reopened all cross-border communication lines, 13 months after Pyongyang cut them off in protest over anti-regime propaganda leaflets flying in from the South. Of the two cross-border military hotlines, the western channel worked well from the first day, but the other one, known as

July 29, 2021

NK leader says 'kindred ties' with China will last for generations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed that "kindred ties" with China will carry on generation after generation as he visited a monument symbolizing friendly relations between the two countries, state media said Thursday. On Wednesday, Kim visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, which was erected to commemorate China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and sent a wreath to mark the 68th anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, the Korean Central News Agency said.

July 29, 2021

Inter-Korean talks going virtual?

Cheong Wa Dae is considering setting up a virtual meeting system for inter-Korean talks, signaling that working-level talks could start soon following Tuesday’s restoration of the hotlines between the two Koreas after a 13-month hiatus. “The direct hotlines may not be enough for intensive talks and negotiations,” President Moon Jae-in’s senior secretary for public communication, Park Soo-hyun, said during a radio interview on Wednesday. “Building a virtual meeti

July 28, 2021

Koreas hold daily liaison phone call after restoring communication lines

South and North Korea held their daily liaison phone call on Wednesday, the unification ministry said, a day after Pyongyang restored inter-Korean communication lines after a 13-month suspension. Four hotlines were restored Tuesday after the North cut them off in June last year in protest of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets coming in from the South. At the time, the North also blew up a joint liaison office in anger as well. On Wednesday, the two sides held phone calls via liaison and milita

July 28, 2021

NK leader makes no mention of nuclear deterrence at national conference of war veterans

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country's armed forces are fully ready to deal with any outside threats as he addressed a conference of war veterans but unlike last year, made no mention of "nuclear deterrence," according to state media Wednesday. The annual conference, held Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, coincided with the surprise announcement that the North restored cross-border hotlines with South Korea that it had cut

July 28, 2021

Unanswered questions on Seoul-Pyongyang hotline restoration

Following Cheong Wa Dae’s surprise announcement on the hotline restoration between South and North Korea earlier in the day, questions poured in on its official KakaoTalk chat room for registered reporters only. Due to the heightened social distancing rules, its Chunchugwan press center is currently shut down, with all official communications being done online. After answering to the first batch of questions in the morning, the presidential office received another batch of questions late

July 27, 2021

Restored hotline with Pyongyang raises hopes for inter-Korean thaw

South and North Korea restored their severed hotlines on Tuesday after a 13-months hiatus, raising hope that resumed cross-border communications could give way to a thaw in strained inter-Korean ties.  The announcement coincided with a symbolic day, the 68th anniversary of the signing of the armistice in 1953.  The reestablishment comes more than a year since Pyongyang cut off all communication channels with Seoul in June 2020 as relations remained chilled following the collapse of

July 27, 2021

NK’s Kim pays tribute to Pyongyang’s fallen soldiers in Korean War

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid his respects to fallen soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War as Pyongyang marked the anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, a state broadcaster reported Tuesday.  The Korean War ended in an armistice signed on July 27, 1953, and was never replaced with a formal peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The North officially refers to the war as the Fatherland Liberation War and claims victory.  Kim visited the Fatherland L

July 27, 2021

Hotlines restored between two Koreas

South and North Korea have reopened direct communication lines as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, with President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreeing to restore mutual trust and improve the soured inter-Korean relationship. “The two leaders shared an understanding to recover mutual trust and again push their relationship forward,” said Park Soo-hyun, Moon’s senior secretary for public communication. According to Cheong Wa Dae sources, the leaders started exchanging p

July 27, 2021

N. Korea says restoration of cross-border hotline will play positive role in improving relations

North Korea said Tuesday that the restoration of communication lines with South Korea will play a positive role in improving relations between the two sides after the severed lines returned to operation after a 13-month suspension. "Now, the whole Korean nation desires to see the North-South relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible," the official Korean Central News Agency said, confirming that all inter-Korean communication liaison lines were restored as o

July 27, 2021

Chronology of major events leading to restoration of inter-Korean communication lines

The following is a chronology of major events leading to the restoration of communication lines between South and North Korea on Tuesday, 13 months after the North unilaterally severed them in protest of anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by activists. 2020 June 4 -- North Korea threatens to scrap a military tension reduction deal with South Korea and shut down major exchange projects in anger over Seoul's supposed failure to stop activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda le

July 27, 2021

Inter-Korean military hotlines in normal operation after 13-month suspension: defense ministry

Inter-Korean military hotlines are back to normal operation after a 13-month suspension, the defense ministry confirmed Tuesday, saying the two Koreas will resume regular daily calls via the communication lines. Earlier in the day, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that the two sides agreed to reopen all direct communication lines at 10 a.m. as part of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. "South and North Korean militar

July 27, 2021

NK leader pays respects to fallen soldiers to mark anniversary of Korean War armistice

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a cemetery to pay respects to the soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War to commemorate the armistice that ended the fighting in the war, a state broadcaster reported Tuesday. The Korean War ended in the armistice signed July 27, 1953, leaving South and North Korea technically in a state of war. The North called the war the Fatherland Liberation War and designated the armistice signing date as Victory Day. Kim visited the Fatherland Liberation War

July 27, 2021

NK to hold conference of war veterans 2nd year in a row despite COVID-19

North Korea is set to hold a national conference of war veterans to mark the 68th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, state media reported on Monday, piquing interest in what messages Kim Jong-un may deliver at the event.  The Korean War ended in an armistice on July 27, 1953, and was never replaced with a formal peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The North officially refers to the war as the Fatherland Liberation War and claims victory. 　 The Korea Central New

July 26, 2021

NK propaganda website slams Japan for taking issue with S. Korean banners at Olympics

A North Korean propaganda outlet slammed Japan on Monday for labeling cheer banners that South Korea's Olympic delegation hung at the athletes' village as anti-Japanese and forcing them to be taken down. Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, said in a commentary that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's "gang" has accused South Korea of hanging anti-Japanese banners and went so far as to have "far-right gangsters" display the Japanese imperialist flag in front of the

July 26, 2021

N. Korea to hold national conference of war veterans to celebrate end of Korean War

North Korea plans to hold a national conference of war veterans to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, state media said Monday, despite the global coronavirus pandemic. "The 7th National Conference of War Veterans is to be held in Pyongyang with splendor on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The Korean War ended in an armistice signed on July

July 26, 2021