North Korean FM rules out possibility of contact with US

North Korea is not considering contact with the United States, Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon said Wednesday. "We are not considering even the possibility of any contact with the US, let alone having it, which would get us nowhere, only taking up precious time," Ri said in a statement released by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)

June 23, 2021

N. Korea, China hold rare joint symposium to mark anniversaries of leaders' reciprocal visits

China hosted a joint symposium with North Korea to mark the anniversaries of reciprocal visits by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media said Wednesday. The International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party hosted the joint meeting Monday to celebrate the third anniversary of Kim's visit to China and the second anniversary of Xi's visit to North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Officials of North Korea's Embassy in Beijing

June 23, 2021

Seoul, Washington agree to consider terminating working group on NK

South Korea and the US have agreed to consider ending a controversial working group on North Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, as Washington’s point man on Pyongyang called for a resumption of dialogue with the recalcitrant regime. 　 Pyongyang, however, poured cold water on the allies’ engagement gesture Tuesday when the North Korean leader’s powerful younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, issued a statement saying the US’ expectation for talks would “plunge them in

June 22, 2021

NK leader's sister says US has 'wrong' expectation about dialogue

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday that the United States has "wrong" expectations after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Kim's comments about dialogue with the US an "interesting signal." The statement from Kim Yo-jong also came a day after US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said the US has offered to meet with the North "anywhere, anytime without preconditions" and looks forward to Pyongyang responding posi

June 22, 2021

NK leader urges support for women in letter to major union of housewives

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un urged support for women in a message to the country's major organization consisting of housewives, state media said Tuesday. The Socialist Women's Union of Korea (SWUK) held its seventh congress meeting from Sunday to Monday and read out Kim's letter praising the union as the "great pride" of the ruling Workers' Party, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim called on the party to show support and love for women, saying that respecting

June 22, 2021

Unification minister calls for active, agile efforts to bring N. Korea back to dialogue

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Tuesday called for "active" and "agile" cooperation between South Korea and the United States to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table as he met with the new US special envoy for Pyongyang. Ambassador Sung Kim, the US special representative, responded that the two countries "are very closely aligned on all important aspects" of their North Korea policy and expressed support for "meaningful inter-Korean dialogue, c

June 22, 2021

Nuclear envoy says US ready for NK talks ‘anywhere, anytime’

The US is willing to meet North Korea for dialogue “anywhere, anytime, without preconditions,” President Joe Biden’s point man on North Korea said, expressing hope for a positive response from the reclusive regime. 　 Sung Kim, US special representative for North Korea, made the remarks in Seoul during trilateral talks with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan, Noh Kyu-duk and Takehiro Funakoshi, saying the Biden administration’s policy called for a “calibra

June 21, 2021

S. Korea hopes for resumption of talks with N. Korea after Kim's mention of dialogue

South Korea hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent mention of dialogue will lead to resumption of talks between the two Koreas, as well as between the United States and the North, the unification ministry said Monday. During a key Workers' Party meeting last week, Kim said the country should be ready for both dialogue and, more importantly, confrontation with Washington and called for efforts to stably control the political situation. "The government takes note of Chairman Ki

June 21, 2021

China's ambassador stresses cooperation with N. Korea for regional peace

China's top envoy to North Korea stressed the importance of cooperation between the two allies on regional peace, stability and prosperity on the occasion of the second anniversary of President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang, the North's state media showed Monday. In an op-ed piece to the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun also said that China and North Korea should expand their communication as their relations are faced wit

June 21, 2021

S. Korean Olympic chief clinging to hope for N. Korean participation in Tokyo 2020

South Korea's top Olympic official is holding on to hope that North Korea will change its mind and participate in the Tokyo Summer Games after all -- however slim those chances may be. Lee Kee-heung, head of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said in a recent interview that North Korea's status for Tokyo 2020 will remain up in the air until July 5. That's the deadline for countries to submit their Olympic entries. "My

June 21, 2021

N. Korea replaces chief of Kim Il-sung University: state media

North Korea has replaced the president of Kim Il-sung University, who doubles as minister of higher education, a state broadcaster reported Sunday. An official named Kim Sung-chan was appointed to the post last week during a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, according to Korean Central Television. The move represents the dismissal and appointment of senior officials of the state organ, it added. Just five months earlier, North Korea picked Ri Guk-chol as the pres

June 21, 2021

Incoming Vatican Prefect You Heung-sik expected to serve as bridge builder for pope's NK visit

As South Korean archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik has been named the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy of the Holy See, his possible role in arranging Pope Francis' visit to North Korea is drawing attention from the Catholic community at home and abroad. On June 11, the Vatican announced the nomination of You as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, who is responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons. The 69-year-old Catholic priest became the first South

June 20, 2021

NK hackers attacked S Korean atomic energy think tank

An opposition lawmaker claimed on Friday that a hacking unit of the North Korean intelligence agency attacked the internal network of a South Korean state-funded atomic energy think tank which holds critical information on nuclear power plants and nuclear materials. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the People Power Party, who sits on the parliamentary intelligence committee, held a press conference Friday morning and disclosed information about the alleged cyberattacks on the Korea Atomic Energy Research I

June 18, 2021

Kim says N. Korea should be ready for both dialogue, confrontation with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country should be ready for both dialogue and, more importantly, confrontation with the United States, while calling for efforts to stably control the situation on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported Friday. During a key Workers' Party meeting, Kim "made detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the newly emerged US administration toward our Republic and clarified appropriate strategic and tactical counteraction and the direction of activit

June 18, 2021

NK holds key party meeting for second day with focus on economy

North Korea held a key Workers' Party meeting for the second day with a focus on economic issues, according to state media Thursday, amid speculation that foreign policy could also have been discussed. Photos released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed leader Kim Jong-un presiding over a panel discussion during the second-day plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon was seen taking down notes in one of the photos. Ri's at

June 17, 2021

NK ruling party meeting tackles food shortage, ‘current international situation’

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened an important ruling party meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to tackle the country’s food shortage and deal with the “current international situation,” state media said Wednesday. 　 The multiday plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party’s central committee opened Tuesday, the Korea Central News Agency said, with a mandate to review major state policies and measures to solve pending issues urgent for the economy and people&rsquo

June 16, 2021

NK leader opens key party meeting to discuss how to cope with 'current international situation'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un opened a key Workers' Party meeting to discuss ways to deal with the "current international situation," food shortages, anti-pandemic efforts and other economic issues, state media said Wednesday. The multiday plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee was convened for "taking measures to solve the pending issues urgent for improving the economic work and the people's living and for the discussion of and decision on issues for powerfully and

June 16, 2021

Unification minister’s trip to Washington postponed

Unification Minister Lee In-young’s planned trip to the US has been put off, his office said Tuesday, as Pyongyang remains largely unresponsive to overtures from Seoul and Washington. 　 Lee had sought to visit Washington this month to meet with officials, think tank leaders and experts to discuss a coordinated approach toward North Korea in hopes of a breakthrough in stalled inter-Korean ties. The US recently completed a policy review on the recalcitrant regime and is now pursuing an app

June 15, 2021

Unification ministry calls on N. Korea to restore inter-Korean communication channels

The unification ministry urged North Korea on Tuesday to restore inter-Korean communication lines immediately as this week marks one year since the cross-border communication lines were suspended. On June 16 last year, the North vowed to cut off all communication lines with the South and even blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in its border city of Kaesong in anger over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets coming in from the South. "The inter-Korean communication channel must be immedia

June 15, 2021

Moon says S. Korea will push for COVID-19 vaccine supplies if North Korea agrees

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday his country will, if Pyongyang agrees, push proactively for cooperation to provide COVID-19 vaccine supplies to North Korea. He pointed out South Korea's efforts to emerge as a "global vaccine production hub." "If that is the case, North Korea would be a partner for cooperation, of course," Moon said during joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen following their summit talks here. "

June 14, 2021