Kang defends North Korea leaflet ban

Freedom of expression is not “absolute” and can be limited if it threatens the security of people, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said, making a case for the country’s recent passage of a law that penalizes activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.   　 On Monday, the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, passed a bill that imposes punishments of up to three years in jail or fines of up to 30 million won ($2

Dec. 17, 2020

Unification ministry expresses regret over UN rapporteur's appeal to review leafleting ban

The unification ministry expressed regret Thursday after a UN special rapporteur called on South Korea to reconsider a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea, saying the measure was legislated in due democratic procedures. Earlier in the week, the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party, passed the bill penalizing the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North despite strong objection by opposition party lawmakers. Spe

Dec. 17, 2020

UN condemns North Korea’s rights abuses in resolution

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday strongly condemned North Korea’s “systematic, widespread and gross violations” of human rights in a resolution. The North slammed it as being politicized. In the resolution adopted by consensus, the assembly expressed concern over the “absence of due process and the rule of law, arbitrary executions and detention, torture and sexual and gender-based violence,” among other rights violations by Pyongyang. The 193-member world bod

Dec. 17, 2020

Former US nuclear negotiator says N. Korea's ultimate goal is to secure regime

A former US nuclear negotiator said Thursday that Washington needs to push for normalizing relations with North Korea and make efforts to sign a peace treaty that ends the 1950-53 Korean War, as Pyongyang's ultimate goal is to secure its regime and leadership. Joseph DeTrani also said during a virtual seminar that recognizing North Korea as a nuclear weapons state is not a "viable option" because such recognition would facilitate an arms race and cause instability in the region. &qu

Dec. 17, 2020

[Graphic News] N. Korea-China trade dips 73% on pandemic impact

　North Korea's trade with China plunged more than 70 percent in the first nine months of the year due to Pyongyang’s border closure with its ally to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, a report showed. 　Exports and imports between the two countries came to $530 million in the January-September period, down 73 percent from a year earlier, according to the report by the Korea International Trade Association. 　North Korea's exports to its biggest economic partner nose-dived 70 perce

Dec. 17, 2020

NK leader visits mausoleum to mark late father's death anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a mausoleum for his late father and leader Kim Jong-il to mark the anniversary of his death, state media reported Thursday.Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Jong-il's body lies in state, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The visit was to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, who passed away in 2011. It is not known when the visit was made, but the KCNA usually reports the leader's activity a day

Dec. 17, 2020

UN passes N. Korean human rights resolution for 16th consecutive year

WASHINGTON -- The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for improvements to human rights conditions in North Korea. The resolution marks the 16th of its kind since 2005. The UN again condemned "in the strongest terms, the systematic, widespread and gross violations" of human rights by North Korean authorities.It also expressed "very serious concern" about what it called "persistent reports of torture and sexual and gender-based viole

Dec. 17, 2020

NK focused on domestic issues ahead of party meeting, but provocations possible at any time: defense chief

North Korea is focused on economic and domestic issues ahead of a rare party congress set for next month but can undertake provocations at any time, according to South Korea's defense minister and top military commanders Wednesday. The assessment came during a biannual meeting of top commanders presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook. It was attended by dozens of high-level military officers and government officials from related agencies, with some participating via a video link due to the n

Dec. 16, 2020

NK likely to use party congress to send conciliatory message to US: expert

North Korea is likely to send a conciliatory message to the United States when it holds a rare party congress next month in a bid to leave room for negotiations before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, an expert said Tuesday. Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, made the remarks during a symposium, forecasting that Pyongyang is expected to use the congress to influence the Biden administration's policymaking on the North. "North Korea's 8th

Dec. 15, 2020

US congressmen air concern over ban on anti-N. Korea leaflets

US congressmen expressed deep concern over South Korea’s contentious legislation that criminalizes sending propaganda leaflets, along with food and medicine, into North Korea across the inter-Korean border. Defectors have long flown the leaflets in balloons or in bottles across the sea border, but the activity essentially ground to a halt in June when Pyongyang demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in protest. Those who continue to engage in leafleting near the border will face up

Dec. 15, 2020

N. Korea begins regular wintertime drills, no unusual signs detected yet: JCS

North Korea has begun regular wintertime military drills, and no unusual movements have been detected so far, the South Korean military said Tuesday. "We believe that North Korea began their regular wintertime drills," Col. Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a regular briefing. The drills have yet to be in full swing, and there are no signs indicating any imminent provocative acts, according to another JCS officer. The communist country usually kicks

Dec. 15, 2020

Defector activist mulls constitutional complaint over ban on anti-Pyongyang leafleting

A high-profile North Korean defector activist is considering filing a constitutional complaint against the recently legislated ban on the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist nation, his lawyer said Tuesday. On Monday night, the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party, passed the bill penalizing the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North despite strong objection by opposition party lawmakers. Critics, including Park Sang-hak, a defect

Dec. 15, 2020

Pompeo says N. Korea a greater threat than Russia in cyber security

North Koreans are consistently trying to break into US servers for classified information, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday, adding North Korea and China pose greater threats than Russia to the US. "It's an ongoing battle, an ongoing struggle to keep our systems safe," the top US diplomat said in an interview with US radio network Breitbart News. Pompeo said the United States faces similar threats from Russian and Chinese actors. "I can't say much other than it's b

Dec. 15, 2020

Panmunjom tours to be suspended again over coronavirus concerns

Tours to the truce village of Panmunjom will be suspended again this week due to coronavirus concerns, the unification ministry said Sunday, just about a month after the program resumed following a yearlong suspension over worries about African swine fever. The ministry made the announcement to suspend the program on Tuesday as South Korea's single-day coronavirus cases broke the 1,000-mark for the first time since the country saw its first COVID-19 case in January. "We have decided to te

Dec. 13, 2020

Man acquitted in retrial 41 years after getting prison term for extolling NK founder

A Seoul court has reversed the prison sentence delivered to a man more than 40 years ago for watching North Korean propaganda TV content and praising the communist country's late founder, judicial sources said Saturday. The man was initially convicted of violating the now-defunct anti-communist security law and served 10 months behind bars in the 1970s, when anti-communist sentiment was running high in South Korea. In a recent retrial of the case, the Seoul Central District Court found him, no

Dec. 12, 2020

US reaffirms commitment to complete denuclearization of N. Korea: State Dept.

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has reaffirmed his country's continued commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department said Friday. Biegun, while meeting with top South Korean officials in Seoul, also confirmed the United States' commitment to coordinating its denuclearization efforts with South Korea. "During his meetings with senior ROK officials in Seoul, Deputy Secretary Biegun expressed appreciation for the ROK's continued partnership in C

Dec. 12, 2020

Dismantlement of Yongbyon complex should not be underrated: US expert

The dismantling of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex should not be underestimated in the denuclearization process, an American nuclear expert said Friday. Siegfried Hecker, known for his 2010 visit to the Yongbyon complex, made the remarks during a video conference with Unification Minister Lee In-young and Moon Chung-in, special foreign policy adviser to President Moon Jae-in, also stressing the need for a "flexible approach" in dealing with the North, including sanctions relief

Dec. 11, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea says no confirmed cases of coronavirus as of early Dec.: WHO

North Korea has conducted tests on more than 9,000 people, but there has been no reported outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, a World Health Organization report showed Friday. The North has conducted tests on 9,373 people and claims that no cases have been reported as of Dec. 3, according to the agency's latest weekly situation report on COVID-19. Nearly half of those tested had influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) or were people who developed fev

Dec. 11, 2020

N. Korea bans smoking in restaurants, bus stops and public squares

North Korea has designated restaurants, bus stops, public squares and other venues as nonsmoking areas after adopting an anti-smoking law last month, a propaganda outlet said Friday. DPRK Today, one of the North's propaganda websites, pointed out that smoking is banned in several public spaces, including hotels, stores, restaurants, public baths, cinemas, libraries, gymnasiums, public squares and (bus) stops. Also designated as nonsmoking areas are ideological education centers, nurseries, sc

Dec. 11, 2020

Biegun says diplomacy 'best' and 'only' course to resolving NK challenges

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Thursday that diplomacy remains the "best" and "only" course to address the North Korean nuclear quandary, calling for Pyongyang to return to dialogue. Biegun, who doubles as Washington's top nuclear envoy, made the remarks during a lecture in Seoul recapping his yearslong, unfinished negotiations with the North, which he cast as being marked by "setbacks, disappointments and missed opportunities." "As we look

Dec. 10, 2020