Trump blocks assistance to N. Korea over human trafficking

US President Donald Trump has instructed his government to withhold any nonhumanitarian assistance to North Korea and eight other countries until the countries meet minimum standards on human trafficking, the White House said Thursday. In a memorandum to his top diplomat Mike Pompeo, Trump said he has determined the US "will not provide nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related assistance" to the countries "until such governments comply with the Act's minimum standards or make significan

Oct. 2, 2020

N. Korea-China trade plummets 70% during Jan-Aug on-year amid pandemic

Bilateral trade between North Korea and China nosedived nearly 70 percent in the first eight months of this year from a year ago, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Friday. The volume of trade between the two allies came to $510 million during the January-August period, sharply down from $1.71 billion recorded in the same period in 2019, according to the data from the Ministry of Unification. North Korea exported $41.9 million worth of goods to China while importing

Oct. 2, 2020

N. Korea's refined petroleum imports from China nose-dive in Aug.: UN report

North Korea's imports of refined petroleum from China in August plummeted to about one-tenth of the amount in July, a United Nations report showed Thursday. According to the latest updates on the UN Security Council webpage on its sanctions committee on North Korea, the communist country imported about 142 tons of refined petroleum from China in August. The volume marks only 10 percent of the 1,498 tons the country imported from the neighboring country in July, the report showed. The August v

Oct. 1, 2020

Govt. says no shooting-related remarks in initial intelligence

Govt. says no shooting-related remarks in initial intelligence South Korea's defense ministry said Wednesday there were no such words as "shoot to kill or fire" in the military's initial intelligence on North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official in the West Sea.  The ministry also expressed regret over some reports that said the South's military took no action despite hearing the North's order to kill the official.  "What happened during the incident in

Sept. 30, 2020

Only 'absolute strength to prevent war' can safeguard peace: NK diplomat

North Korea reaffirmed its resolve to maintain its military capabilities Tuesday, insisting peace can only be safeguarded when one possesses "absolute strength" to prevent war. "It is an undeniable reality of today that cutting edge military hardware, including stealth fighters, continue to be introduced into the Korean Peninsula and nuclear strike means of all kinds of directly aimed at the DPRK," Kim Song, the head of North Korea's mission to the United Nations, said in a

Sept. 30, 2020

NK continues illicit coal exports: UN experts

North Korea continued illicit maritime exports of coal and imports of petroleum products despite having stopped most trade due to the spread of COVID-19, according to international experts affiliated with the United Nations Security Council. North Korea only temporarily suspended coal exports between late January and early March, the panel of experts on the UNSC’s North Korea sanctions committee said in a midterm report published Sept. 28. “Satellite imagery provided by a member

Sept. 29, 2020

Washington, Seoul discussed ‘creative ideas’ regarding Pyongyang: Biegun

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun on Monday (US time) said “creative ideas” were discussed regarding ways to resume stalled nuclear diplomacy with North Korea during his talks with South Korea’s top nuclear envoy, and called for the communist regime’s engagement. 　 “I very much appreciate the encouragement and creative ideas that we discussed today,” Biegun told reporters after his meeting with Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsu

Sept. 29, 2020

Slain S. Korean official sought defection to North: Coast Guard

The Korea Coast Guard said Friday the South Korean fisheries official shot to death by the North Korean military at sea last week was trying to defect to the North. The Coast Guard reached the conclusion based on the intelligence retrieved from the military, the analysis of the tidal current on the day of the incident and other circumstantial evidence. "The official was wearing a life jacket and hanging onto a floating object when he was spotted by the North," said Yoon Seong-hyun,

Sept. 29, 2020

Defense ministry verified N. Korean order to burn body of dead official: opposition leader

The defense ministry has confirmed with the help of its special intelligence that North Korea ordered the burning of the body of a South Korean fisheries official after he was shot dead by its soldiers last week, the main opposition floor leader said Tuesday. "The Ministry of National Defense has verified through special intelligence that (North Korea) told (its officials) to apply fuel oil and burn (the body)," People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Joo Ho-young said in an interview w

Sept. 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea defector given suspended sentence for collecting info for North

A North Korean defector who collected information for North Korean authorities after being blackmailed has been given a suspended sentence. The defector, identified by the surname Han, was sentenced to an eight-month prison term suspended for two years for violating the National Security Act. The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Han’s actions represented a clear danger of damaging South Korea’s democratic order and national security, as the information Han provided is lik

Sept. 28, 2020

Moon expresses condolences over death of S. Korean official in shooting by N. Korean troops

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Monday and offered a public apology over the death of a South Korean civil servant in a shooting by North Korean troops, calling it a "regrettable and unfortunate" incident. "Regardless of how the victim went to the North Korean waters, I offer words of deep condolences and consolation to the bereaved family members over their grief," he said. The tragedy should have not occurred despite the peninsula being divided, he added.

Sept. 28, 2020

Tours to inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom to resume soon: UN command

The US-led United Nations Command said Monday it has authorized the resumption of a civilian tour program to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom amid eased concern over the African swine fever, and the date of the resumption will be announced soon. Since September last year, tours to the Joint Security Area (JSA) and other sites inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been suspended as part of an effort to stem the spread of the highly contagious animal disease. "Due to the succ

Sept. 28, 2020

Seoul, Washington to discuss North Korea’s civilian killing, ending Korean War

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, arrived in Washington on Sunday for talks with US officials, saying he plans to discuss the recent killing of a South Korean official by North Korea and the proposed declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.   　 Lee’s trip to Washington to meet with his US counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, and other officials, came just days after Pyongyang shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who had drifte

Sept. 28, 2020

N. Korea unresponsive to S. Korea's call for reopening military hotline

An inter-Korean military communication line remained inoperative as of Monday morning, the defense ministry said, a day after South Korea called for reopening the line for communication related to a proposed joint probe into North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official. On Sunday, South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae urged the North to restore the military hotline for communication about Seoul's proposal to conduct a joint investigation into the North's killing of the f

Sept. 28, 2020

S. Korea, US to discuss N. Korea's killing of S. Korean official: nuclear envoy

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon said Sunday he will discuss joint efforts with the United States to deal with the recent killing of a South Korean official by North Korea. Lee also said upon arriving in Washington that his talks with his US counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, will also include President Moon Jae-in's recent call for efforts to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. "The reason I came this time is to discuss all related

Sept. 28, 2020

South Korea officially requests North to jointly probe civilian killing

South Korea on Sunday officially requested North Korea join a joint investigation into the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North troops last week and reopen a military communication line for the exchange of information. 　 Cheong Wa Dae made the announcement after President Moon Jae-in presided over an emergency security-related ministers’ meeting regarding the incident in the afternoon. The top office has also requested China’s support in the search of the dead man&

Sept. 27, 2020

[Herald Interview] NK could be lying about shooting: US defense analyst

The North Korean story about what led its officers to shoot a South Korean fisheries official who drifted into North Korean waters last week does not make sense, and the South Korean military acted appropriately, a US defense expert said Saturday. “The Republic of Korea military could not legitimately go into the North’s waters to retrieve him without North Korean approval, which likely would have taken hours to achieve,” Bruce Bennett, adjunct international and defense resear

Sept. 27, 2020

NK media highlights border control against coronavirus

North Korea's state media highlighted its rigorous border control to stave off the new coronavirus Saturday, amid tensions following the shooting death of a South Korean national floating in its waters near the inter-Korean border. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the country is carrying out perfect border control and aggressive measures to "preemptively deal with the pandemic." "Well aware that key to prevention of infectious diseases in borders, coastlines and demar

Sept. 27, 2020

S. Korea to demand N. Korea make additional probe into killing

South Korea will demand North Korea carry out another investigation into its recent killing of a Seoul fisheries official near the tense sea border, as the North's explanation bore some key discrepancies from Seoul's account, the presidential office said Saturday. On Tuesday, North Korean troops shot the 47-year-old man who was adrift in its waters and incinerated his body, according to the South Korean military. He went missing the previous day while on duty near the Yellow Sea border islan

Sept. 27, 2020

NK warns S. Korea against violating western sea border to search for official's body

North Korea warned South Korea on Sunday to stop violating its western sea border in searching for the body of a citizen shot and killed in North Korean waters, saying it will search for the body on its own and hand it over if it's found. South Korea has been searching for the body of the 47-year-old fisheries official shot and killed by North Korean soldiers earlier last week after he drifted into their waters near the Yellow Sea border between the two sides. South Korea claims the North shot

Sept. 27, 2020