[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

N. Korea breached inter-Korean military pact: experts

A day after South Korea’s presidential office described North Korea’s killing of a Seoul fisheries official as a violation of the “spirit” of the inter-Korean military pact and not the accord itself, experts on Friday heaped strong criticism on the top office. North Korea on Tuesday shot dead the official in the West Sea north of the inter-Korean maritime border and is thought to have burned the body there. South Korean intelligence suspects the man was attempting defect

Sept. 25, 2020

North apologizes for 'suspected' killing of South Korean civil servant

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday apologized for the developments surrounding a South Korean civil servant who was allegedly killed and incinerated by the North Korean military. The North’s Unification Front Department on Friday sent a communique addressed to Seoul’s presidential office outlining the events and including an expression of regret from Kim. “I have apologetic thoughts to President Moon Jae-in and compatriots of the South for the unfortunate incident tha

Sept. 25, 2020

N. Korea lost S. Korean official for 2 hours before finding, killing him: lawmakers

The South Korean official shot dead by North Korean troops this week was lost for two hours before he was found again and killed, lawmakers here said Friday. Citing South Korean military intelligence, Rep. Min Hong-chul of the ruling Democratic Party said the North Korean soldiers watched the fisheries official for three hours on Tuesday as he floated on a raft in waters near the western inter-Korean sea border. "(South Korea's) military reported that he was then lost, but in fact (the No

Sept. 25, 2020

NK leader apologizes to S. Koreans for 'unsavory' shooting case: Cheong Wa Dae

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has offered an apology to the South Korean people for the killing of a fellow citizen by its military earlier this week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday. In a formal notice sent to the South, the North conveyed Kim's message that he feels "very sorry" for greatly "disappointing" President Moon Jae-in and other South Koreans with the occurrence of the "unsavory" case in its waters, instead of helping them amid their suffering from the

Sept. 25, 2020

FM says engagement must continue despite N. Korea's brutal killing of S. Korean official

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Friday that efforts to engage with North Korea toward denuclearization and peace must continue despite the North's brutal killing of a South Korean official. The remark came as public outrage has been mounting following revelations that the North shot and killed the fisheries official drifting in waters near the western maritime border and burned his body earlier this week. The killing has exacerbated the already frosty inter-Korean relations and dealt a b

Sept. 25, 2020

[Contribution] Could North Korea hack into US elections?

Varying assessments over the years have fuelled an ongoing debate on the capabilities and strategic impact of North Korea’s cyber operations. On the one hand, sceptics argue that there are serious limitations to North Korea’s use of cyberspace for political purposes, particularly at the strategic level. According to this view, North Korea’s cyber capabilities do not provide Pyongyang with significant strategic advantages for achieving political aims, nor are they sufficient t

Sept. 25, 2020

US joins Seoul in condemning N. Korea for killing S. Korean official: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The US on Thursday expressed its support for South Korea in condemning North Korea for the killing of a South Korean government official and demanding an explanation from the communist state. "We fully support our ROK ally's condemnation of this act and the ROK's call for a full explanation from the DPRK," a spokesperson from the US State Department told Yonhap News Agency, referring to South and North Korea by their official names -- the Republic of Korea and the Democr

Sept. 25, 2020

Rival parties denounce North's fatal shooting of S. Korean official

Rival political parties on Thursday expressed strong regrets over the North Korean military's fatal shooting of a South Korean official, denouncing it as "unpardonable brutality."  "The North Korean military's action of intentionally shooting an unarmed civilian who was drifting on the sea and then burning the body constitutes an act of brutality that is unpardonable under any circumstance," Rep. Lee Nak-yon, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, was quoted as saying

Sept. 24, 2020

Seoul strongly condemns Pyongyang, demands explanation for civilian killing

South Korea demanded Thursday that North Korea explain the killing of a South Korean fisheries official in the North’s waters, strongly condemning the act as “inhumane.”  　 North Korean soldiers shot dead a 47-year-old official affiliated with Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who appeared to have been trying to defect to the North via sea, the military confirmed in Seoul. North Korean soldiers then burned his dead body, it added. 　 Pyongyang had neither a

Sept. 24, 2020

Moon’s call for end-of-war declaration ‘out of sync’ with US: experts

President Moon Jae-in called for help to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War in his UN address, but the US appeared wary, with the State Department highlighting “unified response” to North Korea, and a former US security official describing the overture as “out of sync” with the US stance. “We are committed to close coordination on our unified response to North Korea,” the State Department told Voice of America on Wednesday, without elaborating if Washin

Sept. 24, 2020

Defense ministry confirms N. Korea shot missing S. Korean official to death

North Korea shot a missing South Korean official to death and burned his body earlier this week, the defense ministry confirmed Thursday, condemning its "brutality" and calling for explanations and punishment for those responsible. The 47-year-old official affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries disappeared from the 499-ton boat before noon Monday while on duty aboard an inspection boat in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong. "North Korea found the ma

Sept. 24, 2020

NK paper highlights 'Pyongyang Time' spirit of building house in just 14 minutes

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday lauded elite party members dispatched for reconstruction work in typhoon-hit areas for speedy recovery work, claiming party members in the capital city used to assemble a house in just 14 minutes in the wake of the Korean War. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the elite members of the ruling Workers' Party have been speedily rebuilding typhoon-devastated areas in line with the spirit of "creating everything according to the Pyongyang Time."

Sept. 24, 2020

Moon calls for UN’s support for ending Korean War

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday again stressed the need to declare the end of the Korean War, and requested the UN’s support. Addressing the UN General Assembly in the early hours of Wednesday in Korea time, Moon said the time has come to formally end the war and that the move will ensure peace in the region. “Time has come to remove the tragedy lingering on the Korean Peninsula. The war must end, completely and for good,” Moon said in his speech. “Peace on the

Sept. 23, 2020

[Newsmaker] Trump skips NK for first time in UN speech

US President Donald Trump made no mention of North Korea in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday (US time), for the first time in any of his four UN speeches since taking office.  In a prerecorded address from the White House, Trump focused his seven-minute speech on attacking China for “unleashing” COVID-19 onto the world and touched on various foreign policy issues, but did not say a word about Pyongyang.  It was the first time Trump has not me

Sept. 23, 2020

23,000 video letters yet to be sent to families in NK

Over 23,000 videos of South Koreans hoping to reconnect with their kin in North Korea have yet to be sent across the border, according to government data released by a lawmaker on Wednesday. Ever since the South’s Unification Ministry delivered 25 “video letters” produced by South Koreans for their families in the North in 2008 as a pilot project, and put up 1,568 such clips as part of a digital museum for families separated since the 1950-1953 Korean War, not a single video

Sept. 23, 2020

Effort to denuclearize N. Korea should go on: Trump

US President Donald Trump said countries should continue to work to denuclearize North Korea, in written greetings delivered to the 2020 International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference on Monday. For the IAEA event, which opened Monday and runs through Friday in Vienna, the US leader also discussed Iran, saying it was important to make sure it commits to its nonproliferation promises and seeks no nuclear weapons.  The US was moving to sanction individuals and groups tied to

Sept. 22, 2020