NK's paper warns of continued retaliatory action against S. Korea on summit anniv.

North Korea will take action after action to punish South Korea over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets, the country's main newspaper said Monday, after the sister of leader Kim Jong-un warned of military action against the South. North Korea has criticized South Korea almost daily in recent weeks, denouncing the sending of leaflets into the communist state as a hostile act that violates a series of peace agreements. Last week, the North vowed to cut off all inter-Korean communication lines in

June 15, 2020

Seoul vows to honor peace deals as NK escalates tensions

South Korea on Sunday vowed to honor reconciliatory inter-Korean agreements and called on the North to do likewise, while reiterating a staunch military readiness against any potential provocation by Pyongyang. Seoul’s top security advisers, led by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the National Security Office, reviewed the recent flare-up in tensions on the peninsula, following the North’s threats to sever ties with the South and even use military force. “National Security Council m

June 14, 2020

[News Analysis] 20 years after historic peace summit, inter-Korean relations still strained

In June 2000, Kim Dae-jung, then the South Korean president, flew to Pyongyang and was greeted by a broadly smiling Kim Jong-il, then leader of North Korea. The two clutched each other’s hands at the airport, embarking on a three-day summit that marked the first time the leaders of the divided Koreas had met since the 1950-53 Korean War.  The highly anticipated meeting culminated in the adoption of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration, in which the two sides pledged to work tog

June 14, 2020

S. Korea in staunch posture over N. Korea's threats: defense ministry

South Korea is maintaining a staunch readiness posture to respond to all situations involving North Korea, the defense ministry said Sunday, calling on the North to comply with the past inter-Korean military pact. The comments came a day after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned of military actions in protest over Seoul's failure to stop defectors from launching anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Earlier this month, Kim warned that the military

June 14, 2020

Seoul urges Pyongyang to comply with past inter-Korean agreements

South Korea held an emergency security meeting on Sunday and pressed North Korea to keep reconciliatory deals as Pyongyang continued to up the ante by threatening to sever inter-Korean relations and even use military action. Seoul's top security officials, led by Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at the presidential office, reviewed the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as Seoul's response to the recent harsh rhetoric by Pyongyang, according to Cheong Wa Da

June 14, 2020

Sister of N. Korean leader says Pyongyang will take 'next step' against S. Korea

North Korea will take its next step against South Korea, for what it claims to be Seoul's betrayal and crimes against the communist state, it said Saturday, adding that its army has been entrusted to plan and take any necessary action. "I feel it is high time to surely break with the South Korean authorities. We will soon take a next action," Kim Yo-jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), said in a statement carried by the N

June 14, 2020

NK blasts UN chief, warns against Trump

North Korea on Friday accused the United Nations chief of “drunken” behavior, and suggested it would no longer provide the US president with propaganda opportunities without getting anything in return. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he regretted that North Korea had severed its hotlines with South Korea, warning that such channels “are necessary to avoid misunderstandings or miscalculations,” a UN spokesman told reporters Wednesday, New York time. “

June 12, 2020

Gyeonggi govt. warns of arrest, charges for sending anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets

The government of Gyeonggi Province on Friday announced that it would take action to prevent people from sending anti-North Korean propaganda over the inter-Korean border, in line with the central government’s policies. The provincial government plans to designate several border regions as “danger zones” and prohibit anyone planning to send leaflets from entering. Those areas include parts of the cities of Gimpo, Goyang and Paju, as well as Yeoncheon County. The Gyeonggi gov

June 12, 2020

US, NK diverge on Singapore agreement on anniversary of summit

North Korea and the US are taking contrasting stances on bilateral relations on Friday, the two-year anniversary of the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. On Friday, the North continued to ratchet up the rhetoric, and hinted at the possibility of a provocation involving its nuclear weapons program. Ri Son-gwon, the North’s foreign minister, stated through the Korean Central News Agency that North Korea will not give into US demands and

June 12, 2020

N. Korean leader sends congratulatory message to Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday on the occasion of the country's national day, according to state media. In the letter, Kim expressed his belief that the two countries would continue to maintain friendly relations, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. "The Russian people have achieved great successes in the struggle for building a powerful and prosperous Russia while overcoming all kinds of challenges and trials u

June 12, 2020

N. Korea vows to build up 'more reliable' force against US threats

North Korea vowed Friday to build up a "more reliable" force against military threats from the United States, saying the historic summit two years ago between leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump led to no improvement in relations between the two countries. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon made the remark, adding that Pyongyang would "never again" provide the US with "another package" that President Donald Trump could use to boast as his polit

June 12, 2020

NK’s tough talk back on front lines

North Korea has reinstated tough-talking Kwon Jong-gun as chief of US affairs at its Foreign Ministry, six months after removing him from the post, as it struggles to find a way out of the prolonged stalemate in nuclear negotiations with the US. In an interview carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency on Thursday, Kwon lambasted the US, which said it was disappointed at the North’s recent actions to cut off communication with South Korea. Kwon had delivered Pyongyang&rsqu

June 11, 2020

Ministry seeks police probe of leafleting NGOs, Cheong Wa Dae warns of ‘stern’ measures

The Ministry of Unification on Thursday requested the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to investigate two NGOs sending propaganda to North Korea on suspicion of violating inter-Korean cooperation, environmental and aviation laws. The NGOs -- Fighters for a Free North Korea, led by defector Park Sang-hak; and Keumsaem, headed by Park’s younger brother Park Jung-oh -- are accused of violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, Aviation Safety Act and Public Waters Management a

June 11, 2020

Ex-unification ministers call for patience, flexibility after NK offensive

With North Korea severing all communications with South Korea and ratcheting up hostile rhetoric against both Seoul and Washington, there are growing concerns that inter-Korean relations could once again become confrontational. 　 But ex-unification ministers downplayed those concerns and remained optimistic, calling for patience, flexibility and consistency in dealing with North Korea. 　 “There were many similar times like this in the past. Inter-Korean relations are influenced by US-No

June 11, 2020

NK seen moving missiles amid heightened tensions: report

North Korea, which recently cut off all communication with the South, was seen moving several missiles, a local newspaper reported Friday, citing unidentified US authorities familiar with the matter. Several missiles were spotted atop transporter erector launchers, the road-mobile vehicles that elevate missiles to the firing position, in South Pyeongan Province, north of Pyongyang, where the North test-fired its first ICBM in 2017, the Donga Ilbo said. It added the US authorities suspect, fro

June 11, 2020

US says full normalization of ties with N. Korea requires improving human rights

The United States has made clear to North Korea that an improvement in human rights conditions, including religious freedom, will be required for a full normalization of bilateral ties, a State Department report said Wednesday. According to the annual International Religious Freedom Report, the North Korean government continued to deny its people the right to religious freedom and committed violations that constituted crimes against humanity. The report covered the period between Jan. 1 and D

June 11, 2020

N. Korea to US: Don't meddle if it wants smooth presidential election

North Korea warned the United States on Thursday not to meddle in inter-Korean relations if it wants to avoid experiencing an unspecified "hair-raiser" and hold November's presidential election smoothly. Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the North Korean foreign ministry's American affairs department, made the remark after Washington voiced disappointment over Pyongyang's recent decision to cut off all communication lines with South Korea. "If the US pokes its nose into others

June 11, 2020

Seoul to press charges against defector groups sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets

The Unification Ministry on Wednesday said it would press charges against two defector-run civic groups for sending anti-North Korean leaflets and bottles filled with rice across the border, a day after Pyongyang ceased all communication with Seoul over the matter.  The ministry said the two groups, Fighters for a Free North Korea, led by defector Park Sang-hak, and Keumsaem, headed by Park’s younger brother Park Jung-oh, violated the inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation law by se

June 10, 2020

Moon’s progress on NK at risk of being undone

President Moon Jae-in’s North Korean policies are drawing heavy fire after Pyongyang snapped all inter-Korean communications, casting doubts on the future of relations between both countries. On Tuesday, North Korea’s dissatisfaction with Seoul came to a head, with Pyongyang ending communications with the South on all lines, and warning of hostile actions to exact the price of “betrayal.” Accusations and threats against the South are nothing unusual for the North, but

June 10, 2020

Inter-Korean relations could be put back 20 years, experts warn

After North Korea severed all communications with South Korea, referring to South as its “enemy,” experts in Seoul agreed on the gravity of the situation and called for a breakthrough to mend the frayed ties before things get any worse. 　 “It’s a critical time where there is a mounting sense of crisis that (inter-Korean relations) could revert back to the period before June 15,” Koh Yu-hwan, president of the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Wednesday

June 10, 2020