US court orders disclosing $23m North Korean funds to Warmbier family

Information on around $23 million worth of frozen North Korean funds deposited at three US banks will be disclosed to the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died after being detained in North Korea, possibly enabling them to collect damages. 　 The US District Court for Washington D.C. on Monday granted a “protective order” requiring three American banks -- Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and The Bank of New York Mellon -- to disclose information on the accounts that

May 12, 2020

Human rights situation still dire in North Korea: think tank

North Koreans under leader Kim Jong-un live in dire human rights conditions, facing execution for watching or circulating South Korean TV dramas, the Korea Institute for National Unification said in its latest white paper on human rights in the North. The extensive application and frequent implementation of the death penalty in the communist regime could be a breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a multilateral treaty the United Nations adopted to safeguard individ

May 12, 2020

S. Korea to open cultural center to help defectors connect with community

A new cultural center for promoting exchanges between North Korean defectors and the local community will open Wednesday with limited programs due to concerns over the coronavirus, the unification ministry said. The Inter-Korean Cultural Integration Center, which was set to open in March, had been delayed amid the spread of COVID-19. The ministry said the opening ceremony of the center, located in Seoul's Gangseo district, will be replaced by the online release of video clips of congratulator

May 12, 2020

N. Korea's paper emphasizes economic self-reliance against hostile forces

North Korea's official newspaper on Tuesday emphasized the importance of self-reliance, claiming hostile forces are bent on trying to "economically suffocate" the communist nation. North Korea has repeatedly called for self-reliance in many areas, including economic development as it is bracing for a long fight against sanctions amid a deadlock in denuclearization talks with the United States. "Hostile forces are making a frantic effort to economically suffocate us," the R

May 12, 2020

Pompeo says US flexible in N. Korea nuclear talks

The United States is focused on drawing North Korea back to denuclearization talks and is willing to show flexibility in reaching balanced agreements to reflect the promises the two countries exchanged at the Singapore summit in June 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. Asked by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency to respond to President Moon Jae-in’s latest push to resume inter-Korean exchanges, the top US diplomat reiterated that Washington supports inter-Korean coope

May 11, 2020

Moon calls for anti-virus cooperation with North Korea as priority

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for anti-virus cooperation with North Korea as a way to break the impasse in inter-Korean relations amid stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington. 　 “We should not only watch the US-North Korea dialogue, but search and do what can be done between the two Koreas,” Moon said during a Q&A session following a special address to the nation marking the third anniversary of his inauguration. 　 Among various inter-Korean

May 10, 2020

N. Korean leader sends message to Putin: news report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the North's state news agency reported. Kim expressed the belief that friendly relations between the two countries would steadily develop and wished that Putin can achieve victory in preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. In Russia, the virus has killed more than 1,7

May 9, 2020

Kim Jong-un congratulates Xi on containing COVID-19

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sought to strengthen ties with China by sending a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulating him on gaining control over the COVID-19 situation. In the message Kim congratulated Xi, “highly appreciating that he has seized a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said Friday. “Kim Jong-un wished Xi Jinping good health, expressing conviction that the Chinese part

May 8, 2020

NK leader sends message to Xi on China's successful anti-virus fight

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a "verbal message" to Chinese President Xi Jinping, lauding Beijing's success in stemming the spread of the new coronavirus, state media reported Friday. In the message, Kim "congratulated him, highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic," according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Kim Jong-un wished Xi Jinping good health, expressing conviction that the Chinese pa

May 8, 2020

Minister proposes joint disease response with NK

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and a stalled peace process on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul proposed a joint response system with North Korea against infectious diseases. 　 “The coronavirus has affected not only our daily lives but also inter-Korean relations and the political landscape of the peninsula in various ways,” Kim told reporters during a press conference held in Seoul. 　 “The ministry is preparing ways to tackle such unconven

May 7, 2020

NK may be nearing completion of new ICBM facility: report

A new facility that is probably linked to North Korea’s ballistic missile program is nearing completion, a US think tank said. In a report published onTuesday (US time), Beyond Parallel, a website specializing in North Korean matters run by the Washington-based Center for Strategic International Studies, said the facility -- located about 17 kilometers northwest of Pyongyang International Airport -- is most likely linked to the North’s missile program. The website predicted th

May 6, 2020

Spy agency denies Kim Jong-un’s illness, surgery

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not seriously ill, nor did he undergo heart surgery during his recent absence from the public eye, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday. 　 “At least, it is judged that Kim did not receive surgery or a medical procedure related to his heart,” ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Byung-kee told reporters after a closed-door parliamentary briefing with the National Intelligence Service. “(We were also told that) while he

May 6, 2020

Unification minister visits Panmunjom just days after DMZ gunfire

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul visited the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom on Wednesday, just days after South and North Korea exchanged gunfire at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two sides. The unification ministry said Kim's visit was not related to the recent gunfire and was aimed at assessing preparations for the planned resumption of tours to the truce village, which have been suspended since the outbreak of African swine fever last year. On early Sunday, four bul

May 6, 2020

UNC drawing up report on DMZ gunfire case after field inspection

The US-led United Nations Command is drawing up a report on a recent border shooting incident between South and North Korea after a field inspection into the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone, officials said Wednesday. On Sunday, four bullets from North Korea hit a South Korean guard post in the central part of the DMZ in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, prompting South Korean troops to fire back, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. UNC, which administers the DMZ and enforces the armisti

May 6, 2020

US, S. Korea coordinated closely over NK leader's 'disappearance': official

The United States and South Korea were in close coordination over North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent disappearance from public view, a State Department official said Tuesday. The comment by Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, suggests that the allies jointly sought to verify unconfirmed reports that Kim was seriously ill or possibly dead, and may have looked into options in the event the reports turned out to be true. "I'd say, you know, without g

May 6, 2020

N. Korean leader receives commemorative medal from Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has received a commemorative medal from Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media reported Wednesday, amid the two countries' stepped-up efforts to strengthen their bilateral ties. The medal was granted on Tuesday "on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War," the Korean Central News Agency said, referring to the end of World War II. Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora delivered the meda

May 6, 2020

N. Korea views nuclear program as essential, but may give up 'some' capabilities: US intel chief nominee

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to view its nuclear program as "essential" to the protection of its regime, but may be willing to give up "some" nuclear and missile capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief and other gains, the nominee to be US director of national intelligence said Tuesday. John Ratcliffe's assessment suggests that North Korea is unlikely to completely dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programs as the US has insisted North Korea agreed to

May 6, 2020

N. Korean exports tumble over 4 years on tougher sanctions: report

North Korea's exports plunged in 2019 from four years earlier due to tougher international economic sanctions with its trade dependence on China hitting a record high, a report said Wednesday. The reclusive country's overseas shipments came to $261 million last year, down 20.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association. The figure also amounted to just one-seventeenth of the country's exports of $4.56 billion recorded in 2015. In cont

May 6, 2020

N. Korea apparently nearing completion of ballistic missile support facility: expert

WASHINGTON -- North Korea appears to be nearing completion of a ballistic missile facility with the capacity to test-fire intercontinental ballistic missiles, an expert with a US think tank said Tuesday. The Sil-li Ballistic Missile Support Facility, which was "previously undisclosed," is approximately 17 kilometers northwest of Pyongyang and close to Pyongyang International Airport, Joseph Bermudez wrote in a report for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His co

May 6, 2020

Status quo likely in N. Korea nuclear talks: report

Days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un resurfaced in public, ending an absence that had triggered health rumors, the Wall Street Journal said Monday that Pyongyang’s denuclearization talks are unlikely to see progress, at least not ahead of the US presidential election in November. Kim’s return reaffirmed the status quo, meaning the isolated country would not reorient its uncompromising approach to nuclear talks or change its pattern of sporadic weapons tests, according to the W

May 5, 2020