Not plausible to reopen Kaesong park for mask production: official

Reopening a now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea for mask production is not realistically plausible as Pyongyang is blocking its border as part of its fight against the new coronavirus, a unification ministry official said Thursday. Calls have grown from some lawmakers and experts for the resumption of the operation of factories in the industrial zone in the North's border city of Kaesong to address shortages of masks here amid intensifying anti-virus fight around the worl

March 12, 2020

N. Korea tightens controls on imported goods over virus concerns

North Korea has tightened guidelines on disinfecting imported goods as part of efforts to prevent the new coronavirus from reaching its soil, the country's main newspaper said Thursday. The Rodong Sinmun said the country has recently updated its guidelines on quarantine measures and disinfecting imported goods and distributed them to institutions related to health and border controls. "It is important to place strict controls on imported goods in order to take scientific and preemptive m

March 12, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Let’s use Kaesong plants for mask production’

As South Korea grapples with a shortage of face masks during the prolonged novel coronavirus outbreak, a rather unconventional idea is being floated: using the shuttered Kaesong industrial park to produce masks for both Koreas. 　 The joint inter-Korean complex in North Korea’s border city of Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, has the capacity to manufacture protective masks and reusable cotton masks to meet the needs of South Korea’s population of 51 million, according to Kim Jin-hy

March 11, 2020

N. Korea ramping up production of masks, disinfectants amid coronavirus fears

North Korea is ramping up production of face masks, disinfectants and other personal hygiene items needed to help its people fight the new coronavirus, state media said Wednesday. North Korea has not reported any confirmed coronavirus infection, but the country has urged its people to wear masks and step up personal hygiene as a precautionary measure against the highly contagious disease. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, reported that all clothing and te

March 11, 2020

US Houses passes bill to help Korean Americans reunite with NK family members

WASHINGTON -- The US House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at helping Korean Americans reunite with their family members in North Korea. The Divided Families Reunification Act, introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), passed the House Monday evening by a 391-0 vote. The bill directs the Department of State to consult the South Korean government on opportunities for reunions between Korean Americans and their North Korean family members. It also requires the State Department to periodi

March 11, 2020

Dozens of foreign diplomats flee Pyongyang amid coronavirus fears

Dozens of diplomats posted in Pyongyang, North Korea shuttered offices and left the country Monday, following weeks of the country’s tight quarantine restrictions on diplomatic missions to contain the novel coronavirus. The North, which has not reported a single infection, is enforcing strong quarantine measures, closing borders with China, where the epidemic started, and confining foreign nationals, including diplomats, to their own premises. Pyongyang lifted the monthlong quarantine on

March 10, 2020

N. Korea's media mentions economic losses from ongoing fight against coronavirus

North Korea is taking a series of strong anti-coronavirus measures even at the cost of "enormous economic losses" because ensuring the lives and safety of its people is the No. 1 priority, a state media outlet said Tuesday. The report by Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, is believed to be the first time the country has mentioned economic losses from the viral disease. Pyongyang has not reported any confirmed coronavirus infections but the country has been intensifying

March 10, 2020

N. Korea says leader Kim oversaw long-range artillery strike drill

North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong-un supervised a long-range artillery strike drill a day earlier to inspect his forces' "sudden military counterattack capability." On Monday, South Korea's military said the North fired three short-range projectiles off its east coast in what appears to be part of its artillery strike drill involving multiple rocket launchers. It marked the second time in a week that the North has tested weapons. Kim "guided another firepower strike

March 10, 2020

NK paper warns against reliance on imports

North Korea's official newspaper on Monday warned against reliance on outside help as the country continues to face crippling international sanctions led by the United States. North Korea has repeatedly called for "self-reliance" in all possible areas as prospects for any easing of sanctions remain slim amid a protracted stalemate in nuclear talks with the United States. "Getting rid of the disease of relying excessively on imports is a critical political problem related to main

March 9, 2020

NK fires projectiles in second weapons test this month

North Korea fired multiple short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Monday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Three of them flew approximately 200 kilometers and reached a peak altitude of 50 kilometers, from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province along the North’s eastern coast. “The launches were part of the North’s annual joint strike drills on Feb. 28 and March 2,” the South’s JCS said, noting the three projectiles could be super-large rock

March 9, 2020

N. Korea's plane arrives in Vladivostok to transport foreigners amid border closure: sources

A special flight of North Korea's flag carrier Air Koryo arrived in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok on Monday, carrying about 100 foreigners from Pyongyang, sources said. The flight, which touched down at Vladivostok International Airport at around 10:50 a.m., is believed to have transported foreigners, including diplomats, stranded after Pyongyang cut off all international transportation links over coronavirus concerns. In late January, Pyongyang blocked all its airways and land tra

March 9, 2020

North Korea flies out foreign diplomats during virus fight

A special North Korean flight carrying presumably dozens of diplomats and other foreigners arrived in Russia's Far East on Monday as the country tightens its lockdown intended to fend off the coronavirus. North Korea has not publicly confirmed a single case of the COVID-19 illness, but its state media have reported thousands of people have been quarantined as part of strict prevention measures. Seemingly dozens of passengers, most of them masked and some accompanied by children, lined up at

March 9, 2020

S. Korea denies report it rejected N. Korea's request for masks

South Korea has denied a news report that it rejected North Korea's request for masks to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The Yomiuri Shimbun, a major Japanese daily, reported earlier that Seoul proposed sending medicine and diagnostic reagent to the North to help check COVID-19 virus infections after President Moon Jae-in expressed his support for such cooperation in his March 1 Independence Movement Day address. In response, the North requested mask assistance, but the South

March 9, 2020

N. Korea quarantines about 10,000 people for potential infection by new coronavirus

North Korea has placed around 10,000 people under quarantine over coronavirus concerns and released about 40 percent of them as they showed no symptoms, according to state media reports. North Korea has not reported an outbreak of COVID-19, which emerged in neighboring China in late December, but it has intensified anti-virus efforts by tightening its borders and toughening quarantine criteria and procedures. According to North Korea media reports, Pyongyang has put 2,420 people under quarant

March 9, 2020

N. Korea fires 3 short-range projectiles toward East Sea: JCS

North Korea fired three short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Monday in what was believed to be part of a joint strike exercise, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The projectiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province at around 7:36 a.m, the JCS said, adding that they flew around 200 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of around 50 km. The launches came a week after the North conducted similar firings on March 2. &quo

March 9, 2020

N. Korea releases more people from quarantine over virus: report

North Korea's state media said Sunday that it has lifted the quarantine placed on some 3,600 people over new coronavirus concerns. Around 3,650 people under quarantine have been released as of Thursday, including some 1,020 in Kangwon Province and 2,630 in Chagang Province, according to the North's radio broadcaster, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station. In mid-February, North Korea doubled the quarantine period for people at risk of being exposed to the virus to a month as it stepped up

March 8, 2020

N. Korea slams European countries for criticizing recent projectile firings

North Korea on Saturday slammed five European nations for taking issue with its recent projectile firings, saying that it is "unreasonable" to criticize a sovereign country's ordinary military training. On Thursday, Belgium, Britain, Estonia, France and Germany issued a statement, calling North's firings of two projectiles, presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles, on Monday a provocation that violated UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea's media claimed that the launche

March 7, 2020

NK media stays mum on Kim's letter to Moon

North Korean media have not reported yet on a personal letter that leader Kim Jong-un sent to South Korean President Moon Jae-in this week in a surprise conciliatory gesture amid long-stalled relations between the two sides. Kim sent the letter on Wednesday to express his support for South Korea's fight against the new coronavirus, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the following day. In return, Moon sent a response letter to thank Kim for his support, the office added. But North Kore

March 6, 2020

US ready to resume nuclear talks with N. Korea: official

WASHINGTON -- The United States stands ready to resume denuclearization negotiations with North Korea as soon as possible and hopes to hear back from the regime, a senior US official said Thursday. Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, made the comment during a press briefing marking the 50th anniversary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Despite three meetings between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, denucl

March 6, 2020

NK leader sends letter to Moon to support S. Korea's fight against coronavirus

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a personal letter to President Moon Jae-in to express his support for South Korea to overcome the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. In the letter, delivered to Moon on Wednesday, Chairman Kim consoled South Koreans fighting the virus and wished for their good health, according to Yoon Do-han, Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication. "The North's leader said he will quietly support South Korea's fight a

March 5, 2020