China’s aid to NK this year tops W41b until Aug.

China granted over 41 billion won ($35.2 million) worth of aid to North Korea in the first eight months of this year amid a stalemate in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, according to sources Tuesday.Its aid to North Korea is lkely to surpass that of last year, as more could be delivered in the fourth quarter following President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pyongyang in June, they noted.Chinese maritime customs statistics showed that Beijing’s aid to Pyongyang amounte

Oct. 29, 2019

N. Korea's No. 2 urges US to drop hostile policy to move nuclear talks forward

North Korea's No. 2 leader urged the United States to drop its hostile policy toward Pyongyang before seeking denuclearization talks, saying the current situations surrounding the Korean Peninsula are at a "critical crossroads," Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday.In a speech at the Non-Aligned Movement summit held in Azerbaijan, Choe Ryong-hae, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, also criticized South Korea for relying on outsiders in cross-border issues and

Oct. 29, 2019

Seoul suggests working-level talks over Kumgangsan resort

The South Korean government has proposed holding working-level talks with North Korea in response to the regime’s plan to abolish the South’s facilities at the Kumgangsan tourist resort, the Unification Ministry said Monday. The offer was made through the joint liaison office in the North’s border town of Kaesong after the regime notified the South that it would tear down the latter’s facilities in the tourist zone in accordance with the orders of its leader Kim Jong-un,

Oct. 28, 2019

[Feature] Tall order to transform DMZ minefields into peace zone

After a short-lived period of detente for the two Koreas, the North appears to be back to cold-shouldering the South. But this has not deterred the Moon administration from drawing up plans for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. As part of its effort to achieve that goal, Moon proposed to transform the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas into an “international peace zone” at a UN session last month. But the DMZ that the president called the “ecological treasure

Oct. 28, 2019

S. Korea asks N. Korea to hold working-level talks over Mount Kumgang

South Korea offered Monday to hold working-level talks with North Korea about a long-suspended tour program at the North's Mount Kumgang, after Pyongyang demanded Seoul remove all of its resort facilities from the mountain in a threat to end the joint business.  The North made the demand Friday, following up on leader Kim Jong-un's directive that all South Korean-built facilities should be removed from the mountain resort and the North should build an international tourist zone of its

Oct. 28, 2019

N. Korea warns clock is ticking on nuke talks with US

North Korea’s former top nuclear envoy said Sunday the close ties between the leaders of the regime and the US have a limited impact on their stalled denuclearization talks, stressing the year-end deadline for Washington to reconsider its negotiation method is fast approaching.“The US is seriously mistaken if it is of the idea of passing off in peace the end of this year, by exploiting the close personal relations between its president and the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission

Oct. 27, 2019

N. Korea tells US not to ignore year-end deadline on Trump-Kim friendship: KCNA

North Korea said on Sunday there has been no progress in the North Korea-United States relations, and hostilities that could lead to an exchange of fire have continued, according to North Korea's state news agency KCNA.In a statement under the name of North Korea senior official Kim Yong-chol, KCNA said that it would be mistaken for the United States to ignore a year-end deadline on US President Donald Trump's and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's "close personal relations."Kim Jong-un

Oct. 27, 2019

Moon says Kumgangsan tours cannot continue in past form

President Moon Jae-in said Friday that tours to North Korea’s Kumgangsan cannot be revived in the form they took before they were discontinued. The comment came hours after the Ministry of Unification revealed that the North had informed the concerned South Korean parties of its intentions to remove facilities from the mountain resort. “(The North Korea’s demands) could go against public sentiment, and such elements may damage inter-Korean relations,” Moon said at a

Oct. 25, 2019

NK leader’s idea of denuclearization matches that of US: Moon

President Moon Jae-in said Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s idea of denuclearization matches that of the US and Seoul.Speaking at a meeting with the Cheong Wa Dae press corps, Moon said Kim has made it clear that his idea of denuclearization is the same, but that this outcome can only be achieved if the North’s conditions are met.  “Between the two Koreas, the term complete denuclearization is used, and what complete denuclearization means is the same as the d

Oct. 25, 2019

Seoul promises ‘creative solution’ to Pyongyang’s Kumgangsan demands

North Korea on Friday sent official statements to the South demanding the removal of South Korean-built facilities from the Kumgangsan resort, the Ministry of Unification said.  According to the ministry, the statements were sent both to the ministry and to Hyundai Group early Friday. Hyundai Group is the South Korean company that led the development and operation of the resort at the North Korean mountain.In the statement, the North said a new “international tourism and culture zone&

Oct. 25, 2019

N. Korea offers to discuss removal of facilities on Mt. Kumgang

North Korea has offered to discuss in writing with South Korea its decision to remove the South-built facilities at its Mount Kumgang tourist resort, the unification ministry said Friday.The offer came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the removal of all South Korea-constructed buildings through an "agreement with the relevant unit of the south side," stressing the North should not rely on the South for a now-suspended joint tour program to the scenic mountain."No

Oct. 25, 2019

Ministry says safety should be guaranteed to allow for individuals' trips to Mount Kumgang

North Korea must first guarantee the safety of visitors if it wants South Korea to allow its citizens to travel across the border to the North's scenic Mount Kumgang, the unification ministry said Friday. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that individual visits to the North's mountain are not subject to UN sanctions and that it is up to the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs as whether to approve them or not.Her remarks came a day after North Korea's state media r

Oct. 25, 2019

N. Korean leader inspects spa resort, voices great satisfaction

NK leader inspects spa resort, signals intention for independent tourism development North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a spa resort under construction, touting it as much better than the South Korean-built resort at Mount Kumgang, state media reported Friday, in an indication of his intention to develop the tourism industry without outside help. The "field guidance" trip to the Yangdok County Hot Spring Resort in central North Korea came just days after Kim visited Mount Kumgang

Oct. 25, 2019

Minister: N. Korea frustrated with standstill on inter-Korean project

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday that North Korea seemed disappointed that the inter-Korean tourism project had not resumed, commenting on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s orders to tear down the South’s facilities at the Kumgangsan tourist resort. In response to the report on Wednesday saying Kim had ordered the removal of “all the unpleasant-looking facilities of the south side” and wanted to “build new modern service facilities our own way,” t

Oct. 24, 2019

N. Korea yet to offer talks on removal of S. Korean assets at Mt. Kumgang: official

North Korea has not made an official offer yet to South Korea for talks on its decision to remove South Korea-built facilities at the country's Mount Kumgang resort, a unification ministry official said Thursday.On Wednesday, state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un ordered the removal of all the "unpleasant-looking" buildings through an "agreement with the relevant unit of the south side," stressing the North should not rely on the South for a now-suspended joint tour pr

Oct. 24, 2019

‘Kim Jong-un was told by father to never give up nukes’

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was told by his father to never give up nuclear weapons, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner reportedly told a Trump biographer.According to Doug Wead’s book “Inside Trump’s White House,” Kushner discussed with Wead the letters that Kim and Trump wrote to each other, the Washington Times reported Tuesday.“You can see from these letters that Kim wants to be friends with Trump, but his father to

Oct. 24, 2019

NK to see how 'wisely' Washington acts through year-end deadline: official

A former top North Korean nuclear envoy said Thursday he hopes to see the United States act "wisely" through the end of the year, apparently referring to the deadline Pyongyang set for Washington to come up with a new proposal in their denuclearization negotiations.In a statement, Kim Kye-gwan, a foreign ministry adviser, also voiced hope that "special" relations between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump will create a "motive force" to re

Oct. 24, 2019

North Korean leader orders to remove South Korean facilities from tourist resort

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the pulling down of facilities built by South Korea at the Kumgangsan tourist resort, amid stalled inter-Korean diplomacy. 　According to the North’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday, the North Korean leader visited Kosong Port, Haegumgang Hotel, the House of Culture, Kumgangsan Hotel, Kumgangsan Okryu Restaurant, Kumgang Pension Town, Kuryong Village, Onchon Village, Family Hotel, Onjong Pavilion No

Oct. 23, 2019

Sweden to invite Pyongyang, US back to denuke negotiation table

Kent Rolf Magnus Harstedt, special envoy of the Swedish government to North Korea, said Wednesday morning that Sweden will suggest fresh working-level talks between Pyongyang and Washington after last month’s meeting ended without an agreement.“Now we are ready to issue invitation for them to come again. Of course it needs to happen when they are ready. But from our side we will definitely try to convince them to move on in the process to the next step,” Harstedt said at a pres

Oct. 23, 2019

NK leader criticizes father's policy to depend on S. Korea for Mount Kumgang resort

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticized his late father's policy of depending on South Korea for the development of the Mount Kumgang resort on the east coast, ordering the removal of "all the unpleasant-looking facilities" built by the South.During a "field guidance" visit to the mountain resort, Kim also ordered the construction of the country's own "modern service facilities" and said the North "will always welcome our compatriots from the South" to

Oct. 23, 2019