Trump says N.K. leader was 'so happy’ to see him

US President Donald Trump claimed Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was so happy to see him that the man of few expressions smiled.Trump was apparently referring to his latest meeting with Kim at the inter-Korean border on June 30, during which the young leader could be seen beaming.“You don’t have a man testing nuclear anymore,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “You have a man that was so happy to see me. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing. You

July 13, 2019

US House passes defense bill with amendment on NK sanctions

The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a defense bill amended to include provisions for the strengthening of sanctions against North Korea.The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, which approves $733 billion in spending and outlines defense policy, passed the House 220-197. It will need to be reconciled with a Senate version before being signed into law by President Donald Trump.The bill also includes an amendment earmarking $10 million for the verification of North

July 13, 2019

S. Korea official voices uncertainty over US-N.K. talks this month

A top South Korean presidential official expressed uncertainty Friday over the possibility that the United States and North Korea will resume denuclearization negotiations this month as planned.Kim Hyun-chong, deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office, told reporters that the US appears to be waiting for a response from the North.“I think we have to wait and see,” he said after coming out of a meeting with his US counterpart, Deputy National Security Adviser

July 13, 2019

Empty boat reportedly from N. Korea found near eastern sea border

The Coast Guard found a small wooden boat believed to be from North Korea near the eastern sea border Friday morning, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday the boat was found some 30 meters off the coast of Goseong, Gangwon Province. The town is situated about 20 kilometers away from the border with the North.They also noted that nobody was aboard the boat at the time of the discovery. Authorities said while circumstances do not seem to merit suspicion of espi

July 12, 2019

[Newsmaker] Unification Ministry partially disputes media report on arrival of NK defectors from Thailand

Ministry of Unification Deputy Spokesperson Kim Eun-han said a media report on the “mass” arrival of North Korean defectors from Thailand was partially incorrect.News 1, a Seoul-based news agency, reported Friday morning that around 20 North Koreans were in government custody after arriving in the country on a Korean Air flight from Thailand on Thursday morning.In a phone call with The Korea Herald on Friday afternoon, Kim said the number of North Korean defectors that were reported

July 12, 2019

Assembly speaker seeks to send delegation to N. Korea

South Korea's parliamentary chief said Friday he will consider sending a delegation of lawmakers to North Korea to give fresh impetus to inter-Korean relations.National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang said an improvement in relations between the two Koreas is indispensable to the success of bilateral negotiations between the United States and North Korea. "There should be new momentum in inter-Korean relations. On the parliamentary level, I'll push to send a delegation to the North," Mo

July 12, 2019

N. Korea changes constitution to make Kim Jong-un official head of state

North Korea has revised its constitution to stipulate that leader Kim Jong-un is the official head of state, according to a state media outlet. The new constitution, revised in April's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) session, states that the chairman of the State Affairs Commission (SAC), the communist state's highest seat of power, serves as its supreme leader that "represents the country," according to Naenara, a North Korean propaganda website.Kim rules the North as chairman of the

July 11, 2019

UNICEF used S. Korea donations to buy aid for NK: report

The UN Children’s Fund used contributions from South Korea to buy drugs and nutritional support for the vulnerable in North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.The South Korean government donated $8 million to the World Food Program and UNICEF early last month to support their work in North Korea. Some $3.5 million of the donation went to UNICEF. In response to RFA’s question on how Seoul’s donations were being used, UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific regional office com

July 11, 2019

N. Korea's Hwasong-15 ICBM can strike anywhere in US mainland: USFK

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) has said that North Korea's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is capable of reaching anywhere in the US mainland, its first official assessment of the long-range missile.The Hwasong-15 ICMB that the communist country test-fired on Nov. 29, 2017, has an estimated range of 8,000 miles, or 12,874 kilometers, which is "capable of striking any part of the continental US," according to the "2019 Strategic Digest," an annual p

July 11, 2019

N. Korea's official newspaper highlights 'inseparable' relations with China

North Korea's official newspaper highlighted its "inseparable" relations with China on Thursday as they mark the 58th anniversary of signing a mutual defense treaty.The two countries signed the treaty on July 11, 1961, under which they are obliged to provide military and other assistance to each other, a deal seen as the bedrock of their strong alliance for decades. "Today's international environment requires the people of North Korea and China to work to advance the North Korea-C

July 11, 2019

N. Korean media warn prolonged drought affecting rice, other crop growth

North Korean news media warned Wednesday that a prolonged, severe drought could seriously damage its harvests of rice and other crops this year."Drought and high temperatures have been persisting in the west coast and middle inland areas," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report.The phenomenon is affecting crops in North and South Hwanghae and South Pyongan provinces, as well as the city of Nampo and other areas, according to the report. "In particular, ri

July 10, 2019

Trust can make unimaginable happen in talks with US: N. Korean media

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were able to hold a third meeting on the inter-Korean border last month due to their sincere trust and bold will, Pyongyang’s propaganda outlet Maeari said Wednesday. Highlighting close relationship between Kim and Trump, Maeari noted that the top-level encounter in the Demilitarized Zone occurred just a day after the US president made a request by simplifying complex diplomatic protocol that typically takes weeks and months to

July 10, 2019

China takes positive view of Trump-Kim meeting at Panmunjom: envoy

China has a positive view of the recent surprise meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom as it has created the momentum for positive change in the situation of the Korean Peninsula, Beijing's top envoy in Seoul said Wednesday.Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong made the remarks as he delivered a lecture during a forum of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party at the National Assembly, lawmaker Kim Han-jung told reporters afte

July 10, 2019

Australian student expelled from N. Korea denies spying

An Australian student who was expelled from North Korea denied on Tuesday that he had been spying on the authoritarian state while he lived there.Alek Sigley, 29, was released last week after being detained for several days, with Pyongyang later accusing him of promoting propaganda against the country online.“The allegation that I am a spy is (pretty obviously) false,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that he was “well both mentally and physically”.“I am still very inter

July 10, 2019

US wants North Korea freeze as beginning, not end, of denuclearization

The United States would hope to see a freeze in the North Korean nuclear program as the start of a process of denuclearization, the State Department said on Tuesday, ahead of fresh talks with Pyongyang supposed to take place this month.US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had a surprise meeting at the end of June in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and agreed to resume a working-level dialogue, stalled since a failed summitin Vietnam in Feb. US Secreta

July 10, 2019

US envoy has no plans to meet NK officials in Europe this week: State Dept.

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun has no plans to meet with North Korean officials during his trip to Europe this week, the State Department said Tuesday.Negotiations on North Korea's denuclearization are expected to resume in the coming days after US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to continue the talks at their impromptu meeting on the inter-Korean border on June 30. "There is no plan to meet with North Korean officials on this trip

July 10, 2019

US says Trump and Kim had meeting, not summit, in DMZ

The latest encounter between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean border was a meeting, not a summit or a negotiation, the State Department said Tuesday.The impromptu meeting in the Demilitarized Zone on June 30 had raised questions about whether it was a summit akin to the previous encounters in Singapore in June 2018 and in Vietnam in Feb. this year. "It wasn't a summit, it wasn't a negotiation; it was a meeting of two leaders," department

July 10, 2019

Seoul brings issue of Japan’s retaliatory action to WTO

The government said Tuesday it had raised the issue of Tokyo’s economic retaliatory measures against Seoul at a World Trade Organization meeting amid intensifying tensions between the two countries, stemming from a long-standing dispute regarding forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.During a meeting of the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods held in Geneva, Ambassador to Geneva Paik Ji-ah said that that Japan’s restrictions on exports of key

July 10, 2019

South Korean defected to North after decades of stigmatisation: friends

A South Korean man who made a rare defection to North Korea was partly driven by the stigma and financial hardship that followed his parents' own high-profile flight to Pyongyang more than three decades ago, friends said Tuesday.Choe In-guk, 72, arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday and announced he would live there in a video published by North Korean media, following in the footsteps of his parents who made a switch of allegiance in 1986.Such a move is highly unusual and is more frequently seen in

July 9, 2019

Kim Jong-un’s sister among 10 most powerful in NK

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Yo-jong appears to have become the ninth most powerful person in the country.The seating arrangements at the memorial service marking the 25th anniversary of the death of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung, Monday at Pyongyang Gymnasium showed her current political status.She was seated just four places to the left of her brother, after vice chairmen of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party Pak Pongju, Ri Man-gon and Ri Su-y

July 9, 2019