N. Korea-Russia border trade nearly triples in Q1 on improving ties

North Korea's trade with Russia's Far Eastern region nearly tripled in the first quarter from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, amid intensifying efforts by the two neighbors to strengthen bilateral relations.According to the data by South Korea's Consulate General in Vladivostok, the trade between the North and Russia's Far Eastern region totaled $10.69 million during the Jan.-March period, up from $3.72 million tallied a year earlier. Russia's exports to the North came to $10.67 million, wh

July 9, 2019

N. Korea slams Japan's export curbs as 'shameless' act

North Korea's media Monday slammed Japan's recent restriction on high-tech exports to South Korea, calling the measure a "shameless" act that indicates a lack of remorse for Tokyo's historical wrong-doings against the Korean people.Japan began to tighten regulations last week on shipments to South Korea of three materials essential to the production of semiconductors and display panels.    South Korea suspects the move may be retaliation for a Seoul court's order fo

July 8, 2019

N. Korea renews call for economic development on anniversary of founder’s death

North Korea’s official media on Monday urged its people to build an economic powerhouse as the country marked the 25th anniversary of the death of founding leader Kim Il-sung. “Today’s grand advance in economic development is a sacred and rewarding struggle of our great leaders to realize their aspirations for a patriotic and powerful country,” the Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of the Workers’ Party, said in an editorial.  On Monday, Kim Jong-un paid h

July 8, 2019

N. Korea yet to respond to Seoul's invitation to int'l swimming event

North Korea has not responded to South Korea's invitation to join an international swimming event set to kick off later this week, the unification ministry said Monday.South Korea and FINA earlier invited North Korea to the biennial 2019 FINA World Championships to be held from Friday to July 28 in Gwangju and Yeosu, its two southern cities. FINA is the French abbreviation of the International Swimming Federation. "We have nothing new to share with regard to the issue of the North's partici

July 8, 2019

Parliamentary speaker mulls sending delegation to N. Korea

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang is expected to push for sending a delegation of lawmakers to North Korea in a bid to lay the groundwork for an inter-Korean parliamentary meeting, officials said Monday.Moon plans to propose the idea to North Korea this week in a shift from his plan for an immediate inter-Korean parliamentary event, according to the parliamentary officials. Moon will hold a press conference Friday to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration."A parliamentary meet

July 8, 2019

[Feature] Hanawon: Helping NK defectors settle better in capitalist South

Since the two Koreas separated in 1953, about 33,000 North Koreans have taken the life-risking, circuitous journey to the other side of the border, seeking to escape hunger and oppression in their homeland.In order to reduce unfamiliarity and help the North Korean defectors stand on their own in the capitalist South, the government here established the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees, commonly known as Hanawon. Almost all North Korean defectors undertake a 12-week course at H

July 7, 2019

Preparation underway for US-N. Korea working-level talks

Top negotiators of South Korea and the US will meet in Germany this week in an apparent move to coordinate and discuss details of upcoming working-level talks between Washington and Pyongyang, aimed at the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will visit Germany from Tuesday to Friday to meet with Ina Lepel, director general for Asia and the Pacific of the Fede

July 7, 2019

S. Korean son of late NK party chairwoman arrives in Pyongyang for permanent residence

A South Korean son of Ryu Mi-yong, the late chairwoman of a North Korean minor political party, has arrived in Pyongyang to live in the communist country for good, a North Korean propaganda media outlet said Sunday.Ryu and her husband, Choe Tok-sin, who served as foreign minister in South Korea during the 1960s, emigrated to the United States in 1976 and defected to the North in 1986, leaving behind two sons and three daughters.In the North, Ryu served as chairwoman of the central committee of t

July 7, 2019

Seized North Korean ship sought for American student‘s death

The parents of Otto Warmbier have filed a claim for a seized North Korean cargo ship, seeking to collect on a multimillion-dollar judgment awarded in the American college student's death.     The Warmbiers filed court papers Wednesday in New York federal court saying they have a right to the assets after North Korea failed to respond to a wrongful death claim that accused it of abducting Warmbier, who had traveled there for a guided tour ahead of a study abroad program in Hon

July 7, 2019

N. Korea accuses expelled Australian student of spying: KCNA

An Australian student in Pyongyang was detained for spying last month and admitted his "anti-state" activities, the North Korean state media said Saturday, two days after his expulsion from the communist nation. Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old university student in Pyongyang, was reported missing in late June, but he was released on Thursday and left the North Korean capital the same day. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the Australian had passed on data and photos on domestic sit

July 7, 2019

Trump says US has 'very nice' relationship with N. Korea

US President Donald Trump insisted Friday that the United States has a "very nice" relationship with North Korea following his diplomatic engagement with the regime's leader, Kim Jong-un.Trump returned this week from a visit to South Korea, where he held an impromptu meeting with Kim on the inter-Korean border and agreed to restart negotiations on the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.The US president, who has now met three times with Kim, has often touted North Ko

July 6, 2019

[News analysis] Experts skeptical of Moon’s claim of de facto end-of-war declaration between US, N. Korea

Debate has been sparked among experts over President Moon Jae-in’s recent remarks that the US and North Korea have effectively agreed to end the Korean War with the recent meeting of their leaders at Panmunjom. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un created fresh momentum for stalled denuclearization talks with symbolic gestures, such as shaking hands on the North’s side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas and then crossing together t

July 4, 2019

N. Korea appears to have picked former Amb. to Vietnam as new chief nuke envoy: source

North Korea appears to have picked a former ambassador to Vietnam as its new chief nuclear envoy, a diplomatic source said, indicating the regime has effectively rounded out its team for upcoming working-level talks with the United States.During the impromptu summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Sunday, Pyongyang notified Washington of the makeup of its team to be led by Kim Myong-gil, the source said.Kim Myong-gil, well

July 4, 2019

2nd inter-Korean summit set precedent for DMZ meeting: Kim

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that his second summit with President Moon Jae-in had set a precedent for his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the DMZ on Sunday, it was revealed Thursday. The comments by Kim were captured on video after his meeting with Trump on Sunday in Panmunjom.  In the video, Kim is heard saying to President Moon Jae-in that the North “referred to the precedent of meeting with the South without being constrained by formalities and location.” M

July 4, 2019

Prime minister: Detained Australian leaves North Korea

Australia's prime minister says an Australian student has been released from detention in North Korea.Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament on Thursday that Alek Sigley had left North Korea and was "safe and well.''The 29-year-old Pyongyang university student lost contact with family and friends in Japan and Australia on Tuesday last week.Morrison's announcement was the first confirmation that he had been detained. (AP)

July 4, 2019

Australian student released from North Korea in 'good spirits'

An Australian student who was detained in North Korea has been released and has safely left the country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been missing since June 25. Alarm was raised when the normally active social media user ceased all communication. Morrison interrupted Parliament to confirm that Sigley had been freed. He later said in a statement that Swedish authorities had helped secure the stud

July 4, 2019

Seoul says now is time to focus on US-N. Korea talks

The government said Thursday that now is time to focus on talks between the United States and North Korea to build on progress made at a recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The unification ministry made the remark, rejecting a local newspaper report that the government told the North about the need for an inter-Korean summit on the occasion of the Trump-Kim meeting at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom on Sunday.  "The governmen

July 4, 2019

North Korea: Trump tries to undermine peace with sanctions

North Korea’s UN Mission is accusing the Trump administration of deliberately trying to undermine peace efforts by pressuring all countries to implement UN sanctions. The mission said Wednesday that while the US is talking about dialogue it is "more and more hell-bent" on hostile acts.It cited a joint letter from the US, Britain, France and Germany on June 29 to UN member states calling for all North Korean workers abroad to be sent home _ the same day President Donald Trump prop

July 4, 2019

North Korea says US ‘hell-bent’ on sanctions despite Trump-Kim meeting

North Korea complained on Wednesday after the United States sent a letter urging countries to send back North Korean workers as President Donald Trump was inviting Kim Jong Un to hold talks.  The North Korean mission to the United Nations said the letter sent to all UN member-states showed that the United States is “practically more and more hell-bent on the hostile acts” against North Korea, even though it is seeking dialogue. The mission said the letter from the United States,

July 4, 2019

Senior NK official meets Swedish envoy amid reports of missing Australian student

A senior North Korean official met with a special envoy from the Swedish government on Wednesday, the North’s state media said, amid speculation over possible discussions about an Australian student who has been missing in the North for the past week.Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee, “met and had a talk with Kent Rolf Magnus Harstedt,” the Korean Central News Agency said, without giving further details.  On Tue

July 3, 2019