Seoul denies claims of nonparticipation in NK ship monitoring

South Korea on Friday denied reports that it was not participating in international efforts to prevent North Korean ships from circumventing sanctions by transferring cargo at sea. “(South Korea) is actively participating in enforcing UN Security Council resolutions related to sanctions on North Korea,” a Ministry of National Defense official said Friday in response to a Voice of America report. On Thursday, Voice of America had cited a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as sayi

June 7, 2019

Public executions in N. Korea on decline: think tank report

Public executions in North Korea appear to have become less common, but it is unclear if the drop is due to an increase in the number of executions carried out in secret, a state-run South Korean think tank said in a report Friday.According to the White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2019 released by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, the reclusive regime continues to carry out public executions for "crimes disrupting the socialist order" such as watching or

June 7, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae 'cautiously optimistic' about possible inter-Korean summit

A top Cheong Wa Dae official struck a "cautiously optimistic" note on the possibility of holding another inter-Korean summit in the not-so-distant future.Speaking to reporters on background, the official said, "(We) are cautiously attempting to contact" North Korea in connection with a push for the fourth summit between the two Koreas. "The fact that we can't make public (relevant situations) and it's difficult to meet (North Korea) does not necessarily mean we are doing

June 7, 2019

Tokyo’s attempt at talks with N. Korea fails as Pyongyang skips Ulanbaatar Dialogue

Japan has faced difficulties engaging North Korea despite having expressed willingness to hold a summit with the North without preconditions. Tokyo had sought to convey its stance to Pyongyang during a two-day conference that kicked off Wednesday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, according to a Japanese news outlet on Wednesday. However, the communist regime had canceled its participation in the event.  According to Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s Foreign Ministry sent Asian and Oceanian Affairs Burea

June 6, 2019

N. Korea ranked worst for press freedom: report

North Korea, along with China, Russia, Syria and other countries, has been rated as the worst in terms of press freedom, a recent report by a US freedom watchdog showed Thursday.Earlier this week, the US-based Freedom House released the annual report for 2019, titled "Freedom and Media: A Downward Spiral," in which the North got zero on a scale of zero to four.Dozens of other countries also received zero in the report. The report noted that freedom of the media has been deteriorating a

June 6, 2019

Trump disputes report of NK officials' execution

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday disputed a news report that North Korea has executed its nuclear negotiators over the collapse of February's summit between the two countries.South Korea's conservative Chosun Ilbo reported last week that North Korea had executed its special representative for the US, Kim Hyok-chol, along with four officials of the ministry of foreign affairs to hold them accountable for the no-deal summit in Vietnam between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."I

June 6, 2019

N. Korea may suspend propaganda show after Kim voices dissatisfaction: tour agencies

North Korea may suspend a propaganda group gymnastic and artistic performance from next week after its leader Kim Jong-un recently expressed dissatisfaction over its content and format, tour agencies specializing in trips to the North said Wednesday.Citing anonymous sources, China-based Young Pioneer Tours said on its website that the performance, titled "The Land of the People," could be suspended from Monday due to Kim's dissatisfaction with it. Koryo Tours, another Beijing-based tou

June 5, 2019

Pyongyang has 27 diplomats dispatched to UN offices: report

North Korea has 27 diplomats dispatched as permanent representatives to three UN offices as of this year, a US-based media outlet reported Wednesday.　According to Radio Free Asia, Pyongyang has nine diplomats -- including Ambassador Kim Song -- stationed at the UN’s New York headquarters, and nine -- including Han Tae-song, the ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva -- dispatched to Switzerland.  Another nine are in Vienna, Austria, where international organizations, such as the I

June 5, 2019

Seoul approves $8 million donation to Pyongyang

South Korea on Wednesday approved a plan to dispatch $8 million in humanitarian aid to North Korea via UN agencies and is considering additional donations of rice to alleviate hunger and illness in the impoverished country. The South and North Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council, a decision-making body under the Ministry of Unification that deals with inter-Korean policies, gave the green light to the use of funds from the government budget to support humanitarian programs for North Korea

June 5, 2019

Resumption of US-North Korea negotiations is priority: unification minister

South Korea is making efforts to revive US-North Korea talks, as it is key to reviving inter-Korean relations, Seoul’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Tuesday.Speaking to foreign journalists in Seoul, Kim said inter-Korean business projects, the Kaesong industrial park and Kumgangsan tourism will be normalized once conditions are met. “At this point, the resumption of the US-DPRK negotiation is the important priority,” Kim said at a press conference at the Seoul Foreign

June 4, 2019

Public appearance of North Korean leader’s sister dispels punishment rumors

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, has appeared in public for the first time in nearly two months, dispelling speculation that she had been under probation over the breakdown of the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February. According to the Korean Central News Agency, Workers’ Party of Korea First Vice Director Kim Yo-jong and Kim Jong-un attended a mass gymnastics and artist performance called “The Land of the People” at the

June 4, 2019

North Korea's Mass Games return as nuclear talks stutter

PYONGYANG (AFP) -- Tens of thousands of performers took part in a stunning gymnastics show Monday night in Pyongyang as North Korea's spectacular "Mass Games" propaganda displays began their 2019 run.Following rehearsals over several months, vast numbers of people in colourful costumes took part in a precision synchronised performance at the cavernous May Day Stadium, portraying moments from Korean history and modern life.North Korean artistic performances are closely watched by observ

June 4, 2019

N. Korea yet to respond to S. Korea's offer to work together to fight African swine fever

North Korea has not responded to South Korea's offer to work together to stem the spread of African swine fever after Pyongyang recently confirmed the outbreak of the highly contagious animal disease, the unification ministry said Monday.Last month, North Korea reported to the World Organization for Animal Health the outbreak of African swine fever at a farm in its northern region bordering China. On Friday, the South proposed through an inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border city of

June 3, 2019

Top aide to NK leader appears in public despite rumors of purge

A top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched an art troupe's performance together with the leader, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, belying rumors that he was purged for the leader's embarrassing no-deal summit with US President Donald Trump.Kim Yong-chol, who served as Pyongyang's chief interlocutor and counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, attended Sunday's performance by amateur art groups made up of the wives of military officers, together with leader Kim and oth

June 3, 2019

Assessments of NK missiles differ between defense chiefs of S. Korea, US, Japan

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reiterated Saturday that more analysis is needed to determine if what North Korea test-fired last month are ballistic missiles or not, even though his U.S. and Japanese counterparts characterized the launches as a violation of U.N. sanctions.Jeong made the remark during a session of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, stressing that the assessment of the North's May 9 launches is based on the close cooperat

June 1, 2019

Pentagon chief says N. Korea remains 'extraordinary' threat

North Korea remains an "extraordinary" threat to regional and global security, acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said Saturday, calling on China and other countries to work closely for sanctions.He, however, stressed his strong backing for diplomacy "to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and uphold the international rule of law," in his keynote speech during the 18th Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue,

June 1, 2019

Pompeo says US is looking into reports of purge of NK officials

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States is looking into reports that several top North Korean officials have been purged in the wake of the no-deal February summit between the countries' leaders. "We've seen the reporting to which you're referring," Pompeo said during a press conference in Berlin. "We're doing our best to check it out. I don't have anything else to add to that today."The Chosun Ilbo, a conservative South Korean daily, reported the

June 1, 2019

South Korea to provide 50,000 tons in food aid to North Korea: lawmaker

South Korea is to provide 50,000 tons of food aid to North Korea via an international organization in the coming week, a lawmaker said Friday.“The government is planning to offer 50,000 tons of food to North Korea through an international organization next week,” said Rep. Sul Hoon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.Sul’s remarks were made during the ruling party’s supreme council meeting at the border village of Panmunjom. Citing a UN survey that 10.1 million North

May 31, 2019

Defectors' group scatters anti-Pyongyang leaflets at NK embassy in London

A group of North Korean defectors said Friday it spread hundreds of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets at North Korea's embassy in London last week.Fighters for a Free North Korea said three of its members visited the mission on May 21 to meet its staff and deliver a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but was denied. They attached dozens of leaflets slamming Kim as "a devil who killed his brother" at the embassy's main gate, wall, and threw some 500 others into its compound, it

May 31, 2019