N. Korea hosts 1st int’l blockchain conference

North Korea is holding its first international conference on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in Pyongyang, a US-based radio broadcast said Saturday.The Korean International Blockchain Conference was launched Thursday for an eight-day run in the North Korean capital city, according to the report by Radio Free Asia. (Yonhap)The event, postponed from last September, has brought some 100 experts in the cutting-edge field from around the world, the report said.The main summit will take pla

April 20, 2019

Unification minister says N. Korea will respond to Moon's summit offer

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Friday he expects North Korea to respond to President Moon Jae-in's offer to hold a fourth summit with leader Kim Jong-un.Moon said earlier this week he wants to meet the North's leader regardless of the venue or the format as part of efforts to help break the deadlock in nuclear talks between the North and the United States. The North has not responded to the offer yet.But the unification minister said he was positive the North will respond.  (Yonhap)"As

April 19, 2019

NK-Russia summit to be held around April 25 in Vladivostok: report

The leaders of North Korea and Russia are expected to hold summit talks around April 25 in Vladivostok, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported Friday.Citing a high-ranking official in the Kremlin, NHK said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would visit Russia next week and hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin around April 25.Russian news outlets reported on Thursday, citing the Kremlin, that Kim would visit Russia in late April to meet with Putin at the Russian president’s invitation.Seni

April 19, 2019

North Korea ratchets up pressure on US to resume talks

North Korea’s demand for removal of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from future nuclear talks may escalate into a war of nerves between Pyongyang and Washington before the two sides enter a fresh round of denuclearization negotiations, experts here said Friday. The US State Department did not directly respond to North Korean Foreign Ministry’s call for replacing Pompeo, Washington’s top negotiator, with someone who is more “careful and mature.”  In this Feb. 27, 2019, file photo, US President

April 19, 2019

Does NK turn to 'pendulum diplomacy' between China and Russia?

North Korea appears to be embracing a delicate diplomacy between its major-power backers -- Russia and China -- as it prepares for a summit with Moscow amid stalled nuclear talks with Washington and less-than-expected support from Beijing.The planned meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin harked back to the Cold War-era "pendulum diplomacy" that Pyongyang employed to swing between Moscow and Beijing to maximize its strategic interests.(Yonhap)The Kre

April 19, 2019

Trump sent congratulations on NK founder's birthday: Bolton

US President Donald Trump sent his congratulations on the birthday of the late North Korean founding leader Kim Il-sung earlier this week, according to US National Security Adviser John Bolton.The message was sent as part of Trump's efforts to maintain good relations with Kim's grandson and current North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, as they try to negotiate the dismantlement of the regime's nuclear weapons program, Bolton said Wednesday in an interview with US broadcaster PBS.Monday marked the fo

April 19, 2019

US ready to continue nuclear talks with N. Korea: State Dept.

The United States said Thursday that it stands ready to continue nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, a response to Pyongyang's calls on Washington to change tack and replace its top negotiator.The two countries have made little headway since a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February ended without any deal. (Yonhap)In a report carried by state media earlier Thursday, the North urged the US to remove the "obstacles" on the path to its

April 19, 2019

Moscow says Kim Jong-un to visit Russia in late April: report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit Russia later this month for talks with President Vladimir Putin, Russian news service RIA Novosti reported Thursday, citing the Kremlin.    Kim will make the visit at Putin's invitation, the news service and other Russian news outlets quoted the Kremlin as announcing in a press release. The report did not give further details, including dates and the venue of the summit between Kim and Putin.  (Yonhap)    Speculation has been rising that the two leaders

April 18, 2019

NK’s new weapons development a message to Seoul, US

North Korea on Thursday reported the development of a new tactical weapons system, adding uncertainty to the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula. According to the North’s Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the testing of a newly developed guided tactical weapons system on Wednesday, and applauded the development as having a “very big significance” in strengthening the country’s military capabilities. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen inspecting an a

April 18, 2019

N. Korea calls for replacement of Pompeo as chief US negotiator

North Korea called Thursday for replacing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with a "more careful and mature" negotiator, accusing the top American diplomat of failing to understand Pyongyang's position and causing the denuclearization talks to become "entangled."A senior North Korean foreign ministry official made the demand, claiming that whenever Pompeo "pokes his nose in, talks between the two countries go wrong without any results even from the point close to success," according to the Korea

April 18, 2019

Pyongyang slams Seoul over military drills

North Korea’s propaganda outlets on Thursday criticized the South Korean government for conducting military exercises with the US, which it called “provocative actions” that destroy peace on the Korean Peninsula. The state-run online publication Uriminzokkiri denounced Seoul for lacking willingness to implement the military agreement signed by the two Koreas last year, as the South Korean military carried out a landing drill near Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on April 3 and another exercise

April 18, 2019

NK leader supervises test-fire of new tactical guided weapon: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised a test-firing of a new tactical guided weapon, calling its development an "event of very weighty significance" in beefing up its military power, state media reported Thursday.The Korean Central News Agency said the test happened Wednesday but did not specify what the newly developed weapon was. (Yonhap)It was the first time since November the North's leader has overseen a weapons testing, and the visit to the testing center came a day after he visit

April 18, 2019

[News focus] Moon may face tough task as mediator in denuclearization talks

President Moon Jae-in has called for another inter-Korean meeting in his ongoing efforts to be a mediator in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the US, but the task may have become tougher, according to experts. Unlike previous occasions where Seoul mediated US-North Korea talks, Seoul now faces a situation where summit talks between the two countries have failed to produce an agreement and there are signs of North Korea deviating from its denuclearization pledge.Satellite imagery re

April 17, 2019

Satellite imagery shows possible transfer of radioactive material at Yongbyon: US monitor

Commercial satellite imagery from last week shows activity that could indicate the movement of radioactive material at North Korea's main nuclear facility, a US think tank said Tuesday.The April 12 imagery shows five specialized railcars near the uranium enrichment facility and the radiochemistry laboratory at the Yongbyon nuclear site, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. (Yonhap)"In the past these specialized railcars appear to have been associated with the movement

April 17, 2019

NK leader newly called 'supreme commander of Armed Forces of DPRK'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been newly referred to as the "supreme commander of the Armed Forces" of the country in a state media report Tuesday, in another possible sign of his strengthened grip on power following last week's personnel reshuffle.The Korean Central News Agency used the title in a report on Kim's visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum commemorating the North's former leaders, on his late grandfather, and state founder, Kim Il-sung's birthday on Monday.  (Y

April 16, 2019

Russia confirms preparations under way for Putin-Kim summit: Seoul official

A senior Russian diplomat has confirmed that preparations are under way for a summit between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a top Seoul official has said.South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told reporters Monday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Titov, reiterated the Kremlin's earlier announcement that Moscow has long been preparing for the first summit between the two leaders.Cho and Titov held the seventh session of their countries' high-level strat

April 16, 2019

Trump says N. Korea talks are moving along 'perfectly'

US President Donald Trump said Monday that nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea are moving along "just perfectly" even after the breakdown of his February summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Trump also said that his relationship with Kim remains good and that sanctions continue to be enforced against the regime."I don't want it to move fast," he said during a roundtable on the economy and tax reform in Burnsville, Minnesota. "It doesn't have to move fast. Right now it's moving alon

April 16, 2019

North Korean, Russian leaders may hold summit next week

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time next week, amid a stalemate in nuclear talks with the US. The two leaders’ meeting may take place in the far eastern region of Russia, which borders the northeastern part of North Korea, on April 24 before Putin travels to Beijing for an international forum. The “One Belt, One Road” forum is scheduled for April 26-27, Yonhap News Agency said Monday, citing an unidentified diplomati

April 15, 2019

Moon calls for 4th inter-Korean summit

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for another inter-Korean summit, saying that Pyongyang and Washington have expressed willingness to continue dialogue and that Seoul needs to lay the foundation for bigger results. “The Korean Peninsula peace process has entered the phase of building on the North-US Hanoi summit to prepare for practical results for the next stage,” Moon said at a weekly meeting with senior aides. President Moon Jae-in presides over the meeting with senior aides at the presi

April 15, 2019

[News analysis] Moon under pressure as US-NK stalemate continues

President Moon Jae-in may be relieved to see positive signs of another round of US-North Korea talks over denuclearization, but challenges remain for him, as Seoul has very little leverage with Pyongyang. Last week, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un openly reiterated their interest in holding a third summit to resume nuclear negotiations that have been stalled since the their meeting that ended abruptly with no deal in Hanoi, Vietnam, in late February.The North Korean

April 14, 2019