NK official heads to Vladivostok after Moscow visit

A senior North Korean official has left for Vladivostok in Russia's far east after ending his trip to Moscow in what's seen as part of preparations for a possible visit there by the North's leader Kim Jong-un. Kim Chang-son, the official with the North's State Affairs Commission, was spotted at Sheremetyevo International Airport in the Russian capital city at around 2:45 p.m. Saturday (Russia time). He was in Moscow for five days.  (Yonhap)Escorted by two guards, he quickly went into the VIP sec

March 24, 2019

N. Korea's top envoys to China, UN arrive in Beijing

North Korea’s ambassadors to China and the United Nations arrived in Beijing on Saturday, five days after they returned to Pyongyang. 　North Korean Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong and Ambassador to the UN Kim Song were seen at Beijing Capital International Airport earlier in the day after boarding an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang.  (Yonhap)　Their visit to Pyongyang could have been aimed at attending an annual meeting of the North‘s overseas diplomatic mission chiefs, a source said. But the No

March 23, 2019

Trump cancels new sanctions on NK

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Friday he has ordered the withdrawal of new sanctions on North Korea, possibly signaling an intention to continue denuclearization negotiations with the regime.Trump was apparently referring to sanctions the US Department of the Treasury imposed on two Chinese banks on Thursday for allegedly helping North Korea evade sanctions. US President Donald Trumps, seated with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and National Security adviser John Bolton s

March 23, 2019

S. Korea offers military talks with N. Korea

South Korea has proposed holding military talks with North Korea on implementing a bilateral accord signed last year, but there's no reply from Pyongyang yet, an official here said Friday."Recently, (we) suggested South-North military talks and are currently waiting for a response," the defense ministry official said, requesting anonymity.Attending a National Security Council (NSC) session last week, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reported to President Moon Jae-in that the military plans to h

March 22, 2019

Envoy says it's early to talk about tougher sanctions on N. Korea

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy said Friday that he focused on discussing ways to revitalize denuclearization talks with North Korea during visits to Russia and the headquarters of the European Union earlier this week.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. Lee Do-hoon (Yonhap)"Basically, (we) agreed that dialogue and negotiations between North Kor

March 22, 2019

North Korea withdraws from inter-Korea liaison office

North Korea officials have pulled out from the joint liaison office with South Korea, which opened in the North’s border town of Kaesong in September 2018. The order for withdrawal came from superior authorities in the North, according to the Seoul’s Ministry of Unification on Friday. The ministry said South Korean officials will continue to work at the office as the North said it does not care whether they remain or withdraw from the place. The government regrets Pyongyang’s decision to withdra

March 22, 2019

Pyongyang urges Seoul to be proactive in inter-Korean relations

North Korea’s propaganda outlets Friday called on the South Korean government to play an active role in implementing measures to improve inter-Korean relations as the US continues to reiterate its stance of keeping sanctions in place. The state-run online publication Meari denounced the South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for holding back from raising inter-Korean issues with the US by labeling itself as a mediator or a facilitator for Washington-Pyongyang dialogue. As a “core party concer

March 22, 2019

North Korea, seeking food aid, links sanctions to shortages

Kumkhop Trading Co. President Ri Jong Ho sweeps his hand over a table full of foods produced at his factory. There’s a bowl of assorted candies and rice cakes, a plate of sausages and ham, slices of a French baguette and Russian dark bread. “We are doing fine,” he says with a confident smile. “Just look.”In this March 13, 2019, photo, a worker walks among stacks of food at Kumkhop Trading Co. food factory in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean factories are filling city store shelves with ever

March 22, 2019

N. Korea to hold parliament session with newly elected deputies next month

North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature will convene the first meeting of newly elected deputies early next month, state media reported Friday, amid speculation leader Kim Jong-un could be given a new title or seek other changes to the power structure at the session.The Supreme People's Assembly will meet on April 11, the Korean Central News Agency reported. It will be the first time the legislature will have met after 687 new deputies were elected in nationwide polls earlier this month. (Yonhap)

March 22, 2019

US sanctions 2 Chinese firms for helping NK evade sanctions

The United States on Thursday sanctioned two Chinese shipping companies for helping North Korea evade sanctions, demonstrating its resolve to keep pressure on the regime until it dismantles its nuclear weapons program.The Department of the Treasury said it is sanctioning Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd. It also said it is updating its advisory on North Korea's illicit shipping practices to name dozens more vessels suspected of exp

March 22, 2019

NK official in Moscow possibly for preparations for leader's trip

A senior North Korean official, known as leader Kim Jong-un's "butler," has been in Moscow since earlier this week, sources said Thursday, suggesting that Kim could be visiting the neighboring nation soon.Kim Chang-son, the official with the North's State Affairs Commission, arrived in Moscow on Tuesday via Beijing and was still staying in the Russian capital on Thursday, according to the sources in the two cities.His trip suggests that the North may be making preparations for what would be lead

March 21, 2019

N. Korea denounces Japan over heightened monitoring of illicit ship-to-ship transfers

North Korea's state news agency lashed out at Japan on Thursday over its efforts to crack down on the North's illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods in violation of international sanctions. Earlier this month, Japan's foreign ministry said France has decided to support its monitoring of ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean-flagged vessels banned under the UN sanctions.Calling the move a "last-ditch effort" to hamper the peace process in the region, the North's Korean Central News Agency sai

March 21, 2019

Diplomatic thaw prompted active inter-Korean exchanges in 2018: ministry

South Korea greatly expanded exchanges and cooperation with North Korea last year, buoyed by a diplomatic thaw following three inter-Korean summits, according to a new white paper published by the Ministry of Unification on Thursday. The number of South Koreans visiting the North and vice versa increased sharply to 7,498 in 2018 from 115 in 2017, the paper said.  (Yonhap)The surge was attributed to government initiatives to cooperate with the North on an inter-Korean railway connection project,

March 21, 2019

Minor quake reported near N. Korea's nuke test site: KMA

North Korea was hit by a minor earthquake Thursday that jolted a region close to its Punggyeri nuclear test site in the northeast, South Korea's weather agency said.The tremor measuring 2.8 magnitude occurred 45 kilometers northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, at 4:41 a.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration said. (Yonhap)The epicenter of the quake was located 41.31 degrees north latitude and 129.08 degrees east longitude, and is about 1 kilometer away from the site of North Korea's

March 21, 2019

Oil shipped to N.Korea for liaison office not subject to sanctions: minister

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Wednesday the government does not consider petroleum products transferred to North Korea for an inter-Korean liaison office as subject to UN sanctions. (Yonhap)Last week, a UN report on sanctions on North Korea took note of South Korea's transfer of petroleum products to the North's border town of Kaesong where the liaison office is located."We see it as not subject to the UN sanctions," Cho said during a parliamentary session on foreign and security aff

March 20, 2019

South Korea’s aid agency mulls development support to North Korea

The state-run Korea International Cooperation Agency is considering whether to grant official development assistance to North Korea despite sanctions prohibiting cash transfers, according to an opposition lawmaker Wednesday.KOICA outsourced a study this month regarding grant aid to the North, with the aim of pursuing development cooperation in an effort to ease tensions between the two Koreas and to eliminate military threats, according to Rep. Lee Jong-myeong of the main opposition Liberty Kore

March 20, 2019

Moon holds meeting with US intelligence chief in Seoul

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday met with US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats in Seoul to discuss bilateral issues, Cheong Wa Dae said. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, Moon and Coats held an “in-depth and wide ranging discussion about current issues between South Korea and the US.” President Moon Jae-in greets US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats at the presidential office in Seoul on Wednesday. Cheong Wa DaeCoats’ visit is seen as aimed at sharing info

March 20, 2019

US intelligence chief in Seoul to discuss N. Korea: source

The US intelligence chief is in South Korea, a government source said Wednesday, on a visit seen as aimed at sharing information and assessment of North Korea following the breakdown of last month's summit between the two countries.Earlier, a local newspaper reported that US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats arrived at a US airbase in Osan, south of Seoul, Tuesday night for a three-day stay. The government source confirmed his arrival but declined to elaborate further. (AP)His detailed

March 20, 2019

US, NK differ on ‘sequencing,’ but US committed to engagement: Pompeo

The US is committed to engaging North Korea, and “sequencing” of denuclearization-related actions led to the summit in Hanoi ending without an agreement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media in Washington on Friday. YonhapSpeaking in an interview on KCMO, a Kansas-based radio station, Pompeo said that while he cannot reveal details of the summit, differences in the two sides’ ideas about the sequence of denuclearization caused its

March 19, 2019

[Feature] Is Kim Jong-un considering ‘new way’?

Following the failure to reach an agreement at last month’s summit between the US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, tension has been building between the two sides, threatening the negotiations that they have built over the past year.While the breakdown of their second meeting did not lead to a war of words, North Korea said it was considering suspending talks with the United States, while Washington accused Pyongyang of “not doing what it needs to do.”The comm

March 19, 2019