NK's official newspaper urges military to lead economic development

North Korea's official newspaper called Monday on its military to take a leading role in building the country's economy on the anniversary of its late former leader's inauguration as the supreme commander of the Army."(The military) should create breakthroughs at every difficult corner of building an economic powerhouse and touchstones of the era in every aspect, including ideology, spirit of struggle and lifestyle," the Rodong Sinmun said in a front-page editorial. (Yonhap)The editorial was pub

Dec. 24, 2018

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold talks over NK denuclearization

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan met Monday to discuss ongoing efforts to denuclearize North Korea amid tensions in the bilateral ties caused by historical and other sensitive issues.Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held talks with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi.Later in the day, Kim Yong-kil, director-general for Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will meet Kanasugi for talks over bi

Dec. 24, 2018

S. Koreans leave for N. Korea to check road conditions

A team of South Korean officials left for North Korea on Monday to check the overall conditions of a road in western North Korea as part of a project to modernize and reconnect roads over the inter-Korean border, the unification ministry said.About 10 South Koreans, mostly from the unification and transport ministries, crossed into the North at around 8:30 a.m. via the western inter-Korean border to conduct the inspection of the 4-kilometer section of road along the North's Gyeongui line, accord

Dec. 24, 2018

North Korea slams Seoul over UN human rights resolution

North Korean media on Sunday slammed South Korea for supporting the UN resolution on North Korean human rights, accusing Seoul of duplicity.The UN passed the resolution at a Dec. 17 meeting of the UN General Assembly. In the latest resolution, the 14th to be passed in as many consecutive years, the UN criticized the “long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights” by the North. (Yonhap)On Sunday, Uriminzokkiri, the North’s propaganda website, condemned the

Dec. 23, 2018

S. Korea to send advance team to N. Korea to prepare for rail, road reconnection

South Korea sent an advance team to North Korea Sunday to prepare for this week's groundbreaking ceremony for a joint project to modernize railways and roads in the North so they can be connected to the South, Seoul's unification ministry said.The team of 14 officials, mostly from the unification ministry and the land, infrastructure and transport ministry, visited the North in the morning and is set to return home in the afternoon, the ministry said. (Yonhap)It will discuss with the North Korea

Dec. 23, 2018

US’ conciliatory gestures still not enough for N. Korea: experts

A recent series of conciliatory gestures by the US would keep momentum for dialogue with North Korea alive but would not likely lead North Korea to the negotiating table for denuclearization, experts said Sunday. 　US Vice President Mike Pence was expected to give a speech on North Korea’s human rights abuses last week, but the plan was scrapped due in part to concerns about angering or alienating the North and further derailing US-North Korea nuclear talks, ABC News reported, citing a source.　St

Dec. 23, 2018

Govt. sent back NK sailors to Pyongyang: ministry

The Unification Ministry said Saturday the government has repatriated three North Korean sailors and the body of one deceased sailor after they were retrieved from East Sea by the local Coast Guard. Their ship was found adrift in South Korean waters of the East Sea on Thursday and three of them were rescued by the authorities, the ministry said. The Coast Guard also retrieved the body of the fourth sailor. Further details about what happened to the sailors and the boat were not known.  (Herald D

Dec. 22, 2018

S. Korea grants refugee status to Chinese broker for N. Korean defectors

The immigration office on South Korea's southernmost island of Jeju said Saturday it has granted refugee status to a Chinese smuggler who helped hundreds of North Koreans defect to the South. (Yonhap)The office under the Ministry of Justice said that an F-2 permit was issued to Tu Airong, 55, on Friday. It is the third case of refugee approval by the Jeju immigration authority following the cases of two Yemeni asylum seekers last week. A refugee in South Korea is entitled to basic social benefit

Dec. 22, 2018

Pompeo says 'counting on' 2nd Trump-Kim summit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is "counting on" a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un despite an apparent stalemate in talks between the sides. (AFP-Yonhap)Pompeo told National Public Radio in an interview Thursday that there's been "some progress" in efforts to rid the North of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.And while there is still a long way to go, the secretary said he never expected the issue to be easy or resolv

Dec. 22, 2018

US greenlights groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean railways and roads, recovery of DMZ war remains

South Korea and the US agreed Friday that a groundbreaking ceremony for the modernization and reconnection of inter-Korean railways should be held next week, with the US agreeing to waive sanctions for the event. The US apparently decided to support the Koreas’ project to recover 1950-53 Korean War remains as well. “Through the (US-South Korea) working group, it will now be possible to proceed as planned the groundbreaking ceremony linked to the inter-Korean railway project,“ Lee Do-hoon, the So

Dec. 21, 2018

Allies cooperation to end hostility on Korean Peninsula, excited to hear results of Koreas’ railway survey: top US nuclear envoy

The top US nuclear envoy said Friday that successful cooperation between South Korea and the US will help bring an end to “war and hostility” on the Korean Peninsula, while adding that the US was excited to hear the results of the two Koreas’ joint railway survey. “The work we do together is not just for US-South Korea relations, it’s for the future of the Korean Peninsula,” Stephen Biegun said during a meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon in Seoul. “And if we are succe

Dec. 21, 2018

US okays groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean infrastructure project: official

South Korea and the United States agreed Friday that a highly symbolic inter-Korean event will be held in North Korea next week as scheduled, Seoul's top nuclear envoy said.After a "working group" meeting with Washington's special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, Lee Do-hoon said the two Koreas will also proceed with their joint war remains recovery program under the Trump administration's agreement.(Yonhap)The issue of providing North Korean residents with Tamiflu, an antiviral m

Dec. 21, 2018

US senator warns of NK repercussion from Syria withdrawal

WASHINGTON -- An influential US senator warned Thursday of the repercussions on North Korea should US President Donald Trump go ahead with his plan to pull troops from Syria.Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), often regarded an ally of Trump, said the president's decision to withdraw US forces must be reconsidered. (Yonhap)"I don't know how this decision was made. It literally came out of left field. It has rattled the world," he said in a bipartisan news conference with Sens. Jack Reed and Bob Menendez

Dec. 21, 2018

Pompeo: US still committed to NK denuclearization

The United States is working to achieve North Korea's commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday amid deadlocked negotiations.Pompeo also said in an interview with Kansas-based KNSS Radio that the two sides will continue to have meetings, including a possible second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Yonhap)"We still are working through the execution of Chairman

Dec. 21, 2018

S. Koreans leave for N. Korea to conduct joint road survey

A group of South Korean officials left for North Korea on Friday to conduct a joint inspection of a highway along North Korea's east coast as part of an inter-Korean project to modernize and reconnect roads and railways over their border.Some 10 South Korean officials crossed into the North via the eastern border at around 9 a.m. for a three-day trip to inspect the 100-kilometer Goseong-Wonsan section of the highway, according to the unification ministry.  (Yonhap)They plan to visit the North ag

Dec. 21, 2018

Two Koreas made 285 rounds of contact at joint liaison office so far: ministry

The two Koreas have made 285 rounds of contact, including 46 meetings, at the joint liaison office in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong so far, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Thursday. The liaison office opened in September. The contact includes five meetings among government officials from both sides, five working-level talks, and 36 meetings between chiefs and deputy chiefs of the office. On top of this, 173 messages or documents were exchanged at the office.  Koreas open their

Dec. 20, 2018

US special envoy on N. Korea to visit DMZ

A senior US envoy on North Korea will visit the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday to take a first-hand look at the country he's tasked with handling, diplomatic sources said.It was not immediately confirmed whether the envoy, Stephen Biegun, will meet with North Korean officials there. He is set to tour the truce village of Panmunjom along the inter-Korean border, also known as the Joint Security Area, a token of decades-long military tensions and on-and-off dialogue. The two Koreas have disarmed t

Dec. 20, 2018

NK collaboration with foreign scientists may aid nuke development: report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea could be developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in defiance of sanctions by collaborating with foreign scientists on "dual use" technology, a new report showed Wednesday.The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, said it analyzed 1,304 papers co-authored by North Korean and foreign scientists to determine the potential applications of the research to military purposes. (AFP)According to the study, first reported by US radio sta

Dec. 20, 2018

Denuclearization process not yet ‘fully on track’: Unification Minister

South Korea’s Unification Minister said Wednesday that North Korea’s denuclearization process had yet to get “fully on track,” indicating that the Seoul government believes Washington and Pyongyang have yet to properly discuss corresponding measures for the North‘s steps towards denuclearization.“Regarding the issue of North Korea’s denuclearization, it would be an accurate assessment to say that the process (of talks between the US and the North) is not fully on track at the moment,” Unificatio

Dec. 19, 2018

US envoy on NK to visit Seoul to boost coordination: State Department

WASHINGTON -- The US special envoy for North Korea will visit South Korea this week to coordinate the allies' push to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, the US State Department said Tuesday.Stephen Biegun will be in Seoul Wednesday through Friday, meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, and other officials, the department said in a press release. (Yonhap)The two sides aim to "further strengthen US-ROK coordination on our shared objective of the final, fully verified d

Dec. 19, 2018