US can lift NK sanctions after denuclearization: State Department

The United States is willing to lift sanctions on North Korea after the country dismantles its nuclear weapons program, the State Department said Tuesday.North Korea has increasingly protested the sanctions, warning that they could return US-North Korea relations to the tense "exchanges of fire" last year and "block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever."(Yonhap)State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino said "the world remains united" in keeping sanctions on th

Dec. 19, 2018

Parents of dead US student seeks $1b compensation from N. Korea: VOA

Parents of an American university student who died last year after being detained in North Korea are seeking over $1 billion in compensation from the rogue regime, Voice of America said Tuesday, citing a US court document. The family of Otto Warmbier, who died days after he was returned to the US in a comatose state in 2017, filed a lawsuit against North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in April. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia and charged the North

Dec. 18, 2018

NK halts casino projects under pressure from China: report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the halt of ongoing casino-related projects, under pressure from Beijing, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday. Citing unnamed Chinese sources with connections to North Korea, RFA reported that Kim halted the construction of a hotel, the plans for which include a casino, in Sinuiju, North Pyongang Province, due to Beijing’s disapproval. The hotel, which would be 30 stories once completed, currently stands incomplete at about 20 stories, according to reports. S

Dec. 18, 2018

Train used for joint railway inspections in N. Korea returns home

A South Korean train returned home from North Korea on Tuesday after an 18-day inspection of railways in the communist nation as part of a project to modernize the tracks and connect them to the South's.South Korean officials took over the train from North Koreans at Panmun Station, just north of the western inter-Korean border. (Yonhap)The train crossed into the South at around 10:25 a.m., according to the ministry.Its arrival came a day after a group of South Korean officials and experts retur

Dec. 18, 2018

Over 1,000 North Koreans defect to South Korea this year

More than 1,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea so far this year, a level similar to the number recorded during the same period of last year, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The number of North Koreans defecting to the South came to 1,042 during the January-November period, according to the data provided by the ministry. Last year's corresponding figure was 1,045. (Yonhap)"Since Chairman Kim Jong-un took office in 2012, around 1,000-1,500 North Koreans have defected to the South

Dec. 18, 2018

Top S. Korean, US nuclear envoys to discuss N. Korea

South Korea and the United States will have senior-level discussions on North Korea this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday, as the two Koreas plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for their railway and road project next week.Stephen Biegun, the US special representative on North Korea policy, is scheduled to visit South Korea from Wednesday till Saturday.He will hold one-on-one talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, on Thursday, according to ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-d

Dec. 18, 2018

S. Korea needs W3.9tr to pull off joint 2032 Olympics with Pyongyang: Seoul city

South Korea will need a budget of about 3.9 trillion won ($3.44 billion) to jointly host an envisioned 2032 Summer Olympics with North Korea, an estimate by the Seoul city government showed Tuesday. The projection came as the Seoul metropolitan government is pushing to form a joint bid with Pyongyang for the Olympic games.Air Busan finalizes offering price for Dec. 27 IPONext(3rd LD) S. Koreans return home after 10-day inspection of N. Korea`s eastern rail lineS. Korea needs 3.9 tln won to pull

Dec. 18, 2018

Pompeo thanks New Zealand for support on NK

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked New Zealand on Monday for supporting efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program.In his meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters in Washington, Pompeo expressed gratitude for New Zealand's "continued support in working towards the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong-un," according to a State Department readout. (AP)North Korean leader Kim Jong-un committed to

Dec. 18, 2018

UN passes resolution condemning NK human rights abuses

SEOUL/NEW YORK -- South Korea on Tuesday hailed the adoption of a United Nations resolution on North Korea's human rights abuses.The foreign ministry said the country supported the resolution from the basic position of making joint efforts with the international community for "substantive improvement" in the human rights of North Korean people.Hours earlier, the UN passed the resolution, which calls for accountability for gross human rights violations in the communist nation, by consensus at a G

Dec. 18, 2018

N. Korean media touch on UN's move on its human rights abuses

Just ahead of the United Nations' vote on a resolution against its human rights conditions, North Korea on Monday took note of Washington's failed attempt to discuss the issue at the international agency earlier this month.In a belated report, the communist nation's state news agency, KCNA, pointed out that the United States has sought to bring the issue to the UN Security Council (UNSC) every year since 2014. (KCNA-Reuters)"But its attempt went amiss this year," it said. "The US proposal for co

Dec. 17, 2018

N. Korea railway not in good condition: inspection team

The railroads along North Korea’s east coast are not in good condition, an official said Monday after returning home from a 10-day survey aimed at eventually reconnecting cross-border railways. The 28-member team of South Korean officials and railway experts crossed into South Korea on Monday afternoon by bus after conducting a joint inspection of the 800-kilometer rail links from Kumgangsan near the inter-Korean border to the Tumen River bordering Russia in the east, the Unification Ministry sa

Dec. 17, 2018

UN likely to adopt resolution condemning NK rights violations

The United Nations is expected to adopt a resolution condemning human rights violations in North Korea and urging the country to immediately take action to address the matter.The UN General Assembly will hold a plenary session Monday morning in New York (early Tuesday, Seoul time), during which member nations are likely to reach a consensus on a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues.The UN has adopted resolutions

Dec. 17, 2018

S. Korea confirms disablement of NK DMZ guard posts

South Korea's military on Monday confirmed the demolition and disablement of some North Korean border guard posts through its onsite verification last week and days of subsequent analysis.The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced the results of its Dec. 12 work to verify the demolition of 10 North Korean GPs in the Demilitarized Zone and the disarmament of another. The North's military also carried out the verification work on the same day.As part of a boarder accord to reduce military tensions and bu

Dec. 17, 2018

S. Koreans return home after 10-day inspection of N. Korea's eastern rail line

SEOUL/GOSEONG, Gangwon Province -- A group of South Korean officials and railway experts returned home Monday after completing a 10-day inspection of the rail along North Korea's east coast, the unification ministry said.The 28-member team crossed the Military Demarcation Line in the eastern region of the peninsula at around 1:40 p.m. by bus, according to the ministry.They came back after conducting an inspection of the rail line from Mount Kumgang near the North's border with South Korea all th

Dec. 17, 2018

Kim Jong-un visits mausoleum of late father to mark 7th anniv. of death

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the mausoleum of his late father in Pyongyang to commemorate the 7th anniversary of his death, the country's state media said Monday.Kim paid his respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun "on the occasion of the greatest national memorial day," according to the Korean Central News Agency."He paid highest tribute to Kim Jong-il who devoted his all to the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people until the last moments of his revolutiona

Dec. 17, 2018

North Korea condemns US sanctions, warns denuclearization at risk

SEOUL -- North Korea on Sunday condemned the US administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed country, warning of a return to “exchanges of fire” and that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever. The North’s stinging response came after the United States said on Monday it had introduced sanctions on three North Korean officials, including a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for alleged human rights abuses.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and U

Dec. 16, 2018

[Feature] Inter-Korean railway project now focused more on ‘modernization’ than ‘reconnection’: experts

With the groundbreaking ceremony for modernization and reconnection of inter-Korean railways and roads slated for Dec. 26, similar events held more than a decade ago are being remembered. But analysts say that with a shift in circumstances surrounding the Korean Peninsula since, the focus has now moved to “modernizing” North Korea’s railway system rather than “reconnecting” sections of cross-border tracks. “In the early 2000s, it was more about ‘reconnecting’ the railways, but North Korea has sh

Dec. 16, 2018

US envoy on N. Korea Biegun to visit Seoul this week

The US special representative on North Korea policy, Stephen Biegun, will visit Seoul this week to find ways to salvage dormant denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, officials said Sunday.Biegun will arrive in Seoul late this week to meet his South Korean counterpart, Special Representative Lee Do-hoon, for a second face-to-face meeting of the joint working group on North Korea. (AP)Seoul and Washington launched the working group in an inaugural meeting on Nov. 20 for "regular, systemi

Dec. 16, 2018

Liberty Korea Party’s overhaul plan draws mixed reaction

Controversy persists over the decision by the main opposition party’s interim leadership to reduce the clout of lawmakers who were close to former President Park Geun-hye, as well as that of other conservative powerbrokers. 　The Liberty Korea Party’s emergency committee said Saturday that 21 incumbent lawmakers will be ineligible to lead the party’s powerful district committees. The purpose of the measure, the interim leadership said, is to overhaul the conservative party following the ouster of

Dec. 16, 2018

N. Korea kicks up commemorative mood on eve of 7th anniversary of late leader's death

North Korea's main newspaper on Sunday published a series of articles lauding late leader Kim Jong-il on the eve of the seventh anniversary of his death, focusing on how much he cared about his people.Kim Jong-il died on Dec. 17, 2011, after ruling the communist nation following the death of his father and national founder, Kim Il-sung, in 1994. Current leader Kim Jong-un, the third son of the late leader, took over the North in another hereditary succession of power. (Yonhap)On Sunday, the Nort

Dec. 16, 2018