Mattis: N. Korea is most urgent threat to US

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has called North Korea the most urgent threat to the United States as negotiations to dismantle the regime's nuclear weapons program have stalled.Mattis made the remark at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Saturday, when asked which of four countries -- North Korea, China, Russia and Iran -- poses the most serious threat to the US"In terms of urgency, North Korea is the problem," he said, according to a transcript released

Dec. 4, 2018

Kim Jong-un's birthday remains unmarked in 2019 calendars

The presumed birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un remains unmarked in the North's calendars for 2019.The North's 2019 calendars mark Jan. 8, which is presumed to be Kim's birthday, as an ordinary working day, according to the recently-published calendar obtained by Yonhap News Agency. North Korea`s recently published calender for 2019 marks Jan. 8, known to be leader Kim Jong-un`s birthday, as an ordinary working day. (Yonhap)Kim's birthday has not been designated as a holiday since he to

Dec. 4, 2018

Moon says Kim's Seoul visit will accelerate denuclearization

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday highlighted the importance of a proposed visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to his country, saying it may help speed up the North's denuclearization process.Moon said the proposed visit may also help ensure greater success in the second US-North Korea summit, expected to be held early next year. (Yonhap)"There is a possibility that Chairman Kim Jong-un's Seoul visit may be made within the year," the president said in a joint press conference, w

Dec. 4, 2018

Rewards for N.K. denuclearization steps could be other than sanctions relief: Moon's adviser

The United States can help break the impasse in denuclearization talks with North Korea without sanctions relief if it allows humanitarian businesses in the communist nation to go forward, a special adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Monday.   Moon Chung-in, a special presidential adviser for unification, foreign and security affairs, made the remark during a lecture in Seoul, reiterating President Moon's earlier remark that rewards for the North's denuclearization steps do not necessarily ha

Dec. 3, 2018

NK highlights policy shift through officials’ overseas trips: experts

The latest series of overseas trips by ranking North Korean officials is a sign of the regime’s efforts to emphasize its policy shift toward diplomacy and a more open economy, coupled with its hopes of being viewed as a normal state before the end of the year, experts say.Since late November, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, has visited several Latin American countries including Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico to improve ties with those nations. He met with South Korean Foreign M

Dec. 3, 2018

[Feature] Kim Jong-un’s dilemma in nuclear talks

The momentum for a second US-North Korea summit early next year and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Seoul has been kept alive through a flurry of diplomacy on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. 　But North Korea has chosen to stay mum, which analysts say indicates a deepening dilemma for the young leader under pressure to prove he was right about offering to give up his country’s nuclear weapons program. 　The US and South Korea’s often repeated statement that sanctions against North Kor

Dec. 3, 2018

NK leader’s Seoul visit remains open: Moon

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could still visit Seoul within the year, with the US fully supporting the plan, President Moon Jae-in said Saturday onboard a flight from Buenos Aires to New Zealand. “The possibility of Chairman Kim Jong-un visiting within the year remains open. President Trump and I shared the view that Kim Jong-un’s visit to Seoul would play a very positive role in North Korea-US denuclearization talks,” Moon said, referring to his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Buen

Dec. 3, 2018

S. Korea, US plan videoconference meeting on N. Korea

South Korean and US officials are expected to hold "working group" consultations on North Korea this week via videoconferencing, a diplomatic source here said Monday.The allies launched the new communication channel in November as part of efforts to coordinate their approach toward Pyongyang more systematically and frequently amid concerns about a possible schism over the issue of sanctions. This combined image of Lee Do-hoon (R), special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security af

Dec. 3, 2018

Moon remains cautious about 'groundbreaking ceremony' for inter-Korean rail project

President Moon Jae-in's use of a different word, instead of a "groundbreaking ceremony," to refer to the beginning of an inter-Korean road and railway reconnection project, appears to reflect his cautious approach in making sure the project doesn't violate sanctions, observers said Monday.In September's third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moon agreed to hold a groundbreaking ceremony before the end of the year for a reconciliation project to reconnect two sets of inter-Korean road

Dec. 3, 2018

Master plan for inter-Korean relations focuses on denuclearization, peace, mutual trust

South Korea unveiled a midterm master plan for developing inter-Korean relations Monday mostly focusing on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the establishment of lasting peace and mutual trust with North Korea.The plan, the third of its kind, lays out the objectives and directions of the government's policy on inter-Korean relations for 2018-2022. It will replace the second plan drawn up in 2013 during the administration of former President Park Geun-hye.Under the latest pla

Dec. 3, 2018

Seoul thinks it is still possible for NK leader to visit S. Korea this year

It is still possible for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit South Korea before the end of this year, the unification ministry said Monday, adding the government continues to make relevant preparations."We remain unchanged in our stance that (Kim's visit) will be possible and necessary before the end of this year," Baik Tae-hyun, a ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing. "We will calmly make the relevant preparations and efforts for agreements reached between the two Koreas to be

Dec. 3, 2018

N. Korean FM visits Vietnam to discuss bilateral ties

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has discussed bilateral ties with top Vietnamese officials during his trip to the Southeast Asian country, the North's state media said Monday.Ri met Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh during his trip there, according to the Korean Central News Agency. (Yonhap)"Both sides had an in-depth exchange of views and reached consensus on the issue of further developing the relations of friendship and cooperation be

Dec. 3, 2018

Trump says he will give everything Kim wants following denuclearization: Moon

US President Donald Trump is ready to give everything he promised to North Korea should the communist state faithfully implement its denuclearization steps, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said.Moon said Trump asked him to relay such a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in their summit held Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina.(Yonhap)"And the message was that President Trump has a very friendly view of Chairman Kim and that he likes him, and so he wishe

Dec. 3, 2018

N. Korea's sports minister: 2032 joint Olympics would help unite the two Koreas

North Korea's sports minister said working together with South Korea to co-host the 2032 Olympics will contribute to making the divided peninsula one, a Tokyo-based pro-North Korean newspaper reported Sunday.In an interview with Chosun Sinbo, Kim Il-guk, who also serves as the president of the North's Olympic Committee, said, "So many logistical issues arise in the process of bidding to host Olympic Games. Solving problems one by one will serve as an opportunity for the North and the South to un

Dec. 2, 2018

[Feature] Kim Jong-un’s charm offensive enthralls some, angers others

A handful of young activists gathered in the heart of Seoul on Nov. 26, chanting words that sound like a propaganda campaign in Pyongyang promoting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 　“I’m a fervent fan of Chairman Kim,” Kim Soo-geun shouted toward pedestrians in the busy Gwanghwamun Square. “I’m publicly recruiting those who want to become Kim’s fan. … We like the communists.” 　The event was held to welcome a trip to the South by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who pledged to visit the South Kor

Dec. 2, 2018

NK defector soldier in late teens or early 20s: source

The North Korean soldier, who defected to the South across the heavily armed border on Saturday, is in his late teens or early 20s, a government source said.The soldier crossed the eastern land border into the South on Saturday morning. The crossing took place near a South Korean guard post in Goseong of Gangwon Province, northeast of Seoul, the source said. A guard post gets destroyed on the South Korean side of the fortified area in Gangwon Province, Nov. 15.(Yonhap)Further details about the s

Dec. 2, 2018

Trump sees need for 2nd summit with Kim Jong-un at early date: official

BUENOS AIRES -- US President Donald Trump sees a need to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the earliest date possible, a ranking South Korean official said.Trump reaffirmed his commitment to holding the second US-North Korea summit early next year in his talks Friday (Argentine time) with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit. (Yonhap)"At the South Korea-US summit, the two leaders agreed on the need to hold the second North Korea-US summit at th

Dec. 2, 2018

Inter-Korean road project exempt from feasibility study

South Korea has decided to exempt a part of an inter-Korean road project from a preliminary feasibility study, reports citing officials said Sunday, in a sign that the South hopes to make as much progress as it can this year on inter-Korean cooperation projects.  (Joint Press Corp.)According to Yonhap News Agency, the construction of an 11.8-kilometer highway between Munsan and Dorasan Station in Paju, just south of the inter-Korean border, will be exempted from the customary feasibility study.

Dec. 2, 2018

Trump says second summit with NK leader likely to happen in January or February: report

US President Donald Trump said that a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to take place in January or February, and three possible venues are under consideration, a news report said Sunday.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also said that he will invite the North's leader to the US at some point, and that he has "a good relationship" with Kim, according to Reuters. Trump was on his way back home from a G-20 summit in Argentina."We're getting along very wel

Dec. 2, 2018

NK propaganda outlet calls for end to all military exercises between S. Korea, US

A North Korean propaganda outlet called for an end to all military exercises between the United States and South Korea, after the US defense chief suggested the possibility of scaling back a joint exercise set for next spring.US Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters on Wednesday that the springtime Foal Eagle exercise will be "reduced in scope" and that it is being "reorganized a bit" to keep it at a level that will not harm diplomacy with Pyongyang over its denuclearization. (Yonhap)Foa

Dec. 2, 2018