Heads of 6 N. Korean universities to visit Canada next week: report

The heads of six major North Korean universities will visit Canada next week at the invitation of the University of British Columbia, American broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported on Friday.The Canada-DPRK Knowledge Partnership Program, affiliated with the UBC, told RFA that a 12-member North Korean delegation, including the heads or deputy heads of Kim Il Sung University and five other universities, will visit the Canadian university in Vancouver from Oct. 16-20 for academic exchanges. DPRK sta

Oct. 12, 2018

Kim, Putin exchange messages to mark 70th anniversary of bilateral ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have exchanged messages to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, Pyongyang's state media reported Friday.The North's official Korean Central News Agency carried two separate articles introducing the content of the messages that stressed the "constructive" partnership between Pyongyang and Moscow.In his message, Kim said that North Korea-Russia relations have developed based on the "pr

Oct. 12, 2018

S. Korea struggles to contain concerns over sanctions relief

The South Korean government scrambled to play down concerns over the lifting of its unilateral sanctions against North Korea on Thursday, amid intensifying controversy after a top diplomat hinted at an ongoing governmental review of the matter a day earlier. 　US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of South Korea lifting the sanctions on North Korea without approval from Washington, a sign of a possible discord between the allies over quickly developing inter-Korean enga

Oct. 11, 2018

Number of foreign professors sharply decreases in NK university: report

The number of foreign professors at North Korea's only private university has nosedived amid the strict enforcement of UN sanctions on Pyongyang, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.As of Tuesday, when this year's fall semester began, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology had 28 foreign professors, down 72.5 percent from the fall semester of the 2015 academic calendar, the US-based media outlet reported. (AP)They are from China, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Britain an

Oct. 11, 2018

N. Korean leader visits newly renovated orchestra theater in Pyongyang

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the newly renovated Samjiyon Orchestra Theater in Pyongyang on the occasion of the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the North's media reported Thursday.According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim gave a field guidance to the orchestra theater ahead of its new opening on Wednesday and praised it for being "graceful and delicate, yet gorgeous and magnificent" in architectural form and content and also combining modern and

Oct. 11, 2018

Vatican waiting for invitation from N. Korean leader: official

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican is waiting for North Korea's invitation to Pope Francis, its spokesman said, amid rising speculation about his visit to Pyongyang."The Vatican is just waiting for the invitation to officially arrive," spokesman Greg Burke told Yonhap News on Wednesday. He added that he has nothing to comment before South Korean President Moon Jae-in communicates North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's intent to invite the pope during his visit to the Vatican next week.Moon, who will visit F

Oct. 11, 2018

NK, China, Russia call for 'corresponding' measures in denuclearization talks

Senior diplomats of North Korea, China and Russia have called for "corresponding measures" in response to the North's "practical" denuclearization steps, the North's state media reported Thursday.The three also demanded that denuclearization be carried out in a "stage-by-stage and simultaneous way" and emphasized the importance of confidence-building in the process. The demands are part of the consensus that North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui reached with her Russian and Chinese co

Oct. 11, 2018

Kim Jong-un visits mausoleum of former NK leaders for party’s founding anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the mausoleum of his father, Kim Jong-il, and grandfather Kim Il-sung on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the country’s ruling party, the North’s state media said Thursday.Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang and extended “deep respect and the best wishes” to the statues of the two former leaders of the communist regime, according to the Korean Central News Agency.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and ranking offic

Oct. 11, 2018

US hopes to hold working-level talks with N. Korea soon

WASHINGTON -- The United States hopes to hold working-level talks with North Korea soon to make progress on denuclearization and a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the State Department said Wednesday.Trump said Tuesday that the two sides are working to arrange a summit after the Nov. 6 midterm elections in one of three or four locations.(Yonhap)Working-level talks would be led by US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and Nort

Oct. 11, 2018

Trump says S. Korea won't lift NK sanctions without US approval

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of South Korea lifting sanctions on North Korea without approval from the United States.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said earlier that Seoul has been reviewing whether to remove unilateral sanctions that were imposed on North Korea following its deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010.(Yonhap)"Well, they won't do it without our approval," Trump told reporters at the White House. "They do nothi

Oct. 11, 2018

‘Government looking into ending May 24 measures on NK’: Foreign Minister Kang

The Korean government is considering lifting the May 24 measures against North Korea, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Wednesday. Speaking at the parliamentary audit by the diplomatic and unification committee of the National Assembly, Kang also said that tours to North Korea are banned for South Koreans not by international sanctions, but by measures enforced by Seoul.  Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha speaks at the parliamentary audit in Seoul on Wednesday. YonhapIn response to D

Oct. 10, 2018

US, IAEA likely to inspect NK nuclear test site: experts

Personnel from the US and international organizations are among the most likely candidates for carrying out the inspection of a North Korean nuclear site proposed by Kim Jong-un during his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, experts say. In May, the communist nation blew up underground tunnels in Punggye-ri, its main nuclear test site, where its sixth and largest test -- which it claimed involved the successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb -- was conducted last September. It invited

Oct. 10, 2018

Korea says tap water supply in Kaesong does not violate global sanctions

South Korea on Wednesday brushed off concerns that the recent resumption of tap water supply to a liaison office in North Korea violates global sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile provocations.A local daily newspaper reported earlier that the Seoul government recently resumed operation of water purification facilities in the North's border town of Kaesong and started to supply tap water to the office opened by the two Koreas in mid-September. It added that the water is als

Oct. 10, 2018

Minister: S. Korea mulls lifting sanctions on N. Korea

South Korea is reviewing whether to lift its sanctions against North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Wednesday, amid a summit-driven reconciliatory mood."A review (of the issue) is underway" in consultation with other related government agencies, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers during an annual parliamentary audit of the ministry. She did not elaborate. The Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs, is in charge of the issue.Kang was responding to a question abo

Oct. 10, 2018

Dennis Rodman benched for Yao Ming at Pyongyang friendly?

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Has Dennis Rodman, the former NBA star-turned pal of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, been benched for Chinese hoop legend Yao Ming?The former Houston Rockets center and eight-time NBA all-star took center court in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, on Tuesday as Chinese and North Korean basketball players held a friendly match, part of a high-profile sports exchange between the two countries intended to help thaw ties that had been growing chilly over the past year.

Oct. 10, 2018

N. Korea, China discuss cooperation in sports

North Korea and China have discussed cooperation in the sports sector, the North's state media said Wednesday, in the latest sign of improving ties."There was an exchange of views on interchange and cooperation between the sports sectors of the DPRK and China at the People's Palace of Culture on October 9," the Korean Central News Agency said in English, using the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.The meeting was attended by Kim Il-guk, the North's

Oct. 10, 2018

NK defector hopes Pope Francis prays for Kim

WASHINGTON -- A well-known North Korean defector said Tuesday that he hopes Pope Francis will pray for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if the two men meet.Ji Seong-ho, who rose to prominence after being invited to US President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech this year, was commenting on news that Kim had invited the pontiff to visit Pyongyang. (Yonhap)"I am for the pope's visit to North Korea. I don't oppose that," he said during a forum here. "But I would like the pope to pray for the

Oct. 10, 2018

Trump says will meet Kim after midterms, venue undecided

The second US-North Korea summit will be held after the US midterm elections, with three or four locations being considered, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday.“I just can’t leave now,” Trump was quoted as saying aboard Air Force One, referring to his campaign activities that do not allow for a summit before the Nov. 6 elections. Earlier in the day at the White House, Trump also said that “three or four locations” are being considered by his staff, and once again stressed his vision of North

Oct. 10, 2018

US hails N. Korea's invitation of inspectors as 'very good step'

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Tuesday hailed North Korea's invitation of inspectors to a demolished nuclear test site as a "very good step" on the path to denuclearization.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during their meeting in Pyongyang Sunday that outside inspectors would be allowed in to Punggye-ri to verify the facility's destruction in May, according to the State Department.The North carried out all six of its nuclear weapons tests at the facility

Oct. 10, 2018

Unification minister to visit US in November

South Korea‘s point man on inter-Korean affairs will visit the US next month to explain the current administration’s policy on North Korea and ease widespread skepticism over North Korea’s commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon plans to meet senior US officials and scholars during his visit to Washington set for Nov. 13-17, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed ministry official. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (Yonhap)The o

Oct. 9, 2018