China's Xi expresses 'unshakable' commitment to cement relations with N. Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the North's founding, saying it's China's "unshakable policy" to further cement relations with Pyongyang, according to the North's state media."The party and government of China are giving high priority to the friendly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK, and it is the unshakable policy of the Chinese party and government to successfully

Sept. 9, 2018

North Korea to hold military parade to mark 70th anniversary

Hundreds of trucks carrying thousands of troops lined a Pyongyang riverbank in the pale light of dawn early Sunday, as nuclear-armed North Korea prepared to celebrate its birthday with a huge show of military strength.Sunday is the 70th anniversary of the 1948 foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the North is officially known, three years after Moscow and Washington divided the peninsula between them in the closing days of the Second World War.(AFP)Such set-piece dates are

Sept. 9, 2018

Trump says he expects to receive Kim's letter soon

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he expects to receive a "positive letter" from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un soon as the two sides negotiate the dismantlement of the regime's nuclear weapons program.    Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Montana to North Dakota that the letter will likely be delivered by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. US President Donald Trump talks with reporters on Air Force One (Yonhap)  "I know that a letter is being delivered to me, a p

Sept. 8, 2018

UNC and NK discuss excavating and repatriating war remains

The United Nations Command and North Korea on Friday discussed jointly excavating the remains of American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and repatriating them to their families, a government source said.The two “held general-level military talks today at the truce village of Panmunjom to discuss the issue of repatriating the remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War,” the source said on condition of anonymity. (Yonhap)It is said that Maj. Gen. Michael Minihan represented t

Sept. 7, 2018

Moon sends envoys to China, Japan to explain outcome of N. Korea visit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday ordered his top security officials to visit China and Japan to explain the outcome of their visit to North Korea this week, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.Chung Eui-yong, Moon's top security adviser, will travel to China this week to personally explain the outcome of his trip to Pyongyang on Wednesday."Chung is scheduled to meet with Yang Jiechi (in Beijing) on Saturday," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a press briefing. Yang is

Sept. 7, 2018

Trump responds to NK message with enthusiastic tweet

US President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would achieve denuclearization, in response to messages from Pyongyang conveyed through Seoul.“Kim Jong Un of North Korea Proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!” Trump wrote on his Twitter account.  US President Donald Trump. YonhapThe message was a response to revelations by Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, who headed the sp

Sept. 7, 2018

China's top official stresses friendship with North Korea

BEIJING -- China's No. 4-ranked official emphasized the country's friendly relationship with North Korea during his surprise visit to the North's embassy in Beijing on Thursday, sources said.Wang Yang, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, praised the family of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung and its outcome as a socialist country during his address at the embassy's reception to celebrate t

Sept. 7, 2018

Moon says is seeking to establish 'irreversible' peace on Korean Peninsula

South Korea is seeking to formally end its hostile relations with North Korea before the year's end to establish permanent peace that would be irreversible, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in an interview published Friday."The most basic goal of our policy is that there must never be another war on the Korean Peninsula," the president said in a written interview with Indonesian newspaper Kompas.The rare interview came ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's three-day trip to Seoul. M

Sept. 7, 2018

Allies' top security advisers discuss N. Korea trip

WASHINGTON -- US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Thursday he spoke with his South Korean counterpart to discuss the latter's recent trip to North Korea.Chung Eui-yong, director of South Korea's presidential National Security Office, briefed Bolton by phone following his one-day visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday.In Pyongyang, Chung met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and discussed issues related to the regime's denuclearization, as well as South Korean President Moon Jae-in's upcomi

Sept. 7, 2018

US charges N. Korean over cyber attacks

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Thursday charged a North Korean individual over his alleged cyber attacks on Sony Pictures and other entities since 2014.The Department of Justice brought criminal charges against computer programmer Park Jin-hyok as the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on the same individual.It is the first time the US has charged a North Korean hacker, US media reported. (AP)Park is accused of involvement in a 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, a

Sept. 7, 2018

Severe flooding in N. Korea kills 76: Red Cross

Severe flooding in North Korea has killed at least 76 people with another 75 missing, many of them children, the Red Cross said Thursday.Thousands of people have been left homeless after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, toppling more than 800 buildings including houses, clinics and schools in North and South Hwanghae provinces, leaving Red Cross volunteers scrambling to find survivors."Thousands have lost their homes and are in urgent need of health services, shelter, food, safe drin

Sept. 6, 2018

Trump thanks NK leader for having 'unwavering faith' in him

US President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and pledged to work together with him on Thursday after Kim said via a South Korean envoy that his faith in Trump remains unchanged."Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!" Trump tweeted. (AP-Yonhap)South Korea's chief presidential security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, made a one-day trip to Pyongyang on Wednesday and held talks with the Nort

Sept. 6, 2018

NK releases footage of Kim’s meeting with S. Korean envoys

  North Korea’s state-run media on Thursday released footage of its leader Kim Jong-un’s meeting with South Korean envoys, offering a glimpse of the event to the reclusive regime’s residents. As part of the first segment of its regular afternoon broadcast, Korean Central Television aired an 8-minute clip of Kim greeting National Security Office chief Chung Eui-young and other delegate members. The broadcast began with the arrival of a South Korean plane carrying the five-member delegation at an

Sept. 6, 2018

NK Foreign Ministry vows to normalize ties with international community

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry vowed to make further efforts to normalize ties with members of the international community on Thursday, as the rogue nation’s diplomatic isolation continues. “The DPRK will continue to actively develop the relations of friendship and cooperation with many countries in the world in accordance with the ideals of foreign policy of independence, peace and friendship,” a statement posted in English on the official website of the North’s Foreign Ministry said. DPRK is s

Sept. 6, 2018

Kim Jong-un hints at denuclearization within Trump‘s ‘first term’

US President Donald Trump asked President Moon Jae-in to act as the “chief negotiator” in dealings between Washington and Pyongyang, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Thursday. The spokesman also revealed that Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong delivered a message from Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday. “During the phone conversation between the presidents day before yesterday, Trump gave a message to Kim, which was delive

Sept. 6, 2018

Experts warn of uncertainties, possible pitfalls for Seoul

South Korean special envoys to Pyongyang returned with a list of agreements, but their significance will need time to become clear. On Thursday, Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong briefed the nation on the results of his trip to Pyongyang, listing four major agreements. The items include the dates of the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- from Sept. 18 to 20 in Pyongyang -- and Kim’s promise to continue working with Seoul and Wash

Sept. 6, 2018

More NK denuclearization measures needed to declare end to Korean War: experts

Despite the two Koreas’ efforts to declare an official end to the Korean War within the year, it is unlikely to be achieved without significant measure for denuclearization by North Korea, analysts said. A day after a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the South’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong said Thursday that both parties had reiterated their pledge to adopt the end-of the-war declaration as a trust-building measure to ease decades-old animosity. Kim reassured the S

Sept. 6, 2018

Third inter-Korean summit may be double-edged sword for Seoul

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to meet for the third time from Sept. 18 to 20, in Pyongyang.The two leaders first met on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on April 27, marking the first time a North Korean leader had set foot south of the border. Their second meeting took place on May 26 on the North’s side of Panmunjom, and the meeting was made public only after the fact. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their first summit meeting

Sept. 6, 2018

N. Korean paper says end-of-war declaration cannot be delayed anymore

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday reiterated Pyongyang's call on the United States to immediately agree to a declaration to end the Korean War, while playing up leader Kim Jong-un's meeting with South Korea's presidential envoy and commitment to denuclearization in front-page articles.The Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the Workers' Party, said that the US should not delay the signing of an end-of-war declaration in accordance with the North-US summit agreement reached in Singapore in Jun

Sept. 6, 2018

Special envoys’ NK visit fails to overcome stumbling blocks in denuclearization talks

Despite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s renewed vows to denuclearize, experts say the latest meeting between Kim and South Korea’s special envoys failed to provide a breakthrough in the current stalemate in the nuclear negotiations. According to Chung Eui-yong, who led a five-member delegation to Pyongyang on Wednesday, Kim reaffirmed his commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while expressing his willingness to maintain cooperation with South Korea and the US. “Chairm

Sept. 6, 2018