Koreas set to hold high-level talks to discuss holding inter-Korean summit

South and North Korea are set to hold high-level talks Monday to discuss holding a summit meeting between their leaders aimed at deepening inter-Korean relations.The meeting will be held at the northern side of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas at about 10 a.m., according to the unification ministry.South Korea's delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon. His North Korean counterpart will be Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the C

Aug. 13, 2018

UN sanctions exemption needed to recover war remains in NK: US official

　If US officials were to enter North Korea to recover the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War, equipment and payment incurred in the process should be exempt from the UN sanctions imposed on North Korea, a senior US official has said. 　In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Kelly McKeague, director of the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), said Washington needs to seek exemption from UN sanctions if payment and equipment are to be sent to North Korea for recovery operations

Aug. 12, 2018

Seoul to brief UNSC this week on probe into NK coal shipment: official

 　The South Korean government is expected to brief the United Nations as early as this week about its investigation into North Korean coal that was illegally imported to South Korea last year in violation of UN and other sanctions, a Foreign Ministry official said Sunday. 　During a meeting with reporters, the official said the government is preparing to report to the UN Security Council about Seoul’s custom agency’s probe into three South Korean firms accused of importing North Korean coal disgu

Aug. 12, 2018

S. Korean citizen caught re-entering NK

A South Korean citizen who was repatriated from North Korea last week was arrested on Sunday morning for attempting to illegally enter the communist country, local reports said.According to the reports, a 34-year-old man surnamed Suh drove an SUV through the checkpoint on the South Korean side of the Unification Bridge in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which leads to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, without undergoing proper inspection. Suh was caught by South Korean troops at the joi

Aug. 12, 2018

NK ramps up call for S. Korea to implement Panmunjom Declaration

A day ahead of scheduled high-level talks, North Korea ramped up its calls for South Korea to implement the agreement reached between their leaders in April, and lambasted Seoul for its slowness to do so. Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, cited Seoul’s “blind obedience” to the US-led sanctions as a major reason behind lackluster progress on implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration, adopted at a landmark summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader

Aug. 12, 2018

N. Korea unveils Venezuelan president's letter to leader Kim Jong-un

North Korea unveiled Saturday that the Venezuelan president has sent a letter to the country's leader Kim Jong-un to reaffirm his commitment to cement ties with the North."(Leader) Kim Jong Un ... received a message of greeting from Nicolas Maduro Moros, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on July 27," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported in English, 15 days after the correspondence took place. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju inspect a f

Aug. 12, 2018

S. Korea under preparation to report NK coal shipments to UNSC: official

South Korea is preparing to report its investigation results on suspected North Korean coal shipments to its ports to the UN Security Council next week at the earliest possible date, a government official said Saturday. Roh Seok-whan, vice commissioner of the Korea Customs Office (KCO), announces the outcome of the agency's probe into South Korean companies' suspected transactions of North Korean coal and pig iron in violation of UN sanctions on North Korea at the KCO headquarters in Daejeon, 16

Aug. 11, 2018

Koreas confirm list of delegates for high-level talks: ministry

South and North Korea have confirmed a list of delegates for high-level talks next week which have been scheduled to discuss preparations for a new meeting between their leaders and review implementation of their previous summit agreements, the unification ministry said Saturday. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (Yonhap)Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead the South Korean delegation with Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, as his c

Aug. 11, 2018

N. Korea missing 'last 2 pieces' of technology to perfect ICBMs: US general

WASHINGTON -- North Korea appears to be missing the "last two pieces" of technology to perfect its intercontinental ballistic missiles amid the regime's pause in testing, a top US military official was reported as saying Friday.Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided an assessment of North Korea's missile technology at an Air Force Association breakfast in Washington, according to Bloomberg. (Yonhap)He said the last two pieces of technology were a reliable reentr

Aug. 11, 2018

US backs S. Korea amid illegal imports of NK coal

WASHINGTON -- The United States voiced its continued support for South Korea Friday after three South Korean businesses were caught importing North Korean coal and iron in possible violation of UN sanctions.The firms brought in 35,038 tons of the commodities on seven occasions between April and October last year, according to the Korea Customs Office. The imports, worth a combined 6.6 billion won ($5.86 million), violated South Korean law and possibly a UN Security Council resolution adopted las

Aug. 11, 2018

China-based N. Korea tourism agency suspends group tours

A China-based tourism agency said Friday it will stop all group travel packages to North Korea starting this week for around a month due to domestic affairs in the North. Chinese tourists at a destination in North Korea (Yonhap)China-based North Korea tour operator INDPRK announced it will stop all group package tours to the North starting Saturday through Sept. 5. The agency said the decision came as all hotels in Pyongyang will undergo renovation for 20 days starting Saturday.Pundits, however,

Aug. 10, 2018

[Photo News] Striking portraits of North Korean women

Photos showing North Korean women and the various roles they take up in the northern half of the peninsula were released online by Agence France-Presse Friday. AFP has its own webpage called Faces of North Korea where it updates photos taken by photographer Ed Jones who captures life inside Pyongyang. (AFP)Instructor Kim Ju-yang, 20, holds a North Korean-made assault rifle at the Meari shooting range in Pyongyang on July 29. At the Meari shooting range, customers can try out a number of North Ko

Aug. 10, 2018

N. Korean coal, pig iron illegally shipped to S. Korea: customs office

Three South Korean firms imported North Korean coal from Russia by forging customs documents in apparent violation of a UN sanctions resolution, authorities here announced Friday.The findings present the South's government with a diplomatic burden amid the US-led efforts to maintain international unity in enforcing sanctions on the communist nation until its full denuclearization.The Korea Customs Office said the three firms brought in 35,038 tons of North Korean coal and pig iron, worth a combi

Aug. 10, 2018

Time, place of third Moon-Kim summit may be subject to change: Seoul

When and where the leaders of South Korea and North Korea will hold their next meeting may be finalized in high-level talks next week, but an earlier agreement to meet in Pyongyang this fall could be changed, the presidential spokesman said Friday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un initially agreed to hold their next summit in the North Korean capital in their historic summit held April 27. (Yonhap)"Pyongyang will be considered the venue by default under the j

Aug. 10, 2018

Ruling party hopes new inter-Korean summit can improve NK-US ties

The ruling Democratic Party on Friday expressed hope that a new inter-Korean summit could pave the way for North Korea and the United States to make progress in Pyongyang's denuclearization.The two Koreas will hold high-level talks Monday to discuss preparations for a new meeting between their leaders as both sides agreed in April to hold a summit again in the fall.President Moon Jae-in held his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27, followed by another one on May 26. (Yo

Aug. 10, 2018

N. Korea says US risking security ahead of planned Koreas summit

North Korea lashed out at the US for risking stability on the Korean peninsula Thursday, even as Pyongyang and Seoul push towards a third leadership summit.The uneasy neighbours will hold high-level talks next week to prepare for a meeting between the South's President Moon Jae-in and the North's leader Kim Jong-un, Seoul said on Thursday, as a diplomatic rapprochement takes hold.But the North Korean foreign ministry issued an angry statement hours later warning that Washington's push for full s

Aug. 10, 2018

N. Korea says US 'throwing cold water' on denuclearization progress

North Korea on Thursday accused the United States of acting in bad faith, saying Washington's push for full sanctions pressure against Pyongyang would stall progress on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.During landmark talks with US President Donald Trump in June, the North's leader Kim Jong-un signed up to a vague commitment to denuclearization, far from the longstanding American demand for the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of Pyongyang's atomic arsenal.Trump has

Aug. 10, 2018

N. Korea to hold onto nuclear knowledge against US' hostile policy: top diplomat

North Korea's top diplomat has said that the country will hold onto its nuclear knowledge, saying that it will serve as a means to gird for the US' possibly continued hostile policy toward Pyongyang, according to Iranian media reports.North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho made the remarks during his three-day trip to Iran that began Tuesday, according to local media."Since we know that the US will never give up its hostile policy toward us, we will hold onto our nuclear knowledge," he was quo

Aug. 10, 2018

US, S. Korea in close contact over N. Korea: State Department

WASHINGTON -- The United States and South Korea are working closely together on their joint response to North Korea, the State Department said Thursday following Seoul's announcement of high-level inter-Korean talks next week.The Seoul government said the two sides will meet at the border village of Panmunjom Monday to discuss the implementation of April's summit agreement and preparations for a follow-up meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."We

Aug. 10, 2018

Seoul should consider ‘diluted’ end-of-war declaration: experts

　With the United States and North Korea continuing to clash over declaring an official end to the Korean War, concerns are mounting that what was thought to be an easy idea is now emerging as a major obstacle to denuclearization talks. 　Pyongyang has upped the pressure on the US to adopt a declaration for ending the Korean War and move toward replacing the current armistice with a peace treaty. Washington, meanwhile, argues that significant progress on North Korea‘s denuclearization must come fi

Aug. 9, 2018