Koreas to hold high-level talks next week to discuss summit

The two Koreas will hold a high-level meeting Monday to review progress on implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration and discuss preparations for a possible summit, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Thursday. It will be held on the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjom and the Seoul government plans to reassemble a delegation headed by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon for the occasion, according to the ministry. (Reuters)The high-level meeting, which will be the fourth o

Aug. 9, 2018

Two Koreas continue railway cooperation meeting despite bleak outlook

The two Koreas held a meeting to discuss cooperation in modernizing and reconnecting railways across the peninsula, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Thursday, amid the US’ increasing efforts to maintain its maximum pressure campaign. The meeting was held at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine office at the South Korean side of the border in Paju. The South sent a six-member delegation led by Hwang Sung-gyu, a senior official at the railway bureau of the Korean Ministry of Land, Inf

Aug. 9, 2018

N. Korea, China appear to speed up tourism cooperation: sources

BEIJING -- North Korea and China are showing signs of speeding up cooperation in the tourism sector despite ongoing United Nations sanctions on the North, sources here said Thursday.According to the sources, top officials of North Korea's General Administration of Civil Aviation and a tour agency affiliated with Air Koryo, the North's flag carrier, visited China's Guangdong Province in the middle of July to discuss bilateral tourism cooperation.The North Korean officials met with top executives

Aug. 9, 2018

Two brothers receive father's dog tag returned from N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- Charles and Larry McDaniel were 3 and 2 when their father was deployed to fight in the Korean War.Sixty-eight years later, they received unexpected news that their father's dog tag has been returned from North Korea among 55 boxes of remains of fallen American service members.At a hotel in Arlington, near Washington, Wednesday, Pentagon officials handed over the dog tag to the brothers in another demonstration of the US commitment to "leave no man behind." (Yonhap)Of the more than

Aug. 9, 2018

N. Korea urges US to agree to declare end to Korean War

North Korea reiterated its demand Thursday for the United States to agree to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, saying that it would help bring in peace and create mutual trust.Declaring an end to the Korean War is "the demand of our time" and will be the "first process" toward a peace and security guarantee, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, said in a commentary. (Yonhap)The newspaper added that it is "abnormal" to see distrust and animosity going

Aug. 9, 2018

US voices confidence in S. Korea's implementation of sanctions against NK

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Wednesday voiced confidence in South Korea's implementation of sanctions against North Korea amid reports a shipment of North Korean coal docked at a South Korean port.US broadcaster VOA reported that a Belize-flagged ship docked at South Korea's southeastern port city of Pohang over the weekend after being spotted at the Russian port of Nakhodka with black material believed to be North Korean coal. (Yonhap)UN Security Council Resolution 2371 bans North Korean

Aug. 9, 2018

S. Korean officials return home after visiting N. Korea

South and North Korea agreed to devise pest control measures during working-level meetings followed by a joint inspection of forests in the North, the unification ministry said Monday.Earlier in the day, a 12-member team of South Korean officials left for North Korea to conduct joint inspection of forests and seek ways to protect trees from harmful insects and diseases.The officials led by a senior forest agency policymaker crossed into Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast, where they jointly

Aug. 8, 2018

N. Korea increases direct flights to Chinese border city

SHENYANG, China -- The number of direct flights between North Korea and Shenyang, a key city in China‘s northeast, has temporarily increased recently, sources said Wednesday, indicating a spike in human exchanges between the two countries.According to the sources here, Air Koryo, the North’s flag carrier, recently increased its direct flights between Pyongyang and Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, from two per week to three. The temporary flight on Mondays may be intended to cope with

Aug. 8, 2018

S. Korean officials visit N. Korea for forest inspection

A group of South Korean officials visited North Korea on Wednesday to jointly inspect forests for control of pests and diseases, the South’s Ministry of Unification said Wednesday. A delegation of 12 officials, including those from the Korean Forest Service and Unification Ministry, as well as analysts from the state-run National Institute of Forest Science, crossed the military demarcation line at 8:40 a.m. and headed to North Korea’s eastern slopes of Kumgangsan, ministry spokesperson Baik Tae

Aug. 8, 2018

Humanitarian aid for N. Korea may assist denuclearization process: Cheong Wa Dae

Providing humanitarian aid to North Korea could be helpful in denuclearizing the communist nation, the presidential spokesman said Wednesday, possibly hinting at a resumption of assistance for the impoverished neighbor in the near future."(I) believe humanitarian aid is something we must do at any time and that humanitarian aid is another way to encourage denuclearization of North Korea on the other hand," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters. (Yonhap)The remarks came one day aft

Aug. 8, 2018

NK criticizes S. Korea for confrontation that could undermine peace mood

North Korea accused South Korea on Wednesday of seeking confrontation and undermining the cross-border conciliatory mood, bristling at a recent defense meeting between Seoul and Washington.The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said the recent South Korea-US military talks and Seoul's military reform plans are designed for a "confrontational plot." This photo, taken July 25, shows Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy, Yeo Suk-joo (R), shaking hand

Aug. 8, 2018

N. Korean leader Kim inspects fish pickling plant

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a fish pickling plant in the southwestern area of the country, calling on workers to closely listen to people's demand and provide high-quality goods, its state media reported Wednesday.Kim made the "field guidance" to the Kumsanpho Fish Pickling Factory in the North's South Hwanghae Province, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It was not disclosed when he visited the plant.  (Yonhap)"He said it is necessary to put to maximum use the aquati

Aug. 8, 2018

N. Korea continues to dismantle missile engine test site: 38 North

WASHINGTON -- North Korea has continued to take down a missile engine testing site in line with an agreement reached by its leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, a US website monitoring the regime said Tuesday.New satellite imagery from Friday indicates that work continues at the vertical engine test stand as well as the launch pad at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, according to 38 North, a project of the Stimson Center think tank. (Yonhap)The development comes about two weeks

Aug. 8, 2018

Trump offered to send Pompeo to N. Korea again: Bolton

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has offered to send Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to North Korea again to meet with Pyongyang's leader and continue negotiations on dismantling its nuclear weapons program, a top Trump aide said Tuesday.Trump made the proposal in his most recent letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to US National Security Adviser John Bolton. The letter was delivered to the North's foreign minister during last week's regional gathering in Singapore. Pompeo

Aug. 8, 2018

S. Korea rights body meets North's waitress 'defectors' in probe

Officials from South Korea's top rights body have met some of the 12 North Korean waitresses at the centre of a blazing row between Seoul and Pyongyang to determine whether they were tricked or coerced into coming to Seoul in 2016.The National Human Rights Commission announced a probe into the high-profile case last month, after the top UN human rights official on North Korea met some of the women and urged an investigation. (Yonhap)The issue has long been controversial, with Pyongyang saying th

Aug. 7, 2018

UN guidelines to speed up Seoul’s humanitarian aid to NK

South Korea’s long-stalled plan to provide state-backed humanitarian assistance to North Korea is expected to gain traction, boosted by the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of new guidelines, experts said Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the UNSC was reported to have adopted US-proposed guidelines aimed to ease the provision of humanitarian aid to North Korea, amid growing concerns that layers of crippling sanctions against the reclusive nation had been cutting off humanitarian aid in an e

Aug. 7, 2018

NK repatriates S. Korean citizen via Panmunjom

North Korea on Tuesday returned a South Korean citizen who illegally crossed the border on July 22 to enter the communist country, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Tuesday. North Korea repatriated a 34-year-old South Korean citizen surnamed Seo through the truce village of Panmunjom at around 11 a.m., the ministry said. The North sent a notice to the South on Monday, alerting it of its plan to return Seo. (Yonhap)Seo’s intention in entering North Korea without notifying the Seoul gover

Aug. 7, 2018

Australia presses North Korea on return of war dead

SYDNEY (AFP) -- Australia has pressed North Korea over the remains of 43 soldiers still missing after the Korean War in a rare encounter between the two nations, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday.Some 17,000 Australians fought as part of the United Nations multinational force defending South Korea from communist North Korea during the 1950-1953 conflict.Of these, 340 were killed and over 1,216 wounded. Forty-three were listed as missing in action and presumed dead. Australian Foreign Mi

Aug. 7, 2018

Govt. denies report of ship carrying N. Korean coal

The South Korean government on Tuesday dismissed a report that another foreign vessel carrying North Korean coal has entered a southeastern port in the country, potentially in breach of UN Security Council sanctions. VOA, a US-based broadcaster, reported earlier that a Belize-flagged ship, the Jin Long, docked at South Korea's southeastern port of Pohang on the weekend and is still believed to be at the port. It cited the MarineTraffic vessel locating service. The ship had been spotted at the Ru

Aug. 7, 2018

Pompeo declines to address NK foreign minister's complaints

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has brushed aside North Korea's complaints about the United States' commitment to their nuclear deal, saying Pyongyang's top diplomat was clear about his country's intent to denuclearize.Pompeo was speaking to reporters Sunday en route to Washington following a trip to Southeast Asia, including Singapore, where he and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho attended a regional forum led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.(Reuters)At the

Aug. 7, 2018