N. Korean athletes arrive in S. Korea for joint Asiad training

North Korean athletes to compete in the upcoming Asian Games arrived here on Sunday for joint training with South Koreans.The delegation of 34 athletes and coaches landed at Incheon International Airport via Beijing. The Koreas will assemble unified teams in canoe's dragon boat racing, women's basketball and three events in rowing at the Aug. 18-Sept. 2 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. They have never previously competed together at any Asian Games, summer or winter. North Korean

July 29, 2018

N. Korea silent on return of US remains

North Korea remained mum on Sunday on its return of the remains of American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, but it is in fact sending a silent message to the US to swiftly declare mark an official end of war, experts say. In a move that is seen as the first tangible result from the Singapore summit in June, North Korea repatriated 55 sets of remains of US soldiers Friday, which prompted a note of thanks from US President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un via Twitter.

July 29, 2018

Trump proclaims Korean War Veterans Armistice Day

US President Donald Trump has proclaimed July 27 as a national day commemorating the American soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War.In a proclamation dated July 26, Trump said he is honoring the Korean War veterans on the 65th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the fighting."For 3 brutal years, our Armed Forces and allies fought valiantly to stop the spread of communism and defend freedom on the Korean Peninsula," the proclamation said. "On National Korean War Veteran

July 28, 2018

Trump thanks Kim for returning US troop remains

US President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Friday for "keeping his word" and returning the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.Boxes of the remains were airlifted from North Korea to South Korea the same day in line with a pledge Kim made at his historic summit with Trump in Singapore last month.Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he hoped the North Korean leader will "continue to fulfill that promise" through the recovery and

July 28, 2018

US official seeks cooperation from local businesses on sanctions

A US official on Thursday requested cooperation from South Korean businesspeople seeking to resume inter-Korean projects amid a lack of progress on the North’s denuclearization, at a meeting with those involved in cross-border economic projects, according to a participant of the meeting. 　Mark Lambert, the US State Department’s Korea desk director and acting deputy assistant secretary, had a one-hour roundtable meeting with about a dozen South Koreans who had done business with North Korea at th

July 27, 2018

Two Koreas' foreign ministers to meet in ASEAN forum in Singapore

The top diplomats of South and North Korea are expected to meet in Singapore next week, when they attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, an official here said Friday.The South's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to visit the city state from next Tuesday through Sunday to join the annual security meeting and a few other foreign ministerial sessions there. (Yonhap)Her North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho is also taking part in the ARF, according to the official who spoke to reporters on the condition

July 27, 2018

White House: N. Korea returns remains of American soldiers

WASHINGTON -- North Korea has transferred the remains of US soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War following a pledge by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at his historic summit with US President Donald Trump, the White House said Thursday.The remains were carried out of Wonsan, North Korea, on a US Air Force C-17 aircraft headed for Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The plane arrived at the base at around 11 a.m. (Korean time).  (Yonh

July 27, 2018

Koreas to hold general-grade military talks at Panmunjom next Tuesday: ministry

South and North Korea have agreed to hold general-level military talks next week to discuss measures to enforce the military part of their April summit agreement, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.The talks will take place at the Peace House, a South Korea-controlled building at the border truce village of Panmunjom, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.Pyongyang first proposed the talks, which Seoul accepted later, the ministry said. (Yonhap)Major Gen. Kim Do-gyun will lead South Korea's five-member delega

July 27, 2018

N. Korea returns remains of US war dead

North Korea returned remains believed to be those of 55 American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War on Friday, the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, in a move that is the first tangible result from the Singapore summit in June. 　The US Air Force C-17 aircraft departed for North Korea’s port city of Wonsan at 5:55 a.m. and landed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, around 11 a.m. carrying the remains, according to the United Nations Command. 　Hundreds of US

July 27, 2018

Pence calls out N. Korea's religious persecution

WASHINGTON -- US Vice President Mike Pence called out North Korea Thursday for its persecution of Christians and other human rights abuses.Pence has been an outspoken critic of the Pyongyang regime's alleged human rights violations even as the two countries seek to resolve their standoff over the North's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.Speaking at the inaugural Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the vice president highlighted the brutality of North Korea's regime. (Yonhap)"

July 27, 2018

NK’s UN envoy to be replaced: sources

North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations was recently dismissed from his post, sources within the UN said Thursday, which may indicate that Pyongyang is seeking to further cement a fresh diplomatic stance amid ongoing denuclearization talks. Ja Song-nam, a 64-year-old diplomat who had served as the North’s permanent representative to the UN since 2014, embarked on a trip to Pyongyang via Beijing on Thursday, the sources said. The background and motive behind the North’s decision are yet un

July 26, 2018

Inter-Korean workers' football games to be held in Seoul next month

Laborers from South and North Korea will have football matches in Seoul next month as the first inter-Korean civic exchange following the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, organizing officials said Thursday. "A 65-member North Korean delegation will visit Seoul between Aug. 10-12 to participate in the Inter-Korean Workers' Unification Football Competition," the officials said at a news conference. The group will consist of North Korean union leaders, including the leadership of the North's umbrell

July 26, 2018

Police open probe into libel case against 1987 flight bomber

Police have opened a probe into a libel case against the culprit of the mysterious 1987 mid-air bombing of a South Korean passenger jet, officials said Thursday.The families of the victims filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Monday accusing the former North Korean terrorist, Kim Hyon-hui, of calling them pro-North Korean leftists in four interviews with local media since 2008. (Yonhap)They also accused her of obstructing a civic group's activities seeking the

July 26, 2018

N. Korea likely to return remains of US troops this week: source

North Korea seems to have completed preparations for the transfer of the remains of American service members killed in the Korean War, as it has received wooden boxes from the United States, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Thursday."North Korea recently took two truckloads of wooden boxes to be used for the remains repatriation. It's expected to hand over the remains on July 27 as agreed upon," the source said.On Friday, the two Koreas and the US commemorate the 65th signing anniversary of the

July 26, 2018

N. Korea's media intensify demands for declaration to end Korean War

North Korea's media on Thursday intensified calls for speeding up efforts to declare a formal end to the Korean War to help prevent future conflict and guarantee lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."There is no practical guarantee that the vicious cycle of escalation of tensions won't repeat as long as the current status of truce remains," Uriminjokkiri, the North's external propaganda website, said in a commentary. "And no one can be sure that situations will not spiral toward the brink of wa

July 26, 2018

Pompeo: N. Korea continues to produce fissile material

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to produce fissile material as part of its nuclear weapons program even as it makes progress toward denuclearization, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.Pompeo was speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on US President Donald Trump's recent summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Yonhap)"Yes, they continue to produce fissile material," Pompeo said in response to a senator's question.But he s

July 26, 2018

NK steps up call to declare end to Korean War

North Korea continued to call on South Korea and the US to declare an end to the Korean War through its state-run media on Tuesday as it started to dismantle a key missile-engine test site.The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in an article Wednesday that it is a historical task to terminate the abnormal cease-fire and build a durable peacekeeping mechanism on the peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the

July 25, 2018

Two Koreas exchange results of search for families separated by war

The two Koreas exchanged the results of their search for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War ahead of a reunion event in August, the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday. Documents compiled following the weekslong search were exchanged by Red Cross officials from the respective sides at the border village of Panmunjom around 11 a.m., officials said.  Korean Red Cross employees holding documents of results of their search for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War on Wednesday. (

July 25, 2018

About 30 ex-Kaesong firms move overseas for cheap labor

 About 30 South Korean companies that had operations in the now suspended inter-Korean industrial complex have shifted production overseas in search of cheap labor since its shutdown two years ago, a trade body said Wednesday.South Korea pulled the plug on the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border town of the same name in February 2016 to punish the North for its fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.Before the suspension, 123 South Korean businesses, mostly labor-inte

July 25, 2018

Trump hails reported dismantling of NK missile test site

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Tuesday welcomed reports that North Korea has begun to dismantle a key missile testing site in line with a pledge North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made at their historic summit last month.Trump was speaking to Monday's report from 38 North, a US website specializing in North Korea analysis, which cited last week's satellite imagery as showing the dismantlement of facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station.(Yonhap)"New images just today show that

July 25, 2018