Kim, Xi discuss strengthening strategic, tactical cooperation: NK media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed ways to further strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation in their latest talks, North Korean state media reported Thursday.Kim wrapped up his two-day visit to Beijing on Wednesday, during which the leaders held two rounds of talks. It was his third visit in about three months."The top leaders of the DPRK and China exchanged serious views on the present situation and urgent international issues and discussed issues to

June 21, 2018

Allies test N. Korea's will to denuclearize through suspension of military exercises

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is headed to South Korea next week to discuss the next steps following a rare suspension of joint military exercises over the promise of North Korea's denuclearization.The drills have been a core element of the US-South Korea alliance forged in the 1950-53 Korean War, and their suspension has prompted a heated debate in South Korea over whether it could lead the communist regime to give up its nuclear weapons.After a historic meeting with North Korea

June 21, 2018

Kim meets Xi again before wrapping up two-day China visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met again with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday before he wrapped up a two-day visit to Beijing, China’s state media reported. During his third visit to China in less than three months, Kim had two rounds of meetings with Xi to discuss Pyongyang-Beijing relations and the denuclearization issue.“The two leaders had an in-depth conversation over tea in a cordial and friendly atmosphere” at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Xinhua news agency said. Citing Kim’

June 20, 2018

China ties sanctions on N. Korea with denuclearization process

China will link easing or removing sanctions on North Korea with progress in denuclearization, a Chinese government official said Wednesday, as the North’s leader Kim Jong-un made another visit to Beijing this week.In their talks Tuesday, Kim and President Xi Jinping focused on improving bilateral relations and ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, the official told a group of South Korean journalists on the condition of anonymity.“An improvement in the China-North Korea relationship

June 20, 2018

[Feature] NK focuses on developing Wonsan tourism zone

When US President Donald Trump said that North Korea had the potential for condos and hotels on its “great’ beaches at the press conference following the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12, Kim may have been eyeing it up for years. The young leader’s debut on the world stage may signal the beginning of his efforts to develop the economy of his impoverished country. At the heart of it, for now, appears to be boosting tourism. 

June 20, 2018

Seoul welcomes Kim-Xi meeting, experts sound caution

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s latest meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is fueling speculations about Pyongyang’s intentions and the future of denuclearization talks. On Tuesday, Kim arrived in Beijing accompanied by a large entourage, and met with Xi for the third time in as many months. According to North Korean media, Kim declared that North Korea will cooperate closely with Chinese leadership in “the historic journey to open a new future on the Korean Peninsula and the region,” at

June 20, 2018

North Korea expected to return remains of US troops

North Korea could start the process of returning the remains of missing troops from the 1950-53 Korean War to the US within the next few days, media reports said Wednesday, a move which could be taken as an indication that the reclusive nation is serious about improving ties with the US. The news comes nearly a week after US President Donald Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recommitted to recovering and repatriating the remains of those declared missing in action, through a joint state

June 20, 2018

N. Korea invites Singapore firms to explore business opportunities

North Korea has invited Singaporean companies to visit the country for future business opportunities, a Singaporean news outlet reported Tuesday.The North’s Korea Committee for the Promotion of International Trade sent an invitation addressed to Michael Heng, a former associate professor at Nanyang Technological University who now heads a business consultancy firm, digital news provider Today.The invitation came on June 13, one day after the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and

June 20, 2018

UN asks N. Korea to investigate cases of abductees

A UN working group on missing persons has requested North Korea to investigate 16 cases of enforced disappearances, two of which involve South Korean pastors, and provide information on them, the Voice of America reported Wednesday.Citing a report by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, VOA's Korean service said the two pastors, Kim Jong-uk and Kim Guk-gi, who have been missing since 2013 and 2014, respectively, are included in the cases. The working group made the report

June 20, 2018

S. Korean civic group to visit N. Korea to discuss exchanges

A delegation from a South Korean civic group will visit North Korea this week to discuss exchanges in various sectors amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations, its officials said Wednesday.The unification ministry said Tuesday it had endorsed the request from the group devoted to commemorating the first-ever inter-Korean summit June 15, 2000. A South Korean civic group devoted to commemorating the first-ever inter-Korean summit on June 15, 2000, pose for a photo before leaving for North Korea on We

June 20, 2018

S. Korean official says 'not surprised' by Trump decision to stop war games

WASHINGTON -- A senior South Korean government official said he was "not surprised" by US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend regular military exercises between the allies.Trump announced the suspension last week after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, saying it would be "inappropriate" to continue the "provocative" drills while negotiations to dismantle the regime's nuclear weapons program are under way.South Korean officials initially reacted to the news by in

June 20, 2018

S. Koreans visit Kaesong to prepare for liaison office

A group of South Korean government officials and civilians crossed into the North Korea border town of Kaesong Wednesday for the second day in a row to work on repairs for a liaison office that the two Koreas recently agreed to open for better communication, the unification ministry said.The 17-member team included ministry officials and staff of Hyundai Asan, a company that played a key role in past inter-Korean economic cooperation projects.They toured the area on Tuesday to prepare for repair

June 20, 2018

Kim, Xi discuss denuclearization, pledge closer cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping has voiced his strong support for North Korea's commitment to denuclearization and promised to keep playing a constructive role in the process, North Korean state media reported Wednesday.In his summit with Xi in Beijing on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed gratitude for China's support for his historic meeting with US president Donald Trump last week and vowed to further consolidate bilateral ties with China, according to the Korean Central News Age

June 20, 2018

N. Korean leader Kim holds summit with Xi

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday in the latest sign of strengthening ties between the two leaders. Footage from China's state-run CCTV shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from left) and his wife Ri Sol-ju posing for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday. (CCTV)China's state-run CCTV aired footage of Kim's summit with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in a ver

June 19, 2018

US State Department stresses ‘close contact’ with S. Korea amid warming inter-Korean ties

Amid a thaw on the Korean Peninsula, the US State Department reiterated its “close contact” with South Korea in coordinating the allies’ engagement with North Korea, Voice of America reported Tuesday.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right). (Yonhap)“We remain in close contact with the ROK to coordinate our DPRK engagement,” an unnamed state department official told VOA when asked about the two Koreas’ recent decision to hold a cross-border basketba

June 19, 2018

[Graphic News] Sales of books on N. Korea jump

　Sales of books on North Korea so far this year have jumped by nearly 700 percent from the previous year, possibly as a result of the North’s dialogue with Seoul and Washington, according to Yes 24, a leading online bookstore. 　The company said it sold 29,950 books on North Korea between Jan. 1 and June 10 this year. Sales picked up in May, totaling 22,620, or 75.5 percent of overall sales of North Korea-related books this year.　The number of books on the subject published this year increased to

June 19, 2018

Reunion of separated families priority for Red Cross talks

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification on Tuesday said that reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War will be top of the agenda for the Red Cross talks scheduled this Friday. It is also expected to exchange delegation rosters with North Korea ahead of the talks, which will be held at the North’s Kumgangsan, a ministry official said. The official told The Korea Herald that rosters are likely to be exchanged by Wednesday.  South Korean Red Cross employees answer phone calls at the Kor

June 19, 2018

S. Korea expects Kim's China visit to facilitate denuclearization

South Korea expressed hope Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ongoing visit to China will help facilitate the denuclearization process, saying Seoul and Beijing share that strategic goal."Our government expects China to play a constructive role in order to resolve the issue," Noh Kyu-duk, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press briefing.China is expected to make a contribution to the denuclearization of the North through Kim's trip there, he added.Kim arrived i

June 19, 2018

S. Korea may demand N. Korean explanation of Cheonan sinking in future: official

South Korea and North Korea may discuss the deadly and still mysterious sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010 when and if their relations improve enough and military tensions are removed, a senior South Korean official said Tuesday.The official, however, flatly dismissed reports that Seoul may have already demanded a North Korean apology for the deadly sinking of the Cheonan in a recent inter-Korean military dialogue."The sinking of warship Cheonan was not considered an agenda item for the g

June 19, 2018

Seoul apparently confirms N. Korean leader's trip to China

A ranking official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae partly confirmed a trip by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to China Tuesday, saying the government is well aware of ongoing developments between Beijing and Pyongyang."We are getting enough information about conditions between the North and China," the official told reporters, asking not to be identified."Personally, I have come to realize our country's intelligence-gathering capabilities are quite remarkable," the official added.

June 19, 2018