Trump hints at possible release of 3 US detainees in NK

US President Donald Trump on Thursday hinted at the possibility of the release of three US detainees in North Korea."As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!" Trump tweeted.His message came amid a report that North Korea has relocated three American detainees from a labor camp to a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang ahead of a planned summit between leader Kim Jong-un and Tr

May 3, 2018

Cheong Wa Dae launches new commission to implement outcome of N. Korea summit

South Korea launched a presidential commission Thursday to implement the outcome of a historic summit held between its president, Moon Jae-in, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that calls for a wide range of measures aimed at denuclearizing the North and formally ending the Korean War.The new commission is formed around an earlier organization established to help prepare for the historic summit held last week at the border village of Panmunjom.The implementation commission will again be headed

May 3, 2018

Pence honors defectors on N. Korea Freedom Week

WASHINGTON -- US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday paid tribute to North Koreans who fled the regime as he marked "North Korea Freedom Week."The annual event in the last week of April is used by South Korean and international activists to raise awareness of human rights abuses by the North Korean regime."On this North Korea Freedom Week, I remember the moving meeting w/ defectors who fled the oppressive regime in search of a better life and my time with Otto Warmbier's amazing family," Penc

May 3, 2018

Presidential secretary tapped as negotiator at military talks with NK

South Korea has picked Kim Do-gyun, a presidential secretary with military background, as its top delegate to upcoming general-grade talks with North Korea, a government official said Thursday."Kim will likely be assigned to the Ministry of National Defense around this weekend," the official said.The ministry recently created a director-general position to lead its North Korea policy team. Kim will fill the post. Army Maj. Gen. Kim Do-gyun (L), appointed to lead South Korea`s delegation to gener

May 3, 2018

Chinese foreign minister meets NK's leader

SEOUL/BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday, Beijing's foreign ministry said, following Kim's historic summit with his South Korean counterpart last week.On the social media site Weibo, the Chinese government issued a short statement on Kim's meeting with Wang without disclosing details.The top Chinese diplomat arrived in the North on Wednesday for a two-day trip as the two nations seek to mend ties.It is the first visit to North Korea by a C

May 3, 2018

Pompeo vows to push for NK's denuclearization 'without delay'

WASHINGTON -- New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed Wednesday to push for North Korea's denuclearization "without delay," setting the tone for a planned meeting between the two countries' leaders.Pompeo made the remark at his official swearing-in ceremony just weeks ahead of a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."Our eyes are wide open," Pompeo said after being sworn in by US Vice President Mike Pence at the State Department. Trump was also

May 3, 2018

Activist says Americans detained in North Korea were relocated to hotel near Pyongyang

North Korea has relocated three American detainees from a labor camp to a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang ahead of a planned summit between leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, a South Korean activist said Wednesday. The US citizens -- Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul -- were moved in early April following instructions from superior authorities, said Choi Sung-yong, head of a group for families of South Koreans abducted by North Korea, citing a resident in Pyongyang.  (Yonh

May 2, 2018

[Graphic News] More than half of S. Koreans trust NK willingness for denuclearization

　More than 60 percent of South Koreans have confidence in North Korea’s stated willingness for denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula, a survey showed.　In a Realmeter survey conducted when the historic inter-Korean summit took place, 64.7 percent of respondents said they trust Pyongyang’s will to denuclearize and work toward lasting peace on the peninsula.　Those who don’t trust the communist state totaled 28.3 percent, while 7 percent said they were unsure.　In the same survey, 52.1 p

May 2, 2018

[Photo News] Posing like the two Koreas’ leaders

Interest in North Korea has heightened following the inter-Korean summit that took place last Friday. In subsequent days, tourists have been flocking to a replica set of Panmunjeom, the border village where the talks took place and which received international media exposure for the entire day, located in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. Though the original Panmunjeom and the surrounding Joint Security Area, located in Paju, have long been the target of global attention, access to the area is large

May 2, 2018

Pyongyang not eligible for US-NK summit venue

Seoul denied Wednesday that North Korea‘s capital was raised as a US-North Korea summit venue in recent talks with Washington. Earlier reports speculated that Pyongyang was a strong candidate venue for the upcoming summit. Late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung met with then North Koraen leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang for the first inter-Korean summit held in 2000. (Yonhap)“When President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump discussed two or three candidate venues (via phone) on April 28, P

May 2, 2018

Kim Jong-un understands denuclearization requires inspection: Seoul official

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seems to understand that the “inspection and verification” process is mandatory in the path leading to the North’s denuclearization, a ranking government official said Wednesday. “It is not sensible to seek a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without going through the process of inspection and verification -- it seems the North’s leader has sufficient understanding of the matter,” a senior official from Seoul’s Ministry of Unification told reporters.  In this file pho

May 2, 2018

Moon to explain outcome of inter-Korean summit to top officials

President Moon Jae-in will hold a rare meeting with his country's top officials this week to explain the outcome of his recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.The meeting will be held over lunch at Cheong Wa Dae, involving National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Lee Jin-sung.It will also be attended by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and National Election Commission chief Kwon Soon-il,

May 2, 2018

NK leader understands denuclearization should involve inspection: Seoul official

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to understand that the process of the North's denuclearization needs to entail inspection and verification, a senior government official said Wednesday.President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim agreed during their summit last week to seek "complete" denuclearization, but details about how the North will dismantle its nuclear program have not been revealed."It is nonsense to seek a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without inspection and verification,"

May 2, 2018

Trump says location, date of NK summit may be announced soon

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the location and date of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would be announced in the next couple of days.Trump has said he will meet with Kim in three to four weeks to discuss the denuclearization of the regime. On Monday he said the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, and Singapore, were being considered for the site."We're setting up meetings right now, and I think it's probably going to be announced over the next coup

May 2, 2018

NK leader agrees to Moon's proposal to install liaison offices in Seoul, Pyongyang: minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to South Korean President Moon Jae-in's proposal to install liaison offices in Seoul and Pyongyang to enhance bilateral communication during last week's summit, Seoul's unification minister said Tuesday.Minister Cho Myoung-gyon made the remarks during talks with Lee Jeong-mi, the chief of the minor Justice Party, while noting the proposal is separate from the agreement in the inter-Korean declaration to build a joint liaison office in the North's border

May 1, 2018

Moon rallies UN’s support for Panmunjeom Declaration

President Moon Jae-in is seeking the UN’s support for the Panmunjeom Declaration and its participation in verifying the closure of North Korea’s nuclear facilities, as he tries to lay the groundwork for a US-North Korea summit. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, Moon made the requests during a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday. President Moon Jae-in and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Cheong Wa Dae“(Moon said that) the UN welcomi

May 1, 2018

Trump backs Panmunjeom as possible US-NK summit venue

Speculations are rising that US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the inter-Korean border, following news reports and an ambiguous Tweet from the US leader. “Numerous countries are being considered for the MEETING, but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third party country? Just asking!” Trump wrote on this Twitter account.North Koraen leader Kim Jong-un and US Presid

May 1, 2018

President Moon requests UN role in building peace with North Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday requested the UN's role in verifying North Korea's commitment to denuclearization and peace on the peninsula, his office announced Tuesday.He delivered the message to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in their 30-minute phone conversation, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.The president was referring to Pyongyang's promise to close down its main nuclear testing site in Kilju, North Hamgyeong Province, where the secretive nation d

May 1, 2018

N. Korea holds meeting of senior officials on new strategic line

North Korea has held a meeting of senior party, state and military officials to discuss ways to push for its new strategic line on economic reconstruction, its state media reported Tuesday.Choe Ryong-hae, a vice chairman of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party, and Cabinet Premier Park Pong-ju presided over the meeting in Pyongyang on Monday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.Choe Ryong-hae (Yonhap)During a key party meeting on April 20, the communist state annou

May 1, 2018

Seoul welcomes Trump's consideration of Panmunjom as venue for summit with Kim

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday that the border truce village of Panmunjom, if chosen for the upcoming US-North Korea summit, would serve as a meaningful venue to mark a "new milestone of peace."The remarks came after US President Donald Trump mentioned Panmunjom as a possible site for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expected to be held this month or in July."(We) think Panmunjom is quite meaningful as a place to erode the divide and establish a new

May 1, 2018