US-N. Korea denuclearization deal will likely endure if reached: experts

A denuclearization deal between North Korea and the United States, if reached, could have a greater chance of surviving a future change in the US administration now than at any other time, North Korea experts here said Thursday."It is hard to imagine a more hard-line National Security Advisor than John Bolton," John Delury said in a forum held here on the eve of a historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)The Yonsei University profess

April 26, 2018

China voices hope for successful inter-Korean summit

China voiced its hopes on Thursday for a successful inter-Korean summit as the leaders of South and North Korea prepare for a historic meeting to negotiate denuclearization and a lasting peace. (Yonhap)"The inter-Korean summit is poised for tomorrow, and the two Koreas are briskly preparing for the talks. ... (China) hopes that the two countries will have success from the latest talks," Hua Chunying, spokeswoman at the Chinese foreign ministry said."I hope that good news will continue to flow on

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Kim Jong-un to be first NK leader to review S. Korea military guard

　North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will inspect the South Korean military honor guard before holding a summit with President Moon Jae-in on Friday, marking the first North Korea leader to be greeted by the South Korean military. 　According to Cheong Wa Dae and the Defense Ministry, the military honor guard will hold a welcoming ceremony for Moon and Kim at the South Korean territory inside the truce village of Panmunjeom. 　Escorted by ceremonial guards in traditional costume, the two Korea’s leade

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Moon Jae-in, Kim Jong-un set to hold historic summit in DMZ

The inter-Korean summit will kick off with President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting at the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjeom at 9:30 a.m. Friday.The two leaders will then attend a welcome ceremony and begin their meeting at the South’s Peace House at about 10:30 a.m., Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok said Thursday. The welcome ceremony will include a review of South Korea’s honor guard, which has been arranged as the North had arranged honor guard reviews for lat

April 26, 2018

[Video] What do people in Korea think about Moon-Kim summit?

People living in Korea remain at once skeptical and hopeful of the historical inter-Korean summit set to take place Friday in Panmunjeom, on the border of the two Koreas. North Korean denuclearization and the establishment of peace on the peninsula are among the key items to be discussed at the table between Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In recent months, roughly since the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, the North has shown unprecedented overtures in favor of

April 26, 2018

[Herald Interview] NK defector anticipates return to Pyongyang before year-end

With the coming inter-Korean summit taking place for the first time in 11 years, North Korean defector Kim Ryon-hui‘s hope is high that she may return to Pyongyang to her family.“I was so nervous counting the days to the summit. I believe I will be able to go back to Pyongyang within this year, may be in June. Is my anticipation too high?” she said in a phone interview with The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Kim Ryon-hui (Courtesy of Kim Ryon-hui)Kim, 47, has been demanding repatriation to the North

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Kaesong complex hopes flicker, but major obstacles remain

As the world‘s eyes descend on the truce village of Panmunjeom, the venue of Friday’s inter-Korean summit, another border town seeks to benefit from the talks. In February 2016, Seoul shuttered an industrial park jointly operated by the two Koreas in the North Korean border town of Kaesong in retaliation for the North’s nuclear test and missile launch. The incident forced more than 120 South Korean businessmen to leave behind their properties, including key facilities and raw materials. Kaesong

April 26, 2018

[FEATURE] In Sokcho, elderly Koreans miss their parents' hometown in North Korea

SOKCHO, Gangwon Province -- Kim Cheol-sub says he can barely sleep these days. Born in 1937 in Bukcheong, a city in South Hamgyong Province in today’s North Korea, the 81-year-old says the upcoming inter-Korean summit gives him both a sense of despair and excitement. 　　“I just have too many thoughts in my mind,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “I don’t trust the North Korean regime. But thinking about my siblings in the North keeps me awake at night. Perhaps I might be able to see them once more befo

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Cheong Wa Dae shares live footage from press center for South-North summit

The South Korean presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, shared some live footage on Thursday from the press center for the summit between South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for Friday.The live broadcast was shared on Cheong Wa Dae’s YouTube and Facebook page.The enormous press center, which hosts roughly 3,000 reporters, is located in the Korea International Exhibition Center in Ilsan, some 50 kilometers south of Panmunj

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Denuclearization involves more than two Koreas: Blue House

North Korea’s advanced missile and nuclear technologies make the issue of denuclearization at Friday’s inter-Korean summit fundamentally different from earlier agreements, a top Cheong Wa Dae official said Thursday.Speaking at the inter-Korean summit press center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, President Moon Jae-in’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok said that while denuclearization is central to Friday’s summit, the level of agreement possible remains unclear. Im Jong-seok, South Koera`s presidential

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] NK’s inclusion of military, diplomatic brass in delegation hints at long-term plans: Im

The inclusion of top military and diplomatic officials in North Korea’s delegation to the inter-Korean summit could be an indication of Pyongyang’s long-term plans, a top South Korean official said Thursday. In addition to party officials, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be accompanied by chief of the General Staff of the Korean People‘s Army Ri Myong-su and Minister of People’s Armed Forces Pak Yong-sik. The delegation will also include Foreign Minsiter Ri Yong-ho and Ri Son-gwon, chairman

April 26, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Inter-Korean summit to kick off at 9:30 a.m. Friday

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjeom at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok said Thursday. According to Im, Kim will be greeted by Moon as he crosses the Military Demarcation Line. “The two leaders will meet at the MDL, and walk to the venue of the welcoming ceremony, escorted by our (South Korean) traditional honor guard,” Im said. Peace House, Panmunjeom (Yonhap)Im said that the two leaders will then

April 26, 2018

NK leader Kim revs up high-stakes diplomacy

With a "nuclear button" and unchallenged authority at home, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is now looking beyond his borders, forging ahead with a diplomatic adventure that could turn his country from an introvert into a player of geostrategic significance, experts said Thursday.Friday's summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be the centerpiece of a flurry of diplomatic outreach apparently aimed at easing global sanctions, shoring up his country's debilitated economy and

April 26, 2018

Pope Francis hopes for success of inter-Korean summit

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- Pope Francis has prayed for peace on the Korean Peninsula, expressing his support to the upcoming inter-Korean summit, South Korea's presidential office said Thursday.The pope held a special session of prayer Wednesday (local time) at St. Peter's Square of the Vatican with thousands of Catholics as President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a summit Friday at the border truce village of Panmunjom."The meeting will be an auspicious opportunity

April 26, 2018

Leaders to explore ways to improve inter-Korean ties at summit

South and North Korea are expected to discuss ways to advance their relations at this week's summit, but tough international sanctions will likely limit their efforts toward economic cooperation, experts said Thursday.An improvement of inter-Korean relations is one of three key agenda items for the summit Friday; North Korea's denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula are the other two.The summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jo

April 26, 2018

NK leader sees off special train carrying bodies of Chinese tourists

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a railway station to see off a special train that carried the bodies of Chinese tourists who were killed in a traffic accident in the North, and the injured, state media said Thursday.Kim's rare move came amid a thaw in relations between Pyongyang and Beijing that was highlighted by his surprise trip to China in March ahead of summits with South Korea and the United States.The North's leader ordered the formation of a special train that could carry tho

April 26, 2018

Main press center opens for inter-Korean summit

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- A vast press center is ready to accommodate over a thousand media personnel from around the world who will cover a landmark summit between the leaders of the two Koreas on Friday, the organizing committee said.The Main Press Center in the Korean International Exhibition Center is nearly equivalent to a football stadium in size, at about 10,000 square meters, and has over 1,000 seats in the main briefing room, the committee said.It will run continuously from early Thu

April 26, 2018

A unified Korea? Leaders bring contrasting visions to summit

Unification is an idea that moves most Koreans, North and South, on an emotional level. For some, especially young people in the South, it may not be a burning issue. Details like the costs, the risks and what specifically both sides stand to gain are rarely given much thought by anyone who isn't an academic, politician or activist. But when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in meet on Friday, the prospect of unification, even if only in the abstract, will loom

April 25, 2018

‘Trump should try to manage NK nuke, not resolve it’

If US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un indeed hunker down for a historic summit on denuclearizing the North in May or June, the American commander in chief should lower his expectations and take a rational approach of “managing” the issue rather than try to resolve it at once, argued renowned policy wonk Michael Green. “I think Trump’s big mistake was that he said the problem can be resolved. I don’t think it can be resolved either through diplomacy or war,” Green said

April 25, 2018

[Graphic News] Major statistics concerning inter-Korean talks at Panmunjeom

April 25, 2018