Seoul voices concerns over Abe's sending of offering to war shrine

South Korea voiced deep concerns on Saturday over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's sending of an offering and a visit by lawmakers to a controversial shrine that honors Japanese war dead, including World War II criminals."The government expresses its deep concerns and regret over Japanese government and parliamentary officials sending an offering to or visiting the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies its history of colonial-era invasion and wars of aggression," the foreign ministry said in a comm

April 21, 2018

Japan not satisfied with N. Korea pledge, will continue pressure

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera (AFP)Japan is not satisfied with North Korea’s pledge to halt nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, its defence minister said on Saturday, warning that Tokyo will continue to put maximum pressure on Pyongyang.  “We can't be satisfied,” Itsunori Onodera told reporters in Washington, saying North Korea did not mention “abandonment of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles.” (AFP)

April 21, 2018

N. Korean officials handling S. Korea affairs gain clout amid

In North Korea, an apparent power change is under way among top officials amid a peace mood on the peninsula ahead of the inter-Korean summit talks that will be followed by an unprecedented Pyongyang-Washington summit, according to the communist nation's announcement Saturday.What's noteworthy is the rise of officials who have played a major role in creating the current security situations, such as Kim Chang-son and Ri Son-gwon.They have emerged as leader Kim Jong-un's key aides over hard-line o

April 21, 2018

Seoul welcomes North’s decision to freeze nuke tests

South Korea on Saturday welcomed North Korea’s decision to suspend nuclear and missile tests and shut down a nuclear test site, hailing it as a “meaningful progress.” “North Korea’s decision is a meaningful progress for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula the world has hoped for,” the presidential office said in a statement. “It will create a very positive environment for the success of the upcoming inter-Korean and North-US summits.” (Herad DB)North Korea announced that it will stop nu

April 21, 2018

NK announces freeze on nuclear, missile tests

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced that the country will suspend nuclear and missile tests and shut down a nuclear test site in the northern area, state media said Saturday."From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles," the Korean Central News Agency said."The North will shut down a nuclear test site in the country's northern side to prove the vow to suspend nuclear test," it added. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen spea

April 21, 2018

Koreas open hotline between leaders

A direct telephone line between the leaders of South and North Koreas on Friday ahead of their summit a week later.One end of the hotline is Cheong Wa Dae, and the other end will be at Pyongyang’s State Affairs Commission, of which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is the chairman.Working-level officials were to make a test call on Friday, a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters.President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim are expected to have their first telephone conversation via the hotlin

April 20, 2018

Robust verification protocol key to successful denuclearization of NK: official

A robust verification protocol is an integral part of efforts to successfully denuclearize North Korea given what appears to be massive nuclear facilities the reclusive country has been operating for decades, a government source said Friday.As South Korea and the United States are preparing to hold their respective summits with North Korea with denuclearization likely to top their agendas, how to verify the North's long running nuclear facilities draws keen attention as inspections and verificat

April 20, 2018

Verification before trust, unity among stakeholders key to NK denuclearization

South Korea, the US and other countries seeking denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula must verify North Korea’s denuclearization before trusting the regime, experts at The Korea Herald’s “Korean Peninsula at a Crossroads” forum said. The forum, held on Thursday, brought together some of the country’s leading experts on North Korea in a discussion about the upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits. The forum was moderated by Asan Institute for Policy Studies Vice President Choi Kang, w

April 20, 2018

S. Korean, Japanese nuclear envoys to discuss NK issue

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan will meet early next week to discuss cooperation on North Korea and its nuclear issue, a foreign ministry official said Friday.Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, will hold the meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Kenji Kanasugi, in Seoul on Monday, according to the official. The meeting comes after the leaders of the United States and Japan met this week and exchanged views on the North's nuclear issue.  File photo of South Korea`

April 20, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Discussing summit

Diplomats and scholars gather Tuesday to discuss the prospects of the inter-Korean summit at the Kuwait Embassy in Seoul. Phoot: Corea Image Communication InstituteHosted by Corea Image Communication Institute, the talk was attended by Kuwaiti Ambassador Bader Mohammad al-Awadi, Singaporean Ambassador Yip Wei Kiat and Latvian Ambassador Peteris Vaivars, among others. Cha Du Hyeogn, a visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, delivered the lecture. Phoot: Corea Image Comm

April 20, 2018

US expresses support for formal end to Korean War

The United States would support a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, the State Department said Thursday, as the two Koreas' leaders are expected to discuss a lasting peace during their summit next week."We would certainly like to see an end, a formal end to the armistice, and that's something that we would support," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said during a regular press briefing.US President Donald Trump said earlier the Koreas have his "blessing" to discuss the end of the Ko

April 20, 2018

Ex-envoy expects US detainees to be freed during Trump-Kim meeting

A former US envoy said Thursday that he expects the three American detainees in North Korea to be released during an upcoming summit between the two countries' leaders.Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico and former US ambassador to the United Nations, said their release is one of the realistic expectations one can have of US President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May or June."I think that would be a deliverable that would happen at the summit," he tol

April 20, 2018

Trump-Kim meeting should have purpose: US lawmaker

US President Donald Trump should go into his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a purpose, not just to save face, a top US lawmaker said Thursday.Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), minority leader of the House of Representatives, told a press conference she is in favor of dialogue with the North Korean regime, but it needs to be handled with caution."I'm always in favor of, as I say, jaw, jaw, jaw, rather than war, war, war," she said. "Let's wish them well, but also let's make sure they have a

April 20, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Security scholars discuss prospect of inter-Korea summit

With the upcoming inter-Korean summit raising expectations for a diplomatic breakthrough on the Korean Peninsula, security scholars and diplomats here gathered Thursday to discuss the summit’s implications and prospects for the security climate at the Herald Security Forum 2018 organized by The Korea Herald.Under the title of “Korean Peninsula at crossroads,” the panelists shared their views on how the summit would change the inter-Korean relations and whether it would lead to denuclearization o

April 19, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Declaring end to Korean War involves more than the two Koreas

In July 1953, near the end of the Korean War, the United States, North Korea and China sat down to hammer out an agreement that would bring a halt to the three years of violent conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Through the armistice agreement, the participants agreed to ensure cessation of hostilities and all acts of armed force until a peaceful settlement was achieved. South Korea was not a direct signatory to the agreement as President Rhee Syngman refused to sign it. Boosted by the prospects

April 19, 2018

N. Korean defectors more prone to expensive loans: report

North Korean defectors are resorting more to non-bank loans with higher rates of interest than native South Koreans, making it harder for them to service their debts, a central bank report showed Thursday.The finding is the result of an analysis by the Bank of Korea on 3,161 North Korean defectors and their financial activities between 2010 and 2017. These numbers were compared with native South Koreans with similar economic conditions.According to the report, the value of loans the defectors go

April 19, 2018

NK to hold plenary meeting of party central committee on Friday

North Korea will hold a plenary session of its ruling party‘s central committee on Friday, the country’s state media said Thursday, ahead of its planned summits with South Korea and the United States. The Workers’ Party of Korea meeting which will be convened Friday will “discuss and decide the policy issues of a new stage in line with the demand of the important historic period of the developing Korean revolution,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said.The policy issues were not specified

April 19, 2018

[Newsmaker] Why did N. Korea agree to live broadcasting of inter-Korean summit?

On April 27, the world will be able to watch North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un cross the military demarcation line and shake hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. North Korea‘s agreement Wednesday to broadcast live key events of the upcoming inter-Korean summit is taken as an indication that Kim, the young leader of the isolated country, seeks to shed the negative image of his regime and show the world that he is the leader of a normal country.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife

April 19, 2018

Trump reiterates need for NK to show concrete action

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hinted at his underlying hard-line stance on North Korea, warning he would boycott the planned summit with Kim Jong-un should the meeting appear unfruitful. “I hope to have a very successful meeting,” he said in a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida. “If I think it‘s a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we are not going to go. If the meeting, when I’m there, is not fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting.

April 19, 2018

Trump also aiming to eliminate NK chemical, biological weapons: official

In his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, United States President Donald Trump is aiming to eliminate the country's arsenal of chemical and biological weapons as well as nuclear ones, the top American envoy to Japan said Thursday."We had broad-ranging discussions on the topic and it extended beyond denuclearization to the topics of chemical and biological weapons as well," US Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty told a telephone conference with Asian reporters following the two-da

April 19, 2018