NK highlights founder's friendship, exchanges with Chinese leaders

An influential North Korean newspaper on Thursday introduced an anecdotal event involving its state founder Kim Il-sung and former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and their friendship, as the country is highlighting the records of blood ties between the past leaders of the neighboring countries following its leader Kim Jong-un's surprise visit to China last month.In a commentary, the Rodong Sinmun said, "The revolutionary friendship between Kim Il-sung and Zhou portrayed a chapter of sublime duty per

April 5, 2018

Working-level talks on summit protocol, security kick off

The two Koreas started working-level talks on protocol, security and media coverage on Thursday, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said, ahead of an inter-Korean summit set for later this month. The meeting was to kick off at 10 a.m. at the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom near the border, according to Seoul. South Korean soldiers look toward the North Korean side as a North Korean solder approaches the UN truce village building that sits on the border of the Demilitarized Zone. (AP)T

April 5, 2018

Seohyun wishes Pyongyang concerts serve as stepping stone for peace

Pop star Seohyun has expressed hope South Korean musicians' recent performance in Pyongyang will serve as a stepping stone in improving inter-Korean relations.She joined the 160-member troupe, which held rare concerts on Sunday and Tuesday in reciprocation to North Koreans' performance in the South in February in celebration of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics."It appears all the performers, including me, hope the latest performances can serve as a stepping stone in improving inter-Korean relatio

April 5, 2018

Farewell dinner for S. Korean art troupe held in amicable atmosphere

A South Korean art troupe dined together with North Korean artists in an amicable atmosphere after completing its second of two rare performances in Pyongyang on Tuesday, multiple South Korean participants said.The 160-member art troupe, including 11 celebrated pop stars, returned home early Wednesday, wrapping up its four-day trip to North Korea. While in Pyongyang, it performed on its own Sunday and jointly with a North Korean art troupe called the Samjiyon Orchestra on Tuesday."South Korean s

April 5, 2018

South, North Korea to hold working-level talks on upcoming summit

Officials from South Korea and North Korea are set to hold talks Thursday to discuss the details of an upcoming summit between their leaders.The working-level dialogue will be held on the South Korean side of the joint security area, also known as Panmunjom, according to officials from the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.The meeting comes a week after the two Koreas agreed to hold the summit on April 27 in a high-level dialogue on the North Korean side of the JSA.It was originally

April 5, 2018

N. Korea may have shut down nuclear reactor for now: 38 North

North Korea may have shut down a nuclear reactor for now, while conducting major construction work nearby, a US website monitoring the reclusive regime said Wednesday.In the latest commercial satellite imagery from March 30, there were no clearly visible steam plumes coming from the Generator Hall of the 5-megawatt plutonium-producing reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, 38 North said.The North claims the nuclear facilities are aimed at producing electricity, but they have long been suspecte

April 5, 2018

Preparations for inter-Korean, US summits accelerate

The two Koreas are scrambling to prepare for the upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits. The meeting between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is scheduled for April 27. Kim’s meeting with US President Donald Trump is set for May. With the critical meetings looming closer, Seoul’s inter-Korean summit preparation committee convenes for the fourth time Thursday, when the two Koreas are set to hold a working-level meeting for the summit. President Moon Jae-in and U

April 4, 2018

Seoul-Pyongyang hotline likely to be discussed this week

The establishment of a hotline between the leaders of the two Koreas is expected to be a key agenda item at working-level talks slated for the weekend, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday. The two Koreas agreed to hold two working-level meetings this week to hammer out details in preparation for the inter-Korean summit on April 27. Talks on protocol, security and media coverage are to be held Thursday, while cross-border communications will be the focus of a meeting slated for Saturday,

April 4, 2018

Koreas likely to discuss hotline between Moon and NK leader this week

South and North Korea are expected to discuss ways to set up an inter-Korean hotline at the offices of their leaders at working-level talks to be held over the weekend, Seoul officials said Wednesday.The two sides will hold talks on communications Saturday on the northern side of the border truce village of Panmunjom to prepare for an inter-Korean summit on April 27, according to Seoul's unification ministry."Officials are expected to discuss technical aspects of the hotline in order to make suc

April 4, 2018

China submits report on efforts to implement sanctions against NK

China has disclosed its ongoing implementation efforts for sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council against North Korea in the wake of Pyongyang's missile provocation.In its implementation report recently submitted to the UN sanctions committee and uploaded on its website, China said that it has banned exports of iron, steel and other metals, industrial machinery and transportation vehicles to the North. Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP-Yonhap)China added that it has also limited exports of

April 4, 2018

S. Korean musicians return from Pyongyang

South Korean musicians and a taekwondo demonstration team returned home via a chartered flight early Wednesday after performing in Pyongyang for the first time in more than a decade. The delegation, led by Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan, arrived at Incheon Airport at 3:40 a.m. South Korean pop musicians Cho Yong-pil, Ali, Lee Sun-hee and Seohyun (from R to L) arrive at Incheon International Airport on April 4, after wrapping up a series of concerts in Pyongyang. (Yonhap)The 160-member art troupe

April 4, 2018

NK official hopes for continued inter-Korean reconciliation

A senior North Korean official expressed hope for continued reconciliation between the two Koreas as he thanked South Korean artists for performing in his country, according to pool reports Wednesday.Kim Yong-chol, a ranking Workers' Party official in charge of affairs with South Korea, hosted a dinner for the 160-member art troupe after they completed their second and last concert in Pyongyang Tuesday.In his opening remarks, Kim said he believes a sharing of hearts will lead to a sharing of wil

April 4, 2018

Trump can turn NK summit into photo op or postpone it: ex-Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump should accept that any summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un under the current circumstances will either be a photo opportunity or should be postponed, a former US defense chief said Tuesday.Leon Panetta, who served as secretary of defense under Barack Obama, offered the options as a way to prevent "disaster" in the summit expected for May.Although the meeting is supposed to address North Korea's denuclearization, a lack of time and a recent reshuffl

April 4, 2018

Two Koreas' art troupes end joint performance on high note

Art troupes of South and North Korea finished their joint performance in Pyongyang on a high note amid thawing tension on the Korean Peninsula. South Korean girl group Red Velvet performs in Pyongyang, North Korea on Tuesday. (Yonhap)A 160-member South Korean art troupe, including various pop stars, and a North Korean art troupe called Samjiyon Orchestra staged the concert titled "We Are One" at the fully packed 12,000-seat Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who mad

April 3, 2018

NK 1-day delay to working-level talks for inter-Korean summit

North Korea on Tuesday suggested delaying by one day this week's planned working-level talks to discuss the details of an inter-Korean summit in late April, the South Korean government said.North Korea proposed that the two Koreas hold talks to discuss protocol, security and news releases on Thursday instead of Wednesday on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjom, according to Seoul's unification ministry.   The North also offered to hold working-level talks on Saturday to discuss w

April 3, 2018

Foreign ministers of NK, China meet in Beijing

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Tuesday before heading for Azerbaijan to attend an international meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry said.The North Korean foreign minister landed in the Chinese capital earlier in the day before flying to Baku, Azerbaijan, where he plans to attend a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement slated for Thursday and Friday.   The meeting came as the North tries to restore its fractured relati

April 3, 2018

S. Korean pop stars perform with North Koreans

The final and second performance by South Korean pop artists in Pyongyang was held Tuesday.South Korea agreed earlier this month to hold the concert, in a move that was largely seen as an effort to further ease border tensions before the inter-Korean summit slated for April.  (Yonhap)Top-tier musicians who performed in the first concert Sunday -- including Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, girl group Red Velvet and Girls’ Generation member Seohyun -- were largely expected to participate in Tuesday’s sh

April 3, 2018

Is there a ‘third option’ for resolving US-NK nuclear standoff?

　Ever since North Korea rattled the international community with nuclear and missile programs in the late 1990s, there have been two competing approaches to addressing Pyongyang’s relentless pursuit of nuclear ambition: incremental implementation and comprehensive denuclearization. 　While the previous negotiations took an “incremental approach” in which North Korea made limited nuclear concessions in return for limited benefits from the US, the Trump administration denounces it as a delaying tac

April 3, 2018

S. Korea's culture minister: I proposed 'Autumn Came' almost simultaneously with NK leader

PYONGYANG/SEOUL -- South Korea's culture minister on Tuesday confirmed reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed holding another performance in Seoul by a North Korean art troupe."Chairman Kim said there should be another concert in the South since 'Spring Comes' was successful," Do Jong-whan said during a meeting with South Korean reporters. "Then I proposed the idea of entitling it 'Autumn Came' almost simultaneously with him," said the poet-turned politician.A 160-member South Kor

April 3, 2018

S. Korea to send 7-member delegation to working-level talks for summit with NK

South Korea will send a seven-member delegation to this week's working-level talks to discuss protocol and security for an inter-Korean summit in late April, government officials said Tuesday.The government informed the North of the composition of the delegation, led by Cho Han-ki, a presidential secretary on protocol, which will be dispatched for Wednesday's talks, according to Seoul's unification ministry.The two Koreas will hold working-level talks on the southern side of the border truce vil

April 3, 2018