[Breaking] Moon and Kim to hold summit at border village in late April

South and North Korea agreed to hold an inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom at the end of April, Cheong Wa Dae announced on Tuesday.The presidential office also said North Korea pledged not to use nuclear or conventional weapons against South Korea. Panmunjeom (Yonhap)The North also expressed its willingness to freeze nuclear, missileactivities during talks with the United States.Those agreements were released after South Korea's special envoys returned home on Tuesday evening

March 6, 2018

Moon calls for dialogue with N. Korea, increased deterrence

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reiterated his call for dialogue with North Korea on Monday but also stressed the need to strengthen the combined defense capabilities with the United States, noting peace cannot last without strong military power."The foundation of peace is nothing but strong military power and defense readiness that do not tolerate any provocation," the president said while attending the graduation ceremony of the Korea Military Academy."Peace is our survival and a necessary

March 6, 2018

Questions mount over ‘results’ and ‘satisfactory agreement’ from envoys’ NK trip

As President Moon Jae-in’s special envoys to the North wrap up their visit, speculations are rising over the words exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. South Korean officials have remained quiet on the matter, providing only cryptic comments. A high-level Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters early Tuesday that the envoys’ meeting with Kim “produced results,” and that as far as he is aware the results are “not disappointing.” Asked whether the South Korean raised the topic of the proc

March 6, 2018

Kim Jong-un reaches ‘satisfactory agreement’ with Seoul’s envoys: NK media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached a “satisfactory agreement” with Seoul’s special envoys, North Korean media reported Tuesday, without any comments by Kim. Kim on Monday met with Seoul’s envoys led by National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, and hosted a welcome dinner in Pyongyang. “The supreme leader received President Moon Jae-in’s intentions on (an inter-Korean) leaders’ meeting and reached a satisfactory agreement,” the Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. (Korean Centra

March 6, 2018

Ri Sol-ju’s attendance at welcome dinner an ‘extraordinary gesture’: experts

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s decision to include his wife Ri Sol-ju in welcoming Seoul’s special envoys on Monday hints at his willingness to engage the South, experts say. On Monday, Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong and other special envoys arrived in Pyongyang for a two-day visit. In an unusual move, Kim met the delegation on the first day of the visit, and later hosted a welcome dinner. The dinner event, which lasted over four hours, was also attended by Ri and Kim’s

March 6, 2018

China puts hold on US bid for UN ban of ships over N. Korea smuggling

UNITED NATIONS, United States -- China has put a hold on a US request at the United Nations to ban 33 ships from ports worldwide and blacklist 27 shipping firms for helping North Korea circumvent sanctions, according to a document seen by AFP on Monday.The United States presented the request on Feb. 23 to a UN sanctions committee as part of a crackdown on smuggling of North Korean commodities, in violation of UN sanctions resolutions.China on Friday “placed a hold on the proposals” from the Unit

March 6, 2018

NK's delegation to Paralympics to come to S. Korea Wed. morning

South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday that North Korea's 24-member delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics will come to the South the following morning.The North's 20-member athletic delegation and four-member team of National Paralympic Committee officials are expected to cross the border Wednesday morning, according to Seoul's unification ministry. (Yonhap)"Among them, eight North Koreans have a disability -- six athletes, one NPC member and a sign language interpreter," an

March 6, 2018

Kim Yo-jong’s public appearance hints at critical role in inter-Korean relations

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, once again made public appearances in dealing with the South, raising speculations about her role in the regime. On Monday, Kim Yo-jong, who serves as the first vice director of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, accompanied her brother to a meeting with Seoul’s special envoys, and later a welcome dinner in Pyongyang. The special envoys, led by National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for

March 6, 2018

NK media splashes coverage on Seoul envoys’ meeting with Kim Jong-un

In a rare move, North Korea’s state media outlets extensively reported on the historical meeting between South Korea’s special envoys and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday. (Yonhap) (Yonhap)The Rodong Sinmun, the North’s state-run newspaper, dedicated plenty of space to the unprecedented meeting. Kim appeared all smiles as he shook hands with South Korea’s top security adviser Chung Eui-yong. Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju hosted the South Korean envoys and reportedly enjoyed a satisfactory

March 6, 2018

NK leader, wife host Moon envoys at Workers' Party headquarters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hosted South Korean envoys in what the North called a "satisfactory" meeting and dinner at the headquarters of the North's ruling Workers' Party, a spokesman for Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.It marked the first time for the communist state to invite South Korean officials to the headquarters of its powerful ruling party, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.The meeting and dinner started at 6 p.m. Monday and lasted more than

March 6, 2018

Kim, Moon's envoys discussed inter-Korean summit: NK media

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoys to the North returned Tuesday, having obtained “results” in their meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The special envoys, led by National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, visited Pyongyang on a two-day schedule, where they met with Kim and his top aides. National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and Vice Minister of Unification Chun Hae-sung were also among the five-member delegation. The envoys arrived at the Seoul Air Bas

March 6, 2018

S. Korean special envoy hopes to explore NK's intention for talks with US: FM

South Korea's special envoy who was to visit North Korea on Monday hopes to further explore North Korea's intentions for talks with the United States after both sides expressed their willingness to engage each other during the recent PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said. "Although there were no direct contacts between the US and North Korean delegations on the sidelines of the Olympics, we were able to confirm ... the willingness on both sides to engage directly," Ka

March 5, 2018

Kim Jong-un meets Seoul's special envoys on first day of visit

South Korean envoy Chung Eui-yong (left) delivers President Moon Jae-in's letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Monday. (Cheong Wa Dae)President Moon Jae-in’s special envoys to North Korea on Monday met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, feeding speculations about possible dialogue with the US. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, the South Korean delegation was received by Kim at a dinner reception that began at 6 p.m., South Korea time. North Korean time i

March 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] NK sends members list for its delegation to Paralympics

A vice chairman of North Korea's agency for protecting disabled athletes will lead the North's 20-member athletic delegation to the PyeongChang Paralympics in South Korea, Seoul officials said Monday.Jong Hyon, a vice chairman of the central committee of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, will visit the South on Wednesday, leading the delegation that includes six athletes.The North will also dispatch a four-member delegation of officials from its Paralympic Committee led b

March 5, 2018

US says denuclearization remains goal of any engagement with NK

Denuclearization will remain the goal of any engagement with North Korea, the US State Department said Sunday, as South Korea prepared to send a high-level delegation to the reclusive regime.The five-member delegation led by President Moon Jae-in's chief national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, will visit Pyongyang Monday, the South's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, said earlier in the day.The delegation is expected to meet with their North Korean counterparts during a two-day stay to disc

March 5, 2018

S. Korea's special delegation to visit NK to broker Pyongyang-Washington dialogue

South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoys will embark on a two-day visit to North Korea on Monday afternoon aimed at brokering dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, officials here said.The 10-member delegation, led by Chung Eui-yong, the chief of the presidential National Security Office, will depart from Seoul Airport in Seongnam, south of Seoul, at 2 p.m. It will use a special direct route across the Yellow Sea to Pyongyang, the officials said. (Yonhap)The delegation includes Su

March 5, 2018

Moon taps top national security adviser to lead delegation to North

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday named his special envoy to North Korea as speculations rise over his plans for facilitating US-North Korea talks. On Sunday, Moon named National Security Council chief Chung Eui-yong as his special envoy to North Korea. Chung is to lead a five-member delegation that leaves for Pyongyang on a two-day schedule Monday. Along with Chung, Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligence Service, Vice Minister of Unification Chun Hae-sung, senior National Intelligence Servi

March 4, 2018

North Korea criticizes Kang's remarks on human rights

North Korea has criticized South Korea's foreign minister for addressing its human rights conditions at a recent UN meeting. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called on Pyongyang last Monday to abandon its nuclear programs and improve human rights records during a high-level meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.North Korea's media on Saturday called her remark an confrontational gesture that runs counter to the mood of detente created by its participation in the PyeongChan

March 4, 2018

NK rejects talks with US 'under preconditions'

North Korea said Saturday there will be no talks with the United States if they come with any "preconditions," reasserting that it has no intent to abandon its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for dialogue with Washington."We are willing to resolve the issue peacefully and diplomatically through dialogue and negotiation, but we will never beg for talks nor will we avoid the military option that the US rambles on about," a spokesman of the North's foreign ministry was quoted as saying by

March 4, 2018

N. Korea issues warning over US military provocations

North Korea's representative told the United Nations-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month that Pyongyang stands ready to fight back against any military provocation from the United States, the North's official media reported Saturday.The Korean Central News Agency quoted the North's representative to the UN office in Geneva as telling the plenary meeting of the UN disarmament conference on Tuesday that it is a legitimate right of a sovereign state to take measures to increase

March 3, 2018