Unification Minister says Korea-US summit could be ‘watershed’ moment on the peninsula

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Thursday pinned his hopes on the upcoming South Korea-US summit as a “watershed” moment that could make progress in the stalled diplomacy with North Korea, and urged Pyongyang to return to the dialogue.  Speaking at a seminar organized by the state-run think tanks, the minister “positively” assessed the Biden administration’s recently completed North Korea policy, which he said was a result of close coordination and consul

May 13, 2021

NK paper warns against inflow of capitalistic culture into country

North Korea's official newspaper called Thursday for efforts to prevent capitalistic culture from seeping into the country, warning that otherwise, the country could fall "like a damp wall" The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Worker's Party, made the appeal, saying that attempts to establish socialism in other countries failed due to the "invasion of capitalistic lifestyle." "History teaches us a crucial lesson that a country can become vulnerable and eve

May 13, 2021

N. Korea continues to strictly restrict religious freedom: US State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to strictly limit the basic rights of its people, including religious freedom, with up to 200,000 people believed to be held in prison camps because of their beliefs, the US State Department said Wednesday. In its annual report on religious freedom, the State Department also noted the North Korean government continues to actively take part in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom. "Since 2001, the DPRK has been designated as a 'Country of P

May 13, 2021

US willing to share COVID vaccine with N. Korea if requested: report

The United States may consider sharing COVID-19 vaccines with North Korea if requested by the impoverished nation, if the vaccines will reach the intended beneficiaries, a US news outlet reported Tuesday. CNN noted the sharing of vaccines may help resume diplomatic dialogue with the North but that no request for assistance has been made. "While we are open to considering DPRK requests for humanitarian assistance, these would need to be accompanied by effective monitoring to ensure that it

May 11, 2021

[News Focus] Moon's leaflet stance effort to manage NK ties before summit with Biden: experts

In a speech marking the start of his final year in office, President Moon Jae-in issued a strongly worded statement, apparently condemning an activist group for sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border.  　 “It is never desirable to dampen inter-Korean relations by violating inter-Korean agreements and current laws. I stress that the government has no choice but to strictly enforce the laws,” Moon said Monday in a televised speech. 　 While the president d

May 11, 2021

NK pushes to improve efficiency of power production amid chronic shortage

North Korea has stepped up efforts to produce and distribute electricity more efficiently, state media said Tuesday, amid a chronic power shortage and challenges in meeting the country's five-year economic goals. Tongil Voice, a North Korean propaganda radio broadcast, said that the power transmission and distribution department in South Hamgyong Province has successfully established a database to introduce a geographic information system for improving efficiency in the province at the end of

May 11, 2021

N. Korea reports no coronavirus cases: WHO report

North Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on around 26,000 people so far but found no infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday. According to the WHO's weekly report on COVID-19, 751 North Koreans underwent virus tests from April 23-29, bringing the total number of tested citizens to 25,986 so far, but none were found to have been infected. Of the 751 newly tested citizens, 139 people showed flu-like symptoms but all of them turned out to be those of acute respiratory illn

May 11, 2021

N. Korea says US offer to explain outcome of policy review 'well received'

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is said to have acknowledged a recent US offer to explain the outcome of its policy review on Pyongyang after earlier overtures from the administration of Joe Biden went unanswered. In response to the US offer last week, the North has reportedly said the proposal has been "well received," a different reaction from when the first dialogue offer was made. Last month, the US said it had sought to engage with the North in mid-February, but the regime remained &qu

May 11, 2021

Defector activist grilled by police over anti-NK leafleting

A vocal North Korean defector and activist known for flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North by balloon was questioned by police on Monday over his recent claim to have sent leaflets, in the first violation of South Korea's anti-leaflet law that took effect in March. Park Sang-hak, the head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, a North Korean defectors' group, arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency around 2 p.m. to be grilled as a suspect about his April 30 claim that his organizat

May 10, 2021

NK tightens antivirus efforts in border area within range of anti-Pyongyang leaflets

North Korea has tightened antivirus efforts in an eastern inter-Korean border region, the country's main newspaper said Friday, a day after the paper issued a warning about coronavirus infections through anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from South Korea. The Rodong Sinmun said the North is stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the border county of Kosong in Kangwon Province, especially in the sea and forest areas. "We are putting all-out efforts to educate the public to str

May 7, 2021

N. Korea unlikely to carry out provocations ahead of S. Korea-US summit: minister

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Friday that North Korea is not likely to carry out major provocations ahead of summit talks between the United States and South Korea slated for later this month. "We cannot rule out all possibilities of North Korea raising tensions but many experts say that the chances of the North heightening military tensions ahead of the South Korea-US summit remain relatively low," Lee told a local radio show. "I think it is because North Korea must al

May 7, 2021

NK leader holds photo session with families of army after attending performance

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a photo session with families of the army, a day after attending their art performance, state media reported Friday. Earlier on Wednesday, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended the performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA), according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim highly appreciated the performers' devoted efforts for being "reliable assistants to their husbands&quo

May 7, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of N. Korean defectors plunges in Q1

　The number of North Korean defectors coming into South Korea dropped 77 percent to 31 in the first quarter this year as the North’s anti-coronavirus border closures remained in place, a Unification Ministry official said. 　During the same period last year, 135 North Korean defectors entered the South. 　The ministry official cited the North’s border closure as one of the reasons for the sharp decline. (Yonhap)

May 7, 2021

Gavi expects delay in vaccine shipments to North Korea

North Korea will receive COVID-19 vaccines as early as July with a shipment delay over global supply shortages, the Gavi alliance, which co-leads the COVAX vaccine sharing program with the World Health Organization, said Wednesday. “Depending on the supply situation, a COVID-19 vaccine introduction could be envisaged in the second half of 2021,” a Gavi spokesperson told Radio Free Asia, refraining from fixing concrete dates. The North was expected to receive nearly 2 million doses o

May 6, 2021

Police conduct raid over anti-NK leafleting

Police on Thursday raided the office of a vocal North Korean defector who claimed to have sent anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North in defiance of a ban.    Police launched an investigation after Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, a North Korean defectors group, claimed Friday that his organization sent 10 balloons carrying around 500,000 leaflets between April 25-29.    The raid on his office took place until afternoon with investigators

May 6, 2021

NK paper warns of virus infections via 'strange objects' in air

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday urged people to stay alert against coronavirus infections through "strange objects" floating in the air, days after the regime issued a harshly worded statement against propaganda leaflets sent from South Korea. Last week, an activist group consisting of North Korean defectors in South Korea said that it released around 500,000 leaflets into the North via large balloons despite a recently enacted ban on such cross-border leafleting. The s

May 6, 2021

NK leader, his wife attend art performance by army families

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended an art performance by the families of the army, state media reported Thursday. The performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) took place Wednesday at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim lauded the KPA after watching the show, saying it "always sets an example in implementing the party's policy on mass

May 6, 2021

N. Korea continues to build up chemical, biological weapons: US official

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to build up its chemical and biological weapons, in addition to its other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as nuclear weapons that pose a serious threat to US forces and South Korean allies, a ranking US official said Tuesday. Jennifer Walsh, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security, also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may actually use such weapons in case of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula. &quo

May 5, 2021

North Korea accuses South Korea of suppressing freedom of speech

Fresh controversy is building in South Korea over the memoirs of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung, published almost 30 years ago. A local publishing firm republished the eight-volume memoirs, titled “With the Century,” last month for the first time here. But sales were suspended almost immediately after civic groups filed a court injunction to stop them, citing the National Security Act. The books chronicle Kim’s life through his childhood to his time in the anti-J

May 4, 2021

S. Korea to wait for N. Korea's final decision on World Cup qualifiers: official

South Korea will wait for North Korea's final decision on whether to play a World Cup qualifier set to take place in the South next month, an official said Tuesday, after Asia's soccer governing body asked Pyongyang to reconsider its decision not to play the game. Earlier, the South's Korea Football Association (KFA) said its North Korean counterpart, known as the DPR Korea Football Association, sent an official document to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) last Friday to declare its inten

May 4, 2021