Unification minister vows to seek ways to resume Mt. Kumgang tour

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Friday that he will seek to resume a long-suspended tour program to North Korea's Mount Kumgang. "I'll actively look for ways to restart the Mount Kumgang tour project," he said while visiting Jejin Station in Goseong, northeast of Seoul, near the Demilitarized Zone that separates two Koreas. "The resumption of the tour program will send a message of peace on the Korean Peninsula and revive the economy of border regions." The minister

July 31, 2020

Unification minister promises support for NGOs' efforts to expand cross-border exchange

Unification Minister Lee In-young said on Friday that he will provide necessary support for aid organizations in their efforts to expand cross-border exchanges and cooperation with North Korea. Lee made the remark at a meeting with the leaders of Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea (KNCCK), an umbrella group of 55 nongovernmental organizations established to facilitate cooperation among NGOs assisting the North. "The unification ministry will respect the autonomy of civic

July 31, 2020

[Newsmaker] Runaway N. Korean defector unlikely to have contracted coronavirus: KCDC

A North Korean defector suspected of having fled back to his communist homeland is unlikely to have been infected with the new coronavirus here despite Pyongyang's claim that he had virus symptoms, Seoul's health authorities said Thursday. North Korea's state media claimed Sunday that a defector returned home from South Korea with suspected virus symptoms, prompting the country to adopt a "maximum emergency system" against the coronavirus. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and P

July 30, 2020

NK again claims zero coronavirus cases

North Korea’s state media on Thursday said it has no coronavirus cases, the first time it has mentioned since the country put the city of Kaesong under total lockdown following the return of the defector with suspected virus symptoms.  “Not a single person has been infected with novel coronavirus so far in our country,” said the Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.  But the report did not specify whether the defector who

July 30, 2020

New unification minister renews willingness to work with N. Korea to tackle coronavirus

New Unification Minister Lee In-young said Thursday that South Korea is willing to work with North Korea to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in the border city of Kaesong or anywhere in the communist nation. Lee made the remark during a visit to the National Cemetery in Seoul after the North said over the weekend that it has declared a state of emergency and sealed off Kaesong after a defector returned home from South Korea with coronavirus symptoms. "We take the quarantine measures in and

July 30, 2020

NK media says scaled-down joint exercise shows S. Korea-US alliance is an 'illusion'

North Korean propaganda outlets on Thursday scoffed at South Korea's plan to hold a major combined exercise with the United States in a scaled-back manner next month, downplaying their alliance as "nothing more than an illusion." South Korea and the US are set to stage a major annual exercise in mid-August, in a bid to better prepare for Seoul to take back wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from Washington. Authorities said the exercises will held on a smaller scale du

July 30, 2020

N. Korea's No. 2 leader visits Kaesong after lockdown amid virus fears

North Korea's No. 2 leader has visited the border city of Kaesong to inspect antivirus efforts, state media reported Thursday, after leader Kim Jong-un sealed off the town over virus fears following the return of a defector from South Korea. On Sunday, North Korea said that it has put Kaesong on lockdown, claiming that a "runaway" defector suspected of COVID-19 infection recently came back from the South. Seoul later said a North Korean defector is believed to have swum across the bor

July 30, 2020

NK blasts Seoul’s participation in US-led RIMPAC exercises

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday condemned Seoul for participating in a US-led multinational maritime exercise slated to kick off next month, slamming it as “pro-US subservient policy.” 　 The Rim of the Pacific exercise is a biennial maritime exercise held in Hawaii to enhance the combined operational capabilities of South Korea, the US, Japan and other Pacific nations. South Korea is participating in the world’s largest international training exercise set to tak

July 29, 2020

Should Seoul request repatriation of defector accused of sexual assault?

Since the revelation that a North Korean defector who fled back across the border was facing sexual assault charges in South Korea, there have been growing calls for Seoul to seek his extradition so he can face prosecution here. 　 There is no formal extradition agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang to force the return of the 24-year-old man, identified by the surname Kim. 　 But some critics argue that Seoul should issue the request, citing an incident in November when Seoul deported two North

July 29, 2020

NK media outlet slams S. Korea for joining US-led RIMPAC exercises

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday slammed South Korea for its decision to participate in a US-led multinational maritime exercise slated to kick off next month amid global efforts against the coronavirus. The biannual Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC), designed to enhance combined operational capabilities for maritime security, is set to be held from Aug. 17 to 31. "This is clearly an invasive and provocative game of war intended to crush our republic and neighboring count

July 29, 2020

[News Focus] More than 100 defectors have returned to NK from South Korea: expert

Over 30,000 North Korean defectors risked their lives to cross one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders and settle in South Korea, escaping their communist homeland. 　 Yet not all of them seem satisfied with their new lives in the more prosperous, democratic South. And some even decide to go back to the place they once fled. The latest was a 24-year-old man who swam across the border to return to the North after defecting here three years ago. 　 The man, identified only by the

July 28, 2020

Defector's border crossing captured by military's surveillance equipment

A North Korean defector was caught on military surveillance equipment as he fled across the border to his communist homeland, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday. The border crossing by the 24-year-old man, surnamed Kim, became known after North Korea revealed Sunday that a "runaway" returned home in the border city of Kaesong with coronavirus symptoms and the entire city was blocked off to prevent the spread of the virus. South Korean officials said Kim had been under inv

July 28, 2020

NK seals off Kaesong, tightens borders after defector returns with coronavirus symptoms

North Korea is sealing off the border city of Kaesong and tightening its borders, state media said Tuesday, after it claimed that a defector suspected of having virus symptoms recently came back home from South Korea. The North claimed Sunday that the defector returned to his hometown in Kaesong on July 19 and that multiple tests showed he is suspected of virus infection. The North also said leader Kim Jong-un declared a state of emergency for the region and blocked off the city to prevent the

July 28, 2020

[Graphic News] N. Korea loses 210,000 hectares of forest over decade: report

　North Korea has lost around 210,000 hectares of forest over the past decade, a UN agency’s report showed, pointing to a worsening deforestation problem in the communist state. 　According to the report from the Food and Agriculture Organization, North Korea’s forest area stood at 6.03 million hectares this year, down from 6.24 million hectares in 2010. 　The decline is in line with a steady shrinkage in forest in North Korea over the past three decades. 　Forest area in the Nort

July 28, 2020

NK leader says nuclear deterrence will guarantee national safety permanently

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country's nuclear deterrence will permanently guarantee national security, as he marked the anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, state media reported Tuesday. Kim made the remark during a speech at a national conference of veterans held Monday to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the end of the three-year conflict, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The Korean War ended in an armistice signed on July 27, 1953, which leaves Sout

July 28, 2020

N. Korea says it supports ARF's peace efforts on Korean Peninsula

North Korea on Monday expressed its support for the international community’s peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations. Diplomats from Asia-Pacific countries held videoconferences as part of the Senior Officials‘ Meetings of three regional dialogue platforms -- the ASEAN-plus-three meeting, which involves the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Korea, China and Japan; the East Asia Summit; and ASEAN Regional Forum -- last Monday a

July 27, 2020

Defector appears to have swum back to NK: military

The man who North Korea claimed returned across the border with coronavirus symptoms after defecting to the South three years ago appears to have crossed by swimming after going through a drainage ditch to escape guards, military officials in Seoul said Monday. 　 The South Korean authorities spotted a specific location on the island of Gangwhado, where a bag believed to belong to him was found, said Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Kim Jun-rak. 　 The 24-year-old man, identified by the surna

July 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] Defector who swam back to North fled ‘hopeless life’ in North

A North Korean defector believed to have swum across a river to return to North Korea earlier this month spoke of a “hopeless life” in the North and his perilous journey to the South on YouTube last month. Appearing in a video posted by a channel run by defectors, the man, presumed to be in his 20s and surnamed Kim, shared his story of fleeing the North for a better life in 2017, a year after the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex was closed over Pyongyang’s long-range m

July 27, 2020

Moon appoints four-term lawmaker as new unification minister

President Moon Jae-in on Monday appointed Lee In-young, a four-term ruling party lawmaker, as the new unification minister in charge of inter-Korean relations, according to Cheong Wa Dae. 　 Lee immediately began his term the same day, following Moon‘s appointment. 　 Lee was nominated for the post early this month to succeed the former minister, Kim Yeon-chul, who resigned last month over frayed inter-Korean relations. 　 “I will put all my efforts for the Unification Ministry to ta

July 27, 2020

11 N. Korean defectors returned home over past 5 years

Eleven North Korean defectors went back to their communist homeland from South Korea in the past five years, the unification ministry said Monday, after Pyongyang claimed that a defector suspected of having virus symptoms recently crossed the demarcation line to return home. The 24-year-old defector is believed to have fled back to the North while he was under police investigation over suspicions of raping a female defector last month. His return was made known after the North said Sunday that

July 27, 2020