N. Korea's FM expresses strong support for China amid conflict

North Korea's top diplomat has expressed strong support for China amid the growing geopolitical conflict between Beijing and Washington, the North's media reported Friday. North Korea's foreign minister, Ri Son-gwon, expressed support for Beijing during a meeting with Li Jinjun, Chinese ambassador to North Korea, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, In the meeting, Ri stated that the North "will continue ac

June 5, 2020

Controversy over ban on propaganda leafleting

The South Korean government’s latest move to ban anti-Pyongyang leaflet launches by civic groups following North Korea’s strong complaints has stirred up controversy over the freedom of expression. Seoul’s Unification Ministry revealed Thursday a plan to legislate a law banning the leaflet launches, describing them as “tension-building acts,” with the presidential office Blue House vowing stern responses if the launches pose a danger to national security. The leaf

June 5, 2020

Seoul mulls legislation to ban propaganda leafleting

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Thursday it was considering legislative measures to ban the contentious anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign, just hours after North Korea threatened to scrap a bilateral military pact, saying the campaign raises hostilities prohibited by their prior agreement. “We were already looking into ways to prevent tension hikes at the border. Plans for legislative change had been under way,” Unification Ministry spokesperson, Yoh Sang-key said, adding that

June 4, 2020

N. Korea embraces YouTube as new tool for propaganda aimed at wider audience

North Korea is adopting a more approachable style to promoting itself, using YouTube videos to reach a broader international audience, posting videos featuring a stylish, English-speaking woman who takes viewers on tours of key spots in Pyongyang. That's a departure from North Korea's traditional way of sending messages to the outside world: all-serious newscasters using a hyped and bellicose tone to read provocative statements about nuclear or missile tests. North Korean propagandists had be

June 4, 2020

Defense ministry says inter-Korean military pact should be kept

The defense ministry called Thursday for adhering to an inter-Korean tension reduction agreement after North Korea's warning to scrap it if the anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign continues. Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong, leader Kim Jong-un's sister, issued a statement warning that the military pact will be nullified and other exchange projects halted if Seoul fails to stop defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist country. "The defense ministry maintains our posit

June 4, 2020

S. Korea to legislate ban on anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign after NK threats

The government is working on a plan to legislate a ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the communist nation, the unification ministry said Thursday, hours after North Korea railed against such leaflets and threatened to scrap a no-hostility military pact with the South. The envisioned legislation is aimed at preventing chilly inter-Korean relations from deteriorating further, but enacting a law banning leaflet-sending could spark an outcry over the possible infringement of the right to

June 4, 2020

Unification minister to hold videoconference with WFP chief

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul was set to hold a videoconference with the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday, his office said, raising the possibility that they could discuss aid to North Korea. The talks with WFP Executive Director David Beasley were set up at the request of the UN food agency, the ministry said. "The talks set for this afternoon with the WFP executive director had been scheduled earlier to be held in the first half," Yoh Sang-key, the ministr

June 3, 2020

Gangwon to hold events marking 70th anniversary of Korean War

Gangwon Province is holding a series of events on June 25, marking the 70th anniversary of the breakout of the Korean War.  　 The province is holding a special ceremony to remember the victims of the deadly war, which lasted 1950-1953, and pray for lasting peace in the world and on the Korean Peninsula. The official ceremony will start at 11 a.m. at the Peace Culture Plaza in the border town of Cheorwon, which includes special performances, a merit commendation ceremony, paying tribute to

June 3, 2020

S. Korea will push ahead with cross-border projects to prepare for post-coronavirus era

South Korea will do what it can on its own in preparations to move railway reconnection and other joint projects with North Korea forward after the coronavirus pandemic is over, a unification ministry official said Tuesday. "With hopes that the North will respond, we will prepare for inter-Korean relations in the post-coronavirus age starting with the ones we can afford to do, such as the rail construction project along the east coast and the cultural heritage research project in the Demi

June 2, 2020

N. Korea's main paper highlights leader Kim's love for people

North Korea's main newspaper stressed leader Kim Jong-un's devotion and love for his people Tuesday as the impoverished country struggles amid the double whammy of coronavirus concerns and deepening economic woes. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, carried the message in an editorial on its front page, saying Kim focuses on "prioritizing and showing ardent love towards his people." A monthly magazine by the party also published the editorial. "Ou

June 2, 2020

Seoul seeks to allow Pyongyang-run business in South

South Korea is seeking to revise a law on inter-Korean affairs to allow North Korean-run businesses in its territory, in spite of international sanctions currently placed on the North, the Unification Ministry said Monday. The revised South-North Exchange and Cooperation Act would also allow local municipalities to run businesses with the North without an intermediary while giving greater freedom to South Koreans to interact with their Northern peers. “We’re aware that the new cha

June 1, 2020

North Korea to open schools early June

North Korea will reopen schools this month after closing them for months over coronavirus fears, according to state media on Monday.  The new school term was supposed to start on April 1, but has been repeatedly postponed, though some universities and high schools were allowed to open in mid-April.  “Preventive measures have been enforced for elementary, middle and high schools to start the new school year, and nurseries and kindergartens to resume their operations in early Jun

June 1, 2020

[Graphic News] 68% of S. Korean teens think reunification necessary: poll

　Nearly 70 percent of South Korean youths think that reunification with North Korea is necessary, a survey showed. 　According to the poll conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute, 67.8 percent of 3,228 elementary, middle and high school students replied that the two Koreas need to reunify. 　Among them, 28.8 percent said that reunification is necessary as it will help South Korea become stronger, while 23.2 percent answered it will ease security concerns on the Korean Peninsula. So

June 1, 2020

N. Korea seeks to have Mount Paekdu listed as UNESCO global geopark

North Korea is actively seeking to enlist the country's sacred Mount Paekdu as a UNESCO global geopark, state media reported Sunday. "Scientists in relevant fields of the DPRK made scientific proof of its geological features and world value through scores of years-long survey and research," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said, stressing the mountain's rich biodiversity and geological significance. DPRK stands for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republ

May 31, 2020

NK newspaper belatedly reports on death of Army general

A North Korean newspaper carried a report Saturday on the 2018 death of a senior military officer who led an Army corps linked to the deadly artillery shelling of a South Korean border island a decade ago. The Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, reported that Ri Song-guk, who led the 4th Corps in charge of defending the areas near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea, the inter-Korean maritime boundary, died in October 2018. He was 52. Ri, who took command of th

May 30, 2020

N. Korea backs China's Hong Kong security legislation as 'legitimate step'

A spokesperson of North Korea's foreign ministry backed China's controversial security legislation for Hong Kong Saturday, calling it a "legitimate step" and voicing opposition to "outside interference." In an answer to a question from the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesperson also said that any country has no right to "say this or that" about the issue concerning the semiautonomous Chinese territory. On Thursday, China's legislatur

May 30, 2020

N. Korea slams US over cybercrime accusation

North Korea on Friday lashed out at the United States for issuing an advisory last month over the communist regime's cyber threats. "To put it clearly, our state has nothing to do at all with what is claimed by the US to be a cyber threat," Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in an English statement on its website. "The US should be clearly aware that worthless and worn-out plots and fabrications invented continuously by themselves will no longer work against the international c

May 29, 2020

Ministry says no swine fever virus found in samples from inter-Korean border

Samples taken from areas near the inter-Korean border have tested negative for African swine fever, the ministry said Friday, raising the possibility of the resumption of a tour program to the truce village of Panmunjom next month as scheduled. Tours to the southern side of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been suspended since October as part of efforts to prevent the spread of African swine fever since the highly contagious animal disease was reported near the border with North

May 29, 2020

68% of S. Korean teens think unification with NK necessary: poll

Nearly 70 percent of South Korean youths think that reunification with North Korea is necessary, a survey showed on Thursday. According to the poll conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute, 67.8 percent of 3,228 elementary, middle and high school students replied that two Koreas need to reunify. Among them, 28.8 percent said that reunification is necessary as it will help Korea become stronger, while 23.2 percent answered it will ease security concerns on the Korean Peninsula. Some 2

May 28, 2020

Seoul to mark 20th anniversary of inter-Korean summit without Pyongyang

South Korea is planning to hold events marking the 20th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit next month -- without North Korea’s participation, due to coronavirus concerns and strained inter-Korean relations. 　 The anniversary of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration from the historic meeting in 2000 between then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is a significant chance for Seoul to revive talks with Pyongyang and try to arrange joint cele

May 28, 2020