Experts divided on Seoul’s approach to inter-Korean cooperation

Amid President Moon Jae-in’s push for inter-Korean exchanges, security experts are divided on whether his cross-border projects will engage North Korea and bring about a breakthrough in the stalled denuclearization efforts. 　 In dealing with nuclear-armed Pyongyang, Seoul has stressed peace initiatives such as the reconnection of cross-border railways and the authorization of individual trips to the North for tourism purposes. At a forum hosted by the Institute for National Security Strat

May 28, 2020

Expert calls for proposing video family reunions with N. Korea to mark 20th anniversary of summit

South Korea should propose video family reunions with North Korea next month to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000, a top expert on North Korea said Wednesday. Suh Choo-suk, who also served as vice defense minister from 2017-2019, made the remarks during a forum, citing family reunions and coronavirus cooperation as among the most viable options for inter-Korean cooperation. "At a time when it's difficult to meet face-to-face, I think we need t

May 27, 2020

‘Inter-Korean exchange should accompany North’s disarmament’

South Korea should make sure that inter-Korean exchanges proceed in parallel with North Korea’s denuclearization, the US State Department said Tuesday, reiterating its earlier stance made public several times. The department, asked by Voice of America about Seoul’s latest decision to ease restrictions on engagement with Pyongyang, said Washington supports inter-Korean cooperation, but that it should be in “lockstep with progress on denuclearization.” On Tuesday, Seoul&

May 27, 2020

Seoul to fund $4.9m in UNESCAP aid for North Korea

The Unification Ministry on Wednesday said it will provide North Korea with $4.9 million in aid through a UN agency, to support enhancing the country’s statistics program.  The decision to fund the project by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific was made during a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges. The project will last six years, and Seoul has set aside $720,000 for this year. It will pay the amount each year in installment

May 27, 2020

Both Koreas violated armistice agreement: UNC

Both Koreas breached their armistice agreement when they exchanged gunfire at the border on May 3, the United National Command said Tuesday, after a weeklong investigation by its multinational team. The UN Command, which administers the Demilitarized Zone separating both Koreas and enforces the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, said it could not definitively determine whether North Korea opened fire on a South Korean guard post intentionally or by mistake. Seoul expressed regret

May 26, 2020

UNC says it cannot determine whether NK started border gunfire accidentally

The United Nations Command (UNC) said Tuesday that it could not "definitively" determine whether North Korea started a recent exchange of gunfire with South Korea intentionally or by mistake but found that both sides violated the armistice agreement. The US-led command, which administers the DMZ and enforces the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, came to the conclusion after a weekslong investigation into the May 3 incident, where four bullets from the North hit a South Ko

May 26, 2020

Seoul seeks to ease regulations on inter-Korean exchange

The government will push to ease regulations on inter-Korean exchange and contact with North Koreans, the Ministry of Unification said Tuesday. The changes, which will be included in the revision of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, are thought to be aimed at aiding the Moon Jae-in administration’s plans to lay the foundations for inter-Korean projects. The revision, which will be submitted to the National Assembly within the year, will allow South Koreans to contact North K

May 26, 2020

Vice unification minister visits DMZ village, vows support for UNESCO listing

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho on Tuesday visited a village on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone, part of Seoul’s efforts to have the heavily fortified region between the two Koreas recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 　 Getting the DMZ inscribed on the UNESCO list is one of many projects Seoul is pursuing to engage Pyongyang, amid an impasse in US-led efforts to denuclearize the regime. Others involve the reconnection of cross-border railways and authorizing indiv

May 26, 2020

NK paper warns against imitating foreign films, music

North Korea's main newspaper on Tuesday warned its people against emulating foreign films and music, saying the inflow of bourgeois culture hinders the country from progress. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Worker's Party, made the appeal in an editorial saying that the obstacles stopping the country from developing are not limited to economic challenges but also to the "vicious ideological and cultural infiltration of the imperialists." "If we accept even a s

May 26, 2020

North’s Kim heaps pressure on Trump to relax sanctions

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s message Sunday that he would bolster nuclear capabilities sparked fresh speculation in Seoul over Pyongyang’s intentions, with some analysts here suggesting a new missile launch while others weigh in on less drastic approaches. Presiding over a key military meeting, his first public appearance in three weeks, Kim vowed to ramp up his country’s “nuclear war deterrence,” Pyongyang’s state media reported Sunday, with no ind

May 25, 2020

N. Korea reaffirms 'nuclear war deterrence' in key party meeting: unification ministry

North Korea appears to have reaffirmed its will toward bolstering its nuclear war deterrence during a recent key party meeting again after the communist regime vowed to do so at the end of last year, the unification ministry said Monday. The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday that leader Kim Jong-un presided over a Central Military Commission meeting and discussed "new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country." "T

May 25, 2020

US official renews calls for NK to abandon nukes after its party meeting on nuke deterrence

WASHINGTON -- US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien renewed calls Sunday for North Korea to give up its nuclear program if it wants to have a "great economy," after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a key party meeting to discuss bolstering nuclear deterrence. In his first public appearance in about three weeks, Kim presided over a session of the Workers' Party's Central Military Commission to discuss "new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence,"

May 25, 2020

Kim Jong-un calls for greater ‘nuclear war deterrence’

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reappearing after three weeks out of the public eye, called for stronger “nuclear war deterrence” at a key military meeting, the country’s state media reported Sunday. 　 Kim presided over the meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party, which the Korea Central News Agency said was held to discuss “putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation” in line with the “building and dev

May 24, 2020

N. Korea designates army anniversary as national holiday

North Korea has designated the date its late founder Kim Il-sung created anti-Japanese guerrilla forces in 1932 during Japan's colonial rule of Korea as a national holiday, its main newspaper said Sunday. The Rodong Sinmun said a decree was promulgated Wednesday to institute the April 25 founding day of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA) as a national holiday. "In order to meaningfully celebrate the founding day of the KPRA, April 25 every year has been instituted as a nation

May 24, 2020

NK leader presides over key party meeting to discuss

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a Central Military Commission meeting and discussed "new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country," state media reported Sunday. Also discussed at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party were important military steps and organizational and political measures to further bolster up the overall armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Set f

May 24, 2020

UN dismisses complaint over defectors detained in Seoul

The United Nations Human Rights Committee said Wednesday a group of North Korean workers who defected to South Korea in 2016 are not being detained against their will, as claimed by lawyers who submitted a complaint to the UN body on behalf of the defector’s self-proclaimed families. In 2016, 13 North Korean restaurant workers in China defected to South Korea. A year later, one of them, the manager, claimed Seoul’s spy agency orchestrated the defection to politicize the event. Prog

May 22, 2020

Seoul closely monitoring N. Korea as leader out of public view again

South Korea is closely watching the whereabouts of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the unification ministry said Friday, as his absence from public view has stretched to three weeks once again. A swirl of global rumors about Kim's heath and even the possibility of his death came to an end when he attended the completion ceremony of a fertilizer factory with a broad smile on May 1 after a 20-day absence from public view. Speculation over his whereabouts has resurfaced as he has been out of pu

May 22, 2020

N. Koreans still vulnerable to COVID-19: US State Department

North Koreans remain vulnerable to the novel coronavirus pandemic, despite Pyongyang’s repeated claims that it has no infections, the US State Department said Wednesday. The department, asked by Radio Free Asia on Wednesday for comment on the COVID-19 situation in the North, said the country was still underprepared to deal with the disease, noting its stance on the matter remains unchanged after three months.  In February, the State Department said it supported the e

May 21, 2020

Moon’s ex-aide says NK leader was candid

Former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok told a behind-the-scenes story about the 10 months of dialogue leading up to the most recent US-North Korea summit in February 2019 in a periodical to be published Friday. In the summer issue of the Quarterly Changbi, Im said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was “candid and confident” when he met with President Moon Jae-in for their first summit in April 2018 at the border village of Panmunjom. Im, who sat in on the meeting, said: &ld

May 21, 2020

Seoul reiterates ‘May 24’ sanctions no longer barrier to inter-Korean cooperation

The Unification Ministry on Thursday reiterated that the set of sanctions slapped on North Korea in 2010 over its deadly sinking of a South Korean warship had lost their effect and are no longer a “barrier” for inter-Korean cooperation. 　 “Through past administrations, a large part of the May 24 Measures has virtually lost effect,” an official said, echoing the ministry’s stance previous day. “The important aspect is that the government does not see those sa

May 21, 2020