Trump uninterested in meeting Kim Jong-un before November election: report

US President Donald Trump told his foreign-policy advisers that he does not want another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the presidential election in November, CNN reported Monday, citing two sources. 　 Denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea have been deadlocked since the Trump-Kim summit collapsed in Hanoi, Vietnam, last February. With Trump’s focus on winning reelection this year, his interest in engaging North Korea appears to have “waned,&rdquo

Feb. 11, 2020

US flies patrol plane on apparent mission to monitor N. Korea

A US maritime surveillance plane has flown over South Korea this week, an aviation tracker said Tuesday, in the latest in a series of US surveillance operations apparently aimed at monitoring North Korea. According to Aircraft Spots, a P-3C plane of the US Navy was spotted over South Korea on Monday. The operation came just days after North Korea quietly marked the 72nd anniversary of its army's founding without a military parade. "Army-Building Day," which commemorates the 1948 e

Feb. 11, 2020

N. Korea exported $370m in coal in violation of sanctions last year: report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea exported some $370 million worth of coal last year in violation of United Nations sanctions, a UN panel of experts was quoted as saying in a draft report Monday. The transactions were largely carried out via illicit ship-to-ship transfers between North Korean vessels and Chinese barges, according to a report that is to be submitted to the UN Security Council committee overseeing North Korea sanctions implementation, Reuters said. UN Security Council resolutions ban N

Feb. 11, 2020

Trump does not want another summit with Kim before election: CNN

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump told his advisers that he does not want another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the November presidential election, CNN quoted two sources as saying Monday. The report comes as denuclearization negotiations between the two countries have stalled since the unfruitful second summit between Trump and Kim in February 2019. "And as Trump focuses on his re-election campaign his appetite to engage on the issue has waned," CNN repor

Feb. 11, 2020

S. Korea, US to hold working group talks on N. Korea

South Korea and the United States were set to hold a meeting Monday to coordinate policy on issues related to North Korea, including inter-Korean cooperation projects, such as allowing individual trips to the North. Alex Wong, deputy special representative for North Korea policy, arrived in Seoul on Sunday for the "working group" meeting with Rhee Dong-yeol, director general at the foreign ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Regime bureau. The two sides are expected to discuss South

Feb. 10, 2020

N. Korea appears to mark founding anniversary of armed forces in low-key manner

North Korea appears to have marked the founding anniversary of its armed forces last week in a low-key manner amid its nationwide efforts to stem the outbreak of the new coronavirus on its soil, according to state media reports. North Korea's 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army on Saturday has been closely monitored as Pyongyang has often used such dates as a chance to showcase its new weapons and flex its military muscle.  Some speculated that the North might u

Feb. 9, 2020

US official to arrive in Seoul for working group talks on N.Korea

A US State Department official involved in nuclear talks with North Korea was set to arrive in South Korea later Sunday for a meeting of a bilateral policy coordination working group on the communist regime.  Alex Wong, US deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea, is expected to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Rhee Dong-yeol, director general at the foreign ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Regime bureau, for the working group talks Monday, according to foreign ministr

Feb. 9, 2020

N. Korea on highest alert to protect Pyongyang from coronavirus

North Korea has been putting in all-out efforts to prevent the new coronavirus from reaching the capital city of Pyongyang, the country's state media said Saturday. Pyongyang's anti-epidemic headquarters is meticulously carrying out testing and disinfection measures at every road reaching Pyongyang and at the same time strengthening all tests and medical monitoring, the Korean Central News Agency said, even though no confirmed case has been reported there. On Friday, North Korea announced it

Feb. 9, 2020

‘N. Korea hasn’t responded to Seoul’s individual tourism proposal’: Unification Ministry

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Friday that Seoul hasn’t heard back from Pyongyang on its proposal to allow South Koreans to travel to North Korea.  “North Korea hasn’t given an official response, nor reacted to the individual tourism (proposal) yet,” said Cho Hey-sil, the ministry’s deputy spokesperson, during a regular press briefing. “As for individual tourism, we are evaluating the issue, considering various matters related to the novel coro

Feb. 7, 2020

UN panel approves sanctions exemptions to aid programs in NK

A UN Security Council panel has approved sanctions exemptions to three aid agencies allowing humanitarian assistance to North Korea, its website showed Friday. The North Korea sanctions committee approved a World Health Organization's request for exemptions on diagnostic equipment, including stethoscopes, microscopes, digital electrocardiograms and portable abdominal ultrasonography machines. The committee also allowed the World Food Programme on Jan. 20 to deliver assistance worth $110,000,

Feb. 7, 2020

Esper: 'Rogue states' like Iran, N. Korea demand constant vigilance

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday that "rogue states" like Iran and North Korea demand the United States' constant vigilance. Esper made the comment as he discussed the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy, which was released in January 2018. He said the strategy is designed to help the US maintain a competitive advantage over adversaries such as China and Russia. "Both countries have violated the sovereignty of their neighbors and routine

Feb. 7, 2020

US serious about nuclear talks with NK: IAEA chief

The US has not given up on the nuclear talks with North Korea, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Wednesday, referring to his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a day earlier. During his two-day visit to the US for the first time since taking office two months ago, the UN nuclear watchdog chief said his agency will undertake a reliable, independent verification process once Washington and Pyongyang reach a deal on denuclearization

Feb. 6, 2020

NK breached Singapore cryptocurrency exchange: report

A cybercriminal syndicate believed to be linked to the North Korean government breached the Singapore-based DragonEx exchange and stole $7 million worth of cryptocurrencies in March 2019, Radio Free Asia said Wednesday. Hackers of the Lazarus Group withdrew cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ripple and Litecoin, RFA said, citing findings released by US-based blockchain firm Chainalysis. The group created a fake company offering an automated trading bot with a fabricated website and employees,

Feb. 5, 2020

US flies two surveillance aircraft on apparent mission to monitor N. Korea

Two US surveillance aircraft flew over South Korea on Wednesday, an aviation tracker said, spurring speculation that the US may be strengthening its watch over North Korea after detecting unusual activity. The US Navy's EP-3E was spotted in the skies over South Korea at 25,000 feet, Aircraft Spots tweeted. An E-8C aircraft, or JSTARS, of the US Air Force also flew over the Korean Peninsula at 31,000 feet, it added. The US surveillance aircraft have often been detected here in recent months,

Feb. 5, 2020

Trump skips N. Korea in State of the Union speech

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump made no mention of North Korea in his third State of the Union address Tuesday, amid the stalled denuclearization talks with the communist nation. It was the first time Trump ignored North Korea in his annual speech. That suggests a realignment of priorities amid an ongoing impeachment trial and reelection campaign. In his first State of the Union address in 2018, the president talked about the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons and vowed to break

Feb. 5, 2020

NK stops taking back defectors, monitors virus risks

North Korea has temporary halted the repatriation of defectors from China, days after it suspended all train and air travel from and to the neighboring country, whose central city of Wuhan is the epicenter of a new coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 360 lives so far, Voice of America said Monday. “From what I hear, Pyongyang isn’t accepting defectors. It asked Beijing not to (send them back) because of the recent coronavirus outbreak,” South Korean pastor Kim Sung

Feb. 3, 2020

NK ups anti-virus campaign; leader Kim sends letter to Xi

North Korea appears to be making an all-out effort to prevent an influx of the new coronavirus from China and has expressed its condolences to the country, which is the isolated North’s No. 1 ally, trade partner and immediate neighbor. Multiple Chinese newspapers reported Sunday that President Xi Jinping received a letter of condolence from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has killed over 300 people in China. On Saturday, the North&rsqu

Feb. 2, 2020

N. Korean leader expresses support to Chinese President Xi Jinping over coronavirus

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed support to Chinese President Xi Jinping over China's efforts to stop the spread of a new strain of coronavirus that has killed 259 Chinese people and sickened more than 11,000. On Saturday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim "conveyed his sincere feelings of wanting to share the suffering and trial of the fraternal Chinese people and to render help even a bit" in a letter to Xi. Kim also sent "militant gre

Feb. 2, 2020

NK newspaper urges 'absolute obedience' to Pyongyang's campaign to fight coronavirus

North Korea's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, called on the country's people Saturday to show "absolute obedience" to Pyongyang's stepped-up campaign to prevent the spread of the deadly new coronavirus stemming from the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The call came as the North has reportedly shut down all air and railway routes across its borders with China and taken other stringent steps to fend off the highly contagious disease that could potentially hamper its efforts to improv

Feb. 1, 2020

Air, train routes between NK and China suspended

North Korea has suspended all travel from and to China starting Jan. 31, UK’s Foreign Ministry said Friday citing Pyongyang’s latest travel advisories issued a day earlier. “They (the North) have also announced that all air and train routes between North Korea and China are temporarily suspended as of Jan. 31,” the ministry said. The UK Embassy in the North confirmed the news, while the Indian Embassy there said the last flight between the North and China will take place

Jan. 31, 2020