S. Korea says inter-Korean policy matter of sovereignty

South Korea's policy on North Korea is a matter of sovereignty, the unification ministry said Friday, after US Ambassador Harry Harris called for Seoul to make sure to consult closely with Washington about its engagement plans with the North.On Thursday, Ambassador Harris told foreign media reporters that South Korea should consult with Washington about its plans to engage with North Korea in order to "avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions."His remarks came as Sou

Jan. 17, 2020

US sends nuke-detecting plane to air base in Japan

The United States has deployed a WC-135W radiation detection plane to one of its air bases in Japan, an aviation tracker said Thursday, a move seen as aimed at beefing up surveillance of North Korea.The WC-135W Constant Phoenix arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa, Aircraft Spots said in a Twitter post, without elaborating on the exact time of the arrival.Nicknamed the "nuke sniffer," the WC-135W played a key role in detecting radioactive leaks after the Chernobyl nuclear disa

Jan. 17, 2020

Biegun reaffirms US commitment to N. Korea talks

WASHINGTON -- US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has reaffirmed the United States' commitment to denuclearization talks with North Korea and urged China to fully enforce United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang, the State Department said Thursday.Biegun made the remarks during a phone call with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Wednesday, the department said in a readout. The deputy secretary also serves as Washington's top envoy to nuclear talks with the North."Deputy

Jan. 17, 2020

Seoul seeks to revive tours to NK

Seoul is moving to pursue inter-Korean projects -- such as allowing individual South Korean tourists to travel to North Korea -- and seeking ways to work around international sanctions on Pyongyang. Key officials in Seoul have reaffirmed a renewed push for engagement with the North, after President Moon Jae-in said stronger inter-Korean cooperation could break the nuclear impasse between North Korea and the US and pave the way for international sanctions to be lifted. 　Lee Do-hoon, special

Jan. 16, 2020

Trump likens N. Korea talks to 'beautiful game of chess'

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he views the on-again, off-again nuclear talks with North Korea as a "beautiful game of chess."Trump made the remark during a White House signing ceremony for a phase-one trade deal between the United States and China, giving Beijing credit for "helping us with North Korea.""China is helping us with a lot of the things that they can be helping us with, which you don't see in a deal, but they have been very, very help

Jan. 16, 2020

S. Korea, US seek dialogue with NK within sanctions framework: envoy

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington are looking for ways to promote dialogue with Pyongyang under the current sanctions framework.“Promoting dialogue within the sanctions framework is the issue of mutual interest (of South Korea and the US),” Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told reporters before heading to Washington on Wednesday for talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.&

Jan. 15, 2020

S. Korea looking into 'various formats' to allow individual trips to Mount Kumgang

S. Korea looking into 'various formats' to allow individual trips to Mount KumgangSouth Korea is looking into "various formats" to allow its citizens to visit Mount Kumgang, a day after President Moon Jae-in cited individual trips as a way to expand inter-Korean exchanges, the unification ministry said Wednesday.On Tuesday, Moon said during a press conference for the new year that allowing such trips does not violate global sanctions, saying it could be one of the ways to expand inter-

Jan. 15, 2020

Unification minister vows action to improve inter-Korean relations

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul has pledged to take possible measures to improve relations with North Korea, rather than waiting for progress in negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington, according to civic group officials.The remark, made during a luncheon meeting with representatives of pro-unification civic and religious groups on Tuesday, is in line with President Moon Jae-in's vow to expand inter-Korean cooperation so as to help facilitate stalled nuclear talks between Washington and

Jan. 15, 2020

N. Korea holds nationwide party meetings to discuss Kim's New Year's message

North Korea held nationwide regional meetings of the Workers' Party to discuss leader Kim Jong-un's New Year's message urging stepped-up "self-reliance" and a "frontal breakthrough" against challenges facing the communist nation, state media reported Wednesday.Provincial committee meetings were held on Monday and Tuesday across the nation to discuss the results of the plenary session of the WPK's Central Committee in late December, according to the Rodong Sinmun, the official

Jan. 15, 2020

NK propaganda outlet urges 'life-or-death battle' against 'murderous' sanctions

A North Korean propaganda outlet called Tuesday for a "life-or-death" battle against what it called "unprecedentedly murderous" sanctions, saying the US campaign to stifle the communist nation has gone beyond its limit.North Korea's media outlets have emphasized the importance of "self-reliance" in various areas apparently to brace for a protracted struggle against pressure led by the United States amid a lack of progress in denuclearization talks. "The frontal

Jan. 14, 2020

S. Korean envoy to discuss NK with Biegun in US

South Korea’s top envoy on North Korean nukes will visit Washington this week for talks with his US counterpart, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, amid a protracted stalemate in denuclearization negotiations with Pyongyang.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will visit Washington from Wednesday through Saturday to meet with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who is also the chief US envoy in negotiations with the North, the

Jan. 14, 2020

S. Korea delivers $5.7m in humanitarian aid to NK this month: UN

South Korea has donated $5.73 million in humanitarian assistance for North Korea so far this year to help the impoverished country improve its public health situation and restore villages still reeling from the aftermath of typhoons, UN data showed Tuesday.According to the data released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, South Korea has delivered $4 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) and another $1.7 million to the North's Red Cross Society as of Friday. T

Jan. 14, 2020

S. Korea urges N. Korea to refrain from harsh words for better inter-Korean relations

South Korea urged North Korea on Monday to respect each other and refrain from offensive language after a senior North Korean official derided Seoul's efforts to help stalled denuclearization talks move forward.On Saturday, former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan hurled harsh invective against the South, ridiculing Seoul's efforts to mediate between Washington and Pyongyang as "presumptuous," and urging it to "behave prudently not to be reduced to a fool heading nowhe

Jan. 13, 2020

Nuke talks only possible when US fully accepts NK demands: Pyongyang official

Former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan said Saturday that dialogue with the United States can resume only when it fully accepts Pyongyang's demands.Kim, currently foreign ministry adviser, also stressed the North would never engage in a negotiation to exchange its core nuclear facility for partial sanctions relief as it did in the no-deal Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February last year.The remarks, carried by the North's Kore

Jan. 11, 2020

UN sanctions panel approves humanitarian aid activities for two agencies

The UN Security Council committee on sanctions against North Korea has approved the applications by two aid agencies for humanitarian activities in the communist state, its website showed Saturday, the first such approval this year.On Tuesday, the committee gave the green light to the Doctors Without Borders and Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit that have applied to bring items into the North that are required for emergency medical support and repairs to a drinking water supply system, respectively. U

Jan. 11, 2020

US downplays link between NK provocation and Iran

US Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Friday that he recognizes the risk of North Korea taking provocative action in light of tensions between the United States and Iran, but denied there is a direct correlation.At an event at the Brookings Institution, McCarthy was posed a question about the possibility that North Korea will launch a provocation as the US military focuses its operations on the threats from Iran. "There's always risk with that. I don't see a direct correlation right now,&quo

Jan. 11, 2020

US-N. Korea talks unlikely to resume this year: expert

Nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea are unlikely to resume this year as chances are low that Washington will come up with major concessions ahead of its upcoming presidential election, an expert said Friday.Kim Dong-yub, a professor of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, made the case during a seminar in Seoul, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have calculated this when he warned of a protracted deadlock in US-North Korea

Jan. 10, 2020

N. Korea's Yangdok spa resort begins operations

North Korea began operations of a new spa resort in the country's central region Friday, according to state media, as Pyongyang pushes to attract more foreign tourists in the face of global sanctions crippling its economy.The construction of the Yangdok spa resort in the North's South Pyongan Province was completed last month, which the North's leader Kim Jong-un described as a demonstration of "steady development and prosperity" achieved by the country despite "the worst adversit

Jan. 10, 2020

US grant-making group provides $11m for NK human rights projects

The National Endowment for Democracy, a congressionally funded US grant-making organization, provided more than $11.2 million over the past four years to human rights groups working on North Korea, recent data showed.According to the data released by the NED on Thursday, $11,222,553 was granted to nongovernmental human rights groups in seven different areas between 2016-2019, including funding for freedom of information. About $5 million was granted to 22 projects designed to provide news to the

Jan. 10, 2020

Trump meets top Seoul official amid NK tensions

US President Donald Trump met with the top national security advisers of South Korea and Japan in Washington on Wednesday, the White House said, as nuclear talks between Washington and North Korea remain deadlocked.Trump met briefly with Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's national security office, and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Kitamura, and noted that the two countries are among the strongest US allies in the Indo-Pacific, according to a White House readout sent late Wednesday.T

Jan. 10, 2020