NK leader inspects military unit on border islet

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a front-line military unit on an island just north of the western sea border with South Korea, Pyongyang's official news agency said Monday, in his third trip to military installations this month. Kim "inspected the Changrin Islet defense detachment on the western front," according to the Korean Central News Agency in English. The islet lies just north of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border with South Korea, which was the si

Nov. 25, 2019

Senior N. Korean diplomat returns home after strategic talks in Russia

MOSCOW -- A senior North Korean diplomat has returned home following her six-day trip to Russia, which included the two countries' first "strategic dialogue."North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui told Korean reporters, "I had excellent talks with the Russian side this time," at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Saturday evening as she awaited her Aeroflot flight to Beijing.Arriving first at Vladivostok on Nov. 18, Choe, considered a key nuclear st

Nov. 24, 2019

N. Korea, Russia discuss intensifying 'strategic communications'

North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, considered a key nuclear strategist of leader Kim Jong-un, has met with a senior Russian diplomat and discussed the need for "strategic communications and cooperation" between the two countries, the North's state media said Saturday.Choe met with Russian Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow on Friday and exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Nov. 23, 2019

Senior NK official says US should take responsibility if chance of diplomacy disappears

MOSCOW -- A senior North Korean official said Friday that the US should take responsibility if the chance of diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula disappears due to a lack of action by Washington.First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made the remarks after meeting with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow. She was in Moscow for their strategic cooperation on regional and international matters."If the United States does not take corresponding steps so that the chance of di

Nov. 22, 2019

Warmbier's parents urge Seoul to pressure Pyongyang on human rights issues

The parents of American student Otto Warmbier, who died soon after his release from 17 months of captivity in North Korea, called on South Korea's government Friday to pressure North Korea on its human rights abuses. Fred and Cindy Warmbier made the appeal during a press conference in Seoul organized by the Korean War Abductees' Family Union to drum up international support for legal responses by victims of North Korea's abductions and detention, and their families.  Warmbier was held capti

Nov. 22, 2019

Biegun downplays N. Korea’s deadline for nuke talks

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said Wednesday that the US will continue its efforts to hold denuclearization talks with the North until the matter is resolved, dismissing the year-end deadline set by the regime. “We do not have a year-end deadline. ... That’s an artificial deadline set by the North Koreans, and unfortunately it’s a deadline that they’ve set upon themselves,” Biegun said before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee durin

Nov. 21, 2019

N. Korea says leader Kim will not attend upcoming ASEAN summit in South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will not attend a special summit that South Korea will host for Southeast Asian leaders next week, turning down President Moon Jae-in's invitation to the event, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday. Moon sent a personal letter on Nov. 5 to invite Kim to the South Korea-ASEAN special summit slated for next Monday and Tuesday in the southeastern port city of Busan, but North Korea could not find any reason for its leader to travel for the event, according to the Ko

Nov. 21, 2019

NK vice FM renews calls for US to drop 'hostile policy'

SEOUL/MOSCOW -- A senior North Korean diplomat on Wednesday renewed calls for Washington to drop its "hostile policy" against Pyongyang, saying denuclearization could be discussed again in future talks only after such a policy is abolished.First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made the remarks after meeting senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow. She arrived in the Russian capital for the two countries' inaugural strategic dialogue on bilateral

Nov. 21, 2019

Biegun believes NK can still make choice to denuclearize

WASHINGTON -- US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said Wednesday that he has not seen concrete evidence that North Korea plans to dismantle its nuclear weapons program but believes Pyongyang can still make that choice.Biegun made the remark before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation hearing on his nomination as deputy secretary of state.He said the belief is shared by US President Donald Trump, who "remains of the view" that North Korean

Nov. 21, 2019

Pyongyang says denuke talks with US ‘impossible’ unless US drops hostile policy

North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator said Tuesday dialogue with the United States will be “impossible” unless it abandons its hostile policy against the communist regime. Kim Myong-gil, the roving ambassador at the North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, also emphasized again that the US should not try to involve a third party in their relationship, according to an interview with Korean Central News Agency.  “As we have already reiterated several times, the DPRK-US d

Nov. 19, 2019

NK nuclear envoy: Dialogue with US 'impossible' unless Washington drops 'hostile policy'

North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator said Tuesday that dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington is "impossible" unless the United States makes a "bold decision to drop the hostile policy" against the communist nation.Kim Myong-gil made the remarks in an interview with the Korean Central News Agency, unveiling that the US recently offered through Sweden to hold a new round of talks in December after October's working-level negotiations in Stockholm."As we have already

Nov. 19, 2019

US appears to be reviewing options for success of NK talks: minister

WASHINGTON -- The United States appears to be reviewing various options for the success of denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, Seoul's unification minister said Monday.Kim Yeon-chul made the remark to reporters after meeting with US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun in Washington. He declined to elaborate.Denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since February's second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean lea

Nov. 19, 2019

N. Korea rejects nuclear talks before US withdraws hostile policy

North Korea said Tuesday it has no interest in denuclearization negotiations with the United States unless Washington drops its "hostile" policy.Kim Yong-chol, who formerly led the negotiations as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's counterpart, issued the statement in response to Sunday's decision by South Korea and the US to postpone military exercises in support of diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the North."What we are demanding from the US is that it withdraw from combined

Nov. 19, 2019

N. Korean official says Pyongyang not interested in 'fruitless' summit with US

North Korea is no longer interested in holding another "fruitless" summit with the United States, a former chief nuclear envoy of the communist nation said Monday, urging Washington to drop its "hostile policy" against Pyongyang.Kim Kye-gwan, currently an adviser to the North Korean foreign ministry, made the remarks in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, saying that he understood US. President Donald Trump's recent tweet on leader Kim Jong

Nov. 18, 2019

US moves to seal nuclear deal with N. Korea before year-end deadline

The United States has stepped up efforts to keep up momentum for dialogue with North Korea, urging the North’s leader to take swift action to forge a denuclearization agreement and accepting the regime’s demand to postpone the US joint military exercise with South Korea. “I am the only one who can get you where you have to be,” US President Donald Trump told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un via a tweet Sunday. “You should act quickly, get the deal done. See you soon!

Nov. 18, 2019

Minister says he will help create environment for US-NK talks

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Sunday he will make the effort to “create an environment” for denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea as he began his first trip to the US since taking office.　Kim’s seven-day visit to the US came after Pyongyang demanded Seoul remove all the facilities it had built at the Kumgangsan resort and vowed to build its own resort. 　“I plan to meet some people in the State Department and Congress to exchange views on the Nort

Nov. 18, 2019

Kim watches airborne landing training, urges improved war preparedness

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised an airborne landing training, emphasizing the need to improve the country's war preparedness, Pyongyang's official news agency said Monday.Kim's "field guidance" was reported a day after South Korea and the United States decided to put off their wartime air exercises to encourage North Korea to return to the negotiation table for its denuclearization.Kim watched "an airborne landing training of sharpshooter sub-units of the Air and An

Nov. 18, 2019

Trump urges NK leader to 'act quickly,' 'get deal done'

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday to "act quickly" and reach a deal with him on dismantling the regime's nuclear weapons program.Trump's tweet came as denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the two leaders' second summit in February ended without a deal. The US president suggested that they meet again soon."I am the only one who can get you where you have to be," he tweeted. "

Nov. 18, 2019

NK condemns UN rights resolution as proof of hostile US policy

North Korea denounced a recent UN human rights resolution against it as a US attempt to topple the communist regime, vowing never to discuss the issue of its nuclear programs unless Washington's "hostile policy" is on the agenda.An unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson issued the criticism in a statement, saying that last week's UN resolution clearly proved that the US has not given up on its "hollow dream to bring down our system." "Even if the North-US talks reopen in

Nov. 17, 2019

Unification minister to head to US for talks about Kumgangsan project

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul was to leave for Washington on Sunday on his first trip to the United States since taking office, with the fate of a long-suspended inter-Korean tourism project expected to be among key topics of discussions. During the seven-day trip, Kim plans to deliver a keynote address at the Korea Global Forum for Peace, an annual seminar his ministry has hosted in Washington, and meet with senior US officials, congressional leaders and experts.US Special Representative f

Nov. 17, 2019