Japanese delegation arrives in N. Korea

A Japanese delegation arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea's state news agency said Saturday, amid soured relations between the two countries.The Yamanashi prefectural delegation led by Shingo Kanemaru arrived in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency said in a one-sentence dispatch.Kanemaru is the second son of late Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Shin Kanemaru, who met with North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung during a visit to Pyongyang in 1990 with other Japanese politicians.It remains unclear w

Sept. 15, 2019

US puts sanctions on N. Korea hacking groups behind major thefts

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US Treasury on Friday placed sanctions on three North Korea government-sponsored hacking operations which it said were behind the theft of possibly hundreds of millions of dollars and destructive cyber-attacks on infrastructure.The Treasury said the three groups -- dubbed Lazarus Group, Bluenoroff and Andariel -- were behind major thefts from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as the 2018 WannaCry hack that crippled Britain's National Health Serv

Sept. 15, 2019

Number of N. Korean childbearing women likely to decline significantly: report

The number of North Korean women of childbearing age will likely decline by 400,000 as of 2035, a report showed.According to the report by Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a Washington-based population survey agency, the number of women aged 15-49 in North Korea is expected to stand at 6.2 million in 2035, down from 6.6 million estimated last year.The North's total fertility rate -- the average number of babies that a woman bears in her lifetime -- hit an all-time low of 1.9 last year, accordi

Sept. 14, 2019

[Newsmaker] Working-level nuclear talks aimed at drafting summit agreement: pro-Pyongyang paper

Working-level talks expected to take place between the United States and North Korea late this month are part of a process to draft an agreement to be signed at the next summit of the two countries, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Thursday. Earlier this week, the North expressed a willingness to hold working-level talks with the U.S. in late September in what would mark a resumption of the negotiating process that reached a deadlock with February's no-deal summit between U.S. President D

Sept. 12, 2019

Over 200 S. Koreans issued government certificates of N.K. trips after U.S. visa rule change

More than 200 South Koreans have been issued government certificates showing state authorization of their previous trips to North Korea, the unification ministry said Thursday, after the United States tightened visa requirements for those with records of trips to the communist nation. The U.S. enforced a new visa rule last month, under which those with records of visits to the North since March 2011 are no longer eligible for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and must go through an interview and oth

Sept. 12, 2019

[Newsmaker] NK’s test-firing of new rocket launcher likely failed

North Korea said Wednesday it test-fired its “super-large multiple rocket launcher” the previous day, however there is speculation in Seoul that one of the projectiles failed to reach its target in the sea. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong-un guided the weapons test. It is the second test of the super-large multiple rocket launcher after Aug. 24, and the 10th launch of projectiles conducted by the regime this year.“The Supreme Leader l

Sept. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] Bolton’s exit may add flexibility to NK talks but could hinder full denuke efforts

Hawkish US national security adviser John Bolton’s departure may bring flexibility to the upcoming nuclear talks with North Korea but could undercut efforts to achieve the regime’s complete denuclearization, analysts said Wednesday.US President Donald Trump announced in a surprise tweet Tuesday that he has fired the conservative advisor and that he will name a replacement next week. He cited strong disagreements with many of Bolton‘s foreign policy suggestions.Bolton’s re

Sept. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] N. Korea’s short-range projectiles possibly ‘super-large MRLS’ or ATACMS: experts

North Korea on Tuesday fired two short-range projectiles from its northwestern area toward the East Sea, its 10th launch this year, South Korea’s military said. According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pyongyang fired the projectiles from Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, at 6:53 a.m. and 7:12 a.m., with one of the projectiles flying 330 kilometers east. The JCS did not provide further details such as the altitude and speed of the projectiles launched, saying it is analyzing the in

Sept. 10, 2019

North Korea hints at detailed security assurance plan from US

North Korea gave the United States its long-awaited response Tuesday on the revival of denuclearization talks, but warned that without any concessions there could be another stalemate. Hours after the announcement, the regime fired two unidentified projectiles toward the East Sea, inviting speculation as to its intentions. The North’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said Monday that the country is willing to have comprehensive discussions with the US in late September at a time an

Sept. 10, 2019

Vice unification minister to make 2-day trip to inter-Korean liaison office

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho will make a two-day trip to an inter-Korean liaison office Tuesday on the occasion of the first anniversary of the opening of the office aimed at fostering cross-border exchanges, a ministry official said.Suh will leave for the office in the North's border town of Kaesong later on Tuesday with a plan to stay there until Wednesday, according to the official. It is rare for a vice unification minister, who also serves as a co-head of the office, to spend a night th

Sept. 10, 2019

N. Korea says willing to hold talks with US in September

Nuclear-armed North Korea said Monday it is willing to resume talks later this month with the United States, after a standstill in the denuclearisation process since the collapse of a February summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.The pair agreed to restart working-level dialogue during an impromptu meeting at the Demilitarised Zone dividing North and South Korea in June, but those talks have yet to begin."We are willing to sit face-to-face with the US around late September at a time

Sept. 10, 2019

US is aware of reports of NK projectile launch: official

The United States is aware of reports of North Korea's latest projectile launches and is monitoring the situation with its allies in the region, a senior US government official said Monday. Hours earlier, North Korea twice fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea, according to South Korea's military.The launches came shortly after the regime offered to resume denuclearization talks with the US in late September."We are aware of reports of projectiles launched from North Korea. We ar

Sept. 10, 2019

N. Korea fires short-range projectiles toward East Sea: JCS

North Korea fired two short-range projectiles from a western region toward the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, just hours after the communist nation offered to resume nuclear talks with the United States.The projectiles were fired at 6:53 a.m. and 7:12 a.m. from areas in the city of Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, about 80 kilometers north of the capital, Pyongyang, in a northeastern direction, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.Both flew around 330 km across the peninsula,

Sept. 10, 2019

US coaxing, pressuring N. Korea for talks

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the US is hopeful that its nuclear talks with North Korea will resume within days or weeks, while the US Congress and other officials warned that other countries in the region may seek nuclear armament if Pyongyang fails to denuclearize. In an interview with ABC, Pompeo made a fresh call to restart working-level dialogue. Washington has repeated calls for the resumption of dialogue, to which Pyongyang has been lukewarm in responding. US Presiden

Sept. 9, 2019

Typhoon kills 5, damages N. Korean farms: North media

Typhoon Lingling has killed at least five people and injured three in North Korea, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. “Five people have been killed and three others have been injured and are being treated at the hospital according to the data collected by the National Emergency Disaster Committee,” the KCNA said. Some 460 houses and 14 public buildings were "completely or partially destroyed or submerged" by the typhoon. It added tha

Sept. 8, 2019

Top US officials urge NK to resume talks

Top US officials are urging North Korea to return to talks, stressing that failing to achieve denuclearization of the regime could have wider consequences. On Friday, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun called on Pyongyang to resume talks with the US as agreed on by the two countries’ leaders.  The North, meanwhile, has been highlighting its close ties to China, and has issued several warnings to South Korea and the US. “At this moment, to achieve further pr

Sept. 8, 2019

[Feature] Concerns raised over support policy after N. Korean refugees die of hunger

On the last day of July, the decomposing bodies of a mother in her 40s and her 6-year-old son were found in their apartment in Seoul, their deaths apparently due to starvation. The case would be shocking on its own, but the impact of the news was compounded when it was revealed that the mother was a North Korean who had fled the North for a better life in the South.As questions piled up as to how the defector and her young son died of hunger in South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a

Sept. 8, 2019

Pompeo acknowledges N. Korea's right to defend itself

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged Friday that North Korea has the right to defend itself and assured Pyongyang of Washington's security guarantees should the regime dismantle its nuclear weapons program.In an interview with KCMO radio in Kansas City, Missouri, Pompeo said the US is committed to continuing denuclearization negotiations with North Korea and hopes the regime will return to the table as agreed during a June meeting between US President Donald Trump and Nor

Sept. 7, 2019

US envoy calls on N. Korea to halt hostility, return to talk

WASHINGTON-- US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun called on the North on Friday to halt its demonstrations of hostility and return to denuclearization talks.In a speech at the University of Michigan, the top US envoy to North Korea negotiations said both countries must work together to ensure progress on denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.His remarks came as dialogue has stalled despite an agreement between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim

Sept. 7, 2019