NK's criticism of Seoul over joint drill, weapons purchase nothing new: official

North Korea's recent stepped-up criticism of South Korea over joint military exercises with the United States is not anything out of the ordinary, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.The North has been ramping up pressure on Seoul, taking issue with the South Korea-US joint military drill that wrapped up last week and the introduction of new weapons, such as F-35A stealth fighters, from Washington."We don't see it as an occurrence of a new situation between the South and the North.

Aug. 27, 2019

Trump again touts N. Korea's economic potential

US President Donald Trump again touted North Korea's "tremendous" economic potential on Monday, seemingly urging the regime to return to denuclearization talks.The negotiations have yet to resume despite Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's agreement to do so within several weeks after their impromptu meeting on the inter-Korean border on June 30."I think that North Korea has tremendous economic potential, and I think that Kim Jong-un sees that," Trump said at a joint

Aug. 27, 2019

Seoul says NK parliamentary session will be 'good opportunity' for it to announce policy direction

The unification ministry said Monday that this week's meeting of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament will be a "good opportunity" for it to announce Pyongyang's policy direction, vowing to keep a close eye on the event.  The 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) will meet in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the North's state media, which will be the second time the legislature will have met after 687 new deputies were elected in nationwide polls in March.   &quo

Aug. 26, 2019

North Korea boasts test-firing of newly developed ‘super-large multiple rocket launcher’

North Korea on Sunday boasted the successful test-firing of what it called a “newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher,” a day after it fired two projectiles into the East Sea. Releasing pictures of the new weapon system, the state-run daily Rodong Sinmun said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un highly praised the new system after overseeing the test-firing.“The test-fire proved that all the tactical and technological specifications of the system correctly reached the p

Aug. 25, 2019

N. Korea says it tested new super-large multiple rocket launcher

North Korea said Sunday that it has successfully tested a 'new' super-large multiple rocket launch system the previous day under the guidance of leader Kim Jong-un. Kim "guided the test-fire of newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher on Saturday," the Korean Central News Agency said. "The test-fire proved that all the tactical and technological specifications of the system correctly reached the preset indexes."The KCNA added that Kim underscored the need to push

Aug. 25, 2019

Trump says US has really good relations with N. Korea: report

US President Donald Trump has said his country has a very good relationship with North Korea, foreign media reported, after Pyongyang fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Saturday."Kim Jong-un has been, you know, pretty straight with me,"Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday (Washington time), according to a video released by the cable channel C-Span."He likes testing missiles, but we never restricted short-range miss

Aug. 24, 2019

Int'l lawyers to visit Seoul, Pyongyang to probe N.K. restaurant workers' defection

A team of international lawyers will visit South and North Korea in the coming weeks to investigate a high-profile 2016 defection of a dozen North Korean restaurant workers, a Seoul-based lawyers' group said Saturday.Members of two organizations -- the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and the Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific -- will arrive in Seoul on Sunday for a six-day stay and travel to Pyongyang next week for another six-day visit, according to the Lawyer

Aug. 24, 2019

N. Korea hopes for more investment, economic cooperation with foreign countries

A senior North Korean official said Friday that Pyongyang is making active efforts to create a business-friendly environment to attract investment and foster economic cooperation with foreign countries.North Korea's Minister for External Economic Affairs Kim Yong-jae made the remark at a forum held in Changchun, the capital city of China's Jilin province. "(We) are making active efforts to expand and advance economic cooperation with several countries, while pushing to preserve an investmen

Aug. 23, 2019

North Korea prepared for dialogue, confrontation

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said Friday the regime is ready for both dialogue and confrontation with the US, criticizing Washington for using sanctions as leverage in denuclearization talks. In a statement via the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Ri condemned US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for invoking sanctions imposed on the North in a recent interview with Washington Examiner. “The US is miscalculating if it is trying to not lose (the) confrontational stance against

Aug. 23, 2019

N. Korea says it would be 'miscalculation' if US confronts Pyongyang with sanctions

North Korea's top diplomat warned Friday that it would be a miscalculation if the United States tries to use sanctions to deal with the communist regime, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the "toughest" sanctions will remain unless Pyongyang denuclearizes.Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho also warned in a statement that Pyongyang is ready for both dialogue and a standoff, but it will remain "the biggest threat" to Washington for a long time should the US stick to a hosti

Aug. 23, 2019

S. Korea mulling inviting N. Korea to intl. security forum in Seoul

South Korea is mulling whether to invite North Korea to an annual international security forum to be held in Seoul next month, a government official said Friday.The 8th vice-ministerial Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) is set to take place on Sept. 4-6, with the attendance of hundreds of government officials and experts from 56 countries and five international organizations, including the UN. "We are reviewing whether to invite North Korea here," the official said, without elaborating furt

Aug. 23, 2019

Blue House expects imminent resumption of US-NK talks

The US and North Korea are expected to resume denuclearization talks soon, Kim Hyun-chong, a deputy director at the presidential National Security Office, said Thursday after a meeting with a top US envoy for Pyongyang. “The impression I have (from the meeting) is that talks between the US and North Korea will soon begin and it will go well,” Kim told reporters at the Government Complex in Seoul. But Kim said he cannot disclose the details that convinced him US-North Korea nuclear ta

Aug. 22, 2019

NK notifies UN its FM will attend General Assembly in Sept.: source

North Korea has notified the United Nations that its Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho will attend this year's session of the General Assembly slated to take place in New York next month, a diplomatic source here said Thursday.His possible trip to New York raised the prospects of bilateral talks with his US counterpart, Mike Pompeo, as Washington is seeking to restart working-level nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. "The North has informed the UN that Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho will deliver a

Aug. 22, 2019

NK says it has no interest in talks if military threats continue

North Korea said Thursday it had no interest in dialogue as long as military hostilities continue, mentioning South Korea’s introduction of F-35A stealth fighters.A spokesperson for the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that South Korea violated inter-Korean agreements by continuing to bring in the high-tech weapons from the US.The statement came a day after two additional F-35A fighter jets arrived in South Korea, raising the total number of the stealth fighters in the co

Aug. 22, 2019

US ready to resume talks with NK: Biegun

South Korean and US chief negotiators on North Korea met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss how to push the denuclearization dialogue forward. On Wednesday, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon.  “(We) discussed ways to achieve practical progress (in North Korean denuclearization talks),” Lee said, describing the current situation as an “important juncture” in restarting US-North Korea working-level

Aug. 21, 2019

N. Korea continued nuclear program in 2018 in Yongbyon: IAEA

North Korea continued and further developed its nuclear program last year at a 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its annual report.According to the IAEA report, which will be submitted to the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York next month, the agency observed through satellite imagery “indications that were consistent with the operation of the Yongbyon Experimental Nuclear Power Plant (five-megawatt) reactor until mid-August 2018.&r

Aug. 21, 2019

Biegun holds talks with S. Korean counterpart over resumption of nuke talks with NK

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun held talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss joint efforts to resume and make progress in nuclear talks with North Korea.The US envoy met Lee Do-hoon at Seoul's foreign ministry, kicking off his official schedule for a series of meetings with senior Seoul officials, including Unification Minister Kim Yeong-chul. He arrived here from Japan on Tuesday for a three-day visit. His trip came as the conclusion of

Aug. 21, 2019

N. Korea slams S. Korea for joint military drill, warns of consequences

North Korea's official newspaper blasted South Korea on Tuesday for conducting a joint military exercise with the United States on the last day of the drill, warning that Seoul will pay dearly for such "stupid" acts.  South Korea and the US were to wrap up their weekslong joint exercise later in the day. Seoul has said that it is part of its preparations to regain wartime operational control of its troops from Washington, but Pyongyang has called it a rehearsal for invasion. 

Aug. 20, 2019

US extends travel ban on N. Korea for another year

The United States on Monday extended a ban on American citizens traveling to North Korea for another year.The State Department announced the extension in a notice, saying "there continues to be serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention" in the North. The notice is due to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.The travel ban was imposed in Sept. 2017 in the wake of the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in the No

Aug. 20, 2019

Resumption of US-NK dialogue a matter for speculation as drills come to end

A possible resumption of talks between the US and North Korea is in the spotlight as the top nuclear negotiator from Washington is due in Seoul on Tuesday, the final day of their joint military drills. According to the US Department of State, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is set to arrive here after visiting Tokyo. His trip to both countries is intended to “further strengthen coordination on the final, fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea. 

Aug. 19, 2019