Koreas hold meeting of liaison office co-chiefs to discuss cross-border issues

The South and North Korean co-chiefs of a joint liaison office agreed Friday to continue to work closely together in the new year to further move inter-Korean relations forward, the unification ministry said.Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung met with Jon Chong-su, vice chairman of the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, at the liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong.(Yonhap)"Both sides assessed that there has been much progress in inter-Korean rela

Dec. 28, 2018

Archbishop of Gwangju says Pope likely to visit N. Korea if formally invited

Archbishop of Gwangju Kim Hee-joong said Friday that a visit by Pope Francis to North Korea was still a possibility when and if the North's leader Kim Jong-un sends the Pope a formal invitation. In a press conference held in the southwestern city of Gwangju earlier in the day, the president of the Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference sounded positive on the prospect of the Pope's travel to the reclusive nation. Archbishop of Gwangju Kim Hee-joong talks during a press conference held in Gwangju, S

Dec. 28, 2018

Personal info of about 1,000 North Korean defectors leaked

The personal information of nearly 1,000 North Korean defectors in South Korea has been leaked as a computer at a state-run resettlement center was hacked, the unification ministry said Friday.The names, birth dates and addresses of 997 North Korean defectors were confirmed to have been leaked through a personal computer infected with a malicious code, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)"Recognizing a possibility of one personal computer at the Hana Center in North Gyeongsang Province having bee

Dec. 28, 2018

S. Korea to extend period for NK defectors' settlement application

South Korea on Thursday decided to extend the period in which North Korean defectors can apply for settlement here from the current one year to three years to provide them with more support, the unification ministry said.Under the current law, defectors from the communist country can face restrictions in receiving state support in case they fail to express their intent to settle in South Korea within one year of arrival.But the National Assembly passed the revision earlier in the day to extend t

Dec. 27, 2018

S. Korea to provide N. Korea with Tamiflu soon: unification minister

South Korea will provide North Korea with the antiviral medication Tamiflu in the near future, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Thursday.Speaking at a forum on inter-Korean healthcare cooperation, Cho said the envisioned aid will be helpful in building mutual trust with the North. A unification ministry official said earlier that the aid is likely to be delivered in mid-January. (Yonhap)The ministry unveiled the Tamiflu provision plan last week, and discussed the issue with the United S

Dec. 27, 2018

NK founder’s second wife died in 2014: Unification Ministry

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s step-grandmother and the national founder Kim Il-sung’s second wife Kim Song-ae died in 2014, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification confirmed Thursday, in a booklet of North Korean personnel data published annually by the ministry. In the updated booklet, Kim Song-ae was categorized under “deceased,” with a note saying that she died in 2014. This is the first time the government has officially acknowledged her death.Her sign and specific date of death remains un

Dec. 27, 2018

NK reports railway, road groundbreaking a day after

North Korean state media reported the groundbreaking for a project to reconnect inter-Korean railways and roads on Thursday, a day after the ceremony took place.“A groundbreaking ceremony for reconnecting and modernizing the railways and roads of the north and the south on the eastern and western coasts of Korea was held,” the Korean Central News Agency said in a short English article. (Yonhap)The KCNA said Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Coun

Dec. 27, 2018

N. Korea faces serious humanitarian challenges as sanctions hamper medical supplies: Pyongyang official

Health situations in North Korea are "extremely worrying" as multilayered global sanctions on its regime are taking a toll on the country's medical supplies, a North Korean Red Cross official has said.Ri Ho-rim, secretary general of North Korea's Red Cross, made the remarks carried in a statement recently issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on its website."The health situation is extremely worrying. The impact of sanctions on basic medicines is severe,"

Dec. 27, 2018

N. Korea to keep momentum for dialogue through New Year’s speech

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would likely reaffirm his commitment to moving forward denuclearization talks with Washington but would also call on it to take corresponding measures in his New Year’s speech, experts say.  (Yonhap)The message of the upcoming New Year’s speech is garnering attention because North Korea has neither given any specific response to recent conciliatory gestures by the US nor engaged it in working-level and senior-level talks to hammer out the details of how denucleari

Dec. 26, 2018

NK may no longer be described as ‘enemy’ in S. Korea’s defense white paper

North Korea may no longer be described as South Korea’s official enemy in the government’s soon-to-be-published defense white paper, with the two Koreas accelerating efforts to reduce cross-border military tension and improve socioeconomic ties.　According to defense officials here on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense will seek to have its 2018 defense white paper stop referencing the North Korean military as an enemy to South Korea. 　Instead, the term “enemy” is likely to be applied to

Dec. 26, 2018

Koreas hold groundbreaking ceremony for railways, roads

South and North Korea held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to highlight the significance of their goal of modernizing and reconnecting cross-border railways and roads, amid the Seoul government’s efforts to improve inter-Korean relations despite stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The ceremony kicked off at Panmun Station in the North’s border town of Kaesong at around 10 a.m., according to the South’s Ministry of Unification. Several ranking officials from both

Dec. 26, 2018

Pro-North Korean paper paints rosy outlook for relations with US

A pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan predicted Wednesday that the "new history" of relations between the North and the United States will move steadily forward in the new year, even though there could be ups and downs during the process."The new history that started in 2018 will ceaselessly continue despite ups and downs," the Choson Sinbo said in an article, referring to "important changes" that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un predicted for the world in his summit with US President Donald Trum

Dec. 26, 2018

Koreas set to hold symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean railway and road project

South and North Korea were set to hold a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for an inter-Korean project to modernize and reconnect roads and railways across their heavily armed border.A special train carrying some 100 South Korean participants left for Panmun Station in the North's border town of Kaesong, where the event will be held at around 10 a.m. (Yonhap)Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, parliamentary leaders, and other road and railway officials

Dec. 26, 2018

UN exempts inter-Korean groundbreaking ceremony from NK sanctions

The United Nations Security Council has agreed to exempt this week’s groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean road and railway projects from sanctions, reports said Tuesday, in another sign of the US softening its stance toward North Korea. Negotiations with the UNSC North Korea sanctions committee on the groundbreaking ceremony were completed Tuesday in New York, said Yonhap News Agency, citing an unnamed South Korean Foreign Ministry official. A South Korean soldier inspects the train that was

Dec. 25, 2018

Trump says progress being made on N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Monday that progress is being made on the issue of North Korea and he looks forward to a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Trump posted the Twitter message with a photo showing him receiving a briefing from US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and National Security Council official Allison Hooker at the White House. (Trump`s Twitter)"Christmas Eve briefing with my team working on North Korea -- Progress being made.

Dec. 25, 2018

UN grants sanctions exemption for inter-Korean project's groundbreaking ceremony

The United Nations Security Council has granted a sanctions waiver to enable the Koreas to hold a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for their project to modernize and reconnect roads and railways across the border this week, a Seoul official said Tuesday.South and North Korea are preparing to hold the event Wednesday at Panmun Station in the North's border town of Kaesong. The project is part of the summit agreement reached between their leaders in April aimed at fostering balanced development an

Dec. 25, 2018

NK leader likely to use New Year's address to call for implementation of summit deal with Trump

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to reaffirm his denuclearization commitment and call for the sincere implementation of June's summit agreement with US President Donald Trump when he delivers his New Year's Day address next week, experts said Tuesday.Kim has used the annual Jan. 1 speech to outline key policy goals and directions for the new year. The in-person address is closely watched by the outside world for hints about where Kim is going to take the North on key issues, such as t

Dec. 25, 2018

[Newsmaker] US judge orders North Korea to pay $500m in student’s death

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ordered North Korea to pay more than $500 million in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died shortly after being released from that country.US District Judge Beryl Howell harshly condemned North Korea for “barbaric mistreatment” of Warmbier in agreeing with his family that the isolated nation should be held liable for his death last year. She awarded punitive damages and payments covering medica

Dec. 25, 2018

Two Koreas’ ministers to attend ceremony for railway and road project

South Korea’s unification and transport ministers, as well as South Korean families separated by the Korean War will attend the groundbreaking ceremony for a project to modernize and connect inter-Korean roads and railways, the Unification Ministry said Monday. 　About 100 South Korean participants, including Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, Land Minister Kim Hyun-mee and chief of the ruling Democratic Party Lee Hae-chan, will attend the event scheduled to take place 10 a.m. Wednesday at Pan

Dec. 24, 2018

Koreas to discuss Seoul's provision of Tamiflu to N. Korea

South and North Korea will discuss Seoul's provision of antiviral medication to the North as part of cooperative efforts in the medical and health sectors across the border, the unification ministry said Monday.The discussion on offering Tamiflu to North Korea will be held this week through an "exchange of documents" between the Koreas, according to the ministry.  (Yonhap)The Koreas will likely discuss how much and in what ways the drugs and early detection kits will be delivered to Pyongyang.Th

Dec. 24, 2018