N. Korea's media call sanctions 'most heinous' but useless in deterring economic development

North Korea's media criticized hostile forces for imposing "most heinous" sanctions on the North on Thursday but emphasized that they could not deter it from realizing economic development."The sanctions ruckus being led by hostile forces who don't want us to live well have been the most heinous, persistent and unprecedented in terms of its scale, implementing methods and duration," said Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean external propaganda outlet. (Yonhap)"Though hostile forces stick to shameful ta

Nov. 22, 2018

Pompeo holds out hope for 2nd NK summit

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he continues to hope for a second meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un early next year.Pompeo was scheduled to meet a senior North Korean official in New York earlier this month to plan the second summit and discuss details of the North's commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Yonhap)The meeting was abruptly postponed a day before it was sup

Nov. 22, 2018

N. Korean defector says Japan's Sankei newspaper apologized about interview

A North Korean soldier who made a dramatic escape to the South via the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last year said Wednesday he received a message of apology from a Japanese newspaper for running an interview with him with distorted facts. Oh Chong-song is seen running across the border to the South in a CCTV footage. YonhapOh Chong-song told Yonhap News Agency that he made a complaint to the Sankei Shimbun about the content of the interview and got a text message apologizing to him through an inter

Nov. 21, 2018

Koreas to hold meeting to discuss improving direct communications lines

South and North Korea will hold a working-level meeting later this week to discuss ways to modernize underground cables set up across their border for direct phone and other communication lines, the unification ministry said Wednesday.The meeting, set for Friday at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, will focus on cooperation in replacing the current copper communications cables with fiber-optic cables, the ministry said. (Yonhap)Chung Chang-rim, a senior communicatio

Nov. 21, 2018

Jeju council adopts resolution welcoming leaders of two Koreas to Mount Halla

The Jeju Special-Governing Provincial Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for the leaders of the two Koreas to together visit the southern resort island's Mount Halla during North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's future visit to South Korea.The resolution, which was unanimously approved by 38 Jeju councilors, also expresses support for the fourth summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim. (Yonhap)In the resolution, the Jeju councilors urged the Moon government to make al

Nov. 21, 2018

Gyeonggi Province’s inter-Korean projects likely to be pushed back to 2019

Most of Gyeonggi Province’s planned inter-Korean projects failed to materialize this year and are likely to be pushed back to next year.In late 2017, Gyeonggi allocated 5.5 billion won ($4.9 million) for inter-Korean cooperation projects, but so far only 1.8 billion won has been spent, according to Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday. In keeping with the mood of detente that arrived on the Korean Peninsula after the inter-Korean summit held in April at the truce village of Panmunjom, Gyeonggi Provinc

Nov. 21, 2018

Conservatives voice concerns over inter-Korean military agreement

　A comprehensive inter-Korean military pact in the absence of significant progress on North Korea’s denuclearization could weaken South Korea’s defense capabilities, security experts and former generals said Wednesday. 　At a defense seminar in Seoul, the participants criticized the Moon Jae-in administration for signing a “one-sided deal” that leaves South Korea vulnerable to North Korea’s asymmetric capabilities, pointing to the establishment of a no-fly zone and the suspension of joint exercis

Nov. 21, 2018

Conservatives in S. Korea voice worries over inter-Korean military agreement

South Korean conservatives, including former generals, reiterated concerns Wednesday over an inter-Korean military accord on arms control and trust-building measures, saying it would imperil their country's security.They have argued that concrete steps toward denuclearization by Pyongyang must precede such measures, and raised the possibility that North Korea could exploit the good-faith accord to its own advantage.They are set to gather at an afternoon forum on the September accord aimed at eas

Nov. 21, 2018

N. Korea abstains from vote on UN resolution against arbitrary executions: report

North Korea has abstained from voting on two United Nations resolutions on arbitrary executions and freedom of association and assembly, American broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported on Wednesday.According to RFA and the UN website, North Korea did not vote on a resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions during a session of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.The resolution was adopted with 110 votes in favor and 67 abstentions. South Korea voted i

Nov. 21, 2018

US 'strongly supports' inter-Korean railway study: official

The United States has expressed its "strong support" for the Koreas' plan to study the possibility of reconnecting a railway across their border, a South Korean official said Tuesday.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, relayed the US position to reporters after meeting with his American counterpart, Stephen Biegun, earlier in the day. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs. (Yonhap)"The US expressed its

Nov. 21, 2018

International anti-land mine coalition welcomes demining along inter-Korean border

An international anti-land mine coalition welcomed a demining operation that South and North Korea have been undertaking along their border, saying it hopes the confidence-building measure will reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Since Oct. 1, the Koreas have been removing land mines in an area inside the Demilitarized Zone as part of a joint project to retrieve war remains from the site. It's part of a peace agreement that President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached at

Nov. 21, 2018

S. Korea, US hold inaugural session of NK working group

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday held the inaugural session of a working group designed to help coordination on efforts to denuclearize North Korea.The two sides met in Washington as diplomatic efforts to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program have stalled since historic meetings between the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, and his South Korean and US counterparts.The meeting was co-chaired on the South Korean side by Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security

Nov. 21, 2018

Pompeo: Inter-Korean cooperation should not outpace NK denuclearization

The United States wants to ensure that progress in denuclearizing North Korea is not outpaced by efforts to improve inter-Korean ties, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday.Pompeo's remark underscores US concerns that a recent flurry of inter-Korean activity could undermine sanctions placed on the North for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.(Yonhap)"We have made clear to the Republic of Korea that we do want to make sure that peace on the peninsula and the denuclearizat

Nov. 21, 2018

Koreas to connect road inside heavily fortified DMZ

The Koreas will connect a 3-kilometer-long tactical road across the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday to support a joint project to excavate Korean War remains at a notorious battle site.The road will be established at Arrowhead Ridge, or Hill 281, in Cheorwon, 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul -- a site that the two sides have designated for the project to retrieve war remains from April to October next year.The Koreas' first road connection in 14 years came ami

Nov. 20, 2018

[Video] N. Korea destroys 10 DMZ guard posts

North Korea on Tuesday demolished 10 frontline guard posts located inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said, in a symbolic effort to sustain momentum for inter-Korean detente. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the demolition began at 3 p.m. by simultaneously exploding the guard posts scattered across the DMZ. The ministry said North Korea had notified it of the plan several days earlier. The two Koreas had originally planned to explode the guard

Nov. 20, 2018

NK state media denounces S. Korea’s military program - not Iran's

　North Korea on Tuesday ratcheted up its criticism of South Korea’s military procurement projects and a recent joint exercise it undertook with the US Marines, but struck a different tone on Iran’s efforts to expand its military capabilities. 　In an editorial titled “Unjustifiable move,” the state-run Rodong Sinmun denounced the South Korean military, saying the South had damaged the inter-Korean detente by purchasing an air-refueling tanker and surface-to-air missiles and by holding a joint exe

Nov. 20, 2018

S. Korean aid groups seek to visit N. Korea this month

South Korea's private humanitarian aid groups are planning to visit North Korea this month to discuss various assistance programs with the North's authorities, officials said Tuesday.Representatives of the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea, a consultative body of about 50 South Korean private organizations committed to humanitarian aid for the North, reportedly plan to visit Pyongyang from Wednesday to Saturday to discuss various cooperation projects with the North's National Re

Nov. 20, 2018

N. Korea's ceremonial head of state arrives in Beijing

BEIJING -- North Korea's ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, apparently on his way to Latin America.Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, arrived at Beijing's Capital International Airport. He and his entourage, consisting of around 10 officials, were greeted by North Korean Ambassador to Beijing Ji Jae-ryong at the airport. (Yonhap)Kim apparently came here on his way to Latin American countries. Observers say that Kim is likely to m

Nov. 20, 2018

Minister says Seoul will honor sanctions in seeking inter-Korean economic cooperation

South Korea will continue to closely cooperate with the international community in enforcing global sanctions on North Korea even when it pushes for inter-Korean economic cooperation, Seoul's unification minister said Tuesday."The South Korean government strongly sticks to the goal of complete denuclearization (of the Korean Peninsula) and also respects the framework of global sanctions," Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a forum in Seoul."Going forward, our government will closely coope

Nov. 20, 2018

Remains of US soldier killed in Korean War identified

ALBANY (AP) -- There's now a national veterans cemetery not far from where John Martin grew up along the upper Hudson River, but when it came time to pick a burial place for the soldier 68 years after he was killed in the Korean War, his niece picked the family plot at a nearby cemetery."Nope, he's going in the plot with his mom," Tamaris Martin Dolton said Monday, when the Pentagon announced Martin's remains were identified nearly seven decades after he died. "She's been without him too long."M

Nov. 20, 2018