Report shows deteriorating health of N. Korean infants, mothers

Amid the prolonged international sanctions on North Korea, the health of the North's infants and pregnant women is in a very vulnerable state, a South Korean government think tank said Tuesday.The Seoul-based Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said in a report that North Korea's maternal mortality rate was 82 per 100,000 newborns, about eight times higher than the rate of 11 in South Korea, based on the United Nations Population Fund's 2017 World Population Survey.The North's maternal

Nov. 20, 2018

S. Korea allows son of late NK official to visit Pyongyang for memorial service

South Korea has allowed a man to visit Pyongyang to attend a memorial service for his mother who was a high-ranking North Korean official, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.The ministry gave the green light to the travel request by the 72-year-old second son of Ryu Mi-yong, who was the chairwoman of the central committee of the Chondoist Chongu Party and a member of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea. The event is scheduled for Friday. He will enter the Nort

Nov. 20, 2018

N. Korea presses Japan to break from US-led sanctions

North Korea's external propaganda media on Tuesday urged Japan to withdraw its "anachronistic and self-destructive" support for the United States-led sanctions on the North.The Tongil Sinbo, a weekly magazine controlled by the Pyongyang regime, said in an article that Tokyo should deviate from its unilateral participation in Washington-initiated policies, including its support for anti-North Korea sanctions. (Yonhap)"Japan's blind pursuit of the United States' instruction for sanctions on North

Nov. 20, 2018

N. Korea defector soldier is general's son: report

The North Korean soldier who defected to the South in a hail of bullets last year is a general's son but says most Northerners of his age have no loyalty to Kim Jong-un, according to a Japanese newspaper.Oh Chong-song's dramatic dash across the border at the Panmunjom truce village in the Demilitarized Zone -- under fire from his comrades -- made global headlines last year, and saw him hospitalised with serious injuries.It is very rare for the North's troops to defect at Panmunjom, a major touri

Nov. 20, 2018

US sanctions S. African over N. Korea ties

The United States on Monday sanctioned a South African individual for allegedly helping North Korea buy oil through illicit means.Vladlen Amtchentsev, a Russian-born South African national, advised an already sanctioned entity, Velmur Management Pte. Ltd., on how to evade US sanctions to support purchases of fuel oil for North Korea, the Department of the Treasury said in a statement. (Yonhap)Velmur assisted the operations of Transatlantic Partners Pte. Ltd., which has been sanctioned for operat

Nov. 20, 2018

Pompeo thanks Sweden for help in American's release from N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked his Swedish counterpart Monday for the Nordic country's help in securing the release of an American citizen from North Korea, the State Department said.Pompeo spoke with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom in a phone call after North Korea announced last week its decision to deport an American identified as Bruce Byron Lowrance. (Yonhap)The man illegally entered North Korea via China last month and confessed to have done so under the

Nov. 20, 2018

N. Korea's media report on events for anniversary of Mount Kumgang tour

North Korea's media Tuesday reported on recent events to mark the 20th anniversary of a now-suspended tour program to a scenic North Korean mountain. More than 100 South Koreans, including Hyundai Group executives, lawmakers and journalists, arrived at a resort at Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast on Sunday for a two-day visit to attend the joint events with the North. (Yonhap)"Attending there from the north side were officials concerned of the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the DP

Nov. 20, 2018

S. Korea, US officials to meet over NK denuclearization

Top South Korean and US officials will meet in Washington this week to coordinate efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons program, the US State Department said Monday.Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will hold talks Tuesday with his US counterpart, Stephen Biegun, to "further strengthen our close coordination on efforts to achieve our shared goal of final, fully verified denuclearization," the department said in a statem

Nov. 20, 2018

Tour program to Mount Kumgang unlikely to be resumed this year: Hyundai chief

SEOUL/GOSEONG (Yonhap) -- The head of Hyundai Group on Monday expressed reservations about any quick resumption of a stalled tour program to North Korea‘s scenic mountain resort.　“At this point, the situation is difficult for the tour program to be resumed within this year, but I think it will be done in the near future,” Hyundai Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun told reporters after returning from Mount Kumgang on the North’s east coast.　She made a two-day visit to Mount Kumgang to celebrate the 20th a

Nov. 19, 2018

Seoul says NK leader's visit this year is still possible

It is still possible that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could visit the South this year despite a delay in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, the unification ministry said Monday."We will make preparations to make the agreements that the South and the North agreed upon, including Kim's trip to the South, take place without a hitch within this year," Baik Tae-hyun, a ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.In a September summit in Pyongyang, Kim promised to visit

Nov. 19, 2018

N. Korea touts bumper harvest of potatoes

North Korea's main newspaper on Monday reported a record harvest of potatoes in its northeastern province of Yanggang this year.The Rodong Sinmun said that workers of Daehongdan County in Yanggang Province produced an average of 51.5 tons of potatoes and a maximum of over 70 tons per jongbo, the equivalent of about 10,000 square meters, creating an innovation that surpasses the previous peak harvest year. A file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 30, 2018, shows North Korea

Nov. 19, 2018

N. Korean propaganda outlet blasts US for maximum pressure tactic

A North Korean propaganda outlet blasted the United States Monday for sticking to "maximum pressure" in pushing for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, calling it a "medieval-era" tactic that would never work on the North. "The US has forgotten the objectives agreed upon during the Singapore summit, while moving a train off the basic theme and basic track of improving relations between North Korea and the US and peace and now forcing it on a local line of denuclearization through maximum p

Nov. 19, 2018

Army denies rumors about death of S. Korean solider at DMZ

　In light of rumors about the death of a South Korean solider in a heavily fortified cross-border region last week, the military suggested that the death was an apparent suicide unrelated to the North Korean military.  　In light of rumors about the death of a South Korean solider in the heavily fortified inter-Korean border region last week, the military has suggested the death was an apparent suicide unrelated to the North Korean military.  　According to the Army, a 21-year-old private first cl

Nov. 18, 2018

China not likely to play active role in US-NK nuclear talks: experts

Expectations are mounting over how China will use its clout to push North Korea back to dialogue with the US, after the leaders of China and South Korea agreed to cooperate to bring about a possible second US-North Korea summit. But experts are skeptical that China will play an active role, considering its ongoing trade war with the US. On the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Papua New Guinea on Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart,

Nov. 18, 2018

Seoul, Washington to launch working group on N. Korea this week: sources

South Korea and the United States are expected to launch a new consultative body to coordinate their efforts on denuclearization of North Korea this week, diplomatic sources here said Sunday.They said Seoul and Washington have agreed in principle to hold the first meeting of the bilateral "working group" during an upcoming visit to the US capital by Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's top nuclear envoy. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs (left), and US special r

Nov. 18, 2018

Two Koreas celebrate anniversary of suspended joint tour program

The two Koreas held an event Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of the long-suspended joint tourism program at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang.About 100 South Koreans and 80 North Koreans were in attendance at the first celebratory two-day event for four years at the east coast resort. It is being jointly organized by Hyundai Group, which operated the tour project, and the North's Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. Kumkang Mountain (Yonhap)Among the South Korean participants are Hyundai Chai

Nov. 18, 2018

Kim Jong-un calls for modernized production in visit to glass victory

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the importance of modernized production during his visit to a glass factory in the country's western region, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday.The Korean Central News Agency said Kim gave field guidance at the Taegwan Glass Factory in North Pyongan Province, where he praised "flawless" glassware and other optical apparatuses. (Yonhap)"Pointing out that the world is rapidly changing and developing, he called for directing steady efforts to putting th

Nov. 18, 2018

North Korea's titular head to visit Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico

North Korea said Sunday its titular head of state, Kim Yong-nam, will visit Cuba in the latest efforts to enhance ties with the socialist country.  Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, will lead a delegation to Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.   (Yonhap)North Korea and Cuba have strengthened their diplomatic engagement this year. Choe Ryong-hae and Ri Su-yong, vice chairmen of the ruling party's Central Committee, visi

Nov. 18, 2018

CIA official paid secret visit to Seoul for talks with NK

A senior US Central Intelligence Agency official in charge of Korean affairs paid a secret visit to South Korea this week and held talks with North Korean counterparts in the border truce village of Panmunjom, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday. Andrew Kim, head of the CIA's Korea Mission Center, was in Seoul for a four-day visit that started Wednesday and has returned to the US after holding talks with officials from both sides, according to the sources. (Yonhap)Kim's secret visit i

Nov. 18, 2018

US, Britain discuss stopping NK sanctions evasion

The United States and Britain held a workshop Friday to discuss ways to stop North Korea’s evasion of sanctions related to its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, the US State Department said.The meeting in London involved officials from the two governments, maritime insurance companies, commodity traders as well as the United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korea, the department said in a statement.The UN Security Council has adopted wide-ranging sanctions designed to cut off trad

Nov. 17, 2018