Koreas agree to each retain 1 of 11 guard posts subject to 'compete demolition' plan

The Koreas agreed Thursday to each retain one of the 11 border guard posts they have selected for "complete demolition" due to their historical symbolism, Seoul's defense ministry said.During their general-grade military talks last month, they agreed to each withdraw 11 guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone by the end of this month and verify their removal in December in line with their September military agreement aimed at building trust, reducing tensions and preventing accidental clashes.The

Nov. 8, 2018

Summit agreement with NK automatically introduced to parliamentary committee

The government's request for parliamentary ratification of President Moon Jae-in's first summit agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was automatically introduced to the parliamentary foreign affairs committee on Thursday. (Yonhap)By law, the request, which was sent to the National Assembly on Sept. 11, can be introduced to the committee 20 days later. If it's not introduced in the following 30 days, it is automatically put on the committee's agenda at its first meeting convened after t

Nov. 8, 2018

Russia raises North Korea sanctions at UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - The UN Security Council is expected to meet behind closed doors at Russia's request on Thursday to discuss sanctions imposed on North Korea, diplomats said.The request for consultations came just hours after President Donald Trump said he was in "no rush" to solve the crisis over North Korea's nuclear program.It was not immediately clear whether Russia was planning a new push to ease sanctions against North Korea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

Nov. 8, 2018

N. Korea displays 800 IT achievements at Pyongyang exhibition

North Korea opened a national exhibition of information communication technology in Pyongyang on Wednesday, displaying the country's latest achievements in high-tech fields, the North's media reported.The 29th National Exhibition of IT Achievements opened with a ceremony at the Sci-Tech Complex in the North's capital, with more than 800 information science technology achievements on display, according to the Korean Central News Agency on Thursday."The exhibition is divided into nine panels, incl

Nov. 8, 2018

Trump says summit with N. Korea to happen early next year

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "sometime early next year."Trump's remarks came hours after the US announced the postponement of Thursday's scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials in New York."We're very happy how it's going with North Korea," Trump said at a White House press conference on Tuesday's midterm elections, adding that the meeting will be rescheduled.(Yonhap)He attributed the

Nov. 8, 2018

No plan to meet NK officials visiting next month: Unification Ministry

The Unification Ministry said Wednesday it has no plans to meet with two senior North Korean officials visiting South Korea next week. A seven-member delegation led by Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, and Kim Song-hye, director of the United Front Department’s tactical office, is expected to attend an international forum on peace and prosperity in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from Nov. 14-17. Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Commit

Nov. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] Kim Jong-un’s portrait start of own personality cult, message to US: experts

A giant portrait of Kim Jong-un has gone on display in public for the first time, in what analysts say could be a sign of a turning point in the current North Korean leader’s status within his country and a message to the international community. The portrait was spotted at events both welcoming and bidding farewell to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel at Pyongyang International Airport this week. It was hung next to Diaz-Canel’s portrait, painted in a similar style, according to photos released

Nov. 7, 2018

Paju seeking to open NK restaurant branch

PAJU -- The South Korean border city of Paju said Wednesday it is seeking to open the first branch of Pyongyang's famous cold noodles restaurant Okryukwan in the city.To that end, the city, just north of Seoul, said it has requested the Gyeonggi provincial government, which has jurisdiction over it, to provide full support. (Yonhap)Early last month, Vice Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Hwa-young made an agreement with the North on the introduction of the branch within the province during a visit to Pyongyang

Nov. 7, 2018

S. Korea informed early of US decision to delay talks with N. Korea: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea said Wednesday it received a prior notification from the United States on its plan to put off high-level talks with North Korea in New York this week.Washington informed Seoul of the decision before a related announcement by the State Department, according to senior presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan. (Yonhap)Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet with Kim Yong-chol, a top aide to the North's leader Kim Jong-un, on Thursday.The department, however, said their

Nov. 7, 2018

Talks between Pompeo, senior North Korea official delayed

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol, which was due to take place in New York on Thursday, has been postponed, the State Department said Tuesday. 　The top US diplomat’s meeting with Kim “will now take place at a later date” and they will reconvene when their “respective schedules permit,” according to a statement by State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. 　“Ongoing conversations continue to take place,” it read. 　Nauert did not

Nov. 7, 2018

N. Korea promotes inter-Korean summit symbols among foreign tourists

North Korea anxious to jack up its tourism revenue appears to be aggressively promoting the symbols of inter-Korean summit talks, such as Pyongyang cold noodles, the border peace village of Panmunjom and Mount Paekdu, to potential foreign tourists.JS Tours, a Japanese booking agent of the North's Korean International Travel Co., has launched North Korean tour packages featuring places jointly visited by the leaders of South and North Korea, American broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday

Nov. 7, 2018

N. Korea preparing to establish agency charged with opening up to outside world: lawmaker

 North Korea is preparing to launch a government agency charged with pushing for the opening up of the reclusive communist nation to the outside world, a South Korean lawmaker said Wednesday.Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party made the remark in a Facebook message posted during his visit to Beijing, citing information obtained when he visited the Institute for International Strategies of China's Central Party School. Rep. Ha Tae-keung (Yonhap)"I heard that senior official

Nov. 7, 2018

Two Koreas agree to jointly combat malaria, tuberculosis

South and North Korea on Wednesday agreed to jointly establish measures to combat infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and malaria, during an inter-Korean meeting of the two countries’ high-ranking health officials held in the North’s border town of Kaesong. 　The agreement was reached after Kwon Deok-cheol, South Korea’s vice health minister, and his North Korean counterpart, Park Myong-su, discussed ways to expand cooperation on health care policies at the joint liaison office in Kaesong

Nov. 7, 2018

N. Korean leader's first painted portrait displayed at airport

What appears to be the first official portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared in the North earlier this week in time for the visit of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, British broadcaster BBC reported Wednesday.Citing footage of Pyongyang's Korean Central Television, BBC said that huge portraits of Kim and Diaz-Canel were on display at the terminal building of Pyongyang Sunan International Airport on Sunday, when the Cuban president arrived there and was greeted in person by the No

Nov. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] NK leader sees off Cuban president after 3-day visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has seen off Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez after his three-day visit to Pyongyang, the communist state's state media reported Wednesday.The Cuban leader left Pyongyang by his personal plane Tuesday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, were at the airport to see off the president and his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza. (Yonhap)"After Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez and his wife got off a car, the supreme l

Nov. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] NK leader talks with Cuban president in his office

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with his Cuban counterpart at his office in Pyongyang and discussed in-depth “ways to vitalize cooperation and exchange in various fields,” along with the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the North’s state-run news agency reported Tuesday. The meeting, which took place at the office building of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Monday, came during Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez’s state visit to North Korea. The office was the venue fo

Nov. 6, 2018

Pompeo to meet NK counterpart in New York on Thursday

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean No. 2 Kim Yong-chol will meet in New York on Thursday, resuming stalled denuclearization talks, the US Department of State said Monday. The two last met May 31. Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, are also expected to discuss a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.  Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Part

Nov. 6, 2018

S. Korea's cardinal willing to accompany Pope Francis on possible NK visit

Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung said Tuesday that he greatly welcomes Pope Francis' possible visit to North Korea and is willing to accompany him on the rare travel.The cardinal made the comment, according to Lee Hae-chan, the chief of the ruling Democratic Party, during their meeting at a time when the pope has expressed his wish to visit North Korea someday. (Yonhap)"I strongly welcome the pope's potential visit to Pyongyang," said the archbishop of Seoul, who also serves as the acting chief of

Nov. 6, 2018

Seoul official voices hope for progress in denuclearization at upcoming NK-US talks

A ranking South Korean official on Tuesday expressed hope for substantial progress in denuclearization and other issues in talks between high-ranking US and North Korean officials set to be held in New York later this week.The official at the Ministry of Unification made the remark as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet with Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, in New York on Thursday."Our government will carefully prepare for

Nov. 6, 2018

Artists of N. Korea, China hold joint performance in Pyongyang

Artists of North Korea and China held a joint performance at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang, according to the North's media Tuesday.The Korean Central News Agency said that the joint performance on Monday was watched by scores of officials from both countries, including Choe Hwi, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea; Ri Ryong-nam, vice premier of the cabinet; and Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun. (Yonhap)North Korean students and teachers in the

Nov. 6, 2018