US envoy confidant about achieving N. Korea denuclearization

The top US envoy for North Korea on Monday expressed confidence about achieving North Korea's nuclear disarmament, despite worries about the slow pace of nuclear diplomacy in recent weeks.Meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, Stephen Biegun said that Washington and Seoul have a shared goal of ending seven decades of hostility on the Korean Peninsula.  (Yonhap)"The primary requirement for us to get to that endpoint is to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Ko

Oct. 29, 2018

Allies affirm shared goal of full, verified denuclearization of N. Korea

 Top South Korean and US officials on North Korea stressed the importance of a coordinated approach toward North Korea in their meeting here Monday.The talks between Stephen Biegun, the Trump administration's special representative for North Korea, and his counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, came as the allies face two urgent tasks: revitalizing denuclearization talks and dispelling public concerns about a possible rift between the two sides. (Yonhap) "We have a shared goal here, which is to bring an end

Oct. 29, 2018

N. Korean economist calls for fostering cutting-edge technologies

North Korea's official newspaper on Monday played up a column of a Pyongyang economist, who calls for expanding the share of knowledge and high technology industry in the North's economy.In a contribution to the Rodong Sinmun, Ri Ki-song, a professor at the Institute of Economy at the Academy of Social Sciences, said that the structure of the North Korean economy should be transformed on the basis of state-of-the-art technologies. (Yonhap)Specifically, Ri proposed that the North intensively deve

Oct. 29, 2018

Unification minister says end-of-war declaration is still possible this year

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Monday that the declaration of a formal end to the Korean War could take place this year despite there being little progress in denuclearization talks."We are working on realizing (the end-of-war declaration) by the end of the year," Cho told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit. "I think it is possible at this moment."South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed during their first-ever April summit to seek an official

Oct. 29, 2018

Pyongyang Declaration takes effect as controversy continues

The Pyongyang Declaration was posted on the official government gazette Monday, promulgating the declaration and bringing the agreement to effect. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, meanwhile, immediately filed for an injunction to suspend the agreement taking effect, claiming that the government has violated the Constitution.The Pyongyang Declaration, announced during President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang last month, calls for an end to military hostilities and improved inter-Korean

Oct. 29, 2018

President Moon says he could take NK leader to Mount Halla during possible visit to S. Korea

President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that he could give North Korea's Kim Jong-un a tour of Mount Halla, South Korea's tallest mountain, on the southern island of Jeju, if the leader comes for a visit.Moon made the remarks in response to a reporter's question about what he would show Kim should the communist leader reciprocate his own visit to Pyongyang last month for the third inter-Korean summit aimed at fostering inter-Korean rapprochement and cooperation."As we have an expression like 'from Mou

Oct. 28, 2018

Koreas, UNC complete JSA disarmament verification

 The Koreas and the US-led UN Command have finished their two-day work to verify the disarmament of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone, Seoul's defense ministry said Sunday. They conducted the joint verification work Friday and Saturday following the Koreas' 20-day land mine clearance operations and then the withdrawal of military posts, armed troops and other weapons. (Yonhap)"Through the joint verification work, the three sides directly confirmed and evaluated the fact that mutu

Oct. 28, 2018

N. Korean hospital chief dismisses alleged torture of US college student Warmbier

The head of a North Korean hospital on Saturday denied allegations that American college student Otto Warmbier was tortured to death in North Korea.Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in March 2016 for stealing a propaganda sign from a Pyongyang hotel. He was released in a coma in June last year and died shortly after being returned to his family in the US. Otto Warmbier (Yonhap)North Korean officials claimed Warmbier fell into a coma in March 2016 due to botulism and a sleeping pil

Oct. 28, 2018

N. Korean diplomat leaves for Russia to hold talks

A senior North Korean diplomat has left for Russia for talks with his Russian counterpart, North Korea's state news agency reported Saturday.North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Sin Hong-chol is set to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, the Korean Central News Agency said without providing further details. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Sin Hong-chol at Beijing International Airport on his way to Russia (Yonhap)The meeting comes amid speculation that North Korean leader K

Oct. 28, 2018

Escaped worker fears N.Korea stepping up forced labor

A North Korean who said he escaped round-the-clock labor in the Middle East and Russia voiced fears Friday that Pyongyang was sending more forced workers abroad and appealed for greater international attention.Addressing a news conference in Washington, Roh Hui Chang said he reached South Korea in 2014 after two to three months hiding in the bushes and warned that many more North Koreans suffered his plight."According to my sources who have knowledge of the current situation there, nothing has c

Oct. 27, 2018

US calls on UN to enforce sanctions on N. Korea

The United States on Friday called on the United Nations to fully comply with sanctions on North Korea until the regime gives up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert issued the call in a statement welcoming a UN committee's decision to deflag and ban port entry to three vessels suspected of engaging in illicit activities with the North.The Shang Yuan Bao, New Regent and Kum Un San 3 are accused of carrying out banned ship-to-ship trans

Oct. 27, 2018

NK media reports on military talks with Seoul, omits outcome

North Korea's state media on Saturday reported on general-level military talks with South Korea a day earlier but didn't mention the outcome of the meeting. North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported that the general-level military talks were held for "implementing the historic September Pyongyang Joint Declaration." (Yonhap)Friday's meeting was one of the follow-ups to the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang last month. "At t

Oct. 27, 2018

US stresses full implementation of sanctions regarding Kaesong industrial park

The US State Department stressed the full implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea in regard to the possible resumption of operations at the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, US broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.Executives of South Korean companies that have factories in Kaesong are seeking to visit the industrial park north of the border next week for the first time since factories there were shut down in 2016.  Kaesong Industrial Complex (Yonhap)“The US expects all

Oct. 26, 2018

N. Korean art troupe's performance in Seoul unlikely in Oct.: source

A North Korean art troupe's planned performance in South Korea will be unlikely to be held as agreed in October as details have not been determined, a government source said Friday."The South and the North have not reached an agreement on schedules and places for the performance," the official said on condition of anonymity. "Under current circumstances, it will be hard for the performance to be held in October." (yonhap)South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agre

Oct. 26, 2018

US envoy for N. Korea to visit S. Korea next week

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will head to South Korea next week to coordinate efforts to bring about the full denuclearization of the communist nation, the US State Department said in a statement. The trip comes amid what experts perceive as a prolonged battle of nerves between Washington and Pyongyang over the timeline on talks related to the North’s denuclearization.  (Yonhap)Biegun will travel to Seoul from Monday and Tuesday to meet with his South Korean counterpa

Oct. 26, 2018

US sanctions 2 Singapore firms, individual over N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Thursday sanctioned two Singapore-based firms and an individual over their alleged money laundering on North Korea's behalf.The Department of the Treasury said it is targeting Wee Tiong, a commodities trading company, WT Marine, a marine fuels company, and Tan Wee Beng, a Singaporean national who serves in senior positions in both firms.The designations are the latest action taken by the US to enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea and squeeze the regi

Oct. 26, 2018

N.Korea warns US against 'confidence-destroying measures'

A North Korean official urged the United States on Thursday to immediately lift sanctions against his country, warning that the country's "confidence-destroying measures" would undermine denuclearisation talks.   The US has insisted on maintaining stringent international sanctions on North Korea until it gives up its nuclear weapons, even as the two countries' leaders are expected to hold a second summit soon.   "We think that sanctions and pressure do more harm than good," Song Il Hyok, deputy

Oct. 25, 2018

W10b investment in joint liaison office does not violate sanctions: ministry

South Korea did not violate international sanctions by repairing and remodeling the recently launched inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea, a Unification Ministry official said Thursday.Around 10 billion won ($8.8 million) from the Seoul government’s South-North cooperation fund was used in repairing and remodeling buildings and facilities for the liaison office that opened in the border town of Kaesong last month to bolster cross-border communication, according to an earlier report from t

Oct. 25, 2018

Koreas' vice defense ministers meet on margins of military forum in China

The Koreas' vice defense ministers held brief talks over their countries' recent military agreement on the sidelines of a security forum in Beijing on Thursday, Seoul's defense ministry said.During the 10-minute talks, Suh Choo-suk and his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyong-ryong affirmed their shared position over the prompt enforcement of the agreement aimed at reducing military tensions, preventing accidental clashes and building mutual trust. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk (

Oct. 25, 2018

S. Korea denies report N. Korea informed it of decision to lift asset freeze in Kaesong complex

South Korea denied a media report Thursday that North Korea has provided notification of its decision to lift the freeze on South Korean business assets in a suspended industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong. A local newspaper earlier reported that the North informed South Korea of the decision, saying it could signal the resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which has been mothballed since 2016.  (AP)"The media report that the North informed us of its decision to remove

Oct. 25, 2018