Nearly 80% of Americans support diplomatic ties with NK after denuclearization: poll

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 80 percent of Americans support establishing diplomatic ties with North Korea should the regime abandon its nuclear weapons program, a survey showed Monday.According to the poll commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 77 percent of Americans are in favor of such a concession, along with providing economic and humanitarian aid to the North at 54 percent.In other concessions, a partial withdrawal of US troops from South Korea received 54 percent of support, whil

Oct. 2, 2018

NK foreign minister leaves New York after UN meeting

NEW YORK -- North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho left New York on Monday after attending the United Nations General Assembly and meeting with his US counterpart to plan a second summit between their leaders.Ri was seen leaving his hotel around 3:30 p.m. without responding to reporters asking about the next steps in North Korea-US negotiations on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program.During his seven-day stay, Ri met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the issue of Nor

Oct. 2, 2018

N. Korea will not hope for an end-of-war declaration if US does not want it: KCNA

North Korea will not hope for an end-of-war declaration if the United States does not want it, adding that the issue should not be used as a "bargaining chip" in denuclearization talks, the country's state media said Tuesday."Now that the DPRK and the US are aspiring after the establishment of new relations true to the spirit of the June 12 DPRK-US joint statement, it is quite right to put an end to the belligerent relations between them," the Korean Central News Agency said in an English commen

Oct. 2, 2018

[Graphic News] Number of NK defectors to S. Korea falling

　The number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea has fallen under Kim Jong-un's regime, data showed.　According to Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, citing figures he received from the Ministry of Unification, the figure has been on a steady decline since 2012. Kim took power in late 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.　Park said, there were 2,706 North Koreans who defected to South Korea in 2011, but only 1,502 in 2012.　The number went up slightl

Oct. 1, 2018

Two Koreas begin removing landmines inside DMZ

　The militaries of the two Koreas on Monday began removing a small portion of land mines scattered across the heavily fortified border area, as part of the agreement reached during last month’s summit in Pyongyang to ease tension and build trust. 　According to the South Korean military, the removal operations took place at two sites inside the Demilitarized Zone: the Joint Security Area at the border village of Panmunjom and Arrow Head Hill in mountainous Gangwon Province. 　While the North Korea

Oct. 1, 2018

Govt. shrugs off report on immense costs for building inter-Korean transport links

South Korea brushed off a news report Monday that reconnecting inter-Korean roads and railways would cost at least 43 trillion won ($38.7 billion), amid a growing dispute over Seoul's economic burden stemming from its future cooperation with North Korea. The conservative Chosun Ilbo made the claim based on the state-run Korea Rail Network Authority's cost estimates obtained by an rightist opposition lawmaker. The government earlier put next year's costs at 290 billion won, drawing opposition par

Oct. 1, 2018

Korea holds ceremony for repatriation of 64 war remains

South Korea on Monday held a solemn ceremony marking the repatriation of the remains of 64 soldiers who were killed in North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.President Moon Jae-in presided over the repatriation ceremony at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, 40 kilometers south of Seoul, with the attendance of top military and government officials and religious leaders, including Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks.Escorted by a fleet of F-15K and FA-50

Oct. 1, 2018

Trump on Kim: Tough talk ... ‘and then we fell in love’

WHEELING, W. Va. — President Donald Trump told a cheering crowd at a campaign rally that there was once tough talk “back and forth” between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “and then we fell in love.”Trump said at the Saturday night rally in West Virginia: “He wrote me beautiful letters and they’re great letters. We fell in love.”He joked about criticism he would get from the news media for making a comment some would consider “unpresidential” and for being so positive about the North Kor

Oct. 1, 2018

NK leader reaffirms commitment to deepen relations with China

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his "steadfast stand" Monday to deepen relations with China in his message to Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the occasion of China's 69th founding anniversary, the North's state media said.Kim also expressed his will to further advance Pyongyang-Beijing relations based on their traditionally close ties that have been built for decades, according to the Korean Central News Agency. (Yonhap)"It noted that it is the steadfast stand of the WPK and the DPRK  go

Oct. 1, 2018

N. Korea gifts pair of Pungsan dogs to mark inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang

North Korea gifted a pair of Pungsan breed dogs to mark the inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang, the presidential office said Sunday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered the male and female dogs to President Moon Jae-in during the historic meeting that took place on Sept. 18-20, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release, adding that both animals have undergone animal quarantine inspections and were picked up at the truce village of Panmunjom on Thursday.The presidential office said the dogs are

Sept. 30, 2018

Number of N. Korean defectors to S. Korea falls under Kim Jong-un: data

The number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea has fallen under Kim Jong-un's regime, data showed Sunday.Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party, citing figures he received from the unification ministry, said the figure has been on a steady decline since 2012. Kim took power in late 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. (Yonhap)According to Park, there were 2,706 North Koreans who defected to South Korea in 2011, but only 1,502 in 2012.The number went up slightl

Sept. 30, 2018

S. Korean FM leaves UN meeting without talks with N. Korean counterpart

NEW YORK -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left New York on Saturday following the 73rd United Nations General Assembly without crossing paths with her North Korean counterpart.Kang held talks with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo and top diplomats from other nations during her stay here. But Ri Yong-ho, North Korea's foreign minister, declined Kang's earlier proposal for a meeting in New York. (Yonhap)South Korean government sources said Kang, who accompanied President Moon Jae-in t

Sept. 30, 2018

N. Korea says 'no way' it will denuclearize without trust in US

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's foreign minister said Saturday that his country won't dismantle its nuclear weapons program first without seeing corresponding measures from the United States.Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ri Yong-ho said his country's commitment to denuclearization is firm but that it needs to see trust-building measures from the US."Without any trust in the US, there will be no confidence in our national security, and under such circumstances, there is

Sept. 30, 2018

North Korea learns to embrace its inner consumer

PYONGYANG _ In an instructional television program about table tennis on the state-run sports channel, every ball, paddle and shirt bear the logo of "Naegohyang," one of North Korea's most recognizable brands. A documentary about the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital ends with new mothers being handed smartly packaged disposable diapers _ with the local brand featured prominently.Has North Korea discovered the art of product placement?Subtle shifts like the quiet insertion of what looks a lot like ad

Sept. 29, 2018

Resumption of Kaesong complex can promote inter-Korean economic community: companies

South Korean companies that were forced to suspend operations in North Korea called on Friday for the resumption of the Kaesong Industrial complex, which they said can promote the creation of an inter-Korean economic community.In a forum held by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, Shin Han-yong, the head of a private task force representing South Korean firms that have production facilities in Kaesong, said, "Cross-border ties such as the resumption of the Kaesong complex will be

Sept. 28, 2018

S. Korea seeks to launch joint railway inspections with NK next month

South Korea will seek to launch joint on-site inspections of cross-border railways with North Korea next month as part of efforts to reconnect the railways, as called for in last week's inter-Korean summit agreement, the presidential spokesman said Friday.The decision was made at a meeting of the committee formed to discuss measures to carry out the Pyongyang Declaration reached in the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang last week.The agree

Sept. 28, 2018

North Korea treated Samsung de-facto chief like ‘vice president’: lawmaker

North Korean leaders treated Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong as South Korea’s “vice president” when they welcomed President Moon Jae-in’s delegation in Pyongyang, a lawmaker said. Rep. Park Jie-won of the Party for Democracy and Peace, who accompanied Moon on a three-day summit trip to the North, said the communist leader’s eagerness for economic development was “enormous.”“The fact that Kim Jong-un gave such a warm welcome to the South Korean (business leaders) has raised hopes f

Sept. 28, 2018

US returns 64 sets of Korean soldiers' remains

WASHINGTON  -- The United States on Thursday returned 64 sets of remains of South Korean troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and jointly recovered in North Korea decades later.The remains were handed over to South Korea during a ceremony held by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Hawaii.The agency said that the remains were found during joint recovery operations in North Korea between 1996 and 2005, and identified as South Korean in a joint forensic review conducted over the past month

Sept. 28, 2018

Pompeo hails 'dawn of new day' with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday hailed the "dawn of a new day" with North Korea as the US pushes diplomacy to denuclearize the regime.Chairing a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, Pompeo sounded a hopeful note on the diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.But he also called for strict enforcement of all UN Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang until denuclearization is achieved."Past diplomatic attempts to halt North Korea'

Sept. 28, 2018

US nuclear expert hails NK offer to close Yongbyon nuke complex as 'remarkable'

Siegfried S. Hecker, a renowned US nuclear scientist, hailed North Korea's recent conditional offer to shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear complex as "remarkable," despite skepticism that the closure may do little to contribute to its eventual disarmament.Hecker, known for his direct experience with Pyongyang's nuclear program, also stressed the importance of building trust during a nuclear disarmament process, which he said may take a decade or more.  A cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear fac

Sept. 27, 2018