Hyundai’s visit to NK raises hopes for cross-border economic cooperation but obstacles remain

With Seoul approving Hyundai Group’s visit to North Korea scheduled for Friday, all eyes are on whether the visit will contribute to the revival of inter-Korean economic cooperation amid the US’ determination to keep sanctions intact until the North’s complete denuclearization.A group of 15 officials from Hyundai, including Chairman Hyun Jeong-eun and Lee Young-ha, CEO of the group’s inter-Korean business arm Hyundai Asan, has been permitted by the Unification Ministry to visit Kumgangsan, locat

Aug. 2, 2018

N. Korea's media demands Seoul's substantive action to improve ties

North Korea's media on Thursday renewed its demand for South Korea to take substantive action to improve relations, blaming the current procrastination on the Seoul government sticking to the global sanctions regime.The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, called for stepped-up efforts to faithfully implement what was agreed during their leader's summit in April and resolve any issues without depending on outside forces. "If (the South) sticks to the sanctions an

Aug. 2, 2018

N. Korean officials mum about key issues before ARF meeting

North Korean officials remained tight-lipped Thursday in front of media outlets in Singapore, as they prepared to participate in a regional forum.Pyongyang will send its Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), slated for Saturday, as the nation's chief delegate.Ri plans to arrive in Singapore on Friday morning. He was spotted at a Beijing airport earlier Thursday, apparently having flown from Pyongyang on a Air Koryo plane. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho arrives

Aug. 2, 2018

Presumed US troop remains return home from N. Korea

 WASHINGTON -- The remains of presumed US soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War returned home on Wednesday to a solemn ceremony in Hawaii, marking the beginning of a long process to identify thousands of missing troops.US Vice President Mike Pence was at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, to receive the 55 cases of remains that North Korea returned last week as part of an agreement reached in June by its leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.The boxes were unloaded from two U

Aug. 2, 2018

US declines to comment on report of NK missile activity

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Wednesday declined to comment on a news report that North Korea continues to build intercontinental ballistic missiles following a disarmament deal with US President Donald Trump.The Washington Post reported Monday that up to two liquid-fueled ICBMs appeared to be under construction at a facility on the outskirts of Pyongyang. The article cited officials familiar with US intelligence.(Yonhap)"I'm not going to comment ... on any potential intelligence matter," Whi

Aug. 2, 2018

Pence takes Korean War veterans' children to repatriation ceremony in Hawaii

WASHINGTON -- US Vice President Mike Pence picked up two family members of American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as he traveled to Hawaii to attend a ceremony marking the return of US troops' alleged remains.Pence stopped in California en route to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, where a ceremony will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday (local time) following the repatriation of 55 sets of remains from North Korea last week. (Yonhap)"As we travel to @JointBasePHH, Karen & I are honored

Aug. 2, 2018

Hyundai chairwoman to visit N. Korea

South Korea has approved a rare visit to the North by the head of Seoul’s Hyundai Group following an invitation from Pyongyang, an official said Wednesday, raising hopes for improving business ties as a diplomatic rapprochement takes hold. Hyun Jung-eun will visit the North’s scenic Mount Kumgang on Friday to mark the death anniversary of her late husband and former group chairman Chung Mong-hun, Seoul’s unification ministry said. (Yonhap)“We approved the trip on humanitarian grounds as it is an

Aug. 1, 2018

Seoul denies reports of August inter-Korean summit

The date of the third inter-Korean summit and plans for sending an envoy to North Korea remain undecided, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. A local daily had reported that National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon is set to visit the North in the near future to discuss the possibility of holding the third inter-Korean summit in late August. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un embrace at the inter-Korean summit on April 27. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in and North Korean lead

Aug. 1, 2018

N. Korea's media report on inter-Korean military talks

North Korea's media reported Wednesday on military talks the two Koreas held a day earlier to discuss measures to ease cross-border tension."The north-south general-level military talks took place at the 'House of Peace' in the south side portion of Panmunjeom on Tuesday to implement the Panmunjeom Declaration," the Korean Central News Agency said in English, referring to the summit agreement between their leaders in April.  (Yonhap)"At the talks the pending issues in defusing the military tensi

Aug. 1, 2018

Repatriation ceremony for US troop remains set for Wednesday

The United Nations Command will hold a ceremony marking the repatriation of 55 sets of the remains of American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War at a US air base in South Korea on Wednesday.The event is set to take place inside a hangar at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, at 5 p.m., five days after a US airplane transported the remains to the South from the North in a move expected to facilitate ongoing efforts to promote peace on the peninsula.(Yonhap)The rep

Aug. 1, 2018

US refuses to rule out Pompeo meeting with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Tuesday refused to rule out a meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart at a regional forum in Singapore later this week.Pompeo will be visiting the city-state on Friday and Saturday to attend the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which also involves North Korea.There is speculation the top US diplomat will meet with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, on the forum's sidelines to continue n

Aug. 1, 2018

NK’s infant mortality rate remains high: report

North Korea’s infant mortality rate is eight times higher than that of South Korea, a report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs showed Tuesday.Three out of 4 infants in the North do not get proper nutrition, leading to the high mortality rate, said Cho Sung-eun, the head of KIHASA’s Center for Reunified Korea Social Security, calling for urgent support measures.  (Yonhap)Citing the World Health Organization, the report said that 24 out of 1,000 North Korean infants die, while t

July 31, 2018

Photos show NK building new ICBM near Pyongyang: report

US spy agencies have detected signs of North Korea building new intercontinental ballistic missiles at a plant near Pyongyang, the Washington Post reported Monday.Citing unnamed officials familiar with the intelligence, the US daily said that newly obtained evidence, including satellite photos taken in recent weeks, suggests that North Koreans were working on at least one and possibly two liquid-fueled ICBMs at a large research facility in Sanumdong on the outskirts of Pyongyang.The Sanumdong fa

July 31, 2018

Indonesia invites North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to Asian Games

JAKARTA (Reuters) -- A team of Indonesian officials visited North Korea this week to extend an invitation from President Joko Widodo to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to attend the Asian Games opening ceremony in Jakarta in August, Indonesia’s National Police said.Coordinating Human Development and Cultural Affairs Minister Puan Maharani was accompanied by several other Indonesian government and police representatives on the visit to Pyongyang, according to a news release issued by the National

July 31, 2018

Seoul open to China's involvement in ending Korean War: Cheong Wa Dae

China’s inclusion in declaring the end of the Korean War remains a possibility, a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official revealed Tuesday.While Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to seek an official end to the Korean War in the Panmunjom Declaration, there has been some contention over whether such a declaration should involve just the two Koreas and the US, or include China. “It remains to be seen whether the declaration of an end to the war will be trilateral or quadrilateral, but a four-way declaration ha

July 31, 2018

N. Korea intensifies demand for resumption of inter-Korean economic projects

North Korea intensified its demand for the resumption of two inter-Korean economic projects Tuesday, expressing displeasure with what it sees as slow-paced progress in cooperation between the two Koreas. In a commentary, the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, criticized South Korea for using global sanctions as an excuse to drag its feet in fostering cross-border cooperation. (Yonhap)“Although the owner of Cheong Wa Dae (South Korea’s presidential office) changed, it do

July 31, 2018

Trump open to meeting Iran leader, cites Kim summit

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Monday that he is open to meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, citing his summit with the leader of another adversarial nation, North Korea's Kim Jong-un.Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated since Trump pulled the US out of a multilateral deal designed to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.Still, Trump said he was ready to meet Rouhani without preconditions. US President Donald Trump, left, and Iranian P

July 31, 2018

Pompeo to discuss N. Korea at Singapore forum

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will engage his Asian counterparts in talks about dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program when he travels to a regional forum in Singapore later this week, the State Department said Monday.Pompeo plans to visit the city-state Friday and Saturday to join annual gatherings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its dialogue partners, including North Korea."The Secretary will discuss our shared commitment to the final, fully verif

July 31, 2018

US stresses full enforcement of sanctions on N Korea: report

An official at the US State Department stressed full enforcement of sanctions on North Korea in order to achieve the country’s denuclearization, Voice of America reported Monday.“We remain upbeat about the prospects of denuclearization of North Korea, but it will take full enforcement of sanctions to get us there,” a US State Department official was quoted as saying by VOA.The official made the remarks in response to VOA’s request to confirm recent media reports that Washington was against easin

July 30, 2018

Unification Ministry reiterates no coercion in defection of NK restaurant workers

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification on Monday reaffirmed its position that the 12 North Korean restaurant workers who came to the South in 2016 defected of their own volition. The statement came a day after the National Human Rights Commission, the country’s human rights watchdog, said it plans to launch an investigation into claims that the 12 women were abducted by the South’s National Intelligence Service, without knowledge of their destination. “Our stance on the matter remains unchanged,”

July 30, 2018