Seoul to begin repair of liaison office in Kaesong

A group of South Korean officials and workers will visit North Korea this week to repair an office in Kaesong that is to be used as a liaison office between the two Koreas, Seoul's unification ministry said Sunday.The group will consist of 26 officials and workers who will commute between the two Koreas until their living quarters are set up in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, a ministry official said. (Yonhap)The office to be used as a liaison office for the Koreas was used by a joint c

July 1, 2018

Japan eases North Korea missile alert system: report

Japan has lowered its military readiness level against North Korean missiles as Washington embarks on delicate nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang, a report said Sunday, citing multiple unnamed sources close to the matter.The report came as Japan finds itself under pressure to soften its hardline stance against Pyongyang following US President Donald Trump's landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month. (Herald DB)Japan's Self Defense Forces on Friday dropped their programme t

July 1, 2018

N. Korea aims to hide key parts of nuclear program: reports

Even as North Korea engages in diplomacy with the US for denuclearization, US intelligence officials have spotted evidence that points to the communist nation’s unwillingness to fully dismantle its nuclear program while concealing key parts, the Washington Post said Sunday. The assessment contradicts US President Donald Trump’s remarks that “there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea,” following a landmark summit with the North’s leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore.  Satellite i

July 1, 2018

Cheong Wa Dae refuses controversial aide's offer to resign

　A Blue House official under fire for sexist remarks was asked to stay on until after the scheduled summit with North Korea in Pyongyang later this year, following his offer to resign over the weekend.　According to Cheong Wa Dae, Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok declined to accept the resignation of presidential protocol aide Tak Hyun-min, who offered to leave his post on Saturday via Facebook and text messages to reporters. 　While Tak is considered to have played a major role in promoti

July 1, 2018

Kim Jong-un’s cosmetic factory visit raises prospect of enhanced economic ties with China

　North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has visited a cosmetic factory near the border with China alongside his wife and top aides, the country’s state media said Sunday, raising the prospect of enhanced economic ties between the two countries.  　According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim carried out inspections of a cosmetic factory in northwestern city of Sinuiju, close to China’s port city of Dandong. The state-run news agency did not specify when Kim made the trip to the border area.  　Kim’s

July 1, 2018

Inter-Korean sports exchanges fill summer calendar

With the two Koreas having confirmed a slew of plans for cross-border sports exchange last month, July is to see many of the plans materializing. Inter-Korean basketball games this week at the North’s capital of Pyongyang will kick off a series of sport exchanges, signaling the beginning of a summer filled with South-North friendlies and joint teams.  The two Koreas play against each other at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. (Yonhap)Four basketball games will be held over the course of

July 1, 2018

Dismissed former N. Korean general confirmed to have been fully reinstated

Hwang Pyong-so, a former North Korean general who was dismissed last year, has been reinstated, as evidenced by North Korean state media reports that he accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on recent on-site inspections.Hwang led the North Korean army's political bureau and sat on the Workers' Party's Central Committee before being expelled.Although his current position and role remain unclear, he was among the entourage of the North's leader when he visited Sindo County near the border w

July 1, 2018

Two Koreas normalize maritime communication hot line: Defense Ministry

The South Korean defense ministry said Sunday the two Koreas have resumed using ship-to-ship radio links for smooth communications at sea for the first time in 10 years.The ministry said the connection is to uphold the recent agreements between the two to defuse military tensions and prevent unexpected confrontations, especially in the Yellow Sea.During the 9 o'clock test communication earlier in the day, a South Korean Navy vessel off Yeonpyeong Island contacted a North Korean patrol boat, whic

July 1, 2018

NK leader inspects island areas near China

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited island areas near China, the country's state media said Saturday, marking his first inspection following his historic summit with the US leader. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a farm in Sindo County in North Pyongan Province. YonhapThe North's leader made the so-called field guidance to a reed farm in Sindo County in North Pyongan Province, which borders China, according to the Korean Central News Agency.It was his first such inspection since

June 30, 2018

Inter-Korean family reunion venues in need of repair

A family reunion candidate (left) holds hands with Korean Red Cross chief Park Kyung-seo at a meeting in Seoul on Monday (Yonhap)North Korean facilities to host the planned August reunions of separated families during the 1950-1953 Korean War are in need of major repairs, a South Korean inspection team said upon returning home on Friday after a three-day visit there.The 20-strong inspection team involving South Korean government officials and civilian workers crossed the eastern border on Wednes

June 29, 2018

S. Korean businesses wants support for N. Korea investment

A number of South Korean businesses are mulling long-term projects to do businesses in North Korea, a local business lobby official said Friday.The South‘s business circles largely remain cautious about making investments in the communist neighbor amid the U.N.-led sanctions against it and uncertainty about conditions. But they are paying keen attention to the ongoing dialogue phase and an envisioned peace process, according to Jung Bong-ho, head of international cooperation at the Federation of

June 29, 2018

Cheong Wa Dae declines to comment on Pompeo's possible trip to N. Korea

The presidential office declined to comment on a news report that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to visit North Korea next week for denuclearization negotiations, only saying it's keeping an eye on the situation while closely working with the US.The Financial Times reported earlier that Pompeo canceled a planned July 6 meeting with India's foreign minister in order to make the trip to North Korea for what would be the first nuclear negotiations since the June 12 summit between US Presid

June 29, 2018

Trump says won't rush negotiations with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has said he won't rush negotiations with North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, comparing the process to cooking a turkey.Speaking late Wednesday at a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, Trump touted his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that yielded a commitment to work towards "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula."We were very close to going to war. You could have lost 30 million people, 50 million people," he s

June 29, 2018

US names N. Korea worst human trafficking nation for 16th year

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Thursday designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 16th consecutive year, citing its use of forced labor.The State Department's annual "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report" put North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 of its classification of countries, together with China, Russia and Iran."The Government of (North Korea) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts

June 29, 2018

Pompeo to visit N. Korea next week for nuclear talks: report

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea next week to try to flesh out a recent agreement to dismantle the regime’s nuclear weapons program, a news report said Thursday.The Financial Times reported that Pompeo will fly to Pyongyang at an unspecified date to follow up on this month’s summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listens while appearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the FY2019 budget

June 28, 2018

Koreas agree to form joint study group on cross-border road connection

South and North Korea on Thursday agreed to form joint study group on cross-border road connection in the working-level talks on cooperation to connect roads across the border and modernize roads in the North. A three-person South Korean delegation led by Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol met with their North Korean counterparts led by Pak Ho-yong, vice minister for land and environmental protection, at the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom. The meeting came as a follow-up t

June 28, 2018

N. Korea's human rights conditions overshadowed by nuclear issues

With the world’s attention focused on North Korea’s denuclearization, concerns are mounting that the country’s human rights abuses could be overlooked. The summit agreement reached between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 did not include clauses on improving the much-criticized human rights conditions in North Korea. The same goes for the result of the inter-Korean summit in April. Trump even publically downplayed the issue when pressed by Fox News about N

June 28, 2018

Koreas holding talks on cross-border road connection

The two Koreas are holding working-level talks Thursday to discuss plans to connect roads over the border amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations.The meeting began at 10 a.m. on the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjom, according to the unification ministry. Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol leads South Korea's delegation, and his North Korean counterpart is Pak Ho-yong, vice minister for land and environmental protection.Their morning session ended after less than 30 minutes. Sub

June 28, 2018

Pompeo: N. Korea understands scope of US request for denuclearization

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed confidence Wednesday that North Korea understands the scope of the US request for denuclearization.Speaking at a Senate hearing, the top US diplomat refused to discuss details of ongoing negotiations between the countries to dismantle the regime's nuclear weapons program.But he said he is confident the North Koreans understand "the scope of the request we're making with respect to denuclearization."At a historic summit in Singapore earlie

June 28, 2018

Salvation Army is ready to mobilize as much as possible to help N. Korea: leader

The Salvation Army, an international Christian charitable organization, is ready to mobilize as many resources as it can to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea if the ongoing dialogue opens up the country's borders, the organization's head said Wednesday.  (Yonhap)"I think it important to continue building (a) relationship with the churches in North Korea. The churches and other charitable organization and NGOs need to prepare for the day when we can go back into North Korea," The Sal

June 27, 2018