[Graphic News] North Korea: The world’s most isolated country

　North Korea is at the bottom of the rankings on freedom of media, hunger situation and corruption. 　This graphic shows North Korea's general figures. 

May 31, 2018

Pompeo meets top NK nuclear negotiator in NY

North Korea’s former spymaster Kim Yong-chol and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in New York on Wednesday as the two countries continued to engage in multi-channel dialogues across continents to arrange a summit meeting. In addition to the New York meeting, US and North Korean officials have been in talks in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, and in Singapore for the possible summit between their leaders on June 12. This handout photograph obtained courtesy of the US Department

May 31, 2018

Russia's top diplomat in Pyongyang to discuss ties, Korean Peninsula issues

Russia's top diplomat arrived in North Korea on Thursday, the North's state media reported, amid a flurry of diplomacy under way between the North and the United States for a summit.The Korean Central News Agency reported the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Pyongyang at the invitation of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho.Lavrov is the first Russian foreign minister to visit North Korea in nine years. His visit comes as the North is preparing for an unprecedented summi

May 31, 2018

[Newsmaker] Activist expects N. Korea to conceal half of nuclear weapons

A renowned South Korean activist for North Korean human rights said Thursday that the North's regime will never give up its nuclear weapons under any circumstances.Activist Kim Young-hwan insisted that, while Pyongyang is expected to faithfully implement denuclearization measures as demanded by the United States, it may seek to conceal half of its nuclear weapons."In bilateral talks, North Korea will yield to the US in many areas. It may accommodate 80 to 90 percent of the US demands for closure

May 31, 2018

US delegation extends stay in Seoul for summit preparation talks: report

A US delegation tasked with preparing for a much-anticipated summit with North Korea has extended its stay in the South "for at least another day," a new report said Thursday.Citing a source familiar with US-North Korea relations, CNN reported that the delegation, led by US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, may stay here to continue its talks with North Korean officials over the summit expected to occur on June 12 in Singapore.The US delegation and the North's team, led by Pyongyang's Vice

May 31, 2018

Minister says leaders' resolve for US-N. Korea summit strong

South Korea's unification minister said Thursday that a flurry of diplomacy to salvage a summit between the United States and North Korea has indicated their leaders' "strong resolve" for their prospective encounter and denuclearization.Cho Myoung-gyon made the remarks in a speech that a senior ministry official read out on his behalf during an international seminar on regional peace at Tokyo's Keio University."It (ongoing diplomacy) is an opportunity for us to reaffirm the strong resolve of the

May 31, 2018

S. Korea approves Buddhist monk's visit to N. Korea

South Korea on Thursday approved a visit next month by a Buddhist monk to North Korea, the first such decision on civilian exchanges since the Moon Jae-in government took office last year. Seoul's unification ministry sand that Monk Cheondam, a senior official of the World Peace Foundation, a civic group headquartered in Seoul, will embark on a five-day trip to Pyongyang on Saturday.It said the monk had applied for the visit with an invitation from the North. World Peace Foundation founder Ven.

May 31, 2018

Pompeo begins talks with Kim's right-hand man ahead of nuclear summit

Kim Jong Un's right-hand man began talks with President Donald Trump's top diplomat on Wednesday amid a scramble to organize next month's historic nuclear summit between the North Korean and US leaders.Kim Yong Chol, a veteran Pyongyang power player and a member of the young autocrat's inner circle, flew in on an Air China flight from Beijing, becoming the most senior North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years.Dialogue between the two sides began with a dinner meeting held in a

May 31, 2018

White House aims for June 12 summit with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to prepare for a June 12 meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the White House said Wednesday, citing "positive" feedback from working-level talks.The on-again, off-again summit in Singapore received a boost with the arrival of a senior North Korean official in New York the same day.Kim Yong-chol, known as the young leader's right-hand man, is due to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to finalize planning fo

May 31, 2018

Pompeo, N. Korean official meet in New York, prepare for summit

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior North Korean official met in New York Wednesday as both sides push to salvage a highly anticipated summit between their leaders.The two had a 90-minute working dinner at the Manhattan residence of the US deputy representative to the United Nations, with 13 days to go until a potential June 12 summit in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of the ruling W

May 31, 2018

Moon may travel to Singapore for three-way summit to declare end of Korean War

South Korean President Moon Jae-in may travel to Singapore next month to hold a three-way summit with his US and North Korean counterparts, Seoul officials noted Thursday, possibly suggesting that Washington and Pyongyang may currently be considering a formal end to the Korean War as an incentive to the North for its denuclearization.An official from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said nothing has yet been decided when asked if President Moon planned to visit Singapore for a three-way sum

May 31, 2018

NK insists on repatriation of restaurant workers

Pyongyang’s growing calls for the repatriation of former North Korean restaurant workers who came to South Korea in 2016 may be an obstacle for Seoul at high-level talks Friday, experts said. North Korea on Tuesday said a decision to send back the defectors would prove the South Korean government’s “sincerity” toward sustained development of inter-Korean ties and peace on the peninsula. The announcement followed the same demand made by the North’s Red Cross Society on May 19. On the North’s rece

May 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Kim Yong-chol, a man of mixed past in inter-Korean relations

With Kim Yong-chol set to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York, expectations are rising that the conclusion of the talks on arranging a US-North Korea summit is in sight. The role Kim is playing in inter-Korean and Pyongyang-Washington talks in recent months is in stark contrast to the role he has played in the past. Kim, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers’ Party, has been central to the inter-Korean developments of recent months. Pyongyang was rep

May 30, 2018

US-NK talks end at Panmunjeom

Working-level talks between officials from North Korea and the US ended Wednesday at the border village of Panmunjeom, amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to prepare for a potential North Korea-US summit next month.　A team of US diplomats was seen going through security checks at the military guard point leading to Panmunjeom around 9 a.m. to hold preparatory discussions with North Korean officials for the June 12 summit in Singapore. They were seen coming back to Seoul in the afternoon.Led by S

May 30, 2018

Up to 120,000 political prisoners held in NK: US

North Korea is holding between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners, some for religious reasons, the US State Department said in a report released on Tuesday.The department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2017 revealed 1,304 cases of alleged religious freedom violations in North Korea last year, while detailing the harsh treatment of political and religious prisoners, as well as persecution of Christians. “The government continued to deal harshly with those who engaged in a

May 30, 2018

[Photo News] US diplomat spotted departing for Panmunjeom

Sung Kim, the US State Department’s key Korea expert, was spotted departing for the border village of Panmunjeom on Wednesday morning.Kim and a team of US negotiators are set to hold talks with North Korean officials concerning the upcoming US-North Korea summit. The two sides will fine-tune details on North Korea’s denuclearization and a security guarantee for Kim Jong-un’s regime, according to reports.Spotted heading for Panmunjeom from Seoul at 10 a.m. were Sung Kim, a South-Korean born Ameri

May 30, 2018

US main player in N. Korea’s denuclearization: PM

DUBLIN -- The United States is the main player in efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear program because denuclearization is linked closely to guaranteeing the security of the regime in Pyongyang, South Korea’s prime minister said Tuesday.The remark, made to reporters at the end of his weeklong trip to Europe, is in line with Lee’s earlier revelation that the US has asked South Korea not to get involved too deeply in the issue of denuclearizing the communist nation.“When it comes to the denucleari

May 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] US 'very engaged' on NK human rights issue

WASHINGTON -- The United States is "very engaged" in efforts to end North Korea's human rights abuses as the two sides prepare for a potential meeting between their leaders next month, a senior US official said Tuesday.Sam Brownback, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, told reporters the issue is being discussed at the highest levels ahead of the summit expected for June 12 in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. North Korean leade

May 30, 2018

Japan to push for high-level talks with N. Korea in August

TOKYO -- Japan plans to push for a foreign ministers meeting with North Korea in August should the North make progress toward denuclearization after the summit between the United States and the communist country, the Japanese news agency has said.Citing multiple government sources, Japan's Kyodo News reported Tuesday that its government is considering ministerial talks with North Korea on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum slated for Aug. 1-4 in Singapore.If held, Ri Yong-ho from Pyongyan

May 30, 2018

Pompeo, Kim Yong-chol to meet in NY to put final touches on summit

North Korea’s Kim Yong-chol and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are to set to meet in New York, adding to speculation that arrangements for the US-North Korea summit may be in their final stages. On Wednesday, Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee and director of the committee’s United Front Department, left for New York aboard a China Air flight from Beijing. The flight is scheduled to arrive at the John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday.According to t

May 30, 2018