Trump wants 'real deal' with N. Korea: Bolton

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump wants a "real" nuclear deal with North Korea, a message that was sent in his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, his top national security aide said Tuesday.Trump announced the same day that he would be pulling the US out of an international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief."It will have implications not simply for Iran but for the forthcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea," US National Security Adviser

May 9, 2018

Moon urges joint efforts of Japan, China to denuclearize N. Korea

SEOUL/TOKYO -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for the active support of Japan and China in ridding North Korea of its nuclear ambitions Wednesday, calling it an essential element to ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in the Northeast Asia region."The countries' support and cooperation is absolutely needed in our journey toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia," Moon said while meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Prime Mi

May 9, 2018

Pompeo heads to NK to establish 'framework' for summit

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in North Korea on Wednesday to discuss details of the upcoming summit between the two countries, the Associated Press reported. Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang marks the second in just over a month as US President Donald Trump prepares to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late May or early June. His trip also followed the North Korean leader's visit to China earlier this week for his second summit with Chinese President Xi Jinpin

May 9, 2018

Trump, Xi agree to keep sanctions on NK until it denuclearizes

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Tuesday to keep sanctions on North Korea until the regime "permanently" dismantles its nuclear weapons program, the White House said.Trump and Xi spoke by phone after the Chinese leader held two days of meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.Trump meets Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing in November last year. (Yonhap)"The two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest, includ

May 9, 2018

Trump says he is to speak to Xi in wake of Xi-Kim summit

The US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the wake of the latter's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."I will be speaking to my friend, President Xi of China, this morning at 8:30," Trump tweeted. "The primary topics will be Trade, where good things will happen, and North Korea, where relationships and trust are building."Xi and Kim held their second summit in about 40 days in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian on Monday and Tues

May 8, 2018

NK seeks to open new international flight route via S. Korean airspace

North Korea is seeking to open a new international flight route via South Korean airspace in an apparent move to expand its diplomatic outreach and exchanges with the outside world, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.Pyongyang recently made the proposal to the International Civil Aviation Organization to create the flight route to a third country, which links the flight information regions in Pyongyang and the South Korean western port city of Incheon.  The FIR, assigned to an ICAO member, is

May 8, 2018

[Newsmaker] US-NK announcement delay raises concerns

With the United States and North Korea continuing to keep mum over the date and location of their summit, speculations are rampant over what may be causing the delay in the announcement.　South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday that it had expected the summit announcement to be made earlier this week. It came days after US President Donald Trump said he had determined the location and date of the summit and would broadcast the news “soon.” 　 However, the prolonged silence has

May 8, 2018

Seoul seeks neighbors' backing for Panmunjeom Declaration

President Moon Jae-in is set to hold trilateral and bilateral meetings with leaders of China and Japan on Wednesday, as Seoul pushes for a special declaration supporting the Panmunjeom Declaration.The meeting, which will be held in Tokyo with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, comes as Seoul scrambles to win the support of neighboring nations to lay the foundations for the upcoming US-North Korea summit. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-u

May 8, 2018

N. Korea committed to implementing inter-Korean summit agreements: Christian groups

Christian leaders who recently visited North Korea said Tuesday that a high-level Pyongyang official affirmed the country’s commitment to implementing the set of inter-Korean agreements signed between the leaders of the countries last month. “It was clear that the commitment we hear from the North and the leadership is not simply rhetoric, but (they) carefully analyzed and understood obstacles and (they recognize) that it will be a hard process that requires careful attention from others,” Rev.

May 8, 2018

Top NK official in Dalian: reports

Another secret visit to China by ranking North Korean figures may have taken place, local and foreign media reported Tuesday. South Korean and foreign media outlets reported that a high-level North Korean official appeared to be in Dalian, Liaoning province, citing unnamed sources. In this file photo provided Wednesday, March 28, by China`s Xinhua News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in Beijing. (Yonhap-AP-Xinhua)South Korea’s Yonhap Ne

May 8, 2018

Speculation rising over NK leader's possible visit to China

BEIJING -- Speculation is rising that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited China again in an apparent move to strengthen the relationship with his country's traditional ally ahead of his upcoming summit with US President Donald Trump.According to sources, an apparent North Korean plane carrying a top Pyongyang official arrived in the Chinese northeastern city of Dalian on Monday, a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to attend a ceremony marking the test operation of his countr

May 8, 2018

Minor party submits resolution calling for NK participation to sports event in Oct.

The minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace on Tuesday submitted to the parliament a resolution that calls for inviting North Korean athletes to a national sports event to be held in the southwestern city of Iksan in October.The resolution called for parliamentary cooperation for the North's participation in the National Sports Festival which will be held from Oct. 12 to 18 in the city 200 kilometers south of Seoul."The North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics provided a n

May 8, 2018

Positive image of N. Korean leader surges among S. Korean students: poll

The number of South Korean college students with favorable perceptions of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has surged about 10-fold following the historic inter-Korean summit talks in April, a poll released on Tuesday showed.In the survey of freshmen at Kookmin University in Seoul, 48.3 percent said they came to have a positive image of Kim after his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27 at the border peace village Panmunjom.Only 4.7 percent said they had such a favorable fee

May 8, 2018

Two Koreas communicate under unified standard time zone

South and North Korea communicated on Tuesday under their unified time zone for the first time in nearly three years, a unification ministry official said.The North called South Korean officials through the liaison office established at the truce village of Panmunjom at 9:03 a.m., the official said on condition of anonymity."This appears to be a follow-up on the North's announcement to return to the unified time zone effective on May 5," he told reporters on condition of anonymity. "Now we see a

May 8, 2018

N. Korea slams Japan for supporting sanctions amid thaw on peninsula

North Korea lambasted Japan on Tuesday for supporting sanctions and pressure against its regime, ratcheting up its criticism of Tokyo amid expectations that the two countries could discuss normalizing diplomatic ties.Japan's support for sanctions and pressure against North Korea "is tantamount to throwing cold water over easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the Rodong Sinmun, the North's official newspaper, said in a commentary. "Seeking to profit from worsening security situations on the p

May 8, 2018

Moon calls for improved ties between Japan, N. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed efforts to help Japan improve its ties with North Korea, calling it a key to denuclearizing the North and enhancing peace and stability in the countries' shared region."Japan can play a very important role for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. It is partly in that the normalization of North Korea-Japan relations may be a necessary part of a security guarantee for North Korea and that close cooperation between South Korea, the United States and

May 8, 2018

Ex-US envoy cautions against signing peace treaty with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- A former top US diplomat for North Korea policy cautioned Monday against signing a peace treaty with North Korea before it completely dismantles its nuclear weapons program.Joseph Yun, former US special representative for North Korea policy, said the move would grant the regime the legitimacy it seeks as a nuclear weapons state."For me, it would be a real mistake to have a peace treaty come first, then denuclearization, because that is clearly an open admission that you're dealing

May 8, 2018

Trump looks forward to meeting Kim: White House

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump is looking forward to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and an announcement on the date and location could come soon, the White House said Monday.Trump said Friday that the date and site have been set, but did not give details."The President is looking forward to his upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. We hope to announce the location and date for the meeting soon," a White House National Security Council official said in rem

May 8, 2018

Reforestation to lay groundwork for inter-Korean economic cooperation

With the two Koreas seeking ways to resume joint economic projects after last month’s inter-Korean summit, Seoul has chosen forestry to lay the groundwork for future projects. South Korea will launch a task force specializing in research linked to inter-Korean forestation projects, according to Cheong Wa Dae, and the project is expected to be discussed with North Korea at high-level talks planned to be held within weeks. Mountains in North Korea are believed to have suffered severe deforestation

May 7, 2018

Will NK recognize NLL after decades of opposition?

Just about a month after the armistice agreement was signed in July 1953, the US-led United Nations Command declared the Northern Limit Line on the West Sea to prevent accidental skirmishes between the two Koreas. 　However, North Korea has refused to endorse what South Korea and the UN Command have claimed as a de facto maritime border, resulting in a series of cross-border clashes such as naval battles near the border island of Yeonpyeongdo in 1999 and 2002.　Buoyed by the mood of a detente foll

May 7, 2018