Cheong Wa Dae to daily monitor preparations for summit with N. Korea

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is set to launch a new situation room on Thursday to daily check its preparations for the upcoming summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The launch of the new situation room came at the direct instruction of the president, who on Wednesday called the upcoming summit a first step in a great transition toward peace."I ask you to create a situation room for preparations for the summit and to begin daily reviews of preparations

April 12, 2018

NK parliament meets in leader's absence ahead of summits

North Korea has convened a key parliamentary meeting without its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media said Thursday, ahead of his planned summits with South Korea and the United States.The Supreme People's Assembly held a session on Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, with no special messages from Kim targeting Seoul and Washington ahead of the upcoming meetings.The assembly holds a plenary session every April to deal with budgets and cabinet personnel reshuffle. The

April 12, 2018

38 North to continue despite closure of parent institution

 　Research institute 38 North announced that it would continue delivering analysis on North Korea despite the imminent closure of its parent institution following the South Korean government’s decision to terminate its funding.　In a statement posted Wednesday on its website, 38 North founder Joel Wit said the research institute would continue its operations even after the planned closure of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.  　“Without commenting on

April 11, 2018

Human rights issue not on Moon-Kim summit agenda

South Korea reiterated Wednesday that it has ruled out North Korea’s human rights record as an agenda item for the upcoming inter-Korean summit, while the United States said it may touch on the sensitive issue. An unnamed Cheong Wa Dae official told Yonhap News Agency that the focus of the summit is tackling the “most urgent” issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Otto Frederick Warmbier (center), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea for 17 months since Ja

April 11, 2018

Seoul closely watching NK parliament session ahead of summits

South Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday it is watching whether North Korea's parliament will unveil key policy directions at its annual session ahead of the country's summits with the South and the United States.The Supreme People's Assembly is presumed to be holding its meeting Wednesday ahead of the April 27 summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Kim is also set to meet US President Donald Trump in May or June.The SPA is the highest organ of state p

April 11, 2018

N. Korean FM makes rare Moscow visit amid diplomatic thaw

MOSCOW -- North Korea’s foreign minister held rare talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Tuesday, as Pyongyang moves to improve strained ties with its neighbors.Ri Yong-ho’s visit came ahead of planned summits between the North’s leader Kim Jong-un and the presidents of South Korea and the United States in the coming weeks.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed Ri to Moscow on Tuesday morning, saying that “Russia is as inclined as ever to develop good neighborly relations with

April 11, 2018

Minister stresses int'l cooperation for NK denuclearization

South Korea's unification minister on Wednesday stressed the importance of international cooperation in resolving North Korea's nuclear problem and improving inter-Korean ties.Cho Myoung-gyon made the remark at a meeting with Simon Smith, Britain's new ambassador to South Korea, ahead of an inter-Korean summit slated for April 27 and a proposed summit between the United States and North Korea."The government believes that cooperation with the international community is very important in resolvin

April 11, 2018

Human rights not on agenda for upcoming Moon-Kim summit: Cheong Wa Dae

Human rights issues will not be a major agenda item for South Korean President Moon Jae-in's talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at least for now, an official from Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.He insisted that any issue unrelated to denuclearization may impede the most urgent task of denuclearizing the communist North."The most urgent issue is the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The first goal of the inter-Korean summit is to establish peace and denuc

April 11, 2018

Denuclearization to top agenda of Trump-Kim meeting, human rights could be discussed

WASHINGTON -- The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will top the agenda for the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but the North's human rights situation could also be discussed, the State Department said Tuesday.Trump and Kim are expected to meet in May or early June at a time and place to be determined.While the focus will be North Korea's nuclear weapons program, some have urged the Trump administration to raise the issue of human ri

April 11, 2018

US think tank to close in May following Seoul's decision to halt funding

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- A US think tank noted for its research on North Korea plans to close next month following the South Korean government's decision to cut off funding, the institute's director said Tuesday.The US-Korea Institute of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies will shut down May 11, Jae Ku said in a text message to Yonhap."May 11 was set to give staff 30 day notice as required by DC labor law," he said, citing discussions he had Monday with SAIS Dean Vali

April 11, 2018

Senior Chinese official to visit NK leading art troupe

A senior Chinese official will visit North Korea, leading an art troupe as Pyongyang and Beijing have agreed to strengthen cultural exchanges, the North's state media said Wednesday.The visit comes in a thawing sign of the two countries' strained ties after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to Beijing last month for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.The art group, led by Song Tao, the head of the international department at the Central Committee of the Communist Part

April 11, 2018

Will Trump travel to Pyongyang for summit?

With US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un officially announcing their first meeting, the focus is now on where would be the ideal place to convene the historic summit to resolve the decades-old nuclear crisis. 　In a cabinet meeting on Monday in Washington, Trump said he plans to meet Kim next month or in early June to discuss the denuclearization of North Korea. The North’s state-run media reported Tuesday that Kim made the first official mention of the summit during his

April 10, 2018

NK leader makes first official mention of dialogue with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has briefed top ruling party officials on the prospects for dialogue with the United States, the North’s state media said Tuesday. It marks Kim’s first official comment on the diplomatic overtures he has made toward Seoul and Washington since January. Kim gave a “profound analysis and appraisal” of inter-Korean ties and potential talks with the US at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held Monday, according to

April 10, 2018

NK diplomat reaffirms commitment to 'phased, synchronized' denuclearization

BACU -- A North Korean diplomat reaffirmed Tuesday that Pyongyang remains committed to denuclearizing the peninsula through progressive and simultaneous actions. "With regard to negotiations on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, (the issue) can be resolved with phased, synchronized measures," the diplomat told Yonhap News Agency, asking not to be named.The official accompanied the North's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho at a ministerial-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku, A

April 10, 2018

NK's parliament to meet this week ahead of summit with S. Korea, US

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament is set to hold its key meeting this week amid attention over what messages it could unveil to South Korea and the United States ahead of its summits with them.The sixth session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly will be held Wednesday ahead of the April 27 summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Kim is also set to meet US President Donald Trump later.The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the constitution, but

April 10, 2018

820 N. Koreans obtain citizenship in EU from 2007 to 2016

BRUSSELS -- A total of 820 people from North Korea acquired citizenship of member countries of the European Union in the 2007-2016 period, with nearly 90 percent of them living in Germany and Britain, the EU's statistics office has shown in a report.Most of them are believed to have defected to and settled in Europe after escaping from North Korea, given that the acquisition of a European citizenship is made through naturalization, marriage or asylum.The number of people, who came from North Kor

April 10, 2018

US should get NK commitment to abandon nukes: Victor Cha

WASHINGTON -- The United States should get North Korea to commit to abandoning all nuclear weapons and nuclear programs, not just the broadly defined "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a former US nuclear negotiator said Monday.Victor Cha, who served on the National Security Council of George W. Bush, said his past experience of negotiating with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program taught him that the word "denuclearization" means very little."What it means in the broader context

April 10, 2018

NK leader mentions ties with S. Korea, US at party meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has talked about prospects for dialogue with the United States at a key party meeting, state media said Tuesday, in his first official comment on a planned summit with US President Donald Trump.The North's ruler made a "profound analysis and appraisal" of inter-Korean ties and potential talks with the US at the meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's political bureau Monday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.Hours before the report came out, Trum

April 10, 2018

Trump: N. Korea summit will be in May or early June

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Monday he plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month or in early June to "hopefully" reach a deal on denuclearizing the regime.Trump made the remarks at a cabinet meeting where he also acknowledged the two sides were in talks to prepare for the meeting.US President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor John Bolton at Monday`s cabinet meeting at the White House. Yonhap"North Korea, by the way, as you've probably seen -- and we'v

April 10, 2018

More talks for inter-Korean summit underway: Unification Ministry

The two Koreas are likely to hold additional working-level talks this week, Seoul’s Ministry of Unification said Monday, ahead of an inter-Korean summit scheduled for April 27. The two sides held talks on measures, protocols, and media coverage for the summit on Thursday and a separate meeting for the establishment of a Seoul-Pyongyang hotline on Saturday. A South Korean high-level delegation led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon crosses the military demarcation line in the truce village o

April 9, 2018