China pushing to strengthen communication amid growing peace mood: official

China appears to be pushing to strengthen its communication with North Korea, amid signs of a growing peace mood, after the reclusive state recently expressed willingness to come out for talks on its denuclearization, a foreign ministry official said Monday.China has voiced its support for the summit meetings that South Korea and the United States are preparing to hold with North Korea and it is in close consultation with the Seoul government on the back-to-back meetings likely to take place in

March 26, 2018

Military option against NK still mentioned in US: opposition leader

Military options to stop North Korea's nuclear ambitions are still being mentioned in the United States despite the growing reconciliatory mood, an opposition leader said Monday.Yoo Seong-min, co-leader of the centrist Bareunmirae Party, made the remarks following his recent weeklong trip to Washington, where he held talks with former and current US officials and scholars."The atmosphere in Washington vis-a-vis military options against North Korea was different from ours ... (The US) still made

March 26, 2018

Bolton: N. Korea wants to buy time to develop nukes

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is offering negotiations with the United States in order to buy time to develop its nuclear weapons, the incoming US national security adviser said Sunday.John Bolton, a former ambassador who was tapped by US President Donald Trump last week, gave the assessment as the American leader prepares to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to discuss the regime's denuclearization."I think we have to look at what North Korea's motivation is here," Bolton said in an inter

March 26, 2018

Blue House trumpets Pyongyang shows

Expectations are growing over South Korean K-pop artists’ performances in Pyongyang next month, with a South Korean art troupe scheduled to stage a joint performance with their North Korean counterparts. 　South Korean K-pop artists and other celebrated singers will hold a joint concert with the North Korean artists on April 3 -- two days after the South Korean art troupe is to stage its own performance in Pyongyang, according to a presidential protocol aide. 　Under the working title of “Spring C

March 25, 2018

Two Koreas' high-level talks should finalize details of Moon-Kim summit

Seoul and Pyongyang are likely to focus on finalizing details of the inter-Korean summit scheduled for April when the two sides hold high-level talks on Thursday. “A summit’s success can depend on how much progress has been made throughout its preparation process,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University. Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korean Unification Minister (right) and Ri Son-gwon, chairman of North Korea`s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Count

March 25, 2018

NK slams S. Korean military for backpedaling against peace mood

North Korea blasted the South Korean military on Sunday for acting against the conciliatory mood developing on the Korean Peninsula, saying that the South is engaging in military maneuvers against Pyongyang. The North criticized South Korea's decision to deploy F-35A stealth jets and moves to buy more long-range air-to-ground missiles as part of a bid to strengthen weapons systems. The military is scheduled to formally unveil the first F-35A stealth fighter aircraft for its military in a rollout

March 25, 2018

Despite conciliatory mood, private sector exchanges between two Koreas remain stalled

Despite a flurry of conciliatory moves between South Korea and North Korea and their planned historic summit about a month away, exchanges on the private level have remained stalled largely due to diplomatic hurdles, observers said Sunday.A Busan-based committee, set up to carry out the terms of the June 15 joint declaration by the two Koreas on the private level, said its regular meeting with the North's representatives in Pyongyang that had been scheduled for this week has been delayed, a sour

March 25, 2018

Artists of two Koreas to perform together in Pyongyang on April 3: officials

South Korea's art troupe will perform together with North Korean artists in one of the two rare concerts slated for early next month in Pyongyang, Seoul officials said Saturday.On Tuesday, South Korea agreed to send a 160-member art troupe to North Korea for rare concerts ahead of the inter-Korean summit scheduled for late April. The group, including celebrated K-pop singers, such as Cho Yong-pil, Red Velvet and Seohyun, will visit Pyongyang from March 31 to April 3 for two performances.Tak Hyun

March 24, 2018

N. Korea agrees to high-level inter-Korean talks on March 29: ministry

North Korea has accepted South Korea's proposal to hold high-level talks on March 29 to discuss the date and agenda items for an inter-Korean summit slated for late April, the Ministry of Unification said Saturday. (Yonhap)On Thursday, Seoul notified Pyongyang via a border communication channel of its proposal for talks next Thursday on the northern side of the border truce village of Panmunjom, saying the South's three-member delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.Presid

March 24, 2018

Inspection by art troupe's advance team proceeding as scheduled in NK

A South Korean advance team to North Korea is expected to inspect venues for a Seoul art troupe's April concerts in Pyongyang on Friday and return home as scheduled over the weekend, a government official said.The team of government officials and experts arrived in Pyongyang via Beijing on Thursday for a three-day stay to check two venues for an art group's performances slated for March 31 to April 3."The advance team will inspect the venues and others today and will leave Pyongyang on Saturday

March 23, 2018

Baek Ji-young popular in North: defector

The Unification Ministry is fine-tuning the details before sending a 160-member art troupe to Pyongyang for two performances between March 31 and April 3. The artists included Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Choi Jin-hee, rock singer Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Ji-young, Jung-in, former Girls’ Generation member Seohyun, Ali and K-pop act Red Velvet.Among the much-anticipated performances, it is said Baek Ji-young is the most popular north of the border, thanks to her award-winning soundtracks for TV dramas an

March 22, 2018

Advance team for S. Korean art troupe leaves for North

BEIJING/SEOUL -- A six-member South Korean advance team left for North Korea on Thursday to check venues for a South Korean art troupe's performances planned in Pyongyang in early April ahead of an inter-Korean summit.The team of government officials and experts boarded a North Korean flight in Beijing on Thursday for a three-day visit as the South's 160-member art troupe will hold two concerts in Pyongyang between March 31 and April 3, they said.The group plans to check technical and practical

March 22, 2018

N. Korea’s parliament to meet April 11: KCNA

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, will hold a meeting on April 11, the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Thursday. The SPA is nominally the highest institution of state power in North Korea, but it actually rubber stamps decisions by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.Such plenary sessions are held once or twice a year and involve daylong meetings that tackle a slew of diplomatic, political, and financial issues along with the option of a cab

March 22, 2018

Ill-prepared Kim-Trump summit could worsen US-NK relations: Mearsheimer

Despite high hopes for the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, their first-ever encounter carries the risks of ending in failure and bringing tension back to the Korean Peninsula, a prominent US security scholar warned. 　John Mearsheimer, a professor at the University of Chicago, said there is a chance that the Trump-Kim summit may not materialize, or if the talks fail, the two counties could return to the level of animosity of last year.  　“It’s not

March 21, 2018

Six-member advance team for S. Korea's art troupe to visit NK this week

A six-member South Korean advance team will visit North Korea this week to check venues for a South Korean art troupe's planned performances in Pyongyang, a government official said Wednesday.The team of government officials and experts will fly to the North via Beijing on Thursday for a three-day visit, as the South's 160-member art troupe will visit Pyongyang from March 31 to April 3 for two concerts, according to Seoul's unification ministry.The performances will be held at the 1,500-seat Eas

March 21, 2018

Seoul proposes high-level talks on summit with N. Korea on March 29

South Korea on Wednesday proposed holding high-level talks with North Korea next week to discuss details of the upcoming summit between their leaders.The decision to propose holding high-level talks on March 29 came during the second meeting of a summit preparation committee held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Seoul hopes to hold the high-level inter-Korean dialogue at the joint security area of Panmunjom, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, who added that the proposal

March 21, 2018

Britain willing to play role in NK denuclearization process, new envoy says

The United Kingdom is willing to provide its expert knowledge in nuclear nonproliferation and power generation to assist in the process of denuclearizing North Korea, its new ambassador to South Korea said Wednesday. "I think at this stage, we recognize that major next steps (for North Korean denuclearization) are already on the calendar," Amb. Simon Smith said in a press conference, referring to recent progress in South Korea and the United States' diplomacy with North Korea. British Amb. Simon

March 21, 2018

Traffic accidents in N. Korea appear to have increased since Kim Jong-un took power: research team

Traffic accidents in North Korea appear to have increased since leader Kim Jong-un took power, a South Korean research team said Wednesday, citing increased reports about overseas traffic accidents in state media and warnings of punishment for traffic violators.The Kangwon National University research team gave the analysis in a report commissioned by the Road Traffic Authority after scrutinizing reports in North Korea's state media outlets, such as the Rodong Sinmun newspaper and the Minju Chos

March 21, 2018

NK calls for prudence ahead of proposed summits with S. Korea, US

North Korea on Wednesday broke its silence about its burgeoning mood of conciliation with the United States, cautioning hardliners in Seoul and Washington against trying to "spoil the atmosphere."The official Korean Central News Agency called for the two countries' "prudence and patience," saying its ties with them are at a mere beginning level.It slammed former and current officials in the US and Japan, as well as conservatives in South Korea, for "distorting the truth" about its reconciliation

March 21, 2018

Vietnam suspends trading of certain NK items in line with UNSC resolutions

Vietnam has temporarily suspended the trade of "certain" North Korean products in line with two UN Security Council resolutions adopted in the wake of its missile and nuclear provocations. In its implementation report recently submitted to the UN sanctions committee and disclosed Wednesday, Vietnam also said it has not granted new work authorizations for the North Korean people since September. "Vietnam has decided to temporarily suspend the export and import of certain items of the Democratic P

March 21, 2018