North Korea talks offer hope for ‘rapid progress’: UN expert

GENEVA (AFP) -- The UN’s expert on human rights in North Korea said Monday that he sees the “potential for rapid progress” after the announcement of a summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.Tomas Ojea Quintana, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in North Korea, made the comments as he introduced his report on the country to the Human Rights Council. Tomas Ojea Quintana (Yonhap)“Today, we witness what appears to be a potential for rapid progress on the po

March 12, 2018

Seoul envoys to brief China, Russia and Japan on NK

Seoul’s top national security officials on Monday left for China and Japan to brief the two countries’ leaders on the recent developments surrounding North Korea. National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, headed to Beijing and Tokyo, respectively, tasked with explaining their meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. Chinese President Xi Jinping greets Seoul's National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong

March 12, 2018

China supports current diplomatic efforts to resolve NK nuke issues

BEIJING -- A senior Chinese foreign policy advisor said Monday that North Korea's nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully, expressing support for the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a breakthrough in the nuclear stalemate through dialogue.China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi made the remarks during his meeting in Beijing with Chung Eui-yong, the top security advisor of President Moon Jae-in, who was sent to share the outcome of his recent trips to North Korea and the United States

March 12, 2018

Moon says next two months critical to peace, denuclearization

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for all-out efforts Monday to successfully hold rare dialogue with North Korea over the next two months, calling it an important and also very difficult chance to achieve what the world has failed to do so far."We now have a very precious chance to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, establish a permanent peace regime and build a path of joint prosperity for South and North Korea," the president said in a weekly meeting with his presidential aides, held a

March 12, 2018

NK apparently cautious in reporting planned summits with S. Korea, US: Seoul

North Korea appears to be remaining prudent with regard to reporting its planned summits with South Korea and the United States, as there has been no official media coverage of them by the North, a Seoul official said Monday.North Korea has not shown any official response to its agreement to hold a summit with Seoul in late April and a rare meeting with US President Donald Trump by May.The Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan, reported the planned inter-Korean summit on Saturday,

March 12, 2018

S. Koreans welcome NK's peace overtures, but are skeptical of its denuclearization commitment

A majority of South Koreans welcome North Korea's peace overtures, but many of them remain skeptical about whether the communist regime has any willingness to give up its nuclear program, a survey showed Monday.The Realmeter survey of 500 adults showed that 73.1 percent welcome the recent surprise developments, such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's agreement to hold an inter-Korean summit in late April and his proposal to meet with US President Donald Trump. (Yonhap)But some 63 percent of th

March 12, 2018

Trump to meet Kim as long as promises kept: White House

WASHINGTON  -- US President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as long as the regime keeps its promises on denuclearization and nuclear and missile tests, a White House official said Sunday.The spokesperson for the National Security Council rejected claims the administration set new preconditions for the envisioned summit when it called for "concrete actions" from the North."The Press Secretary's statement about 'concrete actions' did not refer to new preconditions," the

March 12, 2018

Mattis says US-North Korea diplomacy is at delicate stage

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the diplomatic push to solve the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis was at such a delicate stage that he won't publicly discuss the talks or related issues such as U.S.-South Korean military exercises.Mattis was among advisers who were in the White House when President Donald Trump on Thursday decided to accept the offer by North Korean leader Jong Un Kim to meet by May. The offer was relayed to Trump by a South Korean government delegation that briefed th

March 11, 2018

North Korea sought nuclear status to boost economy: NK journal

Amid growing speculations about North Korea’s possible denuclearization, a report published by a North Korean academic journal shows North Korea advancing its argument that it has created propitious conditions for economic development on the back of nuclear statehood.“Our party’s ‘Byeongjin Line’ policy is the most righteous path for our nation. It enables us to guard our revolutionary core interests and realize radiantly the achievements of architecting a powerful socialist nation,” read a pape

March 11, 2018

N. Korea says its nuclear power status laid foundation to focus on economic development

A North Korean academic paper released late last year showed that Pyongyang believes that its "nuclear weapons status" will allow the country to fully devote itself to economic development going forward, the report picked up in Seoul on Sunday showed.A periodical acquired by Yonhap News Agency lauded the so-called "Byungjin" policy, which centers on simultaneous development of nuclear armament and economic growth.The paper was issued on Nov. 15, just two weeks before Pyongyang tested a new inter

March 11, 2018

US demands 'concrete actions' before summit with NK

The United States said Friday that North Korea must take "concrete actions" to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearize in order to realize a summit with US President Donald Trump.The remark by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders came a day after Trump accepted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's invitation to a summit on the regime's denuclearization.A woman walks by a huge screen showing US President Donald Trump (left)and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, in Tokyo, Friday. (AP-Yonhap)Sa

March 10, 2018

S. Korean Foreign Minister to visit US next week to discuss North Korea issues

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will visit the United States to meet State Secretary Rex Tillerson, the minister said Saturday.   In a meeting with Korean reporters in Hanoi, where she is on a three-day visit, Kang said she will meet her US counterpart to learn more details about Korean envoys' visit to Washington earlier this week to extend an invitation by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to US President Donald Trump.   "Willingness for dialogue has been confirmed on both sides. No

March 10, 2018

Trump agrees to meet NK leader, Moon orders preparations for inter-Korean summit

US President Donald Trump on Friday agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “by May,” as Seoul scrambles to make preparations for the inter-Korean summit slated for the end of April. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in plans to meet Kim on the South’s side of the Panmunjeom truce village as part of the recently reached inter-Korean agreement. The announcement regarding Trump’s decision was made by Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong at the White House following his meeti

March 9, 2018

S. Korean minister speaks well of N. Korea's ruling family

The South Korean minister in charge of North Korea affairs publicly spoke highly of the communist neighbor's leader Kim Jong-un and his influential sister Friday, an assessment that reflects Pyongyang's surprising peace overtures.Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon described Kim as a dialogue partner with whom to have "adequate consultations and open-minded conversation" during not only inter-Korean summit talks in late April but also his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, which is expec

March 9, 2018

Pyongyang or Panmunjeom for Kim-Trump meeting?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invited US President Donald Trump for talks and Trump has agreed. So the question is: Where will they meet for the talks that could mark a potential breakthrough in the standoff surrounding the North‘s nuclear program? Kim’s invitation arrived Thursday at the US White House delivered by South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong in a stunning development following months of mutual bellicose rhetoric.Chung led a special envoy of South Korean President Mo

March 9, 2018

Moon hails agreement on US-NK summit as 'historic milestone'

President Moon Jae-in on Friday hailed the agreed-upon summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a "historic milestone" for peace on the Korean Peninsula.Moon made the remark through his spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom after Trump agreed to meet with the North's leader by May, accepting Kim's offer to meet as soon as possible. The envisioned meeting would be the first-ever between leaders of the two Cold War foes."The May meeting will be recorded as a historic miles

March 9, 2018

S. Korea approves funding to cover NK's Paralympic bills

South Korea approved 130 million won ($121,370) in government funding to support North Koreans’ participation in the PyeongChang Paralympics, the Unification Ministry said Friday. A state-run agency in charge of inter-Korean relations finalized its decision to extend its funding to North Korea on Thursday, following its massive financial support for the Winter Games.  North Korean sit skier Kim Jong-hyon (Yonhap)South Korea tapped into the state budget to pay 2.86 billion won to cover the Olympi

March 9, 2018

Abe says he appreciates NK's shift to talks, will continue pressure

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he appreciates North Korea's shift to talks for denuclearization but that maximum pressure will continue until Pyongyang takes concrete steps to give up nuclear weapons.Abe's reaction came as US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to meet to discuss the latter's denuclearization. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (AFP-Yonhap)After talks with Trump in Washington, South Korea's chief presidential security adviso

March 9, 2018

Cheong Wa Dae denies report NK leader called himself short and fat

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae denied a newspaper report Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cracked a joke calling himself short and fat when he met with South Korean special envoys earlier this week.The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported that the North's leader made the joke during a dinner with the South's envoys Monday. The report also cited a presidential official saying that Kim was well-aware of the views and images of him portrayed in foreign and South Korean media. North Kore

March 9, 2018

[Breaking] Trump says he will meet Kim Jong-un by May

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have agreed to meet by May, according to a South Korean envoy in Washington  Friday (Korean time).South Korea's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters at the White House on Frinday morning (Korean time) that Trump told him he would accept Kim's invitation to meet with him as soon as possible.The announcement is expected to greatly change the security condition on the Korean Peninsula gripped by a year of tensions ov

March 9, 2018