S. Korea, US to discuss 'concrete' deterrence steps against N. Korea threats in this week's talks: official

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States will discuss "concrete" steps to sharpen deterrence against North Korea's evolving military threats during their high-level security talks later this week, according to a senior Seoul official Tuesday. Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul made the remarks upon arriving at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., to attend a session of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) slated for Friday (

Sept. 14, 2022

N.Korea continues to run, expand uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon: IAEA

North Korea has operated and expanded its key uranium enrichment facility at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency said Monday, reiterating North Korea’s readiness to conduct a nuclear test. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the agency has observed multiple indications that suggest North Korea’s pursuit to produce the plutonium and uranium required to manufacture nuclear weapon

Sept. 13, 2022

S. Korea warns N. Korea's nuclear use would lead to regime's 'self-destruction'

South Korea's defense ministry warned Tuesday that North Korea's attempt to use nuclear weapons would lead to its "self-destruction," responding to Pyongyang's recent codification of an apparently assertive nuclear policy. Col. Moon Hong-sik, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, issued the warning after the North promulgated a law on its nuclear policy on Thursday last week that hinted at the possibility of the regime launching a preemptive nuclear strike in a contin

Sept. 13, 2022

UN ambassador stresses need for S. Korea to co-sponsor resolution on N. Korea human rights

NEW YORK -- South Korea should co-sponsor an annual resolution condemning North Korea for its human rights abuses and urging the regime to improve the situation, Seoul's new ambassador to the United Nations said. Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook made the remark in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Sunday, stressing that North Korean human rights is a "very important issue in terms of safeguarding universal values." "For the past few years, we have been clearly passive in addressin

Sept. 12, 2022

N. Korea likely to skip this year's table tennis world championships: report

North Korea appears to have withdrawn its women's table tennis team from this year's world championships slated for later this month in the Chinese city of Chengdu, according to a US broadcaster. Pyongyang was not included in the final list of teams vying for the 2022 World Champions Title sent to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Friday, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). The ITTF did not provide further information on the North's decision to pull out from the

Sept. 12, 2022

N. Korea unresponsive to UN query on enforced disappearance cases: report

North Korea remains unresponsive to requests from a UN working group for information on more than 300 enforced disappearance cases involving the reclusive country, a UN report showed Saturday. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has made the requests related to the 362 cases to the North between 1980 and May this year, but there has been no response from Pyongyang, according to its annual report recently submitted to the UN Human Rights Council. Enforced disappearance ref

Sept. 10, 2022

N. Korean leader says his country will never give up nuclear weapons

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un publicly expressed his determination not to give up the country's nuclear weapons, accusing the United States of seeking the collapse of his regime, not just denuclearization. He made clear that Pyongyang has no intention of resuming negotiations for denuclearization, as the North's rubber-stamp parliament approved a new nuclear force policy during a key session earlier this week, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday. "The a

Sept. 9, 2022

S. Korea offers to hold talks with N.Korea on separated family reunions

South Korea’s unification minister on Thursday proposed to North Korea to hold inter-Korean talks over reunions of separated families at an early date, hoping that the meeting could serve as an opportunity to lift inter-Korean relations from a yearslong deadlock. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said the Yoon Suk-yeol government hopes to hold a face-to-face inter-Korean meeting between the authorities “as soon as possible to have a candid discussion on humanitarian issues” in

Sept. 8, 2022

N. Korea holds key parliamentary meeting without leader Kim

North Korea has convened a key parliamentary session to discuss and adopt laws on rural development and landscaping, state media reported Thursday. The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) meeting was held in Pyongyang the previous day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The country's leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the gathering. "The session adopted with unanimous approval the ordinance of the SPA of the DPRK 'On Adopting Law of the DPRK

Sept. 8, 2022

N. Korea calls US human rights abuse accusations 'grave provocation'

North Korea bristled Wednesday at the United States having taken issue with its human rights situation, calling the move a "grave provocation." In July, a US State Department spokesperson expressed concerns over the North's rights situation following Seoul's appointment of a new envoy for the reclusive state's human rights. A researcher at the North's Korea Association for Human Rights Studies dismissed the remarks and accused Washington of using the issue to streng

Sept. 7, 2022

Yoon govt. OKs civic group's plan for aid to N. Korea for 1st time

South Korea has approved a civic group's plan to send nutritional aid to North Korea, a unification ministry official said Wednesday, the first such decision under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration launched in May. "Last month, we approved a civilian group's application for assistance related to nutritional materials," the official said, without providing details, such as the name of the group. The ministry has already approved seven similar requests from aid organizations thi

Sept. 7, 2022

Russia asks N. Korea for ammunition, indicating challenges in Ukraine war: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- Russia has reached out to North Korea and Iran, a US defense department spokesperson said Tuesday, in its apparently desperate search for ammunition. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted Moscow's request for ammunition from North Korea demonstrates the difficulties Russia now faces due to its ongoing war against Ukraine. "We do have indications that Russia has approached North Korea to request ammunition," the department press secretary said in a press briefing. "I

Sept. 7, 2022

N. Korean leader holds meeting on disaster prevention amid concern about typhoon damage

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chaired a meeting to review his country's disaster prevention and response system, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, as the powerful Typhoon Hinnamnor hit the southern swathes of the peninsula. Kim and other attendees checked the North's preparedness and discussed measures for strengthening its crisis response capabilities during the session held on Sunday and Monday in Pyongyang, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim

Sept. 6, 2022

Defector group says COVID-19 pain relievers, masks sent to N. Korea

INCHEON -- A North Korean defectors' group said Monday it has sent big balloons carrying COVID-19 pain relievers and face masks to North Korea. Fighters for a Free North Korea said 20 plastic balloons were released from Ganghwa Island in Incheon, around 30 kilometers west of Seoul, to North Korea on Sunday, with 50,000 painkiller pills, 30,000 vitamin C tablets and 20,000 masks in them. In photos released by the civic group, the balloons were also carrying banners showing the images of Nort

Sept. 5, 2022

[Exclusive] Fred and Cindy Warmbier to meet with brother of South Korean official killed by North Korean troops

Fred and Cindy Warmbier, whose son Otto died in 2017 after he was held captive in North Korea, and Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of a South Korean fisheries official who was fatally shot by North Korean troops at sea in 2020, plan to meet next week. In an exchange with The Korea Herald, Fred Warmbier said Friday he and his wife, Cindy, “would be happy to meet with” Lee, and that they “would welcome Mr. Lee in (their) home.” They added that they “support him and a

Sept. 5, 2022

N. Korea on alert for powerful Typhoon Hinnamnor

North Korea is taking precautionary measures as it braces for a "super strong" typhoon churning toward the Korean Peninsula, according to its state media Monday. North Korean officials have inspected buildings at risk of flooding or collapsing while fishing boats out in the sea were recalled to port as Typhoon Hinnamnor is expected to bring heavy rains, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Pyongyang has taken measures to prevent damage in areas frequently hit by mudslides an

Sept. 5, 2022

New UN envoy will focus on situation of women, girls in North Korea

Elizabeth Salmon, the newly appointed United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea, said during her first press conference on Friday in Seoul that she would use her mandate to better protect the rights of women and girls in North Korea. “I am particularly determined to bring more attention to the experiences of women and girls, to improve understanding of their specific needs, and to better appreciate the adversities they face in the DPRK,” said Sa

Sept. 2, 2022

Unification minister discusses N.Korea human rights with U.N. rapporteur

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se met Friday with the new U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights to discuss humanitarian issues in Pyongyang. During his meeting with Elizabeth Salmon, Kwon promised proactive efforts to address the human rights issue of North Korea and expressed regret that the matter had been "neglected" under the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration. "The administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol will strive to improve the human right

Sept. 2, 2022

N. Korea blasts new U.N. rapporteur on its human rights as 'puppet' of US

North Korea accused the newly appointed U.N. special rapporteur on its human rights situation Friday of serving merely as a "puppet" of the United States. In response to a question by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for Pyongyang's foreign ministry launched the verbal attack on the US and Elizabeth Salmon, who assumed the post in early August. She arrived in Seoul earlier this week for meetings with South Korean officials, North Korean d

Sept. 2, 2022

S. Korea, US, Japan agree on strong response in case of N. Korea's nuke test

HONOLULU -- South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed to stern measures against a new nuclear test by North Korea, South Korea's top security adviser said Thursday, adding the countries' reaction will be different from those of the past. Kim Sung-han made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts -- Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba -- in Honolulu. "(We) agreed that there must not be naive thinking or reaction that North Korea has conducted six

Sept. 2, 2022