Tough road ahead for end-of-war declaration

There will be no immediate breakthrough in the ongoing discussions toward an end-of-war declaration without a change of attitude not just from North Korea, but also from the US, experts here said Tuesday. President Moon Jae-in proposed declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War in his UN speech last month, a last-ditch effort to resume stalled diplomacy with North Korea before he leaves office in May. Seoul officials have held a series of high-level meetings in recent weeks, wooing sup

Oct. 19, 2021

US nuclear envoy to visit Seoul this week to discuss ‘end-of-war’ declaration

Washington’s point man on North Korea, Sung Kim, said Monday that he will visit Seoul later this week to discuss ways to bring Pyongyang back to the dialogue, and that declaring an official end to the Korean War will be part of the agenda.  Kim, the US special representative on North Korea, revealed his plans after talks with South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, in Washington on Monday, ahead of a three-way meeting Tuesday with their Japanese counterpart, Takehiro F

Oct. 19, 2021

No notice from N. Korea on its missile launch despite daily liaison call: Seoul ministry

South and North Korea held their regular phone call via the liaison hotline Tuesday morning, but Pyongyang gave no prior notice of its latest missile launch, an official at Seoul's unification ministry said. In its latest show of force, the North fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea from near Sinpo, where it is known to be developing a new submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, according to South Korea's military. "The liaison call occurred as normal this morning. (Nort

Oct. 19, 2021

N. Korea fires what seems to be SLBM toward East Sea: S. Korea

North Korea fired what appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) toward the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea's military said. The missile was launched eastward from a site in the vicinity of Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). It said the launch was detected at 10:17 a.m. but gave no other details. "The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are currently conducting a thorough analysis regarding additional

Oct. 19, 2021

2 minor natural quakes hit N. Korea's eastern region: KMA

Two natural earthquakes hit eastern North Korea on Tuesday, South Korea's state weather agency said. The first quake with a magnitude of 2.6 occurred about 4 kilometers southeast of Changjin, South Hamgyong Province, at 6:41 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The second quake of magnitude 2.8 was detected at 6:45 a.m., about 4 kilometers northeast of Changjin. Both quakes occurred naturally and do not seem to have caused any damage, the KMA said. They posted a

Oct. 19, 2021

Spy chiefs of S. Korea, US, Japan convene in Seoul to discuss North Korean issues

Intelligence chiefs of South Korea, the US and Japan convened in Seoul on Monday to discuss North Korean issues amid a flurry of diplomacy among the three allies aiming to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. According to government sources, Park Jie-won, head of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, are said to have held bilateral meetings with Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, and Hiroaki Takizawa, Japan’s cabinet intelligence director,

Oct. 18, 2021

Unification Minister calls for talks to discuss the North’s ‘double standard’ accusation

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Monday stressed the need for talks with North Korea on the regime’s demand that the South drop its “double standards” as a condition of progress on inter-Korean relations.  During a parliamentary audit session, Lee responded to a question on whether Seoul could accept Pyongyang’s call for an end to what it called “double standards” -- meaning the way the South characterizes the firing of ballistic missiles by the Nor

Oct. 18, 2021

NK may test long-range missile next year: US intelligence agency

  North Korea may resume long-range ballistic missile tests next year, the US Defense Intelligence Agency said, warning that the regime is unlikely to renounce its weapons of mass destruction as it believes they are critical to the country’s survival. 　 The DIA, which provides intelligence to the Defense Department, released a report Friday examining Pyongyang’s military program, strategy and intentions, stressing that the North will continue to pose a “critical security

Oct. 18, 2021

Seoul closely monitoring N. Korean leader's increased messages toward US: ministry

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has publicly mentioned the United States more often recently, drawing attention to Pyongyang's next move amid a prolonged deadlock in their nuclear talks, according to South Korea's unification ministry Monday. The ministry made the assessment in a report to lawmakers for an annual parliamentary audit, calling for an "active response" to resume dialogue in the face of growing volatility in the region. North Korea conducted four new missile tests in Sep

Oct. 18, 2021

Seoul, Washington almost ready for humanitarian aid to Pyongyang: nuclear envoy

South Korea and the US are almost ready in their preparation to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea, Seoul’s top nuclear envoy said Saturday, amid the allies’ efforts to revive stalled diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime. 　 Noh Kyu-duk, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark upon arriving in Washington for talks with his US and Japanese counterparts on ways to bring the reclusive Pyongyang back to the table for the

Oct. 17, 2021

S. Korea's nuclear envoy pins hope on end-of-war declaration to resume talks with North

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy said Saturday that a formal declaration of an end to the 1950-53 Korean War could pave the way for resuming the stalled denuclearization talks with North Korea. Noh Kyu-duk made the remark ahead of his meetings with his US and Japanese counterparts in Washington later this week to explore ways to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. The upcoming talks will likely touch on President Moon Jae-in's recent proposal to declare a formal end to the Korean W

Oct. 17, 2021

Unification minister reiterates resolve to revive peace efforts with N. Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Saturday reiterated South Korea's resolve to revive peace efforts with the North, pinning hopes on the recent reactivation of communication lines between the two Koreas. Speaking during a forum in the eastern city of Chuncheon, Lee said that the Beijing Winter Olympics slated for February next year may offer an opportunity to restore inter-Korean relations. "(The government) will focus its efforts to resume the Korean Peninsula peace process and make p

Oct. 16, 2021

S. Korea, US, Japan cooperation important to denuclearizing peninsula: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is committed to working with its allies in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, a State Department spokesperson said Friday, also stressing the importance of key US allies, South Korea and Japan, working together to that end. Ned Price made the remark after Japan's newly inaugurated Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held his first call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday (Seoul time), more than 10 days after his inauguration last Monday. "As you kn

Oct. 16, 2021

N. Korea may be considering engaging with S. Korea, US: Biegun

North Korea may be considering engaging with South Korea and the rest of the world, former Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Friday. Biegun noted the North may be trying to influence the outcome of South Korea's upcoming presidential election, but insisted having a direct communication channel with the reclusive state was more important to South Korea, as well as the United States, than having such consequences. "We've seen a sequence of events that many analysts have interpre

Oct. 16, 2021

N. Korea opens western sea route to receive medical supplies: UNICEF

North Korea has opened a key sea route on the western coast to receive humanitarian aid deliveries following its closure attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, a United Nations agency official said Friday. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has begun shipping medical supplies from the Chinese port of Dalian to North Korea's Nampo and plans to deliver more items, according to its Seoul office.  "A limited shipment of health and nutrition supplies has been delivered through th

Oct. 15, 2021

US says awaiting N. Korea’s return to diplomacy

The US State Department said Thursday that the US is waiting to see if North Korea would respond to its offer to resume nuclear talks. “We do stand prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions. We have made, in fact, specific proposals to the DPRK, and we will await a response,” spokesperson Ned Price said referring to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Price, who did not elaborate on the specific proposals, said the status qu

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korea aims to swiftly reopen talks with N. Korea: NSC

Top security officials held a regular National Security Council meeting Thursday and discussed ways of swiftly reopening stalled dialogue with North Korea, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting came after Suh Hoon, the nation‘s top security adviser, held talks with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington earlier this week and they reaffirmed their commitment to engaging with North Korea. 　The participants agreed to work closely together with related

Oct. 14, 2021

N. Korea slams Japan‘s arms buildup as preparations for aggression

  　North Korea on Wednesday condemned Japan‘s recent push to build up its military, branding it as “preparations for a war of aggression.” 　 　A commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted Japan is planning to import over 20 U.S.-made reconnaissance drones, and pushing to possess aircraft carriers and introduce the latest stealth fighters. 　 　“The gravity of the issue lies in the fact that Japan pushes ahead with such arms buildup under the pret

Oct. 13, 2021

US stresses ‘sincerity’ in its overture toward North Korea

The top national security advisers of South Korea and the US on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to engaging with North Korea, pledging to work together to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. Suh Hoon, South Korea’s director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, was visiting Washington to hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, amid North Korea’s conflicting messages involving back-to-back missile tests and diplomatic overtures, including the

Oct. 13, 2021

T-shirt with portrait of Kim appears at N. Korea's public event for 1st time

A T-shirt with a printed portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted during a public event in Pyongyang for the first time, state media showed, amid the reclusive regime's push to rev up an image of being a "normal state." According to footage released by the North's official Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station on Tuesday, an orchestra conductor was clad in the white T-shirt with Kim's face printed in black and white on the front at a defense expo the previous day. N

Oct. 13, 2021