Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday offered to help North Korea contain the novel coronavirus, in his reply to an earlier message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 　 “China is willing to enhance anti-epidemic cooperation with the DPRK and provide as much support as its capacity allows for the DPRK in line with the latter’s needs,” Xi said, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. DPRK stands for the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Re

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2020

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and a stalled peace process on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul proposed a joint response system with North Korea against infectious diseases. 　 “The coronavirus has affected not only our daily lives but also inter-Korean relations and the political landscape of the peninsula in various ways,” Kim told reporters during a press conference held in Seoul. 　 “The ministry is preparing ways to tackle such unconven

North Korea May 7, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not seriously ill, nor did he undergo heart surgery during his recent absence from the public eye, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday. 　 “At least, it is judged that Kim did not receive surgery or a medical procedure related to his heart,” ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Byung-kee told reporters after a closed-door parliamentary briefing with the National Intelligence Service. “(We were also told that) while he

North Korea May 6, 2020

South Korea has already presented the US with its best possible offer in ongoing defense cost-sharing talks, local reports said Wednesday, as the US called for more “flexibility.” 　 The reports cited an unnamed source as saying that Seoul’s proposal for a 13 percent increase over the 1.04 trillion won ($850 million) that it paid last year to host US troops was the highest it could offer, reiterating remarks last week from Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during a parliamentary

Foreign Affairs May 6, 2020

US President Donald Trump said he was “glad” about the reemergence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and that he appeared to be healthy, after weeks of global speculation that Kim was gravely ill or dead. 　 “I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well,” said Trump on Twitter on Saturday (US time), after Kim’s surprise appearance at a public event for the first time in three weeks. 　 On speculation that the North Korean leader had undergone cardiovascular su

North Korea May 3, 2020

South Korea and China agreed on Wednesday to exempt qualified businesspeople from the strict quarantine rules that otherwise apply to travelers entering their respective countries, in a move to facilitate trade-related travel despite the coronavirus pandemic.  Taking effect Friday, the “fast-track” entry procedures apply to Korean nationals visiting 10 regions in China for business purposes: the cities of Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing and the provinces of Liaoning, Shandong,

Foreign Affairs April 29, 2020

Amid conflicting reports about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a parliamentary think tank in South Korea has weighed in on Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong taking over the throne of the reclusive regime.  “Kim Jong-un, in order to overcome the national crisis, could expand Yo-jong’s status and role as the ‘party center,’” the National Assembly Research Service said in a report released on Wednesday. “Party center” is a term th

North Korea April 29, 2020

Amid mounting speculation about the health status of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Seoul officials expressed confidence that “nothing is unusual” in the reclusive regime, labeling the rampant rumors as an “infodemic.”   　 “(The government) has enough information-gathering capabilities to say confidently that there are no unusual signs (in North Korea),” Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told a plenary session of the National Assembly’s foreign

North Korea April 28, 2020

Despite intensifying speculation outside the country about leader Kim Jong-un’s health, North Korea’s state media has continued routine coverage of Kim, this time saying he thanked workers in the elite tourism area where he is believed to be staying.   　 The North’s official Rodong Sinmun reported Monday that Kim had sent a message of gratitude to workers building a tourist zone in the Wonsan-Kalma region on the east coast, without indicating when or offering other detai

North Korea April 27, 2020

With North Korean leader Kim Jong-un missing from public view for two weeks, conflicting, unconfirmed accounts about his health, some even indicating his death or near-death, are raising tensions here. 　 Speculations swirled Sunday that Kim may be incapacitated, following a media report citing Shijian Xingzou, a vice director of Hong Kong Satellite Television, based on a “very solid source.” 　 Separately, Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai reported the 36-year old leader was in a &ld

North Korea April 26, 2020

The South Korean government is pushing to restart a long-stalled project to reconnect railways between the two Koreas, despite uncertainties surrounding inter-Korean relations. 　 Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Thursday said it has designated the construction of a railway along the east coast as an inter-Korean cooperative business, providing legal grounds for it to be exempted from a preliminary feasibility study in order to shorten the construction period. 　 The decision was made dur

North Korea April 23, 2020

Conflicting reports about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s health highlight the intelligence challenges faced in dealing with the security-obsessed nation, observers said Wednesday.    　 Admitting the lack of intelligence access, US President Donald Trump said he did not know the status of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s health, in response to reports that Kim was gravely ill.    　 “These are reports that came out, and we don’t know, we don&rsquo

North Korea April 22, 2020

US President Donald Trump said Monday (US time) that he had turned down an offer from South Korea to pay a certain sum as part of a defense cost-sharing deal, saying wealthy countries such as South Korea should pay more to host American troops.  “Now they’ve offered us a certain amount of money and I rejected it,” Trump said during a White House press conference, referring to the drawn-out negotiations on how much each side should pay for the upkeep of the roughly 28,500

Foreign Affairs April 21, 2020

Amid stalled relations between Seoul and Pyongyang, some experts assert that cross-border public health care cooperation could open up opportunities to resolve the impasse between the two Koreas, as both battle the novel coronavirus pandemic.   　 “North Korea has been pushing ahead with a policy of ‘self-reliance,’ but it would be difficult, especially as the country deals with COVID-19,” said Jeong Se-hyun, executive vice chair of the National Unification Advisory

North Korea April 20, 2020

North Korea on Friday called for heightened vigilance against the novel coronavirus pandemic, and to continuously step-up national quarantine measures, even when the country insists it is totally free of the virus.  “Nothing is more precious than the safety of peoples’ lives,” said North’s state newspaper the Rodong Sinmun. “That is a major reason why national countermeasure against the global pandemic was discussed as the first agenda during the Politburo me

North Korea April 17, 2020