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

The US Treasury Department on Friday said it had allowed nongovernmental organizations to provide coronavirus-related humanitarian aid to sanctioned North Korea, including testing kits and respiratory devices.  The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released the list of items that have gained exemptions for countries like North Korea, Iran and Venezuela to assist in their battle against COVID-19.  OFAC said it is authorizing NGOs to provide items for the civilians o

North Korea April 17, 2020

Commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy that claimed 304 lives, President Moon Jae-in on Thursday said the lessons learned from the 2014 sinking are embedded in his government’s responses to the novel coronavirus outbreak.  　 ‘We cried with the Sewol ferry tragedy, shared a sense of the responsibility (for the lives lost) and realized how deeply interconnected we are with each other,” he wrote via social media. “As we overcome COVID-19, we ar

Politics April 16, 2020

The 21st National Assembly will have two members originally from North Korea who have been vocal about their native country’s dictatorship and human rights abuses.  　 One of them is Tae Ku-min, better known here by his North Korean name, Thae Yong-ho, who became the first defector to be directly elected to South Korea’s unicameral parliament.  　 Running on the ticket of the conservative opposition United Future Party, the former North Korean diplomat, who settled down he

Politics April 15, 2020

All voters must wear plastic gloves at the polling stations during Wednesday’s general election as a precaution against the coronavirus, but many people are voicing concerns about their impact on the environment. 　 Mask-clad voters, upon arriving at one of 14,330 polling stations across the nation, first have to disinfect their hands with the hand sanitizer that is provided by election officials and then put on disposable gloves before casting their ballots. After voting, the plastic glo

Social Affairs April 15, 2020

In Wednesday’s general elections, even those in quarantine can vote.   　 South Korea will pick 300 members of the National Assembly in the first nationwide election to take place during the pandemic.   　 According to the National Election Commission, there are about 50,000 eligible voters under self-quarantine.   　 Not all can vote. Only those who express their intent to vote by 6 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to step outside their places of isolation to visit polling sta

Social Affairs April 14, 2020

South Korea’s quick and preemptive response to the coronavirus outbreak stems from the painful experience of the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, said Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in an interview with foreign media.   “We acted quickly and preemptively and that is not just our philosophy but is a reflection of our recent experience,” Kang said during an interview with French news channel France 24 on Monday. “You may know that in 2014, we had a terrible ferry boat a

Foreign Affairs April 14, 2020

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament held a session Sunday, two days later than scheduled, the country’s state media reported Monday. 　 The 14th Supreme People’s Assembly gathered for a third session in Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was absent, so No. 2 leader Choe Ryong-hae chaired the parliamentary session, the Korea Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun reported. While Kim’s attendance is not required at the Assembly, he has often appeared in the past a

North Korea April 13, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reinstated his sister as an alternate member of the Politburo, the ruling party’s top policymaking body, at its meeting Saturday, the North’s state media said Sunday. 　 The Worker’s Party meeting also addressed countermeasures to COVID-19, other personnel reshuffles and organizational matters, according to the Korea Central News Agency. 　 A joint resolution was adopted to take “more thorough state measures to protect life and safety of o

North Korea April 12, 2020

South Korea on Thursday said it will invalidate short-term visas for all foreign nationals starting Monday. It will also temporarily halt visa waiver programs for 90 countries that bar entry to Koreans, amid concerns over a growing number of coronavirus infections coming from overseas. 　 The new restrictions are due to come into effect at midnight on April 13 at the port of departure, according to a joint press release from the foreign and justice ministries. 　 The officials said the number o

Foreign Affairs April 9, 2020

North Korea is among the 49 countries that are at high risk of food shortage and poverty due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the United Nation’s World Food Program said Thursday. 　 In its report, titled “COVID-19: Potential Impact on the World’s Poorest People,” the WFP analyzed the economic and food security implications of the pandemic, stressing “for many poor countries, the economic consequences will be more devastating than the disease itself.” 　 Th

North Korea April 9, 2020