The railroads along North Korea’s east coast are not in good condition, an official said Monday after returning home from a 10-day survey aimed at eventually reconnecting cross-border railways. The 28-member team of South Korean officials and railway experts crossed into South Korea on Monday afternoon by bus after conducting a joint inspection of the 800-kilometer rail links from Kumgangsan near the inter-Korean border to the Tumen River bordering Russia in the east, the Unification Ministry sa

North Korea Dec. 17, 2018

When South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for “independent” and “balanced” diplomacy, it was an acknowledgement that the country has been swayed by major powers pursuing their own strategic interests on the divided peninsula. Since Moon took office in May 2017, he has sought to expand Seoul’s diplomacy beyond the four regional powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula -- the US, China, Japan and Russia -- while maintaining close ties with them. At the center of his vision is the New Southern

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2018

South Korea and the US failed to close negotiations on how to share the costs for the stationing of American troops here, an official said Friday, with the allies still at loggerheads on the total amount of money Seoul has to pay.　South Korean negotiator Chang Won-sam and his US counterpart Timothy Betts held the 10th round of meetings from Tuesday to Thursday in Seoul on the renewal of the Special Measures Agreement that is set to expire Dec. 31. 　Under the current SMA, a five-year contract bet

Defense Dec. 14, 2018

The US wants to hold working-level talks with North Korea without set preconditions, a senior Korean government official said Thursday, amid Pyongyang’s continued silence in its denuclearization talks with Washington.  (Yonhap)“I heard that Washington’s position is ... that it wants to meet North Korea at working-level negotiations without any conditions and listen to what the North wants first,” the official said on condition of anonymity.Denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea ap

Foreign Affairs Dec. 13, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely to visit Russia this year, Seoul’s top envoy in Moscow said Thursday, amid speculations about his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ambassador Woo Yoon-keun said it is difficult to predict when the North Korea-Russia summit will happen, given that a second summit between North Korea and the US and Kim’s visit to Seoul have yet to be confirmed. (Yonhap)“The mood for Chairman Kim’s trip to Russia took form after September,” Woo told reporters

Foreign Affairs Dec. 13, 2018

South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday urged Japan to make a “prudent” response to rulings on Japan’s wartime use of South Korean forced labor, in a phone conversation with her Japanese counterpart amid an intensifying diplomatic row. According to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono exchanged views on the South Korean top court’s recent rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims forced into lab

Foreign Affairs Dec. 12, 2018

North Korea is said to have offered an informal apology to Vietnam for involving a Vietnamese national in the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)“I heard that North Korea informally expressed regret to Vietnam about involving a Vietnamese woman in the assassination of Kim Jong-nam,” a source with knowledge of the situation in Vietnam told reporters Tuesday.The apology, albeit informal, could indicate the involvement of the Kim Jong-un regi

North Korea Dec. 12, 2018

South Korea joined 163 UN member states in signing a nonbinding migration pact aimed at better handling the rising flow of migrants worldwide, despite growing anti-immigrant sentiment at home.The Global Compact for Migration was formally approved by 164 countries at a two-day conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is the first international accord on managing migration.(Yonhap)The pact is not legally binding, and signing it would not immediately result in changes in South Korea’s immigration and r

Foreign Affairs Dec. 12, 2018

The US on Monday imposed sanctions on three senior North Korean officials for human rights abuses, amid Pyongyang’s continued silence in its denuclearization talks with Washington. 　The US Treasury Department announced the sanctions on Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party; Jong Kyong-thaek, minister of state security; and Pak Kwang-ho, director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department.　The Treasury Department cited “brutal” human rights abuses and censorship as well as th

Foreign Affairs Dec. 11, 2018

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called on South Korean ambassadors and consuls general Monday to increase their diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of North Korea and establish peace. “Now, we are facing an important opportunity for a resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue,” Kang said at the opening of the annual meeting of some 181 ambassadors and general consuls abroad.  “The journey, going forward, will not be smooth, but I believe in the power of our di

Foreign Affairs Dec. 10, 2018

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho’s trips to the communist state’s allies -- China, Syria and Vietnam -- show the North’s desperation amid stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, experts say. Ri met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday for talks, during which Xi reaffirmed his country’s strong relations with Pyongyang, North Korea’s state-run media reported Sunday.Xi was quoted as saying by North Korea’s state-run media that he regards Pyongyang-Beijing tie

North Korea Dec. 9, 2018

US President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding South Korea pay as much as double its current funding for American troops stationed in South Korea, as Seoul and Washington negotiate how to shoulder defense costs in the coming years. (Joint Press Corps)The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wants South Korea to pay roughly double the current amount, equivalent to $1.6 billion per year for the next five years, citing people familiar with the talks. Other sources cited in the report say the

Foreign Affairs Dec. 9, 2018

The top diplomats from South Korea and the US were set to meet Thursday in Washington amid continued efforts to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea, the Foreign Ministry said. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were scheduled to meet in Washington D.C. at 8:30 a.m., according to the ministry. Kang was in the US to lead South Korea’s delegation to the funeral of former US President George H.W. Bush. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sout

Foreign Affairs Dec. 6, 2018

US senators who are influential in shaping Washington’s North Korea policy advise tying the second US-North Korea summit to more tangible steps toward denuclearization from Pyongyang, Voice of America reported Thursday.  (Yonhap)Republican Senator Cory Gardner said President Donald Trump should “walk away” from the summit if there are any signs that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is using it as an excuse to buy time, according to the report.“As I said from the last one, if the complete, verifia

North Korea Dec. 6, 2018

The two Koreas are discussing when and how they will conduct a joint survey on cross-border roads, the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday, with inter-Korean railway inspections already underway. (Yonhap)The Koreas plan to inspect the road connecting Goseong in Gangwon Province and Wonsan in the North’s Kangwon Province along the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. “Consultations are currently underway, and future schedules will be determined (based on the outcome),” Unification Ministry s

North Korea Dec. 5, 2018