US President Donald Trump’s emphasis on North Korea’s human rights issues is a sign that Washington will step up its “maximum pressure” on the regime, experts said Sunday.North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho (left) and US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)Despite a thaw in inter-Korean relations, the US is seen as shifting to a tougher stance on North Korea by addressing the brutality of its leader Kim Jong-un -- a provocative action that could enrage the communist state. With just a week before the P

North Korea Feb. 4, 2018

Washington’s decision to drop Victor Cha as its next US ambassador to South Korea was not due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s consideration of a limited strike on North Korea, a diplomatic source said Friday. Washington abandoned its plan to nominate Cha, a former director for Asian affairs for the National Security Council under the Bush administration, reportedly due to his opposition to the Trump administration’s “bloody nose” strategy on North Korea and its threat to term

Foreign Affairs Feb. 2, 2018

Washington’s decision to drop Victor Cha as its next US ambassador to South Korea is fueling concerns that the Trump administration may be considering a figure with a tougher stance on North Korea and that there may be discord in the South Korea-US alliance. 　Washington withdrew the nomination of Cha, a former director for Asian affairs for the National Security Council under the Bush administration, reportedly due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s “bloody nose” strategy agains

Foreign Affairs Feb. 1, 2018

Washington has abandoned plans to nominate Victor Cha as the next US ambassador to South Korea, reportedly due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s “bloody nose” strategy against Pyongyang. Cha, a former White House official during the Bush administration, is no longer being considered for the job after he raised concerns with National Security Council officials over the Trump administration’s consideration of a limited military strike against North Korea, as well as its threats t

Foreign Affairs Jan. 31, 2018

South Korean business owners are seeking government approval to visit the North to inspect their properties at Kaesong Industrial Complex as news reports Tuesday said North Korea is secretly manufacturing clothes at the shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex and selling them at its local markets.Asia Press International reported that products from the complex are being distributed at North Korean markets without company trademarks or logos. They simply bear the name “industrial complex produc

North Korea Jan. 30, 2018

The government plans to submit 347 bills to the National Assembly this year, the Office of Legislation said Tuesday, as a monthlong extra parliamentary session began.  (Yonhap)Nearly 68 percent of the bills -- including revision bills -- drawn up by 29 ministries and offices will be submitted to the National Assembly before a regular session kicks off in August, the office said at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon. Most of the bills are concerned with the implementation of

Politics Jan. 30, 2018

A total of 26 heads of state or government from 21 countries, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will visit South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Abe is the only leader from the four regional powers -- the US, China, Japan and Russia -- visiting South Korea during the Winter Games. President Moon Jae-in will host a reception for foreign dignitaries ahead of the opening ceremony o

Foreign Affairs Jan. 29, 2018

A total of 26 heads of state or government from 21 countries, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will visit South Korea during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Abe is the only leader from the four regional powers -- the US, China, Japan and Russia -- visiting South Korea during the Winter Games.  Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, speaks during a p

Foreign Affairs Jan. 29, 2018

For Rina, an advertisement about jobs in South Korea on social media was a chance to change her life. She imagined that she could lead a life similar to what she saw on Korean dramas and build a better future for her and her family.The advertisement on Facebook posted by a Malaysian agency said that she could make a lot of money quickly and eventually obtain a legitimate work permit if she worked hard. Rina knew it was illegal, but it was a risk worth taking. Her decision cost dearly: She lost f

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2018

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha promoted the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as a chance to defuse tensions with North Korea at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Her remarks came amid growing concerns that North Korea’s current peace overture is part of a propaganda effort, and that the reclusive regime might stage a provocation following the resumption of South Korea-US joint military drills after the Olympics. In her keynote speech a

Foreign Affairs Jan. 26, 2018

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that the conciliatory mood in inter-Korean relations created by North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics might not continue after the sporting event ends. 　“Given the circumstances, I don’t think that the conciliatory mood will continue after the PyeongChang Olympics ends,” Ban said during a seminar in Seoul on the PyeongChang Olympics and North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. “Looking back at the past, the North ha

Foreign Affairs Jan. 25, 2018

North Korean ice hockey players are set to arrive in South Korea on Thursday to form an inter-Korean women’s hockey team for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a week earlier than anticipated.  North Korean ice hockey player Kim Geum-bok (left) and South Korean ice hockey player Lee Kyu-seon shake hands during the world women's ice hockey championship held in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in April this year. (Yonhap)After crossing the border into the South by land, they are expected to head to Jinc

North Korea Jan. 24, 2018

Now is the ideal time for North Korea to open talks with the US on its nuclear and missile programs, a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday, urging the reclusive regime to return to dialogue. “Now is the best time. There were not many cases in which the US had its door open for talks (with North Korea),” the official told a group of reporters on condition of anonymity. “While watching the process, the US can shut the door anytime.” (Yonhap)In a departure from its past stance, th

North Korea Jan. 24, 2018

The South Korean government was embroiled in controversy for treating the North Korean delegation “excessively” well here during its two-day visit to the South aimed at inspecting venues and facilities where the two Koreas plan to hold joint cultural events. Hyon Song-wol (Yonhap)　Led by Hyon Song-wol, the head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, the advance team from Pyongyang inspected possible venues in Gangneung and Seoul on Sunday and Monday, respectively, where the North Korean art troupe is set to

Foreign Affairs Jan. 23, 2018

South Korea will try to use the momentum generated by inter-Korean talks on Pyongyang’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics to bring together the reclusive regime and the US for dialogue on denuclearization, according to a 2018 policy briefing. 　The foreign, defense, unification, culture and veterans ministries jointly briefed Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on policies they will pursue this year during an annual briefing Friday. Their shared theme was “peace on the Korean Peninsula, which begi

Foreign Affairs Jan. 19, 2018