A North Korean border guard recently shot and killed a defector while trying to escape near the border with China, an activist in Seoul said.The incident is seen as part of a crackdown on the increasing number of residents risking their lives to flee the impoverished state.Kim Yong-hwa, chairman of the North Korea Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea, said he saw a defector shot dead by a North Korean border guard shortly after he crossed the river border and stepped on Chinese soil. “I ac

North Korea Nov. 7, 2011

The chief of the Korean parliamentary trade committee on Friday hinted at the possibility of the ruling party going ahead with a vote on the free trade pact with the U.S.The National Assembly was deadlocked for its third consecutive day Friday, as members of the main opposition Democratic Party staged a sit-in protest to stop the Grand National Party from railroading the agreement through. The bill awaits a trade committee vote before heading to the final vote in the 299-member unicameral house

Politics Nov. 4, 2011

More than 120 diplomats who formerly served as South Korean ambassadors released a statement calling on China to stop sending North Koreans back against their will, a civic group here said Tuesday. A total of 127 ex-ambassadors accused the Chinese government of violating international law by sending back the refugees.“It is the international society’s unchangeable custom to protect and shelter refugees,” the diplomats said in the statement released during a press conference here. The statement c

North Korea Nov. 1, 2011

South Korea will push for closer consultations with partners of the stalled multinational talks on North Korea’s denuclearization in nuclear talks with China and trilateral talks with the U.S. and Japan, officials said Monday. As his final trip to a six-nation dialogue member state, Seoul’s new chief nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam will arrive in Beijing Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei, according to the Foreign Ministry here. It is Lim’s first official visit to China sinc

Foreign Affairs Oct. 31, 2011

South Korea’s chief of North Korean affairs will visit the United States this week to discuss Seoul’s recent policies on Pyongyang and pending regional issues, the Unification Ministry here said Monday. The visit will be first to the U.S. by South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik, who took over the post from his hardline predecessor last month. President Lee Myung-bak’s appointment of Yu has been seen as an indication of Seoul’s softening stance toward North Korea.Yu has repeated a willingn

North Korea Oct. 31, 2011

The number of overseas-based websites glorifying the North Korean regime has been increasing rapidly, a police report here showed Sunday. With their servers based in foreign countries, South Korean authorities have faced difficulties in dealing with the Korean-language websites legally. Police detected 58 such sites from 2007 until September of this year, and blocked South Korean Internet users’ access to 37 of such websites, according to documents submitted by the National Police Agency to an o

North Korea Oct. 30, 2011

A North Korean defector asked South Korean prosecutors to investigate a government-affiliated organization for its alleged leaking of personal information on defectors like himself, investigators said Sunday. The unnamed leader of a defectors’ group has accused the North Korean Refugees Foundation of handing over personal information on about 4,100 North Korea defectors to a private research institute for about a year from last August, according to Seoul Jongno Police Station. Police are current

North Korea Oct. 30, 2011

Nearly 50 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the Seoul mayoral by-election Wednesday, seemingly indicating their desire for change as the presidential race draws closer. Turnout was more than 48 percent, according to the election watchdog, with more than 4 million out of the 8.3 million Seoul voters turning up at polling stations. The turnout for 11 other posts in smaller local municipalities stood at 46 percent, the National Election Commission said.The higher-than-expected turnou

Politics Oct. 27, 2011

Nearly 50 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the Seoul mayoral by-election Wednesday, seemingly indicating their desire for change as the presidential race draws closer. Turnout was more than 48 percent, according to the election watchdog, with more than 4 million out of the 8.3 million Seoul voters turning up at polling stations. The turnout for 11 other posts in smaller local municipalities stood at 46 percent, the National Election Commission said.The higher-than-expected turnou

Politics Oct. 26, 2011

The top U.S. envoy on North Korea has reported some progress after the first day of talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the second direct encounter between both sides in less than three months.Speaking to reporters and TV cameras Monday night as he re-entered his lakeside hotel after their first meeting at the United States’ U.N. mission in Geneva, Stephen Bosworth called himself “neither optimistic nor pessimistic.’’“We have had a good day of talks. I think we’re moving in a positive direct

Foreign Affairs Oct. 25, 2011

North Korea invited representatives of an association of South Korean charity groups to Pyongyang, an association official said Tuesday, the first such invitation since the two Koreas exchanged fire near their tense sea border last year. North Korea sent the invitation to the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation, a collaboration of some 50 non-governmental aid groups, suggesting a meeting in its capital city to discuss aid from Wednesday through Saturday, Park Hyun-seok, secretary general of the as

North Korea Oct. 25, 2011

The World Health Organization has asked its officials not to use North Korean airliners in the latest such move by an international organization prompted by safety concerns, a U.S.-funded radio station reported Tuesday. The WHO Southeast Asia office recently gave Pyongyang’s Air Koryo a “C” rating for safety in May, which means officials are banned from using the airliners unless special approval is given by the body’s travel officer, according to Voice of America. Air Koryo was rated the lowest

North Korea Oct. 25, 2011