Aug 20, 2019

US extends travel ban on N. Korea for another year

The United States on Monday extended a ban on American citizens traveling to North Korea for another year.The State Department announced the extension in a notice, saying "there continues to be serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention" in the North. The notice is due to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.The travel ban was imposed in Sept. 2017 in the wake of the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in the No

Aug 20, 2019

Resumption of US-NK dialogue a matter for speculation as drills come to end

A possible resumption of talks between the US and North Korea is in the spotlight as the top nuclear negotiator from Washington is due in Seoul on Tuesday, the final day of their joint military drills. According to the US Department of State, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is set to arrive here after visiting Tokyo. His trip to both countries is intended to “further strengthen coordination on the final, fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea. 

Aug 19, 2019

NK-China ties in 'new historic chapter': top Chinese official

A "new historic chapter" has opened in relations between North Korea and China in the wake of visits by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping to each other's country, a top Chinese military official was quoted Monday as saying.Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, made the remark during a meeting in Beijing on Saturday with a North Korean military delegation led by Kim Su-gil, director of the General Political Bureau of the North

Aug 19, 2019

N. Korea lashes out at veteran S. Korean lawmaker for comments on projectile launch

North Korea's state news agency lashed out at a senior South Korean politician Monday for criticizing Pyongyang over its latest projectile launch.In a signed commentary, the North's Korean Central News Agency branded Rep. Park Jie-won as a "tramp and dirty man" in rare criticism of the veteran lawmaker known for his key role in arranging the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000.Park criticized the North in a Twitter message Saturday for firing projectiles a day earlier from a region

Aug 18, 2019

S. Korea undaunted by troubles in peace journey, minister says

South Korea's unification minister on Sunday pledged to make unswerving efforts for inter-Korean peace despite "difficulties" two days after Pyongyang said it will never talk with Seoul again.The minister, Kim Yeon-chul, stressed that Seoul's initiative for a "peace economy" is aimed at bringing gains to both South and North Korea amid mutual security assurances. He was delivering a congratulatory message for a peace concert organized by the Korean Council for Reconciliation

Aug 19, 2019

Late North Korean leader wanted US troops to stay in Korea even after unification

The late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il supported the continued presence of US troops on the Korean Peninsula even after the eventual unification of the two Koreas, a veteran lawmaker said Sunday. Recalling the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000, Rep. Park Jie-won of the Alliance for Alternative Politics of Change and Hope said the late Kim, the father of current North Korean leader Jong-un, told then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung that the US forces should remain on the peninsula to m

Aug 19, 2019

Biegun’s Seoul visit raises expectations for resumption of working-level nuclear talks

A visit to South Korea by the US special envoy for North Korea this week has sparked speculation that he may meet Pyongyang’s officials to resume stalled denuclearization talks at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom. US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will travel to Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday just after joint South Korea-US military exercises wrap up Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed willingness to restart denuclearization talks

Aug 18, 2019

Senior military officials of N. Korea, China hold talks over bilateral ties

Senior military officials of North Korea and China have held talks in Beijing to discuss their countries' "friendly" relations and cooperation, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday.Kim Su-gil, the director of the General Political Bureau of the North's Korean People's Army, and Miao Hua, the director of the political affairs department of China's Central Military Commission, met on Friday, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.  Kim, the head of the North's mil

Aug 18, 2019

N. Korea again raps Seoul over joint military exercise

North Korea again blasted South Korea and the United States for their joint military exercise Saturday, one day after it said it has no intention to talk with South Korea again.In a signed commentary, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed the joint military drill was aimed at invading the North. "It is a well-known fact that the US and the south Korean authorities grew proficient in the capabilities for fighting a war, steadily modifying and supplementing operationa

Aug 17, 2019

NK vice sports minister cancels plan to visit Japan: report

North Korea's vice sports minister has canceled his plan to visit Japan this week to attend a 2020 Tokyo Olympics-related meeting, a Japanese news outlet reported Saturday.North Korean vice minister Won Kil-u and two officials had planned to visit Tokyo from Tuesday to Thursday, but withdrew their plan, Kyodo News reported, citing multiple government sources. The North Koreans originally planned to take part in a meeting of countries that will participate in the Tokyo Olympics. The reason f

Aug 17, 2019

N. Korea says it tested 'new weapon' under leader Kim's guidance

North Korea said Saturday that it has tested a "new weapon" under the guidance of its leader, Kim Jong-un, in the launch of two projectiles the previous day.Kim "guided the test-fire of (a) new weapon again on Friday morning," the Korean Central News Agency said. "The national defense scientists showed a perfect result in the test-fire, too, and helped cement bigger confidence in this weapon system." "It is our party's goal of defense building to possess i

Aug 17, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae holds NSC meeting over NK projectiles

South Korea’s presidential office on Friday convened an emergency National Security Council meeting following North Korea’s latest projectile launches. “An emergency NSC meeting was called, and the North Korea’s short-range projectiles and the overall military security situation on the Korean Peninsula was reviewed,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement. The meeting was held at 9 a.m., presided by national security director Chung Eui-yong. Earlier in the day, the

Aug 17, 2019

North Korea fires two projectiles into East Sea

North Korea has fired two more projectiles into the East Sea in the early hours of Friday, further raising tensions on the peninsula. According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired two projectiles from Tongchun, a country near the east coast of North Korean part of Gangwon Province. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the military is analyzing the projectiles, and maintaining high level of readiness. South Korean and US militaries have yet to release details o

Aug 17, 2019

N. Korea says it will not talk with S. Korea

North Korea said on Friday that it has no desire to talk with South Korea, criticizing President Moon Jae-in’s Liberation Day speech and blaming Seoul for its joint military exercise with the US. The spokesperson of the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country said in a statement that it was delusional to think that inter-Korean talks could resume after the military drills, calling Moon an “impudent guy rare to be found.”“South Korean aut