Most Popular
-
1
Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
-
2
Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
-
3
[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
-
4
40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
-
5
[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
-
6
N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
-
7
From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
-
8
Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
-
9
Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
-
10
Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
-
NK unlikely to give up nukes without crushing sanctions: ex-presidential advisor
North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons program in the absence of all-out international sanctions on the country, a former presidential advisor said Wednesday, making his case for tougher actions against Pyongyang. "Against the current backdrop, North Korea's denuclearization is surely improbable," Chun Yung-woo, former presidential advisor for national security, said in a forum hosted by the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. North Korea's wi
Oct. 26, 2016
-
Senior N.K. official arrives in Vietnam for global meeting
A senior North Korean communist party official arrived in Vietnam Wednesday to attend an international conference amid global pressure over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, was seen at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport with several aides after reportedly visiting Dubai. He left Pyongyang on Monday and traveled via Beijing. Ri, a former North Korean foreign minister, plans to attend the 18th International Meetin
Oct. 26, 2016
-
Chinese exports of jet fuel to NK up nearly 400% in September: data
Chinese export of jet fuel to North Korea jumped nearly 400 percent in September from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, a move that could indicate Pyongyang can take advantage of tightened UN sanctions on the North.China exported jet fuel worth $9.7 million to North Korea last month, up 391 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Beijing office of Korea International Trade Association.Chinese exports of jet fuel to North Korea fell 13.1 percent on-year to $31.65 milli
Oct. 26, 2016
-
US to release second blacklist of N. Korean officials involved in human rights abuses in December
The United States plans to release a second blacklist in December of North Korean officials and entities to be sanctioned for their involvement in human rights violations, a senior State Department official said Tuesday.Scott Busby, deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, made the remark during a seminar, saying increasing accountability of North Korean officials is one of the three US strategies to improve the human rights situation in the North.In July, the US imposed
Oct. 26, 2016
-
Failed Musudan missile launch burned mobile launcher
North Korea's failed Musudan missile launch caused considerable damage to one of its mobile launchers, official sources here said Wednesday, the latest sign of shortcomings in the country's military capabilities. Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile, believed to be a Musudan, last Thursday from an airfield in the northwestern city of Kusong. The intermediate-range ballistic missile is known to have exploded soon after liftoff. This launch appeared to have been an attempt by the North to save f
Oct. 26, 2016
-
Efforts to get NK to denuclearize 'probably a lost cause': US intelligence chief
Any effort to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program "is probably a lost cause" and putting a cap on the regime's nuclear capabilities is the "best we could probably hope for," the US intelligence chief said Tuesday."I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause. That is their ticket to their survival. I got a good taste of that when I was there about how the world looks from their vantage and they're under siege and they're very paranoid," Dire
Oct. 26, 2016
-
NK has 3.24 mln mobile phones, 13 subscriptions per 100 people: research
The number of mobile phones being used in North Korea came to 3.24 million as of July last year, a US broadcaster reported Wednesday, citing the US Central Intelligence Agency's recently updated version of the World Factbook.The Voice of America said the North's mobile phone subscriptions per 100 residents came to 13, securing 142nd place on the list of the 217 countries surveyed in the factbook.South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, has 58.93 million mobile phones and 120 subscriptions per 100
Oct. 26, 2016
-
Korea conducts crackdown on smuggled NK products
South Korea on Tuesday conducted a crackdown on smuggled North Korean products coming in from third countries in a move to faithfully enforce United Nations sanctions and its unilateral punitive actions, government officials said.Seoul's unification ministry and eight government agencies carried out a joint surveillance on North Korean products which are suspected of entering South Korea disguised as goods manufactured in other countries, they said.The ministry said that officials inspected thre
Oct. 25, 2016
-
NK's Air Koryo operates flights to only China, Russia: report
The countries to which North Korea's national carrier, Air Koryo, is now able to operate flights has been limited to only China and Russia at a time many countries have endorsed the UN sanctions on the North, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday.According to the Voice of America, the state-owned carrier flew to Kuwait via Urumqi, western China, in August, but Kuwaiti authorities prevented it from landing, forcing it to terminate flights between Pyongyang and Kuwait.Earlier, the Pakistani government
Oct. 25, 2016
-
US again downplays informal talks with NK
The United States again downplayed last week's talks between North Korean diplomats and former US nuclear negotiators as "private" and "unofficial" discussions, urging Pyongyang to demonstrate denuclearization commitments so as to reopen the long-stalled nuclear negotiations."There's no US government involvement here. This is done by private citizens and typically they discuss a range of issues. But the United States government isn't sponsoring them. There's no government involvement in it," Sta
Oct. 25, 2016
-
Ensuring preparedness against NK threats top priority for next US administration: US military secretaries
Ensuring preparedness against increasing threats from North Korea should be a top priority for the next US administration, top military officials said Monday."North Korea plays heavily in my mind because the situation is so unpredictable and the pace seems to be increasing there. There are quite a few soldiers sitting right there, ready in case something happens," Army Secretary Eric Fanning said in response to a question about what to prioritize to his successor during a security seminar."So, m
Oct. 25, 2016
-
Top Chinese diplomat visits N. Korea: KCNA
A top Chinese official arrived in North Korea on Monday for talks on border-related issues, Pyongyang‘s state media said. In a one-paragraph dispatch, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed that Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin began the trip, leading a Chinese delegation to the third joint committee meeting regarding the border. It stopped short of providing details including Liu’s itinerary. He became the first known high-level Chinese official to make a trip there in eight months. H
Oct. 24, 2016
-
‘NK operates team for online propaganda in S. Korea’
North Korea is assessed to be operating a team to conduct cyber “psychological warfare” in South Korea by spreading rumors favorable to Pyongyang, a government source said Monday.According to the source, the North’s cyber team on South Korea mainly focuses on hacking attacks to incapacitate Seoul’s infrastructure and it also distributes fake information to manipulate public opinion here.“North Korea’s organizations on the South, including the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, have been identifie
Oct. 24, 2016
-
US gov't dismisses rare talks involving NK diplomats as 'Track 2' meeting
The United States on Sunday dismissed recent talks between North Korean diplomats and former US government officials as a private "Track 2" meeting taking place without the involvement of the US government.North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol and the North's UN Ambassador Jang Il-hun held the two days of talks with former US nuclear negotiators Robert Gallucci and Joseph DeTrani, and Asian affairs expert Leon Sigal in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur on Friday and Saturday. North Korean Vice
Oct. 24, 2016
-
Kerry calls N. Korea 'illegal and illegitimate regime'
US Secretary of State John Kerry has described North Korea as an "illegal and illegitimate regime" in a possible indication that the US government is taking a harder line on the communist nation.Kerry made the remark at the start of talks with Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah on Friday, praising the Middle Eastern nation for its efforts to help curb North Korea's weapons proliferation."I want to thank the Amir and his government for their efforts to help counter the proliferati
Oct. 24, 2016
-
NK says S. Korea did not consult with Pyongyang over 2007 UN rights vote
North Korea said Monday that South Korea did not consult with Pyongyang before it decided to abstain from the UN vote on the North's human rights in 2007, in its first reaction to a memoir by a former top South Korean diplomat.North Korea's committee on inter-Korean affairs said the South Korean conservative ruling party is carrying out a "politically motivated terrorist act" by branding the main liberal opposition party as North Korean sympathizers."At that time, the south side had neither sugg
Oct. 24, 2016
-
Seoul sees little progress at informal US-NK talks
The US government remains unchanged on its commitment to retain pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear program, Seoul officials said Sunday, downplaying speculations that Washington may resume dialogue with Pyongyang in light of a recent informal meeting.Senior officials from the North‘s foreign ministry met with former US government officials in Kuala Lumpur on Friday and Saturday. The US side included former Robert Gallucci, who was the chief US negotiator during the North Korean nucle
Oct. 23, 2016
-
S. Korean agency to begin interviews with NK defectors for human rights violations
A South Korean agency that will document North Korea's human rights abuses will start interviewing North Korean defectors to check crimes carried out by the communist state, a government official said Sunday.The Center for North Korean Human Rights Records will interview individual North Korean defectors at Hanawon, a facility that provides three months of resettlement education for those fleeing the North to the South, according to a unification ministry official. The center, which is under the
Oct. 23, 2016
-
US remains firm on NK nukes; talks with Pyongyang speculated
The United States remains firm on its commitment to denuclearize North Korea, and Washington and Seoul will cooperate with the international community to keep strong pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to make it give up its nuclear ambitions, the foreign ministry here said Sunday.Speculation lingers that the US might be seeking dialogue with the North as seen by a meeting between senior North Korean foreign ministry officials and former US government officials, including Robert Gallucci, who ne
Oct. 23, 2016
-
N. Koreans displaced by flooding hovers around 300,000: observer
The number of North Koreans displaced by devastating floods that ravaged northeastern parts of the country hovers around 300,000, a local researcher said Sunday.The total estimate is four times larger than what Pyongyang announced in the past after Typhoon Lionrock caused heavy rainfall, landslides and flooding. North Korean news outlets said the typhoon that affected the country from Aug. 29 through Sept. 2 caused 68,900 people to abandon their homes.Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at t
Oct. 23, 2016