The US is in contact with North Korea in various ways, South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Lee Do-hoon said Tuesday, raising hopes for the resumption of stalled nuclear talks between the two countries. “I believe various forms of contact are being made. I can tell you that we’re going in the direction where we can revive the momentum for dialogue,” he told reporters at Incheon Airport before boarding a plane bound for Washington. US President Donald Trump has hint

North Korea June 18, 2019

The risks are high for South Korea to just ignore or take sides in the yearlong trade war between the US and China, with the country vulnerable to changes in economic, diplomatic and security ties with the two global powers. Seoul was alarmed by Washington’s recent hard-hitting remarks that called for other countries to join its boycott equipment of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies, amid mounting concerns over the trade conflict’s negative impact on its export-dependent econ

Foreign Affairs June 17, 2019

The United States pursues a one-time solution to get North Korea to eliminate its nuclear arsenal, Christopher Ashley Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation, said Tuesday, in a stark contrast to the incremental approach that Pyongyang has been pushing for. “It may be that a one-time solution set can sometimes be generated within the nonproliferation enterprise itself. This is, after all, exactly what the United States aims to achieve with North

North Korea June 14, 2019

The government will discuss national security concerns over the use of Huawei Technologies’ equipment with related countries if necessary, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday as US ambassador to Korea stepped up calls to boycott the Chinese telecom giant.  “Regarding Huawai’s equipment issue, the government will be seeking a way that would respect corporate autonomy and wouldn’t impact the security of military communications,” a ministry official told

Foreign Affairs June 13, 2019

The US State Department said Wednesday that it is ready to hold working-level talks with North Korea on relinquishing its nuclear arsenal after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a letter to US President Donald Trump, the first direct contact between the two leaders in months. During a press briefing, US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus reaffirmed that the country is seeking to achieve lasting peace and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.“Here at the State D

North Korea June 13, 2019

Recalling the first historic summit between leaders of the US and North Korea a year ago, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Wednesday that the government sees this month as a critical period in making progress in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. “Today is the first anniversary of the historic Singapore summit … the second US-North Korea summit was held in Hanoi in late February, and we are expecting the third one to come soon,” Kim said during a meeting betw

North Korea June 12, 2019

North Korea sent a condolence message and flowers for former first lady Lee Hee-ho who died Monday night, the Unification Ministry said Wednesday. Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and First Vice Director of Workers’ Party of Korea, delivered a written message in her brother’s name, for the funeral of Lee, who is known for her own efforts as well as support for the peace and inter-Korean reconciliation efforts of her husband -- former President Kim Da

North Korea June 12, 2019

Jeju police said Tuesday they will refer a murder case involving a 36-year-old woman to the prosecution on charges of killing her ex-husband and dismembering and abandoning his corpse. Police believe Koh Yu-jeong intentionally killed the victim, whom police only identified as a 36-year-old man surnamed Kang, and had set up a plan for the murder in advance.  This contradicts Koh’s claim that she tried to defend herself from Kang’s sexual assault. Koh killed Kang with a knife at a

Social Affairs June 11, 2019

The question of how North Korea will respond to the death of former first lady Lee Hee-ho, who along with her late husband, President Kim Dae-jung, devoted her life to improving inter-Korean relations, is the focus of attention as Pyongyang has been lukewarm for months toward Seoul’s offers of cross-border cooperation. 　The Unification Ministry said Tuesday it had delivered the news of Lee’s death to the North in the morning through the inter-Korean liaison office in the North’

North Korea June 11, 2019

Tens of thousands of young North Koreans have been forced to join work brigades to build a huge resort complex in Wonsan, with leader Kim Jong-un harboring ambitions of transforming the port city into a source of foreign currency, British paper the Times reported Sunday. Located on the southeastern coast of North Korea, the Wonsan region has been the focus of the North Korean regime’s tourism push, with an aim to complete the project by October 2020.  After a rare trip by Western medi

North Korea June 10, 2019

The ASEAN-Korea Center, an intergovernmental organization, is organizing ASEAN Week 2019 in Seoul to showcase the diverse cultures of the 10 ASEAN member states. From Friday through Sunday, special events and exhibitions will be held at Seoul Plaza to raise public awareness of ASEAN cultures and tourism ahead of the ASEAN-South Korea Commemorative Summit scheduled for November this year. The center invited the citizens of Seoul and anyone with an interest in the ASEAN region to “take

Diplomatic Circuit June 10, 2019

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Sunday that the government is making a concerted effort to restart talks between the United States and North Korea at the earliest possible date.“Following the meeting in Hanoi, restarting the US-North Korea summit has become very crucial. From that perspective, President Moon Jae-in proposed holding an inter-Korean summit (in order to support the US-North Korea talks),” Kim said on a KBS television show. As US President Donald Trump will

North Korea June 9, 2019

While the trade war between the United States and China is reshaping the global economy, it is also leaving little room for South and North Korea to move the denuclearization process forward, according to John Park, director of the Korea Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. “If the US and China have a truce or suspend the application of tariffs, that could provide political space for South Korea’s diplomatic role to increase. But, in this environment, South Korea’s impact is

North Korea June 9, 2019

South Korea on Wednesday approved a plan to dispatch $8 million in humanitarian aid to North Korea via UN agencies and is considering additional donations of rice to alleviate hunger and illness in the impoverished country. The South and North Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council, a decision-making body under the Ministry of Unification that deals with inter-Korean policies, gave the green light to the use of funds from the government budget to support humanitarian programs for North Korea

North Korea June 5, 2019

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, has appeared in public for the first time in nearly two months, dispelling speculation that she had been under probation over the breakdown of the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February. According to the Korean Central News Agency, Workers’ Party of Korea First Vice Director Kim Yo-jong and Kim Jong-un attended a mass gymnastics and artist performance called “The Land of the People” at the

North Korea June 4, 2019