Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa reaffirmed Wednesday that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a shared goal of South Korea and the US, stressing close cooperation between the two countries. “Denuclearization talks will begin in earnest based on strategies that have been mediated between South Korea and the US. … I expect there will be great progress in denuclearization, inte...

North Korea cannot afford to be slapped with additional international sanctions over the development of nuclear weapons, experts here said Tuesday, following a media report that the country might have produced material for more atomic bombs in 2018. Citing satellite-imagery analysis and leaked US intelligence, Bloomberg on Monday reported that Pyongyang has been strengthening its nuclear arsenal...

The US is fine-tuning the details of a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid media reports naming Vietnam as a possible site for talks. Asked when the two leaders will hold their summit, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on TV that the administration is “working out the details,” without further elaboration. His remark is being taken as a ...

Negotiations to resume two inter-Korean economic cooperation projects are possible but there need to be ways to prevent the flow of “bulk cash” into North Korea, a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official said Thursday on condition of anonymity. In his New Year speech Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is willing to reopen the South-North joint industrial park in the North’s border t...

South Korea will continue to push for signing with North Korea a declaration to formally end the Korean War this year amid concerns over slow progress, a government official said on condition of anonymity Thursday. The government’s willingness to sign the declaration remains unchanged although the timeline has been delayed from what it had expected – by the end of last year, the official said. “...

Vietnam and Singapore are likely to be shortlisted to host a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the US President Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs Ministry officials said on condition of anonymity Thursday. “(The venues you should pay attention to) are those mentioned by media including Vietnam, Singapore and Hawaii,” one ministry official said. “But Hawaii is said to be an un...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wrapped up his four-day visit to China on Wednesday after holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and touring an economic zone, while the US maintains its silence over the two leaders’ meeting. Kim’s train departed from a train station in Beijing at around 2 p.m. after Kim and Xi had lunch together, according to Yonhap News Agency. Given that it takes mor...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday afternoon, according to media outlets of the two countries, apparently to discuss a second summit with US President Donald Trump concerning denuclearization. Kim arrived by train at the Beijing station at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday, which happens to be his birthday, at the invitation of the Chinese leader, North Kore...

US President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday talks for the location of a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are underway, after the two said last week they are ready to meet to further discuss Pyongyang’s denuclearization. “We’re negotiating a location. It will be announced probably in the not-too-distant future,” Trump told reporters before boarding a helicopter for a presidential...

President Moon Jae-in will hold a New Year’s meeting with reporters on Thursday to explain his administration’s key policy objectives, marking his third televised press conference since he took office in 2017, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. with the president’s 20-minute keynote speech, followed by a question-and-answer session with reporters, which is expected to ...

A former senior North Korean diplomat who defected to the South in 2016 on Saturday urged a former colleague who has gone into hiding before ending his term in Italy to come to Seoul, as opposed to the US where he is reportedly seeking asylum. Thae Yong-ho, who was the deputy ambassador in London and the most recent senior diplomat to defect, wrote an open letter to Jo Song-gil, 44, until recent...

Opposition parties have criticized the government’s decision to withdraw its plan to relocate the presidential office to Gwanghwamun, one of President Moon Jae-in’s key election pledges stressing the importance of daily encounters with the people and working-level officials. “It is right to apologize and explain the reason to the people if the president is not able to keep his word. Unlike other...