North Korea is actively seeking to enlist the country's sacred Mount Paekdu as a UNESCO global geopark, state media reported Sunday. "Scientists in relevant fields of the DPRK made scientific proof of its geological features and world value through scores of years-long survey and research," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said, stressing the mountain's rich biodiversity and geological significance. DPRK stands for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republ

A North Korean newspaper carried a report Saturday on the 2018 death of a senior military officer who led an Army corps linked to the deadly artillery shelling of a South Korean border island a decade ago. The Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, reported that Ri Song-guk, who led the 4th Corps in charge of defending the areas near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea, the inter-Korean maritime boundary, died in October 2018. He was 52. Ri, who took command of th

A spokesperson of North Korea's foreign ministry backed China's controversial security legislation for Hong Kong Saturday, calling it a "legitimate step" and voicing opposition to "outside interference." In an answer to a question from the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesperson also said that any country has no right to "say this or that" about the issue concerning the semiautonomous Chinese territory. On Thursday, China's legislatur

North Korea on Friday lashed out at the United States for issuing an advisory last month over the communist regime's cyber threats. "To put it clearly, our state has nothing to do at all with what is claimed by the US to be a cyber threat," Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in an English statement on its website. "The US should be clearly aware that worthless and worn-out plots and fabrications invented continuously by themselves will no longer work against the international c

Samples taken from areas near the inter-Korean border have tested negative for African swine fever, the ministry said Friday, raising the possibility of the resumption of a tour program to the truce village of Panmunjom next month as scheduled. Tours to the southern side of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been suspended since October as part of efforts to prevent the spread of African swine fever since the highly contagious animal disease was reported near the border with North

Nearly 70 percent of South Korean youths think that reunification with North Korea is necessary, a survey showed on Thursday. According to the poll conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute, 67.8 percent of 3,228 elementary, middle and high school students replied that two Koreas need to reunify. Among them, 28.8 percent said that reunification is necessary as it will help Korea become stronger, while 23.2 percent answered it will ease security concerns on the Korean Peninsula. Some 2

South Korea is planning to hold events marking the 20th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit next month -- without North Korea’s participation, due to coronavirus concerns and strained inter-Korean relations. 　 The anniversary of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration from the historic meeting in 2000 between then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is a significant chance for Seoul to revive talks with Pyongyang and try to arrange joint cele

Amid President Moon Jae-in’s push for inter-Korean exchanges, security experts are divided on whether his cross-border projects will engage North Korea and bring about a breakthrough in the stalled denuclearization efforts. 　 In dealing with nuclear-armed Pyongyang, Seoul has stressed peace initiatives such as the reconnection of cross-border railways and the authorization of individual trips to the North for tourism purposes. At a forum hosted by the Institute for National Security Strat

South Korea should propose video family reunions with North Korea next month to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000, a top expert on North Korea said Wednesday. Suh Choo-suk, who also served as vice defense minister from 2017-2019, made the remarks during a forum, citing family reunions and coronavirus cooperation as among the most viable options for inter-Korean cooperation. "At a time when it's difficult to meet face-to-face, I think we need t

South Korea should make sure that inter-Korean exchanges proceed in parallel with North Korea’s denuclearization, the US State Department said Tuesday, reiterating its earlier stance made public several times. The department, asked by Voice of America about Seoul’s latest decision to ease restrictions on engagement with Pyongyang, said Washington supports inter-Korean cooperation, but that it should be in “lockstep with progress on denuclearization.” On Tuesday, Seoul

The Unification Ministry on Wednesday said it will provide North Korea with $4.9 million in aid through a UN agency, to support enhancing the country’s statistics program.  The decision to fund the project by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific was made during a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges. The project will last six years, and Seoul has set aside $720,000 for this year. It will pay the amount each year in installment

Both Koreas breached their armistice agreement when they exchanged gunfire at the border on May 3, the United National Command said Tuesday. It also said it could not “definitely” determine whether North Korea opened fire on a South Korean guard post intentionally or by mistake. The UN Command, which administers the demilitarized zone separating both Koreas and enforces the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, came to that conclusion after a weeklong investigation by it

The United Nations Command (UNC) said Tuesday that it could not "definitively" determine whether North Korea started a recent exchange of gunfire with South Korea intentionally or by mistake but found that both sides violated the armistice agreement. The US-led command, which administers the DMZ and enforces the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, came to the conclusion after a weekslong investigation into the May 3 incident, where four bullets from the North hit a South Ko

The government will push to ease regulations on inter-Korean exchange and contact with North Koreans, the Ministry of Unification said Tuesday. The changes, which will be included in the revision of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, are thought to be aimed at aiding the Moon Jae-in administration’s plans to lay the foundations for inter-Korean projects. The revision, which will be submitted to the National Assembly within the year, will allow South Koreans to contact North K

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho on Tuesday visited a village on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone, part of Seoul’s efforts to have the heavily fortified region between the two Koreas recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 　 Getting the DMZ inscribed on the UNESCO list is one of many projects Seoul is pursuing to engage Pyongyang, amid an impasse in US-led efforts to denuclearize the regime. Others involve the reconnection of cross-border railways and authorizing indiv