The Korea Herald

Will N.K. power organs go through changes?

Jan 4, 2012

After the death of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il last month, attention is being drawn to possible changes in the status of power organs in the communist state. Experts concur that the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission will gain greater power under the leadership of Kim’s successor Jong-un, who holds its vice chairman post. The CMC is one of the top power organs including the ...
U.S. downbeat about revival of N. Korea nuclear talks

Jan 4, 2012

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States said Tuesday that the new North Korean leadership’s stated refusal to engage with South Korea bodes ill for reviving six-party nuclear disarmament talks. “That’s not going to be conducive to getting back to the table,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters when asked about the North Korean stand. North Korea Friday ruled out engagement ...
‘N.K. power shifting from military to party’

Jan 4, 2012

Pyongyang may idolize Kim Jong-un with typical party-centric communist system Under the new leadership of Kim Jong-un, the center of power of the North Korean regime seems to be moving toward the Workers’ Party from the military, experts said. The deceased despot Kim Jong-il, who the North announced died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, was general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chai...
Report: N. Koreans told to go gloveless at funeral

Jan 4, 2012

North Korean civilians were ordered not to wear hats or gloves for the snowy funeral of leader Kim Jong-il because his son and successor chose to escort the hearse bare-headed, a report said Tuesday. Daily NK, a Seoul-based online newspaper run by defectors, said it had received information from a Pyongyang source about the “level of stage-management” for the Dec. 28 ceremony. It said local off...
N.K. holds rally to pledge loyalty to new leader

Jan 4, 2012

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ― Pumping their fists and chanting, tens of thousands of North Koreans packed the snowy main square of the capital Tuesday to pledge their loyalty to new leader Kim Jong-un as the campaign to consolidate his power deepened. State television also aired footage of Kim’s recent visit to an elite tank unit with family and historical ties that showed him interacting with s...
’N.K. power seen moving from military to party’

Jan 4, 2012

Pyongyang may idolize Kim Jong-un with typical party-centric communist system Under the new leadership of Kim Jong-un, the center of power of the North Korean regime is seen as moving toward the Workers’ Party from the military, experts said. The deceased despot Kim Jong-il, who the North announced died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, was general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chair...
N.K. major cause of conflict in S. Korea

Jan 2, 2012

But experts predict ideological division over N.K. issues may lessen due to youth indifference Ideological conflict last year over a series of issues including North Korea has raised the question of whether it is a sign of South Korea’s vibrant democracy or just deepening social and political division. A parliamentary melee over the ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in Novembe...
80 percent of S. Koreans believe N. Korea won't abandon nuclear weapons: survey

Jan 2, 2012

Eight out of 10 South Koreans believe North Korea will not abandon its nuclear weapons, a survey showed Monday. In the poll conducted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), 81.7 percent said they felt North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons program. Only 14.7 percent said it is highly likely that the North will stop its nuclear weapons activity. The survey was conducted fr...
N. Korea's new leader visits tank division on New Year's Day

Jan 2, 2012

SEOUL, Jan. 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un visited a tank division on Sunday, the state media said, paying his first apparent inspection visit to the military since the death of his father in a clear indication that he would inherit Kim Jong-il's "military-first" policy. The young leader, who was declared the "supreme commander" of the North's military last week, "visited the...
N.K. to issue gold, silver coins to honor late leader

Jan 1, 2012

North Korea said Saturday it will issue gold and silver coins to mark the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-il’s ascension to the supreme commander of the communist nation’s armed forces. Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency made the announcement minutes after Kim’s successor son, Jong-un, took over the supreme commandership in a strong sign that the young son, believed to be in his lat...
U.S. urges N.K. to improve ties with S. Korea

Jan 1, 2012

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― Responding to the new North Korean leadership’s threats to eschew dialogue with South Korea, the United States called Friday for Pyongyang to improve inter-Korean relations. “We continue to monitor the situation on the peninsula and are in close contact with our ally, the Republic of Korea. We share a common interest in ensuring regional peace and stability. We continu...
‘N.K. economy likely to get boost from China’

Jan 1, 2012

North Korea will likely become stabilized within months after the death of leader Kim Jong-il due mainly to China’s rapid economic assistance, a major South Korean think tank said Sunday. A report by the Korea Development Institute on the death of Kim Jong-il and its impact on North Korea’s economy forecast that China will soon begin providing economic assistance to North Korea in a rapid manner...
Pyongyang unlikely to change policy for now

Jan 1, 2012

Experts negative about inter-Korean ties; N.K. focuses on rallying people behind successor North Korea is unlikely to make any positive change in its policy toward the South for the time being and will focus on rallying its people behind its late leader Kim Jong-il’s successor Jong-un, experts said Sunday. Based on their analysis of the North Korean media’s New Year’s joint editorial, they pain...
Pyongyang’s New Year message urges loyalty to new leader

Dec 31, 2011

Calls for USFK withdrawal; China congratulates Kim on being supreme commander North Korean media opened the New Year emphasizing loyalty to the regime and its new leader Kim Jong-un while heightening criticism of Seoul and the U.S. The Jan. 1 issues of the organs of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the military and the Kim Il-sung Socialist Youth League carried identical editorials that hailed Kim ...
N. Korea to issue gold, silver coins in honor of late leader

Dec 31, 2011

North Korea said Saturday it will issue gold and silver coins to mark the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-il's ascension to the supreme commander of the communist nation's armed forces. Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency made the announcement minutes after Kim's successor son, Jong-un, took over the supreme commandership in a strong sign that the young son, believed to be in his lat...