Pyongyang media remains silent as China confirms Kim’s tripNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-il is currently visiting an eastern Chinese city, local reports said Monday, as Pyongyang remained silent about the secretive trip posing potential influence over inter-Korean ties. A train carrying Kim and the 70-member delegation arrived at Yangzhou, west of the Chinese capital Beijing, late night Sunday, and

North Korea May 23, 2011

AP -- A tanker carrying oil for NATO forces in Afghanistan exploded Saturday in northwestern Pakistan as people tried to siphon off some of its fuel, and 15 were killed, an official said. Separately, 14 NATO tankers were damaged in a bombing at a nearby border town, but no one was hurt.The incidents underscored the dangers linked to the vehicles that carry non-lethal supplies for Western troops in

World News May 21, 2011

AP -- Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from jail Friday to house arrest in a landmark apartment building near ground zero after the luxury apartment where he had arranged to stay fell through because the neighbors objected to the media frenzy.Prosecutors said he would stay temporarily in lower Manhattan while his family and lawyers look for more permanent housing for him to awa

International May 21, 2011

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il arrived at a northeastern Chinese city on the second day of his secretive trip to the ally state, TV reports here said Saturday.Kim's special train arrived in Changchun around 8:20 a.m., and a convoy believed to be carrying an entourage accompanying the leader was seen heading toward the city's South Lake Hotel, according to reports citing unnamed sources there. A l

North Korea May 21, 2011

The United States said Friday it will send a delegation to North Korea next week to assess the food situation and discuss human rights conditions in the impoverished communist state.The mission, led by Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will travel to North Korea for five days from Tuesday for "food assessment" and to address "appropriate human rights issues," State D

North Korea May 21, 2011

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made consolation visits to disaster-stricken Japanese regions on Saturday, expressing sympathy for victims of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident and pledging to provide active support for recovery efforts.Lee made the visits to Sendai and Fukushima, which are among the hardest-hit regions, en route to Tokyo for an annual tripartite summit with Japanese

Politics May 21, 2011

North Korea has vowed full disclosure of how donated food is distributed among its people, a senior World Food Program official said Thursday in an apparent bid to encourage Seoul to send food to the impoverished state. The comments by Claudia Von Roehl, director of the U.N. food agency in Pyongyang, come as Washington prepares to send its own delegation to North Korea to monitor the food conditio

North Korea May 19, 2011

The international community must work together on issues of climate change, food shortage and famine, parliamentary leaders from the world’s 20 major economies said Thursday, discussing global challenges during the conference in Seoul. The two-day meeting opened here Thursday, bringing together parliamentarians from the G20 nations, five non-G20 members ― Spain, Ethiopia, Singapore, Equatorial Gui

Politics May 19, 2011

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ― China blocked the release Friday of a report by U.N. experts accusing North Korea of violating U.N. sanctions that ban the export and import of ballistic missile and nuclear-related items as well as conventional arms and luxury goods.China’s U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the Security Council to discuss implementation of two rounds of

North Korea May 18, 2011

The World Food Program will increase its personnel residing in North Korea to tighten monitoring of the distribution of donated food, a U.S.-funded radio station reported Tuesday. The plan comes as the U.N. agency prepares to launch an emergency operation to help feed 3.5 million starving North Koreans by providing 310,000 tons of food within the next year. The WFP plans to keep 59 agents in the N

Foreign Affairs May 3, 2011

In the run-up to the Nuclear Security Summit next year, South Korea and the U.S. agreed that “nuclear safety” should top the agenda of the multinational conference scheduled for Seoul, the Foreign Ministry here said Tuesday. As the host of the international conference usually plays an important role in setting the agenda, the North Korean nuclear issue was expected by analysts to be the main focus

Foreign Affairs May 3, 2011