The defector activist Park, however, refuted such concerns, saying about 70 to 80 percent of leaflets end up in North Korea. And when the materials are reported to land in the South, Park’s group collects them to sends them back to the North in the future, he claimed. The Unification Ministry also stressed that the leaflets pose safety and security risks for the border town residents, as leaf...

The exact date of the next balloon launch is undecided, he said. “It will depend on the weather and when the direction of the wind is favorable.” The balloons will carry propaganda leaflets, along with crisp $1 dollar bills and memory cards. On Wednesday, Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul and borders North Korea, issued an administrative order banning people suspected of having sen...

Tuesday was a devastating day for a group of South Korean businessmen who once ran factories inside the Kaesong industrial park, a now-shuttered joint manufacturing zone in North Korea’s border city. When Pyongyang blew up the inter-Korean liaison office there, it shattered their last hope of a dramatic breakthrough in cross-border ties that would have allowed their factories to resume operation....

South Korea on Monday expressed deep regret over Tokyo’s neglect of its pledge to commemorate victims of wartime forced labor at a newly opened facility celebrating its industrial revolution, and condemned the exhibitions as “distortion of facts.” On Monday, the Industrial Heritage Information Center was opened to the public in Tokyo, introducing 23 modern Japanese Meiji-era sites added to th...

In June 2000, Kim Dae-jung, then the South Korean president, flew to Pyongyang and was greeted by a broadly smiling Kim Jong-il, then leader of North Korea. The two clutched each other’s hands at the airport, embarking on a three-day summit that marked the first time the leaders of the divided Koreas had met since the 1950-53 Korean War. The highly anticipated meeting culminated in the adoption ...

With North Korea severing all communications with South Korea and ratcheting up hostile rhetoric against both Seoul and Washington, there are growing concerns that inter-Korean relations could once again become confrontational. But ex-unification ministers downplayed those concerns and remained optimistic, calling for patience, flexibility and consistency in dealing with North Korea. “The...

The Unification Ministry on Wednesday said it would press charges against two defector-run civic groups for sending anti-North Korean leaflets and bottles filled with rice across the border, a day after Pyongyang ceased all communication with Seoul over the matter. The ministry said the two groups, Fighters for a Free North Korea, led by defector Park Sang-hak, and Keumsaem, headed by Park’s you...

After North Korea severed all communications with South Korea, referring to South as its “enemy,” experts in Seoul agreed on the gravity of the situation and called for a breakthrough to mend the frayed ties before things get any worse. “It’s a critical time where there is a mounting sense of crisis that (inter-Korean relations) could revert back to the period before June 15,” Koh Yu-hwan, pr...

An unanswered phone call at the inter-Korean liaison office put Seoul officials on edge for hours Monday, as it came after North Korea’s threats to shut it down completely. The Unification Ministry said that the North finally answered its phone call in the afternoon, after missing earlier ones in the morning. The two Koreas exchanged communication at the scheduled 5 p.m., but the North di...

Would this mean the Cold War 2.0? "It’s getting there,” Chung said. Asked if the result of the upcoming US presidential election would change Washington’s stance on China, the scholar said: “The direction will largely remain the same,” while rhetoric and style could change depending on who takes the helm of the country. “Be it Democrats or Republicans, the Capitol or the White House, the...

Pyongyang ratcheting up threats against Seoul in the last few days, halting the inter-Korean liaison office and scrapping a military agreement, could be a prelude to military provocations, experts here said Sunday. The North lashed out with a series of threats from Thursday, in retaliation against Seoul’s failure to prevent defector-run civic groups from sending anti-North Korean leaflets acr...

More than 120 businesses owned by South Koreans in the US have suffered damage amid sweeping protests against police brutality and racism across the country, officials here said Thursday. The Foreign Ministry said the number of Korean-operated stores reporting damage has continued to increase, numbering 126 across the US as of Thursday. Philadelphia was hit hardest with 56 cases, followed by ...

Gangwon Province is holding a series of events on June 25, marking the 70th anniversary of the breakout of the Korean War. The province is holding a special ceremony to remember the victims of the deadly war, which lasted 1950-1953, and pray for lasting peace in the world and on the Korean Peninsula. The official ceremony will start at 11 a.m. at the Peace Culture Plaza in the border town of ...

Over 70 cases of damage to properties owned by South Koreans in the US have been reported due to violent protests convulsing across the country, fueled by the police-involved death of an African American man George Floyd, officials here said Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry said a total of 79 stores operated by Koreans reported damage -- 50 cases in Philadelphia, 10 in Minneapolis, five in Ralei...

North Korea will reopen schools this month after closing them for months over coronavirus fears, according to state media on Monday. The new school term was supposed to start on April 1, but has been repeatedly postponed, though some universities and high schools were allowed to open in mid-April. “Preventive measures have been enforced for elementary, middle and high schools to start the new s...