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 school year, and nurseries and kindergartens to resume their operations in early Jun

North Korea June 1, 2020

New interceptor missiles were delivered to a US military base in South Korea on Friday to replace worn-out equipment, amid lingering opposition by local residents.  The Defense Ministry said it has supported the ground transportation of the replacement missiles, as well as power generators and electronic equipment for data collection, and other supplies to improve living conditions of military officials on a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.&n

Defense May 29, 2020

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

North Korea May 28, 2020

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

North Korea May 28, 2020

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

North Korea May 27, 2020

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

North Korea May 26, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reappearing after three weeks out of the public eye, called for stronger “nuclear war deterrence” at a key military meeting, the country’s state media reported Sunday. 　 Kim presided over the meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party, which the Korea Central News Agency said was held to discuss “putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation” in line with the “building and dev

North Korea May 24, 2020

The Unification Ministry on Thursday reiterated that the set of sanctions slapped on North Korea in 2010 over its deadly sinking of a South Korean warship had lost their effect and are no longer a “barrier” for inter-Korean cooperation. 　 “Through past administrations, a large part of the May 24 Measures has virtually lost effect,” an official said, echoing the ministry’s stance previous day. “The important aspect is that the government does not see those sa

North Korea May 21, 2020

Amid deadlocked defense cost-sharing talks between Seoul and Washington, a senior US official on Wednesday said both the sides are “committed” to hammering out an agreement, while stressing the stance of “fair share of burden” among allies. 　 “For sure we are working very hard to bring a closure to this. We’d prefer that we wrapped this up several months ago, but both sides are committed to make this happen,” Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of

Foreign Affairs May 20, 2020

Seoul has long been in a tricky position as a result of the great-power contest between Washington and Beijing. 　 South Korea has preferred to maintain a balance between its longtime security ally the US and top trading partner China, through hedging -- or, arguably, by avoiding taking sides. That way, it was on relatively good terms with both superpowers. 　 But that could change. With the coronavirus pandemic fueling an already serious tug of war between the world’s two largest economi

Foreign Affairs May 19, 2020

South Korea on Tuesday urged Japan to retract its territorial claims to Dokdo islets in the East Sea, saying it will “sternly respond” to any provocation by Japan over the islets. 　 In the 2020 edition of its Diplomatic Bluebook, Japanese Foreign Ministry referred to Dokdo with its Japanese name Takeshima, describing it as Japan’s “inherent territory historically and by international law.” The book claimed that Korea is “illegally occupying” the islets

Foreign Affairs May 19, 2020

The Unification Ministry on Monday welcomed the United Nations Command’s plan to drastically reduce the screening period required for South Koreans to tour the demilitarized border village of Panmunjom. 　 “It’s a very positive move that can resolve inconvenience of the citizens,” said ministry spokesperson Yoh Sang-key in a regular briefing. “The Unification Ministry has been negotiating with the United Nations Command since the latter half of last year to cut the

North Korea May 18, 2020

A host of declassified US documents revealed former president Chun Doo-hwan reached out to the US in the aftermath of staging a military coup in 1979, that later put him into power.  In about 140 pages of State Department documents released by the Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Friday, the full text report of the meeting between then US Ambassador to Korea William Gleysteen and Chun on Dec. 15, 1979, three days after the coup, was revealed.  Chun told Gleysteen that he staged a c

Foreign Affairs May 15, 2020

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Seoul reiterated Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to visit Seoul by the end of the year. But the exact schedule of the visit has not yet been fixed, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. “We will continue to negotiate while evaluating the coronavirus situation,” said spokesman Kim In-chul in a regular briefing. On Wednesday during their roughly 30-minute phone conference, Xi told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that there was no c

Foreign Affairs May 14, 2020

North Korea is believed to have replaced the head of the country’s main intelligence agency and the Supreme Guard commander, who is in charge of protecting its leader Kim Jong-un and his family. 　 Lt. General Rim Kwang-il was promoted as the director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, replacing Jang Kil-song last December, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Wednesday, in its annual publication of the country’s key figures. 　 North’s RGB is known to be behi

North Korea May 13, 2020