North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave credit to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his “tireless effort” in bring together Pyongyang and Washington to the negotiations table, as he met with Moon for a meeting Tuesday.  (Joint Press Corps)“There was big progress, and it is thanks to Moon’s tireless effort. North Korea-South Korea relations, and North Korea-US relations saw an improvement,” Kim said at an opening speech before the first official meeting of the third inter-Korean summit. 　“Presi

Ahead of the inter-Korean summit this week, all eyes are again on the Korean Peninsula, as South Korea, the US and major powers strive to achieve denuclearization. 　If the ongoing negotiations to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons succeeds, it would boost the decades-old campaign to make the world nuclear-free, according to Alyn Ware, global coordinator for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament. 　“Here, we have an opportunity in Northeast Asia,” Ware said during an interv

The United States has no plan yet for any talks with North Korea in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session late this month, a State Department official was quoted as saying Sunday.The official told Radio Free Asia, a Washington-based news service, that there's no related schedule "for now." (AP)The official was responding to a question about the possibility of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting Kim Yong-chol, a top North Korean communist party official, during the UN ga

Working-level talks between officials from South and North Korea are underway at the border village of Panmunjom on Friday to hammer out details of an inter-Korean summit planned for next week.Panmumjom (Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald)The preparatory meeting comes four days before South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to sit down for their third meeting in Pyongyang from Tuesday to Thursday.At Friday’s meeting, officials are expected to discuss the size and

The US and allies plan to launch a new effort to expose North Korean violations of sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear and missile programs, according to a news report Thursday.The new effort will make the public more aware of steps taken by the US and its allies to enforce the UN sanctions against North Korea, particularly the monitoring of ships illicitly transferring refined petroleum to North Korean oil tankers in the East China Sea, CNN reported, citing two defense officials.  (AP)The UN

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon called Wednesday for international support for South Korea's efforts to reconcile with North Korea, saying peace on the Korean Peninsula will contribute to prosperity in Northeast Asia and beyond.Lee made the remark during a keynote speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok, stressing that peace on the divided peninsula is a prerequisite for building a joint economic community in the region. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (far right). (Y

With prospects of a second summit between North Korea and the US cautiously growing, the leaders of the two countries would likely sit down for talks in a third country by October, if the meeting takes place, analysts say. Foreign policy experts interviewed by The Korea Herald all said that the summit is likely to take place by mid-October, as both North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump would like to use the meeting to appeal to their domestic audiences. 　Trump, who is emb

South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Tuesday voiced optimism for three-way economic cooperation involving the two Koreas and Russia amid Seoul's stepped-up diplomacy to facilitate Pyongyang's denuclearization."On Sept. 18, there will be a third inter-Korean summit.High-level talks between the North and the United States are also expected to resume," Lee said during his speech at the South Korea-Russia Business Dialogue in the Russian far eastern port city of Vladivostok."There will be a n

South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Tuesday expressed his expectation for Mongolia's cooperation on Seoul's proposal to build an East Asian railway community aimed at promoting multilateral exchanges, trust and peace. During his meeting with Mongolia's President Khaltmaa Battulga in Russia's far eastern port city of Vladivostok, Lee also voiced hope that the two countries will make progress in ongoing talks to elevate the bilateral relationship to a "strategic partnership." Prime Ministe

The US special envoy on North Korea said Tuesday that South Korea and the US need to make the most of the opportunity to achieve denuclearization amid growing momentum for a breakthrough in stalled denuclearization talks. “We have some hard work to do,” Stephen Biegun, special representative for North Korea, said in an opening speech during a meeting with his counterpart Lee Do-hoon. “But we also have a tremendous opportunity created by President Donald Trump and by President Moon Jae-in and by

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will send a delegate to the funeral of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week.Choi Young-jin, the country's former ambassador to the United States, will attend the funeral, to be held in Ghana on Thursday, as the special envoy of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, according to her ministry. (Yonhap)Choi served as assistant secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the UN while Annan was in office.He also worked as Seoul's ambassador to t

VLADIVOSTOK -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he wants to improve and normalize Japan's relations with North Korea through direct talks with the North's leader Kim Jong-un.The remark, made during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok, is the latest in a series of comments Abe has made expressing hope for a summit with the North. (Yonhap)"I have a will to improve or normalize

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met Tuesday with the new US special envoy on North Korea amid signs of Pyongyang and Washington moving to resume dialogue.Stephen Biegun, the State Department's special representative for North Korea, arrived in Seoul on Monday as part of his Northeast Asia tour.He paid a courtesy call on Kang just before talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon. (Yonhap)Biegun said his visit here is meant for consultations on ways to "make progress in denu

VLADIVOSTOK -- Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon arrived in Vladivostok on Monday to attend an annual international economic forum and hold meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.About 6,000 people are expected to attend the Eastern Economic Forum, which Putin has hosted in Vladivostok every year since 2015, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Abe and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon arrives in Vladivostok on Monday. (Y

The US special envoy on North Korea began his three-day trip to Seoul on Monday to meet his counterparts here amid growing momentum for a breakthrough in stalled denuclearization talks. 　In his first visit to Seoul since his appointment last month, Stephen Biegun, special representative for North Korea, met with his counterpart Lee Do-hoon to be briefed on South Korean special envoys’ recent trip to Pyongyang and to discuss ways to achieve denuclearization.  Stephen Biegun (Yonhap)　　After arrivi