The Korea Herald

Japan voices fears over N. Korea nuke test

Apr 14, 2012

TOKYO (AFP) - A senior Japanese defence official Saturday urged "crisis-management measures" ahead of a possible nuclear test by North Korea after its humiliating failure to launch a rocket.The launch was supposed to be the centrepiece of weekend commemorations marking the centenary of the birth of North Korean founding leader Kim Il-Sung, and helping to formalise a new cult of personality around
N. Korea gives school uniforms to mark founder's birth

Apr 14, 2012

North Korea is giving new uniforms to all schoolchildren to mark the centenary of the birth of its late founder Kim Il-sung, the country's official media reported Saturday.The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said uniforms will be provided to all primary and secondary schoolchildren and students attending universities. Kim Il-sung's birthday falls on Sunday and is considered the
N. Korea appoints new members to defense commission

Apr 14, 2012

North Korea appointed new members to the country's top military commission, the country's mediareported Saturday, in a move widely seen as an attempt to solidify Kim Jung-un's control over the country.The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Choe Rong-hae, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Korea People's Army Gen. Kim Won Hong were electedto the National
Obama: N. Korea not very good at rocket launches

Apr 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP)- President Barack Obama says North Korea's failed rocket launch shows the country is wasting money on rockets that "don't work" while its people starve.Obama told a television interviewer that the North Koreans have been trying to launch missiles like this for over a decade now, and they don't seem to be real good at it.Still, he called the failed launch Friday an area of deep co
UN deplores N. Korea rocket launch

Apr 14, 2012

UNITED NATIONS (AP)-The U.N. Security Council deplored North Korea's rocket launch on Friday, saying it violates two council resolutions but stopped short of imposing any new sanctions against the reclusive Asian nation. The U.N.'s most powerful body said in a brief press statement after a closed meeting that members agreed to continue consultations "on an appropriate response in accordance with i
N. Korea supreme leader leads mass rally

Apr 13, 2012

PYONGYANG (AFP) -- North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-Un on Friday led a mass rally for his late father and grandfather following the country's failed rocket launch.The defiant launch drew condemnation from world leaders who described it as a "provocative" act that threatened regional security, despite Pyongyang insisting it was intended to put a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.But Jong-
N.K. admits failure

Apr 13, 2012

North Korea admitted Friday that its Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite failed to enter orbit.“Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch, without elaborating.It was the first time Pyongyang acknowledged failure in a long-range rocket launch.The announcement came more than four hours after North Korea went ahead with the launch of a long-range rocket early Friday morning, despite repeated wa
Long silence in N.K. after rocket failure

Apr 13, 2012

PYONGYANG (AFP) ― News of North Korea’s abortive rocket launch was flashed around the world Friday but there were four long hours of silence before Pyongyang admitted the highly publicised attempt had failed.“The earth observation satellite failed to enter its preset orbit. Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” the KCNA official news agency finally said in a terse report.But there was still no word from officials on the ground for scores of foreign j
N. Korea leader made chairman of defence commission

Apr 13, 2012

SEOUL, April 13, 2012 (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was elected "first chairman" of the powerful National Defence Commission, apparently a new title, state media said Friday.His late father Kim Jong-Il was named "eternal" chairman of the commission, the country's top decision-making body, at an annual session of the North's rubber-stamp parliament, the official KCNA news agency said.The
N.K. moves further toward isolation

Apr 13, 2012

Obama could face domestic political challenges over Pyongyang in election yearNorth Korea took a step further into international isolation on Friday morning after it blasted off a long-range rocket that apparently exploded shortly after lift-off.With the U.S. and its allies including South Korea seeking to refer it to the U.N. Security Council, Pyongyang is expected to face deteriorating ties with Washington and Seoul, and toughened international sanctions, analysts said.Calling the launch a “pr
N. Korea admits rocket launch failure

Apr 13, 2012

U.N. Security Council immediately convenes in response to apparent missile testNorth Korea admitted Friday that its Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite failed to enter orbit after launch. “Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch, without elaborating.The announcement came more than four hours after North Korea went ahead with the launch of a long-range rocket early Friday morning, despite r
N. Korea shows Obama‘s foreign policy failure: Romney

Apr 13, 2012

The presumptive Republican nominee for president was quick Thursday to use North Korea’s rocket launch to attack his potential rival President Barack Obama.Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, also condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the North‘s act although it was unsuccessful.“Pyongyang’s action is another blatant violation of unanimous U.N. Security Council resolutions and demonstrates once again that Pyongyang is committed to developing long-range missiles with the potential
UN Security Council to meet Friday after N.Korea launch

Apr 13, 2012

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council will meet in emergency session on Friday to discuss the situation in North Korea after Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, a UN diplomat said Thursday.The diplomat told AFP the 15-member Council would meet "to decide its next step" following the launch, which the United States and several other nations have claimed is in fact a disguised missile t
South Korea, neighbors on full alert over N.K. rocket

Apr 12, 2012

The South Korean government is on full alert to take quick and effective measures in response to an imminent rocket launch by North Korea, government officials said.“The government issued guidelines to strengthen office discipline to prevent any damage to South Korean citizens and to take quick measures in case North Korea launches a long-range missile,” a government official said.A U.S. official said Wednesday in Washington that the foreign ministers of the Group of Eight major economies will i
U.S.-based musical group performing in N.K.

Apr 12, 2012

ATLANTA (AP) ― A musical group from the Atlanta area is traveling to North Korea for a series of performances during that country’s spring arts festival. Members of the 150-member Sons of Jubal chorus and orchestra will perform at the Spring Friendship Art Festival, which started Wednesday and runs through April 19. Global Resource Services, an Atlanta-based humanitarian group, is coordinating the cultural exchange. ``The theme of the festival is friendship, and with the conflict between our cou