The Korea Herald

NK defector gets jail for raping fellow defector

Jan 17, 2012

A local court here said Tuesday it has sentenced a male North Korean defector to three years behind bars for raping a female fellow defector in the course of escaping from the communist country.The court also ordered that his identity and personal information be disclosed on the Internet for five ye
Kim Jong-nam spotted in Beijing

Jan 16, 2012

Kim Jong-nam, who has remained elusive after the death of his father Kim Jong-il, was spotted in Beijing on Saturday.According to news reports citing Park Seung-jun, a visiting professor at Incheon University, Kim Jong-nam was at the Beijing Capital International Airport waiting for a flight to Macao.Kim has been based in Macao for some time, and has mostly stayed outside North Korea since he was stopped by Japanese border control in 2001 for attempting to enter the country using a forged passpo
Eldest son speaks of Kim Jong-il's death in Beijing

Jan 16, 2012

The eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il was spotted at an airport in Beijing last week, a South Korean professor said Monday, one month after his father died of a heart attack in the North.Kim Jong-nam, believed to be in his early 40s, was sitting in front of the departure gate for a
New N.K. leadership appears stable one month in

Jan 15, 2012

One month after the death of its longtime strongman Kim Jong-il, North Korea under the new leadership of his youngest son Jong-un appears to be faring well without major hitches.Although Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has yet to secure top posts in the ruling Workers’ Party and other key organs, the North’s state media have already called him the “sole national leader and supreme military commander.”Experts say that the stable power succession is attributable partially to the elites wh
N. Korea vows to make S. Korea pay ‘ dearest price ’ for hurting leaders ’ dignity

Jan 14, 2012

North Korea warned Saturday it will make South Korea "pay the dearest price" for hurting the dignity of its supreme leadership.North Korea accused South Korean media of spreading misinformation about the death of leader Kim Jong-il and his funeral, saying it can no longer tolerate what it called Seo
N. Korea test-fired 3 short-range missiles: paper

Jan 13, 2012

TOKYO (Yonhap News) ― North Korea test-fired three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea earlier this week, apparently as part of efforts to improve its missile technology, a Japanese newspaper said Friday.North Korea launched what appeared to be KN-02 ground-to-ground missiles on Wednesday morning, according to multiple Japanese government sources quoted by the Sankei Shimbun.The communist country also test-fired two short-range missiles on Dec. 19, shortly after it announced the dea
Six-way talks no longer workable: U.S. expert

Jan 13, 2012

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― As a top U.S. expert on Korea, Mitchell Reiss does not hesitate to voice skepticism over the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.“I think the process may have run its course,” the former career diplomat, who now serves as president of Washington College in Maryland, said in an interview with the Yonhap news agency. “I am very skeptical.”He said he is not sure that Pyongyang really wants to talk with the U.S. about anything other than its unacceptable bid t
7 of 10 defectors satisfied with life in S. Korea: poll

Jan 13, 2012

Nearly seven out of 10 North Koreans are satisfied with their lives in South Korea, a government survey showed Friday, following Seoul’s efforts to better accommodate the growing number of North Korean refugees.The survey found 69.3 percent of 7,560 adult North Korean defectors in South Korea are either “very” satisfied or “somewhat” satisfied. An additional 25.7 percent rated their satisfaction as “average” and 4.8 percent say they are either dissatisfied or “very” dissatisfied.Those who are sa
N. Korea test-fired 3 short-range missiles this week: Japan newspaper

Jan 13, 2012

North Korea test-fired three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea earlier this week, apparently as part of efforts to improve its missile technology, a Japanese newspaper said Friday.North Korea launched what appeared to be KN-02 ground-to-ground missiles on Wednesday morning, according
N. Korea ranked worst in nuclear materials security

Jan 12, 2012

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― North Korea was placed at the bottom of a landmark ranking Wednesday on the security of nuclear materials.The report was released by a group of experts here working to curb the threat of nuclear terrorism and accidents.The unprecedented Nuclear Materials Security Index, compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, examined the status of nuclear materials security conditions in 176 countries.It was issued ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul in Marc
‘S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold post-Kim talks’

Jan 12, 2012

South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold high-level tripartite talks in Washington next week for consultations on North Korea following the death of Kim Jong-il, a senior official said Thursday. The trilateral talks, set for Tuesday, will be led by Lim Sung-nam, South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, his Japanese counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama and Kurt Campbell, Washington’s top diplomat on Asia, an official at Seoul’s foreign ministry said. “The trilateral talks are aimed at sharing views
NK leader’s brother says Kim a ‘symbol’: report

Jan 12, 2012

TOKYO (AFP) - The older brother of Kim Jong-Un has reportedly told a Japanese newspaper that he believes North Korea's new leader is likely to be merely a symbol used by ruling elites to maintain their grip on power.The Tokyo Shimbun, which has interviewed Kim Jong-Nam in the past, said Thursday it
N.K. says Kim Jong-il’s body to lie in mausoleum

Jan 12, 2012

North Korea said Thursday the body of late leader Kim Jong-il will lie in state permanently at a mausoleum and his February birthday will be instituted as the “Day of the Shining Star.”The North also said it will erect Kim’s statue and portraits and build towers across the country in what could be an attempt to strengthen his personality cult and justify the dynastic power succession of his son, Kim Jong-un.“From the standpoint of Jong-un, Kim Jong-il needs to be idolized,” said a South Korean o
Eldest brother casts doubts on new N. Korean leader’s grip on power

Jan 12, 2012

TOKYO (Yonhap News) -- The eldest brother of North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un has expressed doubts about his half-sibling’s hold on power, anticipating the ruling elite to extend their influence over the communist country, a Japanese newspaper said Thursday.Kim Jong-nam told the Tokyo Shimbun in an e-mail sent on Jan. 3 that he has “doubts about how a young successor with some two years (of training as heir) can retain the 37 years of absolute power”wielded by his late father and former lead
Australia ranked first, N.Korea last on nuclear safety

Jan 12, 2012

Australia has the tightest security controls among nations with nuclear material while North Korea poses the world's greatest risks, a new index by experts said Wednesday.The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by former US senator Sam Nunn and the Economist Intelligence Unit, aims to draw a