The Korea Herald

Footage shows new N. Korean leader watched rocket launch in 2009

Jan 8, 2012

North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un watched a long-range rocket launch in 2009 while being groomed to succeed his father, and threatened retaliation if the country's enemies interfered, footage released Sunday showed.Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be in his late 20s, has been named "supreme leader
NKorea footage shows Kim Jong-un driving tank

Jan 8, 2012

North Korea's new young leader navigated a tank and watched as jets tore through the skies in footage aired Sunday on state television, in the latest effort to show that he has the support of the powerful military.(Yonhap News)Kim Jong-un, who was named ``supreme leader'' of North Korea's people, ru
‘Boat carrying N. Koreans found near Japan’

Jan 8, 2012

Japan’s coast guard on Friday found a wooden boat carrying three men and the dead body of another individual, believed to be adrift from North Korea in waters off the western Japanese island of Okinoshima, a report said.According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, coast guard officials initially suspected that they may be North Korean defectors after spotting Korean characters on the hull of the small boat carrying them.But the North Koreans said that they left from a port in North Korea for a f
Gov’t spending on inter-Korean projects lowest since 2000: ministry

Jan 8, 2012

South Korea’s government last year executed the smallest amount of its inter-Korean cooperation fund in a decade, officials said Sunday, in another reflection of frayed relations with the communist North Korea.The Unification Ministry, in charge of North Korean affairs, spent 42.6 billion won ($36.6 million), or 4.2 percent of the 1.1 trillion won fund designated as “South-North Cooperation Fund,” the ministry officials said.The fund was used to support a Korean dictionary project, a humanitaria
North Korea requests U.S. food aid: reports

Jan 8, 2012

North Korea’s leadership, headed by Kim Jong-un, has requested changes in the composition of food aid from the U.S. after his father Kim Jong-il died, Japanese media reported Sunday.According to the news reports, Pyongyang reopened food aid talks with the U.S. at the end of December, following the funeral of the late Kim.While some have interpreted the first contact between Pyongyang and Washington since Kim Jong-il’s death as a sign that the two sides will seek more active communication, the re
S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold talks on N. Korea: Campbell

Jan 7, 2012

South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to hold a meeting of their senior diplomats dealing with the North Korea issue, an official confirmed Friday.“I think we’ve agreed that we’ll be holding a meeting in the near future,” Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian
Boat carrying N. Koreans found near Japanese island: report

Jan 6, 2012

Japan's coast guard on Friday found a wooden boat carrying three men and the dead body of another individual, believed to be adrift from North Korea in waters off the western Japanese island of Okinoshima, a report said.According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, coast guard officials initially sus
N. Korea threatens to strengthen nuke programs if provocation continues

Jan 6, 2012

North Korea on Thursday dismissed South Korean President Lee Myung-bak‘s recent New Year speech as nothing but “sophism,” saying that it will strengthen its nuclear power status if its “enemy” continues its provocative action.This strong word is the first official response by the North to President Lee’s speech on Monday, in which he said that South Korea has left a “window of opportunity” open to improve relations with North Korea.But Lee repeated his previous stance that the six-party talks on
N. Korean doctors received training in U.S. in 2008: doctor

Jan 5, 2012

A dozen of North Korea’s medical professionals undertook a three-month training program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States after their leader Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in 2008, a South Korean doctor claimed Thursday.Lee Byung-hoon, an adviser to the Seoul-based Korean Medical Association, said he heard the information from a Korean professor in the cancer center last year while training at the same center.Lee said the North requested the training from the MD Anderson Cance
Seoul to leave dialogue channel open for Pyongyang

Jan 5, 2012

South Korea’s unification ministry said the government will open the possibility of a high-level dialogue with North Korea in line with President Lee Myung-bak’s New Year address, as part of its yearly plan for 2012.However, the ministry made it clear that Pyongyang should come clean on the two deadly attacks on South Korea in 2010 before seeking progress in inter-Korean relations.“To keep the Korean Peninsula peaceful and stable, the ministry will establish a South-North dialogue channel and ma
NK spy indicted after coming to South in disguise as defector

Jan 5, 2012

Prosecutors on Thursday indicted an alleged North Korean spy suspected of impersonating a defector seeking to settle in South Korea.The 47-year-old man surnamed Kim, believed to be a former agent of the North's military intelligence unit, was charged with entering South Korea in June last year on a
Will N.K. power organs go through changes?

Jan 4, 2012

After the death of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il last month, attention is being drawn to possible changes in the status of power organs in the communist state.Experts concur that the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission will gain greater power under the leadership of Kim’s successor Jong-un, who holds its vice chairman post.The CMC is one of the top power organs including the party’s Central Committee and the National Defense Commission. It is expected to oversee overall affairs
U.S. downbeat about revival of N. Korea nuclear talks

Jan 4, 2012

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States said Tuesday that the new North Korean leadership’s stated refusal to engage with South Korea bodes ill for reviving six-party nuclear disarmament talks.“That’s not going to be conducive to getting back to the table,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters when asked about the North Korean stand.North Korea Friday ruled out engagement with South Korea’s current government of conservative President Lee Myung-bak, a day after proclaiming Ki
‘N.K. power shifting from military to party’

Jan 4, 2012

Pyongyang may idolize Kim Jong-un with typical party-centric communist systemUnder the new leadership of Kim Jong-un, the center of power of the North Korean regime seems to be moving toward the Workers’ Party from the military, experts said. The deceased despot Kim Jong-il, who the North announced died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, was general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea. As such, the senior Kim, Jong-un’s father, exerc
Report: N. Koreans told to go gloveless at funeral

Jan 4, 2012

North Korean civilians were ordered not to wear hats or gloves for the snowy funeral of leader Kim Jong-il because his son and successor chose to escort the hearse bare-headed, a report said Tuesday.Daily NK, a Seoul-based online newspaper run by defectors, said it had received information from a Pyongyang source about the “level of stage-management” for the Dec. 28 ceremony.It said local officials had told residents the day before the massive ceremony that Kim’s son and heir “Comrade Kim Jong-u