LONDON (Yonhap News) ― A group of North Korean defectors tried unsuccessfully to enter the country’s London embassy following news reports of the death of the North’s leader Kim Jong-il.The incident occurred when four North Korean residents in London went to the embassy in western London late Tuesday, local time, in a bid to protest the former leader’s brutal rule.After ringing the doorbell several times to no response, they shouted anti-Kim Jong-il slogans and clapped loudly in front of the res

A caretaker leadership led by a Workers’ Party commission under the control of the chosen son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is expected to handle pressing issues in the communist nation until the successor takes full control, South Korea’s main spy agency has forecast.The National Intelligence Service made the forecast in a report to parliament Tuesday, saying Pyongyang is expected to focus on a smooth power transition to Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong-un, according to participants.The l

Kim Yu-sik fled North Korea for the South some 60 years ago during the war that divided the peninsula. The 75-year-old now hopes Kim Jong-il’s death will finally allow him to live a dream and return to his hometown.“What I miss ― and what I still vividly remember ― is when I got together with my friends on my way to school in the morning and the shouting and fun we had as we walked to class,’’ he said.But for 55-year-old travel agent Kim Jung-yeon, the prospect of Kim’s untested, 20-something so

 

Foreign diplomats in North Korea have been received by North Korea’s anticipated leader-in-waiting Kim Jong-un at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace as people paid their respects to Kim Jong-il, a British diplomat in Pyongyang said Tuesday. Barnaby Jones, first secretary at the British Embassy in Pyongyang said he joined other foreign diplomats on invitation from the Pyongyang, government at the mausoleum in the North Korean capital where the deceased leader was laid out. “Kim Jong-un was receiving di

BEIJING (AFP) - China’s President Hu Jintao visited the North Korean embassy in Beijing on Tuesday to offer his condolences on the death of Kim Jong-il, the official Xinhua news agency said.China is North Korea‘s closest ally, and just hours after the announcement of Kim’s death on Monday, Beijing said it would work with Pyongyang to ensure the “peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region.”Analysts say China is likely to strengthen support for its impoverished, nuclear-armed neigh

PYONGYANG (AP) -- Streams of mourners, including heir Kim Jong Un, passed by the open coffin of longtime ruler Kim Jong Il on Tuesday, his body covered with a red blanket, his head laid on a white pillow, state media showed.The coffin of Kim Jong Il, who died of a heart attack on Saturday, was surro

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The White House said on Monday it hoped the new North Korean leadership would live up to its obligations to end the reclusive state‘s nuclear program, following the death of Kim Jong-il.“We hope that the new North Korean leadership will take the steps necessary to support peace, prosperity and a better future for the North Korean people including ... acting on its commitments to denuclearization,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.Carney said in the aftermath of Kim’s dea

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) ― The U.N. General Assembly on Monday condemned human rights abuses in North Korea but U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon vowed to maintain international aid for the country after the death of Kim Jong-il.The 193-nation assembly passed the condemnation of the North by 123 votes to 16, with 51 abstentions. It was a record vote in favor but China, a key ally of the north, was among countries to oppose the resolution.A single North Korean diplomat was in the assembly and later refuted the

South Korea may have to reconsider its cross-border cooperation budget strategy following the sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, sources said Tuesday.The reassessment is necessary because Seoul is financially unprepared to handle sudden developments in the North that could require the injection of substantial funds, according to the sources.In 2011, the government set aside a little over 1.01 trillion won ($861.5 million) to support inter-Korean cooperation, with slightly more than

Anti-Pyongyang activists in South Korea said Tuesday they would float leaflets denouncing North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-Il across the tense border. The North Korean defectors and other activists will on Wednesday launch balloons carrying 200,000 leaflets lambasting the ruling Kim dynasty, Park Sang-hak, one of their leaders, told AFP.Park and others have regularly sent leaflets calling for the ousting of the Kim regime, sparking anger from Pyongyang.The reclusive communist state, which tigh

South Korea will reconsider plans to light Christmas decorations along the border owing to the recent developments in North Korea, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Tuesday.Speaking to the National Assembly’s defense committee, Kim said that the ministry plans to “reconsider the plans as they are not suitable for the current situation,” referring to the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Dec. 17. While the ministry will reconsider related plans, the religious organizations behind the d