SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak ordered Monday all government officials to be placed on emergency response status, following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Under the order, all government officials are restricted from taking leave or traveling and required to mainta

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States was Sunday "closely monitoring" reports on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's death and said it was committed to stability on the Korean peninsula and the security of its allies.Kim's death, announced by North Korea's official media, posed an immediate and grave f

 

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea and the United States are highly likely to delay bilateral nuclear talks set for this week in Beijing, following the report of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death, a senior Seoul official said Monday. "In the wake of the North Korean leader Kim's death, it

The head of a shadowy North Korean agency charged with managing slush funds for leader Kim Jong-il has again appeared in public after five months.Recent footage from the North's state television network showed Jon Il-chun standing closer to Kim than Kim's heir apparent son, Kim Jong-un, on an inspec

The United States is poised to announce a significant donation of food aid to North Korea this week, the first concrete accomplishment after months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic contacts between the two wartime enemies. An agreement by North Korea to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment pr

North Korea has agreed to suspend its enrichment of uranium for nuclear weapons, local reports said Saturday. Citing an unidentified diplomatic source, Yonhap News reported the two countries reached the agreement during recent talks held in Beijing. The sides “reached the agreement based on North Korea’s pledge to implement initial measures of denuclearization that include a suspension of its uranium enrichment program,” Yonhap said. The United States, in return, has agreed to provide up to 240,

The United States agreed to provide up to 240,000 tons of food aid to North Korea in recent talks held in Beijing, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Saturday, noting the agreement could help ensure progress at a fresh round of nuclear negotiations scheduled for later this month.The sides, the sources

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The United States will not rush to make a decision on either food aid for North Korea or further high-level talks, officials said Thursday amid expectations of progress in efforts to start full-scale nuclear negotiations.Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, started discussions Wednesday in Beijing with North Korean officials over the possibility of food aid, which Washington formally describes as “nutritional assistance.”The North is repre

BEIJING (AP)-U.S. officials say food aid to North Korea could resume depending on whether Pyongyang can provide the necessary monitoring assurances in talks between the sides that began Thursday in Beijing.The United Nations and U.S. charities say aid is badly needed, but the U.S. government is conc