The Korea Herald

N.K. threatens to dispose of Seoul’s assets at Geumgang

Jun 17, 2011

North Korea said Friday that it will dispose of South Korean assets seized or frozen at Mount Kumang under its new law regarding the scenic mount resort.The North also said Hyundai Asan Corp., a key operator of the tour project for the scenic mountain just north of the heavily armed border, should come to the table by the end of the month for talks over the disposal of the assets, according to the
Seoul deploys precision-guided missiles targeting Pyongyang

Jun 17, 2011

South Korea has deployed precision-guided land missiles capable of hitting North Korea's capital of Pyongyang, a military source said Friday. The forward deployment of the surface-to-surface missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), came as tensions rekindled after North Korea vowed a retaliation against the South's military over its use of head-shot photos of Pyongyang's top l
U.S. congressmen seeking legislation against N. Korea food aid

Jun 17, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- U.S. congressmen are rolling up their sleeves to block the Obama administration from resuming food aid to North Korea, arguing it will only help the communist regime bolster its nuclear and other weapons capabilities."(On Wednesday night) Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, offered an amendment to the Agriculture appropriations
Nine N. Koreans defect via western sea: Seoul

Jun 15, 2011

Nine North Koreans who crossed the tense western sea border on a small engineless vessel over the weekend for apparent defection are being questioned by South Korean officials, the Seoul government said Wednesday. The nine people, including family members, arrived on a frontline South Korean island around 6 a.m. Saturday, and are seeking asylum in the wealthier South, a government source said on c
[Herald Interview] N. Koreans use phones to sneak information out

Jun 15, 2011

Former professor from North sends S. Korean media content across border to show the world to North Koreans North Korea is a country that has been almost entirely isolated from news around the world for the past 60 years. The regime in Pyongyang allows Internet access to only a fraction of government officials and its power elite as it prepares for a third-generation hereditary succession to a youn
Nine North Koreans defect to South by sea, Seoul officials say

Jun 15, 2011

(Yonhap News)Nine North Koreans who crossed the tense western sea border aboard a small engineless vessel over the weekend for apparent defection are being questioned by South Korean officials, the Seoul government said Wednesday. The nine people, including family members, arrived on a frontline South Korean island around 6 a.m. Saturday, and are seeking asylum in the wealthier South, a government
U.S. desires to avoid 'mistakes' in talks with N. Korea

Jun 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, (Yonhap) -- The United States is prepared to talk with North Korea, but a basic principle is to avoid the "mistakes" made in previous negotiations with the communist nation, an outgoing top State Department official said.In an interview published Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told Foreign Policy, a U.S.-based magazine, that Washington has no surprising new policy o
N. Korean carrier to start direct Shanghai flights

Jun 14, 2011

SHANGHAI (AFP) -- North Korea's carrier said Tuesday it would offer twice-weekly flights between Shanghai and Pyongyang starting next month, in a sign the secretive state is looking to attract more Chinese tourists.Shanghai joins Beijing and Shenyang in the northeast as the third city in China to have regular flights to North Korea, the state-owned Air Koryo said in a statement to AFP.The Shanghai
N.K. leases pier on northeastern port to Switzerland

Jun 14, 2011

North Korea has leased a pier on its port located near China and Russia to Switzerland, a source said Tuesday, citing an unidentified Chinese government official.North Korea has already leased two other piers on Rajin port to China and Russia, and various consultations are also under way for three other piers, according to the source who has knowledge on the North Korean economy.The port, located
U.S. expresses concerns over N.K.'s suspected arms trade

Jun 14, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- The United States has "concerns" that a North Korean ship recently intercepted by a U.S.destroyer might have been carrying contraband weapons in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the State Department said Monday."There was a vessel that was suspected of carrying materials prohibited by the United Nations Security Council resolutions,"spokesman Mark Toner said
'U.S. intercepted N.K. ship suspected of carrying military contraband'

Jun 13, 2011

The United States recently intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying military-related contraband, causing the vessel to eventually sail back home, a U.S. official said Monday.The remarks by Gary Samore, special assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama, came after local media reported that the North Koreans turned back after apparently sensing their cargo would be inspected if they stop
‘Vessel suspected of carrying banned items returns to N.K.’

Jun 12, 2011

A North Korean vessel suspected of carrying banned items recently sailed back home from international waters after fearing it would be searched if it docked at a foreign port, sources said Sunday.It was not clear where the ship was headed or what it was carrying, but the vessel returned home at the end of last month after drifting in international waters near Southeast Asia, the government sources
Ruling camp to push N.K. human rights bill

Jun 10, 2011

South Korea’s ruling camp will cooperate for the parliamentary endorsement this month of a bill designed to help improve North Korea’s dismal of human rights conditions, officials from the government and the ruling party said Friday. “We agreed that the National Assembly of South Korea should no longer sit idly by on the problem of human rights infringements in North Korea,” Rep. Lee Ju-young, the
N. Korean taekwondo athletes in U.S.

Jun 10, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- A group of North Korean taekwondo athletes arrived in the United States Thursday for a rare performance tour abroad.The 17-member team, which left Pyongyang on Saturday, arrived in San Francisco via Beijing. Leaving the San Francisco airport, they refused to answer reporters' questions.It is the second time that North Korean taekwondo athletes have visited
Pyongyang threatens to disclose tapes of secret South-North talks

Jun 9, 2011

North Korea on Thursday threatened to disclose voice recordings of a secret meeting with South Korea where it said rejected the South’s proposal to hold a series of summits. “If all (South Korean officials who attended the meeting) refuse to admit the truth, we will have to disclose the full recordings of the contact,” the Korea Central News Agency, the north’s state news agency, reported, quoting