WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A human rights group here on Tuesday urged U.S. President Barack Obama to press China to stop repatriating North Korean refugees.“We urgently request that during your meetings next week with President Hu Jintao ... that you request China to end its current policy of repatriating North Korean refugees back to North Korea,” Suzanne Scholte, chairwoman of the North Korea Fr

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday called on North Korea to impose a moratorium on nuclear and missile testing to help revive international dialogue deadlocked for two years over the North’s provocations.Speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Gates also said that North Korea’s missiles and nuclear weapons will pose a

North Korea reopened its Red Cross hotline with South Korea at their joint truce village Wednesday as promised, an official said, as the communist state continues to appeal for talks with Seoul in an apparent bid to draw much-needed assistance.Liaison officials of the two countries made their first contact in nearly eight months on the hotline installed at Panmunjeom, a Unification Ministry offici

Pyongyang slams Seoul's rejection of dialogueSEOUL/WASHINGTON ― The U.S. affirmed Monday that Pyongyang should take concrete steps to renounce provocations if it is committed to “constructive” dialogue.“There are still things that North Korea must do to make it clear that that kind of dialogue would be productive,” said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.“I would say that first and foremost

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday called for closer cooperation with China in defusing tensions on the Korea Peninsula and denuclearizing North Korea.Speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, Gates stressed the need for “maintaining peace and security on the Korean Peninsula by facilitating engagement betwee

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday proposed holding a citizen poll to settle an ongoing dispute with the opposition party over providing free lunches to all elementary, middle and high school students in the capital.   The proposal comes four days after the opposition-controlled city council proclaimed an ordinance to provide free meals to all elementary school children under its jurisdiction from t

 North Korea has proposed holding talks with South Korea in an official letter, a government official said Monday, after Seoul rejected earlier proposals offered in what officials here called a "unilateral announcement."   In its letter to the Seoul government, Pyongyang again urged early resumption of government-level talks as well as Red Cross dialogue it earlier said will help resume suspended

 North Korea's external trade fell in 2009 with its economic reliance on China staying significantly high, a report showed Sunday, underscoring the need for Pyongyang to diversify its industry structure and open its market for survival.   According to the report by the Korea Finance Corporation, North Korea's total trade amounted to US$3.41 billion in the cited year, down 10.6 percent from a year

The Marines this year will try out new combat uniforms in a revised color scheme that will set them apart from other armed forces, officials said Sunday.   The defense ministry approved the design for the new fatigues late last month, and the new uniforms will be distributed on a trial basis from early September, the officials said. The final version of the uniforms will come after any alterations

North Korea on Saturday renewed its call for an early resumption of dialogue between the divided Koreas, proposing to hold such talks at least within a month.The North earlier proposed "unconditional and early" resumption of talks between the two Koreas to defuse tension that arose after the North's sinking of a South Korean warship in March and then its bombing of a populated South Korean island

North Korea's Twitter account was apparently hacked with a string of messages derogatory of leader Kim Jong-il and his heir Kim Jong-un on Saturday, the birthday of the hereditary successor.The five most recent tweets posted in the morning accused the Kims of exploiting their people to enjoy sumptuous lives, and develop nuclear arms and missiles. One tweet called for an uprising to slay the Kims "

A senior U.S. official will travel to China early next week to discuss North Korea and other agenda items with Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington scheduled for later this month, the State Department said Friday."Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell will travel to Beijing, China January 9-11, 2011," the department said in a statement. "Assista

North Korea is expected to celebrate the upcoming birthday of its leader-in-waiting in a fashion as low-profile as last year even though he has since been appointed to political and military posts, a South Korean official said Thursday.The North Korean ruling party and military celebrated the Jan. 8 birthday of Kim Jong-un last year with athletic meetings, propaganda music recitals and other “inte