North Korea is nearing the completion of a major housing project to construct 10,000 high-rise apartment units in its capital eight months after breaking ground, state media said Wednesday. Cabinet Premier Kim Tok-hun visited the construction site, according to the Korean Central News Agency, which reported the construction work is "in the final stage." During the North's eighth party congress in January, North Korea announced its aim of building 50,000 apartments in Pyongyang by 202

North Korea may launch a space rocket next year as part of the regime’s program to enhance weapons capabilities amid long-stalled denuclearization talks with the US, a state-run think tank report says.    Ko Jae-hong, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea’s spy agency, released a report Tuesday examining the North’s weapons expo held last month and the country’s defense outlook. 　 Ko said that it i

Pope Francis is unlikely to visit North Korea in the winter, although it is difficult to predict when the trip will happen, the Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson said Tuesday. President Moon Jae-in asked the pope during their meeting at the Vatican last week to visit North Korea to help foster peace on the Korean Peninsula. The pope responded that he would do so if he received an invitation from the North. "Various efforts are under way, but it's difficult to predict the timing," Cheong Wa

President Moon Jae-in made another overture toward North Korea at a UN climate summit Monday, suggesting planting trees together to reduce carbon emissions on the Korean Peninsula and pledging to make good on a 3-year-old promise in an apparent bid to reengage Pyongyang. “The Republic of Korea will take a leading role in cooperation for reforestation,” Moon said in his keynote speech at the 26th Conference of the Parties or COP26 held in Glasgow, Scotland, calling tree planting one

Unification Minister Lee In-young has held talks with the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and agreed to strengthen cooperation on North Korea's public health issues, his office said Tuesday. Lee's meeting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took place Monday (local time) after the minister accompanied President Moon Jae-in on his latest Vatican visit. "(The two sides) exchanged opinions on North Korea's COVID-19 situation and ways to cooperate in its

Senior officials from South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington on Monday on ways to restart dialogue with North Korea, the State Department said. US Deputy Special Representative for the DPRK Jung Pak hosted a "deputy-level consultation meeting" with her South Korean counterpart, Rim Kap-soo, according to the department. "The two sides discussed the current situation on the Korean Peninsula; prospects for humanitarian cooperation; and the potential for dialogue

The unification ministry said Monday it will begin discussions with the US-led United Nations Command (UNC) to resume tours to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom as South Korea began its "living with COVID-19" scheme meant to phase out coronavirus restrictions amid a rising vaccination rate. Tours to Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area (JSA), were suspended in July after health authorities imposed the toughest virus curbs in the greater Seoul area, home to half of the coun

The South Korean government on Monday urged North Korea to respond positively to a suggestion that the pope visit there, expressing hope for progress in efforts to promote regional peace. The unification ministry's statement came after Pope Francis reaffirmed his willingness to visit the North during his meeting with President Moon Jae-in at the Vatican last week. Moon and the pope met Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rome, during which Moon said a papal visit to North Kor

North Korea accused the South Korean entertainment industry on Sunday of working in favor of US companies, such as Netflix, through "unfair" deals. The North's propaganda outlet, Meari, said South Korean entertainment firms have turned to Netflix to improve their margins amid a business slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It did not mention the South Korean-made hit Netflix series "Squid Game," but the article follows recent controversy in South Korea over the way the US

Moon meets briefly with Biden on sidelines of G-20 summit

Unification Minister Lee In-young held meetings with the chief of the World Food Program (WFP) and a senior Vatican official during a trip to Rome and discussed issues related to North Korea, the ministry said Sunday. The meetings with David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. food agency, and Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, the first Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, took place Saturday as Lee was in Rome to accompany President Moon Jae-in. Dur

  The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States had phone talks Friday on stalled nuclear negotiations with North Korea and Seoul's proposal for an end-of-war declaration, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his American counterpart, Sung Kim, agreed on the need to "stably manage the situation" on the peninsula, the ministry said. "They held constructive consultations

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday asked Pope Francis to visit North Korea to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the pope positively reacted to the offer, saying he is willing to do so if he receives an invitation from the North, an official said.   Moon made the offer during a meeting with the pope at the Vatican earlier in the day, saying a papal visit to North Korea will serve as momentum for bringing peace on the Korean Peninsula.  "If the pontiff visits

Pyongyang says S. Korea, US should at least suspend military drills

A UN General Assembly committee has approved three draft resolutions concerning North Korea, including one reaffirming the Assembly's commitment to the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" abandonment of Pyongyang's nuclear program, its website showed Friday. On Wednesday, the First Committee in charge of disarmament and security affairs approved 25 resolutions and decisions, including those related to the North, amid reports that the recalcitrant regime has been doubling down on i