Unification Minister Lee In-young will hold meetings this week with the leaders of businesses that participated in the long-suspended tourism project at North Korea's Mount Kumgang to discuss cross-border cooperation and exchanges, his office said Monday. Lee will meet Tuesday with Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun of Hyundai Group that used to run tours to the scenic mountain on the North's east coast while a meeting with Lee Joong-myung, chairman of Ananti, which used to run a golf course at the moun

North Korea on Monday slammed the US lifting of all restrictions on South Korean missiles as a "stark reminder" of Washington's hostile approach to Pyongyang, saying the recently unveiled US policy on the North is "just trickery." This marked the North's first reaction after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden agreed at their May 21 summit to use diplomacy to resolve the North's nuclear standoff and to terminate all "missile guideline" res

Members of North Korea's umbrella trade union held an oath-taking ceremony and vowed to stamp out anti-socialist practices, state media said Sunday. The meeting took place in Pyongyang on Saturday by participants in the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea's 8th plenary session held earlier in the North Korean capital, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It was the union's first plenary session in about five years. The participants "vowed to become resolu

North Korea appears to be continuing activities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex but no clear evidence has been detected to determine if spent fuel rods have been transferred from the storage facility to produce plutonium, a US think tank has said. The monitoring website 38 North made the assessment Friday, based on recent satellite imagery, also noting that minor activities have been spotted at the site's uranium enrichment plant while construction of a new wing of a lab building continued. &

The unification ministry said Friday it will seek to restore communication lines and dialogue with North Korea based on "sufficient conditions" for engagement created by last week's summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry also said that Pyongyang must be now thinking hard about its next steps after Moon and Biden agreed to take diplomatic and pragmatic approach in denuclearization efforts. "The leader

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to build up its ballistic missile capability, which poses "real danger" to the US mainland, the top US military commander said Thursday. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said the North is showing no signs of giving up its efforts to bolster its military capability. North Korea "continues to enhance its ballistic missile capability and possesses the technical capacity to present a real danger to the US homeland

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on his country's largest trade union to wage a "do-or-die battle" against non-socialist practices in a letter he sent to mark its latest congress session, state media said Thursday. The eighth congress of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK) was held in Pyongyang on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The congress was held for the first time in about five years. "They should br

South Korea's intelligence chief departed for the United States on Wednesday to discuss cooperation on North Korea after their leaders held a summit and agreed to diplomatically engage with Pyongyang, sources said. National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won was seen leaving Inchon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier in the day for the US, according to the sources. Park is expected to meet CIA Director William Burns and other officials. He could also meet with Sung Ki

North Korea's official newspaper called Wednesday for competition among cities and counties to promote a balanced economic growth across the country. "In order to achieve a balanced and simultaneous growth in accordance with the party's initiatives and intentions, we need socialism competition in a fiercer way among cities and counties," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said. "For the development of cities and counties, competition among them is a ver

North Korea's official newspaper on Tuesday called for all-out efforts to promptly finish planting rice within the optimal period at all costs amid concerns unexpected rainfall could hamper rice planting. Ri Jae-hyon, department director at the North's agriculture ministry, made the appeal in a contributory piece carried by the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party. "Rice planting may not go as planned due to unfavorable farming conditions," Ri said, urging of

North Korea may approach South Korea to figure out what the new US policy on Pyongyang looks like, as last week's summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden did not offer any concrete specifics, a former security adviser to Moon said Tuesday. Moon Chung-in, currently the chairman of the think tank Sejong Institute, made the remarks, expressing hope that Seoul and Pyongyang can reactivate bilateral hotlines to resume cross-border communication. "It is very likely that

North Korea touted an organization of pro-Pyongyang residents in Japan for its efforts to hand down the Korean national identity and patriotism on the 66th anniversary of its founding on Tuesday. The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, has "established a national education system from kindergarten to college and successfully fostered talents to lead the future, and also further elevated our outstanding culture and customs," the Korean Central News Agency sa

The US has put the diplomatic ball in Pyongyang’s court, with its Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing that Washington is prepared to engage with North Korea to discuss denuclearization, but it remains uncertain whether the reclusive regime will respond. 　 “We are waiting to see if Pyongyang actually wants to engage. The ball is in their court,” Blinken said in an interview with ABC on Sunday, adding that Washington is prepared to pursue diplomacy with the North even a

North Korea has stayed mum on the results of last week's summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden amid questions about how Pyongyang will react to Biden's willingness to engage diplomatically with the country. At the summit meeting on Friday (Washington time), the two leaders agreed to engage diplomatically with the North to work toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They also reaffirmed that dialogue will be pushed based on previous agreements, including the 2

Last week's summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden created "sufficient" conditions needed to resume the long-stalled dialogue with North Korea, Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday. On Friday (US time), Moon and Biden held their first face-to-face summit in Washington and agreed to engage diplomatically with North Korea and take "pragmatic" steps to reduce tensions, while reaffirming that dialogue will be pushed based on previous agreements,