The US will wrap up its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks, a senior US diplomat for East Asian affairs said Friday, ahead of senior-level talks to take place in Seoul this week between the US state and defense secretaries and their South Korean counterparts. The top US envoy and defense chief is visiting Korea on March 17 and 18 following a trip to Japan to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization, among others, in the first high-level meeting held in person. “I don&r

  The United States is expected to complete its ongoing review of its North Korea policy in a few "weeks," a senior US State Department official said Friday, ahead of Secretary Antony Blinken's upcoming trip to South Korea and Japan to discuss the issue. Sung Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the secretary's visit to the countries will provide great opportunities for the Asian allies to offer their own input into a new US policy to

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to Japan and South Korea will give him a chance to coordinate US policy and its approach toward North Korea, a State Department official said Friday. Ned Price said Blinken's talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts will provide an important ingredient for a new US policy toward the North, but said the policy itself will likely be announced at a later date. "It's an especially important one because it's an especially important ingre

As the Biden administration is conducting its policy review on Pyongyang with a chance of doubling down pressure on the reclusive regime, a former Trump official on North Korea stressed that the pressure in itself is not “sustainable,” but has to be paired with diplomacy to achieve any kind of progress.  “Pressure without openness to diplomacy is not sustainable. But diplomacy also on the other hand without pressure, or the openness to diplomacy in negotiation without pre

A former US nuclear negotiator on Friday called on South Korea and the United States to refrain from large-scale combined exercises and urged North Korea to avoid nuclear tests to achieve progress in denuclearization talks. Robert Gallucci, known for his role in negotiating a landmark 1994 nuclear agreement with Pyongyang, made the remarks in an online forum hosted by the unification ministry. "The North will have to avoid extended range ballistic missile tests or engine tests or any nucl

North Korea's official paper urged the people not to let their guard down against the new coronavirus, saying laxity is the "greatest enemy" in their ongoing efforts to ward off the highly contagious disease. North Korea has claimed to be coronavirus-free but has taken relatively swift and tough measures against the global pandemic, such as imposing strict border controls since early last year. "Arrogance, carelessness, laxity and negligence are the greatest enemies in our emerg

The United Nations investigator of human rights violations in North Korea on Wednesday called on South Korea to address the North’s rights violations in nuclear talks and to seek economic and humanitarian exchanges in a human rights-based framework. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the special rapporteur on North Korea human rights, urged the South Korean government to take action in a report to the UN Human Rights Council. “We are not hesitant to follow up on those recommendations,” a

North Korea's main newspaper on Thursday stressed close relations with Cuba in time for the 35th anniversary of a former Cuban leader's visit to Pyongyang. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, said in an editorial that the two countries are "firmly united by a sense of comradery in the common battle for socialism." "We will continue to put our best efforts to strengthen our unwavering friendship and solidarity with the people of Cuba," the

The unification ministry on Thursday said it will continue to maintain close communication with the international community on a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea after a UN special rapporteur voiced concerns over South Korea's decision, an official said. Earlier, Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), expressing concern that the ban "limits many activities of escapees and civil society org

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday urged nationwide efforts to increase grain output, calling it "a crucial matter" in the country's push to achieve key goals unveiled in a rare party meeting early this year. "We need to realize that food insecurity is a crucial matter related to improving our peoples' lives and economic development, and thoroughly implement this year's plans for crop production," the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Par

North Korea poses a serious and most imminent threat to the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region such as South Korea, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday. Adm. Phil Davidson also said the North continues to develop its nuclear and delivery systems designed to strike the US homeland. "North Korea poses a significant security risk to the United States and our partners in the Indo Pacific Region. The country has taken no meaningful steps toward denucleari

The unification ministry on Tuesday announced finalized guidelines on a legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea in an effort to ensure better interpretation of the law. The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, set to take effect later this month, has raised concerns that it could hurt freedom of expression and undercut efforts to send information into the reclusive North. Concerns have also been raised that the law could prohibit the sending of

North Korea's official newspaper on Tuesday carried contribution pieces by officials in the Cabinet and economic sectors holding themselves accountable for the lack of progress in economic development. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, carried a contribution piece in a newly added section written by Jo Yong-dok, department director of the Cabinet, criticizing the lack of cooperation between industries. "Production was hindered by the lack of cooperati

South Korea's Red Cross is willing to take care of a cemetery for North Korean soldiers killed in the Korean War, its secretary general said Sunday, as the graveyard remains largely abandoned amid an administrative row. The cemetery, established in 1996 in the border county of Paju, holds 843 sets of remains of North Korean soldiers killed in the 1950-53 war. The remains of some Chinese soldiers had also been held there, but they were repatriated to China in 2014. In March 2019, the government

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un urged local party officials to achieve "clear changes and successes" that can be welcomed by the people, as he concluded a workshop with regional Workers' Party secretaries, state media reported Sunday. The four-day workshop, the first of its kind, concluded on Saturday and discussed ways to implement economic development and other goals put forth during a rare party congress in January, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Enthus