North Korea has been conducting regular wintertime military drills without showing any unusual moves ahead of the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il, the South Korean military said Tuesday. North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary Monday of the foundation of its army and has another key national holiday coming up, which is the Feb. 16 birthday of its late leader, the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. "North Korea's military is continuing wintertime exercises and has not shown any

New Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday voiced confidence in working together with the US on North Korea’s nuclear issue, highlighting that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a shared goal between the two allies.  “Achieving complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at an earliest date is a shared goal between the US and South Korea, Chung told reporters after taking office earlier in the day. “Therefore, I believe coordinating opinio

Over six out of 10 South Korean youth think that unification with North Korea is necessary, a survey showed Tuesday. In a survey conducted by the education and unification ministries on 68,750 students enrolled in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide from Nov. 2-30 of last year, 62.4 percent said that the two Koreas need to reunify. The finding marks a 6.9 percentage point jump from a similar poll conducted a year ago. Among students who saw the need for unification, 28.4 percent cit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chastised self-protectionism and the passiveness of state agencies during a full session of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party on Monday, Pyongyang’s state media said Tuesday. The meeting was convened to discuss economic projects for this year, the first of its five-year national development plan presented at the eighth party congress held early last month, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said. Kim presided over the meeting, dur

North Korea has been conducting regular wintertime military drills without showing any unusual moves ahead of the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il, the South Korean military said Tuesday. North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary Monday of the foundation of its army and has another key national holiday coming up, which is the Feb. 16 birthday of its late leader, the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. "North Korea's military is continuing wintertime exercises and has not shown any

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's push for concessions to North Korea may continue to create tension in US-South Korea relations, a US congressional report said. The updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on South Korea noted policy coordination between Seoul and Washington had been "inconsistent" under former US President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden, on the other hand, is "reinvigorating the alliance, suggesting he would abandon President Trump's repeated use of pu

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rapped economic agencies for "passive and self-protecting tendencies" as he held a Workers' Party meeting to finalize this year's plans to carry out policy goals set forth at last month's rare party congress, state media said Tuesday. The North unveiled a new five-year economic development plan at the eighth congress of the party last month, with a focus on self-reliance in the face of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and global sanctions on its

Two minor natural earthquakes struck North Korea's eastern region early Monday, South Korea's state weather agency said. The first quake with a magnitude of 3.2 was detected at around 3:37 a.m., 37 kilometers north-northeast of Changjin, South Hamkyong Province, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at a latitude of 40.67 degrees north and a longitude of 127.45 degrees east, the agency said. The second quake of magnitude 2.3 struck about four hours late

North Korea's official paper said Monday the country's military should play a leading role in major construction and other economic development projects as the country marked the 73rd anniversary of the army's founding. At the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unveiled its new five-year economic development plan focusing on self-reliance amid multiple challenges, including efforts to ward off the coronavirus and crippling sanctions. Kim cal

  The Unification Ministry on Sunday tapped Lee Jong-joo, director-general of humanitarian cooperation bureau, as the ministry’s first female spokesperson.  With the appointment, she became the first woman to hold the position since the ministry, in charge of inter-Korean affairs, was established in 1969.  The ministry said Lee has been recognized for her competence, having worked in the ministry’s key divisions and various posts across the government. It expects Le

North Korea is set to convene a meeting of top ruling party officials to finalize policy plans for this year set forth at last month’s Workers’ Party congress, state media said Sunday.   　 The second plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea will take place within the first 10 days of this month, according to the official Korea Central News Agency. The state media did not specify an exact date in the report, but considering the disclo

North Korea is scheduled to hold a plenary meeting of its party this week to finalize plans for "strategic tasks" for this year, state media said Sunday. The second plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea will be held "within the first 10 days of February to examine and decide the 2021 working plans of all fields to thoroughly carry out the strategic tasks" set forth during the eighth party congress, the official Korean Central News Agency

The United Nations has granted a sanctions waiver for a South Korean organization working on a project to provide safe drinking water to North Korea, a UN website showed Friday. This marks this year's first UN sanctions exemption to North Korea. The organization was given an exemption for nine months until Oct. 22, 2021, according to the website. The website did not identify the name of the organization, nor did it specify the size of the assistance and other details. In November, a UN Securi

North Korea's official newspaper on Friday called on officials to strictly follow central leadership to realize a self-reliant economy and carry out key policy goals unveiled in a rare party meeting last month. At the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted the failure to achieve his previous five-year development goals and unveiled a new scheme focusing on self-reliance in the face of the global pandemic and sanctions on his regime. &q

North Korea has replaced heads of key groups of farmers and laborers, state media said Friday, in an apparent move to rev up its recently unveiled economic development drive. During the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party last month, the North put forth a new five-year economic development plan centering on self-reliance in the face of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and global sanctions. The Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea (UAWK) on Thursday held a plenary meeting to d