North Korea was ranked the worst in terms of prevalence of undernourishment among its population in the Asia-Pacific region, a report showed Friday. According to the report jointly compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and other global agencies, more than 45 percent of the North's population was suffering from undernourishment from 2017-2019. The proportion was the highest among Asia-Pacific countries surveyed. It was much higher than the corresponding fig

Having a consistent policy on North Korea may be the key to denuclearizing the North, US experts said Thursday. They argued the North may have had little or no incentive to actually give up its nuclear weapons since it had been rewarded without doing so. "I think it's because there has been an inconsistent foreign policy, not only from the United States but a lot of countries, and we have in the past rewarded people like Kim Jong-il, they took our support and made promises, and then after

Gone are the days when the leaders of the US and North Korea exchanged “love letters” -- or threats of “fire and fury.”  US President Joe Biden took office Wednesday, and the world is now watching Biden to see what actions he will take -- not just unraveling years of Donald Trump’s policies, but how US foreign policy will formulate under the new leader, who declared that “America is back, ready to lead the world.” North and South Korea are also k

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is and will continue to be a major challenge for the new US administration, but not as great a challenge as other domestic issues such as the pandemic, at least for now, as evidenced by President Joe Biden's inaugural address on Wednesday. The new US leader took office with a speech that mostly focused on the need for unity among Americans to fight off the deadly new coronavirus, but also other foes facing the US that he said included "anger, resentment, hatred, e

Antony Blinken, incoming US President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, said the North’s nuclear problem has “gotten worse” and that the new administration is planning a full review of Washington’s approach to Pyongyang. 　 “I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued administration after administration, and it is a problem that has not gotten bet

North Korea is stepping up antivirus efforts and tightening border control to ward off the new coronavirus, state media reported Wednesday, as major political events attended by thousands of delegates wrapped up last week in the capital city. Pyongyang concluded the eight-day congress of the Workers' Party and held a military parade last week, during which thousands of attendees, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, were seen without masks. Officials attending Sunday's meeting of the rub

Soldiers and civilians staged joint rallies across North Korea, calling for nationwide cooperation to carry out new policies and decisions made during a recent rare party congress, state media reported Wednesday. North Korea held the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party that ended last week, unveiling a new five-year economic development plan focusing on self-reliance in the face of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and global sanctions on its regime. "Joint rallies of soldi

The nominee for US secretary of defense on Tuesday said he will seek to quickly conclude stalled negotiations with South Korea to set the latter's contribution toward maintaining US troops on the Korean Peninsula. Lloyd Austin said an early conclusion to the long-stalled negotiations would be part of efforts to enhance and modernize the US-South Korea alliance. "The US-Republic of Korea (ROK) Alliance is the linchpin of peace and security in the region. It is among the most combined, inte

Secretary of State-designate Antony Blinken on Tuesday vowed efforts to improve US relations with allies, saying the country is "far better positioned" to deal with threats from North Korea and other adversaries when it works with friendly nations. The former deputy secretary of state made the remarks at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We can revitalize our core alliances -- force multipliers of our influence around the world," said

The new US administration of Joe Biden plans to review the country's entire approach and policy toward North Korea, Biden's secretary of state nominee said Tuesday. Antony Blinken said the new administration may also try to find ways to get humanitarian assistance to the North to help lessen the suffering of North Korean people if necessary. "I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued

Understanding North Korea's capabilities and true intentions is a critical role of US intelligence, the nominee for US director of national intelligence said Tuesday. Avril Haines also said, if confirmed, she will review existing intelligence on North Korea to discern what the regime's intentions are. "Understanding the capabilities and intentions of a country like North Korea is a critical responsibility of the intelligence community," Haines said in a written answer to questions fr

The government has provided as much information about its ongoing probe as possible to the family of a South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korea's military in the sea last year, a report to a UN body showed Tuesday. South Korea made the case in the report submitted last week to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in response to concerns that the authorities have not fully disclosed to the family the information related to the incident that took place in S

North Koreans are growing skeptical of the so-called “self-sufficient” economy that their leader Kim Jong-un champions, Radio Free Asia said Monday, citing anonymous sources there. North Koreans complained that they had yet to get their usual New Year’s gifts, calendars, and that put things in perspective. “For the first time, we celebrated the New Year without the calendar. As trivial as this looks, I think this is just evidence of how empty the economic plans are -- th

The government on Tuesday approved a proposal for the revision of its inter-Korean exchange act that will allow cross-border projects to receive financial support in case of their suspension, the unification ministry said. The revision to the South-North Exchange and Cooperation Act, passed in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, also requires Cabinet approval when an exchange project is at risk of being suspended. The need for such support has been raised since Seoul decided in 2016 to abruptly halt

South Korea is ready to discuss any issues with North Korea via military channels to ease cross-border tensions, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remark a day after President Moon Jae-in said that the two Koreas can discuss joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington if necessary through a joint military committee as agreed upon in 2018. "Our military can discuss any issues with North Korea through military talks, including the int