Unification Minister Lee In-young said Friday that he will seek to resume a long-suspended tour program to North Korea's Mount Kumgang. "I'll actively look for ways to restart the Mount Kumgang tour project," he said while visiting Jejin Station in Goseong, northeast of Seoul, near the Demilitarized Zone that separates two Koreas. "The resumption of the tour program will send a message of peace on the Korean Peninsula and revive the economy of border regions." The minister

Unification Minister Lee In-young said on Friday that he will provide necessary support for aid organizations in their efforts to expand cross-border exchanges and cooperation with North Korea. Lee made the remark at a meeting with the leaders of Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea (KNCCK), an umbrella group of 55 nongovernmental organizations established to facilitate cooperation among NGOs assisting the North. "The unification ministry will respect the autonomy of civic

A North Korean defector suspected of having fled back to his communist homeland is unlikely to have been infected with the new coronavirus here despite Pyongyang's claim that he had virus symptoms, Seoul's health authorities said Thursday. North Korea's state media claimed Sunday that a defector returned home from South Korea with suspected virus symptoms, prompting the country to adopt a "maximum emergency system" against the coronavirus. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and P

North Korea’s state media on Thursday said it has no coronavirus cases, the first time it has mentioned since the country put the city of Kaesong under total lockdown following the return of the defector with suspected virus symptoms.  “Not a single person has been infected with novel coronavirus so far in our country,” said the Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.  But the report did not specify whether the defector who

New Unification Minister Lee In-young said Thursday that South Korea is willing to work with North Korea to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in the border city of Kaesong or anywhere in the communist nation. Lee made the remark during a visit to the National Cemetery in Seoul after the North said over the weekend that it has declared a state of emergency and sealed off Kaesong after a defector returned home from South Korea with coronavirus symptoms. "We take the quarantine measures in and

North Korean propaganda outlets on Thursday scoffed at South Korea's plan to hold a major combined exercise with the United States in a scaled-back manner next month, downplaying their alliance as "nothing more than an illusion." South Korea and the US are set to stage a major annual exercise in mid-August, in a bid to better prepare for Seoul to take back wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from Washington. Authorities said the exercises will held on a smaller scale du

North Korea's No. 2 leader has visited the border city of Kaesong to inspect antivirus efforts, state media reported Thursday, after leader Kim Jong-un sealed off the town over virus fears following the return of a defector from South Korea. On Sunday, North Korea said that it has put Kaesong on lockdown, claiming that a "runaway" defector suspected of COVID-19 infection recently came back from the South. Seoul later said a North Korean defector is believed to have swum across the bor

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday condemned Seoul for participating in a US-led multinational maritime exercise slated to kick off next month, slamming it as “pro-US subservient policy.” 　 The Rim of the Pacific exercise is a biennial maritime exercise held in Hawaii to enhance the combined operational capabilities of South Korea, the US, Japan and other Pacific nations. South Korea is participating in the world’s largest international training exercise set to tak

Since the revelation that a North Korean defector who fled back across the border was facing sexual assault charges in South Korea, there have been growing calls for Seoul to seek his extradition so he can face prosecution here. 　 There is no formal extradition agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang to force the return of the 24-year-old man, identified by the surname Kim. 　 But some critics argue that Seoul should issue the request, citing an incident in November when Seoul deported two North

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday slammed South Korea for its decision to participate in a US-led multinational maritime exercise slated to kick off next month amid global efforts against the coronavirus. The biannual Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC), designed to enhance combined operational capabilities for maritime security, is set to be held from Aug. 17 to 31. "This is clearly an invasive and provocative game of war intended to crush our republic and neighboring count

Over 30,000 North Korean defectors risked their lives to cross one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders and settle in South Korea, escaping their communist homeland. 　 Yet not all of them seem satisfied with their new lives in the more prosperous, democratic South. And some even decide to go back to the place they once fled. The latest was a 24-year-old man who swam across the border to return to the North after defecting here three years ago. 　 The man, identified only by the

A North Korean defector was caught on military surveillance equipment as he fled across the border to his communist homeland, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday. The border crossing by the 24-year-old man, surnamed Kim, became known after North Korea revealed Sunday that a "runaway" returned home in the border city of Kaesong with coronavirus symptoms and the entire city was blocked off to prevent the spread of the virus. South Korean officials said Kim had been under inv

North Korea is sealing off the border city of Kaesong and tightening its borders, state media said Tuesday, after it claimed that a defector suspected of having virus symptoms recently came back home from South Korea. The North claimed Sunday that the defector returned to his hometown in Kaesong on July 19 and that multiple tests showed he is suspected of virus infection. The North also said leader Kim Jong-un declared a state of emergency for the region and blocked off the city to prevent the

　North Korea has lost around 210,000 hectares of forest over the past decade, a UN agency’s report showed, pointing to a worsening deforestation problem in the communist state. 　According to the report from the Food and Agriculture Organization, North Korea’s forest area stood at 6.03 million hectares this year, down from 6.24 million hectares in 2010. 　The decline is in line with a steady shrinkage in forest in North Korea over the past three decades. 　Forest area in the Nort

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country's nuclear deterrence will permanently guarantee national security, as he marked the anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, state media reported Tuesday. Kim made the remark during a speech at a national conference of veterans held Monday to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the end of the three-year conflict, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The Korean War ended in an armistice signed on July 27, 1953, which leaves Sout