The derisive, invective-filled tirade against President Moon Jae-in by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is drawing public outrage here and emboldening hawkish calls for a tougher stance against the recalcitrant regime. On Wednesday, Kim Yo-jong, the first vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, slammed Moon over his recent speech marking the 20th anniversary of an inter-Korean declaration and other remarks, calling them "disgusting" and

North Korea's disclosure of Seoul's offer to send special envoys to Pyongyang sparked speculation about what communication lines remain open between the two sides after the North vowed to cut off all such hotlines. The North's Korean Central News Agency said President Moon Jae-in offered Monday to send special envoys to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Kim's powerful sister Kim Yo-jong "flatly" rejected the offer as a "tactless and sinister proposal." The two Koreas di

The unification ministry on Wednesday expressed "strong regret" over North Korea's plan to send its troops to two inter-Korean business zones near the border disarmed under previous inter-Korean agreements, urging Pyongyang to refrain from escalating tension. "We express our strong regret over an announcement by a spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army to turn the Mount Kumgang tourist area and the Kaesong industrial complex region into military zones,&qu

North Korea appears to have begun preparations to destroy the inter-Korean liaison office building by placing explosives immediately after leader Kim Jong-un's sister issued a warning, military sources said Wednesday. On Saturday night, some unusual movements were detected around the liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, such as vehicles moving around, according to the sources. It was right after leader Kim's influential sister Kim Yo-jong issued a statement saying, "Befo

The provincial government of Gyeonggi, which surrounds Seoul and borders North Korea to the north, took one step further in its crackdown on the distribution of propaganda leaflets into the North by issuing an administrative order on Wednesday banning anyone from entering its border areas to float such leaflets and threatening legal punishments. In the order, the Gyeonggi government said it will designate five cities and counties close to the inter-Korean border as off-limits danger zones unti

The office of President Moon Jae-in strongly condemned the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday for her "rude and senseless" criticism of Moon and warned that it won't tolerate the North's unreasonable words and acts anymore. "It is a senseless act to disparage (Moon's speech earlier this week) in a very rude tone without understanding its purpose at all," Yoon Do-han, Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication, said in a war of words betwee

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's destruction of an inter-Korean liaison office is likely the first step in a series of provocations aimed at increasing its bargaining power with Washington and Seoul ahead of the November presidential election in the United States, experts here said Tuesday. Fully aware that it is unlikely to get any sanctions relief it wants from the US before the election, North Korea will continue to escalate its military and nonmilitary threats in preparation for a second term f

North Korea said Wednesday it has rejected South Korea's offer to send special envoys and will redeploy troops to two inter-Korean business zones near the border, unrelentingly ratcheting up tensions a day after the regime blew up a joint liaison office. The North's disclosure of its rejection of the special envoy proposal shows the regime has no intention to defuse tensions through dialogue and will carry out a series of measures it has threatened to take in anger over propaganda leaflets cri

Hours after North Korea demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in its border town of Kaesong in a surprise provocation Tuesday, South Korea warned of a strong response if the North further worsens the situation. Cheong Wa Dae made the unusually strong warning after holding an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) standing committee to discuss the matter. "The government expresses strong regret over North Korea's unilateral explosion of the inter-Korean liaison off

In response to North Korea’s demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office, China called for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry sent out the message, less than two hours after the unprecedented aggression escalated military tensions on the peninsula. “South and North Korea are one people. As their neighbor, we hope for continued peace and stability on the peninsula,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. China, which shares a

South Korea's unification minister said Tuesday that North Korea's detonation of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong was already preannounced by the North and Seoul would need more details to assess the situation. Appearing in a session of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs and unification, Minister Kim Yeon-chul said, "It is something partly preannounced (by North Korea)." "(The country) needs to study more details of the situation," Kim said a

Seoul warns of consequences of further provocation by North

North Korea’s recent heightened threats against South Korea come from its anxiety over deepening economic woes due to international sanctions, a Japanese newspaper said Tuesday. Citing a source close to trilateral talks among South Korea, the US and Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun said that North Korea may run out of foreign currency in 2023 under economic sanctions by the United Nations and the US. The North’s recent raging threats over anti-Pyongyang leaflets from the South, which ha

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho visited a western border region on Tuesday as part of efforts to deal sternly with the controversial campaign to fly propaganda leaflets into North Korea, the ministry said. Suh will visit Seokmo Island in the Ganghwa area on the country's western border to take a firsthand look at the preparedness of police and the coast guard to stop North Korean defectors and other activists from sending leaflets into the North, according to the ministry. The planned visit

North Korea's military said Tuesday it is reviewing plans to reenter border areas disarmed under inter-Korean agreements, days after the North threatened to take military action over the sending of leaflets by activists from South Korea. The General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) also revealed that the North would send its own propaganda leaflets into the South, saying it is considering opening front-line areas and waters off the southwest coast to cooperate for a "large-scale l