WASHINGTON -- The United States is disappointed in North Korea's recent actions to sever ties with South Korea, the State Department said Tuesday, urging the communist nation to return to diplomacy and cooperation. The comments came in response to a series of actions North Korea has taken in anger over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by defectors into the North. Earlier Tuesday, the North vowed to cut off all inter-Korean communication lines and refused to answer South Korea's phone calls via li

A UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation expressed concerns over the communist nation's food shortages Tuesday, saying the country's border closure due to the new coronavirus has exacerbated its already dire conditions. Tomas Ojea Quintana urged the United Nations to reconsider sanctions imposed on the country, citing reports of an increase in the number of homeless people and a surge in medicine prices in the North. He also called on Pyongyang to allow humanitarian grou

Experts say Seoul needs clearer stance on dealing with North

North Korea on Tuesday cut all communication channels including the hotline between Cheong Wa Dae and its leadership, prompting concerns for tensions escalating between the two Koreas. The decision was announced by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, which also announced that all projects concerning South Korea will now become “projects against the enemy.” “From 12 noon June 9, the communication line between the North and South’s governments main

North Korea did not answer South Korea's phone calls via their military hotlines Tuesday, the defense ministry said, after the North vowed to sever all communication lines with the South in its first step against what it called an "enemy." Earlier in the day, North Korea said it will "completely" close the inter-Korean liaison line, as well as hotlines between their militaries and presidential offices, at noon Tuesday in protest against Seoul's failure to stop defectors fro

North Korea did not answer daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday after vowing to cut off all inter-Korean communication lines in anger over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from the South. The decision to sever all phone lines at noon Tuesday was the latest in a series of angry protests the communist nation has made since last week while blasting Seoul for failing to stop North Korean defectors from sending propaganda leaflets criticizing Pyongyang's leade

An unanswered phone call at the inter-Korean liaison office put Seoul officials on edge for hours Monday, as it came after North Korea’s threats to shut it down completely. 　 The Unification Ministry said that the North finally answered its phone call in the afternoon, after missing earlier ones in the morning. 　 The two Koreas exchanged communication at the scheduled 5 p.m., but the North did not mention why it skipped the earlier call, according to the ministry. 　 There were speculat

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho visited a war remains excavation site inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Monday to take a first-hand look at a research project to restore forests in the region, his office said. During his visit to Arrowhead Ridge in the central border town of Cheorwon, Suh was to be briefed by the Korea Forest Service on its research plans to restore the forest region and enhance biodiversity, officials said. The research kicked off Monday and will run through Friday. T

North Korea's recent threats to abolish an inter-Korean liaison office and end other major summit agreements signal leader Kim Jong-un's intention to solidify the political status of his sister, Kim Yo-jong, experts said Monday. Last week, Kim Yo-jong issued a harshly worded statement, denouncing a campaign by North Korean defectors and other activists in the South to send anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the communist nation as a hostile act running counter to a series of peace agreeme

Military communication lines between South and North Korea are operating normally Monday, defense ministry officials said, though the North did not answer the South's call via inter-Korean liaison communication. Earlier in the day, unification ministry spokesperson Yoh Sang-key told a regular press briefing that the South made a liaison phone call to the North this morning but has yet to get an answer. It is the first time the communist country has not answered the South's calls. "The (

North Korea answered the second daily liaison phone call from South Korea on Monday, the unification ministry said, after an earlier call went unanswered and sparked speculation that Pyongyang might be carrying out its threat to abolish a joint liaison office. Monday's twice-a-day liaison phone calls were a focus of attention as the two sides were to have such calls for the first time since the North vowed to scrap the joint liaison office in anger over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over a politburo meeting of the Workers' Party and discussed measures to develop the chemical industry, but inter-Korean issues and other external matters were not on the agenda, according to state media Monday. The meeting, held Sunday, came just two days after the North vowed to abolish an inter-Korean liaison office in anger over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent from South Korea. Four items were on the agenda, but the leaflet issue was not

Pyongyang ratcheting up threats against Seoul in the last few days, halting the inter-Korean liaison office and scrapping a military agreement, could be a prelude to military provocations, experts here said Sunday. 　 The North lashed out with a series of threats from Thursday, in retaliation against Seoul’s failure to prevent defector-run civic groups from sending anti-North Korean leaflets across the border. On Sunday, the North’s state newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried pages of rep

North Korea vowed Friday to abolish an inter-Korean liaison office in the first in a series of measures in anger over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from South Korea, even after Seoul promised to ban such leaflet campaigns. The United Front Department, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said in a statement that leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, ordered officials to look into implementing a series of measures she threatened to take a day earlier unless Seoul stops North Korean defectors

North Korea on Friday threatened to shut down an inter-Korean liaison office as it continued to criticize South Korea over civilian-led anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns. "We will abolish the inter-Korean liaison office located in the Kaesong industrial complex immediately," the North's United Front Department said in a statement condemning the anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns in the South. On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, issued a strongly worded s