North Korea has temporary halted the repatriation of defectors from China, days after it suspended all train and air travel from and to the neighboring country, whose central city of Wuhan is the epicenter of a new coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 360 lives so far, Voice of America said Monday. “From what I hear, Pyongyang isn’t accepting defectors. It asked Beijing not to (send them back) because of the recent coronavirus outbreak,” South Korean pastor Kim Sung

North Korea appears to be making an all-out effort to prevent an influx of the new coronavirus from China and has expressed its condolences to the country, which is the isolated North’s No. 1 ally, trade partner and immediate neighbor. Multiple Chinese newspapers reported Sunday that President Xi Jinping received a letter of condolence from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has killed over 300 people in China. On Saturday, the North&rsqu

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed support to Chinese President Xi Jinping over China's efforts to stop the spread of a new strain of coronavirus that has killed 259 Chinese people and sickened more than 11,000. On Saturday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim "conveyed his sincere feelings of wanting to share the suffering and trial of the fraternal Chinese people and to render help even a bit" in a letter to Xi. Kim also sent "militant gre

North Korea's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, called on the country's people Saturday to show "absolute obedience" to Pyongyang's stepped-up campaign to prevent the spread of the deadly new coronavirus stemming from the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The call came as the North has reportedly shut down all air and railway routes across its borders with China and taken other stringent steps to fend off the highly contagious disease that could potentially hamper its efforts to improv

North Korea has suspended all travel from and to China starting Jan. 31, UK’s Foreign Ministry said Friday citing Pyongyang’s latest travel advisories issued a day earlier. “They (the North) have also announced that all air and train routes between North Korea and China are temporarily suspended as of Jan. 31,” the ministry said. The UK Embassy in the North confirmed the news, while the Indian Embassy there said the last flight between the North and China will take place

North Korea has suspended its plan to remove South Korean-built facilities at the Mount Kumgang resort on its east coast as part of efforts to prevent the spread of a new strain of coronavirus, the unification ministry said Friday. Pyongyang notified Seoul of the decision Thursday through a telephone line they opened after the two Koreas agreed to temporarily shut down their joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong earlier in the day until the threat from the virus is "c

WASHINGTON -- US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun met with the top diplomat of the Philippines on Thursday and discussed the importance of achieving North Korea's denuclearization, the State Department said. Biegun and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. held talks in Washington and reaffirmed the value of the two countries' alliance, the department said in a readout. "They also discussed the importance of that partnership to face current global health challenges, ac

WASHINGTON -- The United States is ready to respond to any "late Christmas gift" from North Korea, a Pentagon official said Thursday, referring to the possibility of a North Korean provocation, such as a long-range missile test. North Korea warned last year that it could send a "Christmas gift" to the US in protest of stalled denuclearization negotiations between the countries, adding to concerns that the regime could resume its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missil

Eight North Korean government officials appear to have defected to China earlier this month, while another seven were caught at the border, a US radio station reported Thursday.  　　 　 North Korean authorities carried out an emergency operation Jan. 2 to capture the defectors, flying a team to Samjiyon Airport near the Chinese border to track them down. The use of an airplane, which is rare in defector chases, indicates the severity of the case, the report said.  　 Eight of the 15 of

South Korea and the North will temporarily suspend the operation of the inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong, amid concerns about the rapid spread of Wuhan coronavirus. 　 The shutdown decision was made after negotiations between the representatives of both countries earlier Thursday morning, the Unification Ministry here said. The office will close down for an unspecified time, until the threat of the spread of the newly identified virus disappears. 　 Fifty-eight South Ko

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's decommissioned nuclear test site in Punggye-ri shows signs of routine security patrols, a US monitor said Wednesday. In commercial satellite imagery from Jan. 17, footpaths and vehicle tracks were visible in the snow around the portal areas and at the main administrative support area, 38 North said on its website. The imagery also showed snow-cleared roads leading from the security barracks area to the command center, it said. "There are no indications of ren

North Korea on Wednesday ordered all-out prevention to fight the Wuhan coronavirus, describing such preventive efforts as a “grave political matter” that could determine the fate of the nation. 　 “All party organizations must regard efforts of stopping the spread of the new coronavirus as a grave political matter that is concerned with the fate of the nation and reinforce (relevant) political activities,” according to Pyongyang’s official newspaper, the Rodong Si

WASHINGTON -- A senior US defense official on Tuesday voiced support for a peace declaration between the United States and North Korea, saying such an agreement would be beneficial to Washington if it can be negotiated. John Rood, under secretary of defense for policy, was commenting on the possibility the administration of US President Donald Trump could offer a peace declaration as part of a denuclearization deal with the North. In particular, he was asked by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) of the Ho

North Korea's official newspaper called Wednesday for a nationwide drive to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, calling such preventive efforts an "important political matter" that could affect national existence. North Korean media outlets have reported almost daily on the fast-spreading outbreaks of the pneumonia-like illness in China and other nations, and Pyongyang's measures to keep the virus from spreading into the country, though it has not confirmed any case of its own.

North Korea was holding foreign exchange reserves of between $3 billion and $6.6 billion in 2014, but that dipped heavily after the country came under strict US-led sanctions in 2017, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday in its latest report. The report, which was largely based on estimations and assumptions because analysts lacked data from the isolated country, said the North’s holdings of US dollars may have sharply shrunk since the sanctions -- by an estimated $1 billion each year. The Nor