South Korea's policy on North Korea is a matter of sovereignty, the unification ministry said Friday, after US Ambassador Harry Harris called for Seoul to make sure to consult closely with Washington about its engagement plans with the North.On Thursday, Ambassador Harris told foreign media reporters that South Korea should consult with Washington about its plans to engage with North Korea in order to "avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions."His remarks came as Sou

The United States has deployed a WC-135W radiation detection plane to one of its air bases in Japan, an aviation tracker said Thursday, a move seen as aimed at beefing up surveillance of North Korea.The WC-135W Constant Phoenix arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa, Aircraft Spots said in a Twitter post, without elaborating on the exact time of the arrival.Nicknamed the "nuke sniffer," the WC-135W played a key role in detecting radioactive leaks after the Chernobyl nuclear disa

WASHINGTON -- US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has reaffirmed the United States' commitment to denuclearization talks with North Korea and urged China to fully enforce United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang, the State Department said Thursday.Biegun made the remarks during a phone call with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Wednesday, the department said in a readout. The deputy secretary also serves as Washington's top envoy to nuclear talks with the North."Deputy

Hurdles include US-led sanctions, Pyongyang’s lack of interest in engagement

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he views the on-again, off-again nuclear talks with North Korea as a "beautiful game of chess."Trump made the remark during a White House signing ceremony for a phase-one trade deal between the United States and China, giving Beijing credit for "helping us with North Korea.""China is helping us with a lot of the things that they can be helping us with, which you don't see in a deal, but they have been very, very help

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington are looking for ways to promote dialogue with Pyongyang under the current sanctions framework.“Promoting dialogue within the sanctions framework is the issue of mutual interest (of South Korea and the US),” Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told reporters before heading to Washington on Wednesday for talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.&

S. Korea looking into 'various formats' to allow individual trips to Mount KumgangSouth Korea is looking into "various formats" to allow its citizens to visit Mount Kumgang, a day after President Moon Jae-in cited individual trips as a way to expand inter-Korean exchanges, the unification ministry said Wednesday.On Tuesday, Moon said during a press conference for the new year that allowing such trips does not violate global sanctions, saying it could be one of the ways to expand inter-

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul has pledged to take possible measures to improve relations with North Korea, rather than waiting for progress in negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington, according to civic group officials.The remark, made during a luncheon meeting with representatives of pro-unification civic and religious groups on Tuesday, is in line with President Moon Jae-in's vow to expand inter-Korean cooperation so as to help facilitate stalled nuclear talks between Washington and

North Korea held nationwide regional meetings of the Workers' Party to discuss leader Kim Jong-un's New Year's message urging stepped-up "self-reliance" and a "frontal breakthrough" against challenges facing the communist nation, state media reported Wednesday.Provincial committee meetings were held on Monday and Tuesday across the nation to discuss the results of the plenary session of the WPK's Central Committee in late December, according to the Rodong Sinmun, the official

A North Korean propaganda outlet called Tuesday for a "life-or-death" battle against what it called "unprecedentedly murderous" sanctions, saying the US campaign to stifle the communist nation has gone beyond its limit.North Korea's media outlets have emphasized the importance of "self-reliance" in various areas apparently to brace for a protracted struggle against pressure led by the United States amid a lack of progress in denuclearization talks. "The frontal

South Korea’s top envoy on North Korean nukes will visit Washington this week for talks with his US counterpart, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, amid a protracted stalemate in denuclearization negotiations with Pyongyang.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will visit Washington from Wednesday through Saturday to meet with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who is also the chief US envoy in negotiations with the North, the

South Korea has donated $5.73 million in humanitarian assistance for North Korea so far this year to help the impoverished country improve its public health situation and restore villages still reeling from the aftermath of typhoons, UN data showed Tuesday.According to the data released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, South Korea has delivered $4 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) and another $1.7 million to the North's Red Cross Society as of Friday. T

South Korea urged North Korea on Monday to respect each other and refrain from offensive language after a senior North Korean official derided Seoul's efforts to help stalled denuclearization talks move forward.On Saturday, former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan hurled harsh invective against the South, ridiculing Seoul's efforts to mediate between Washington and Pyongyang as "presumptuous," and urging it to "behave prudently not to be reduced to a fool heading nowhe

Former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan said Saturday that dialogue with the United States can resume only when it fully accepts Pyongyang's demands.Kim, currently foreign ministry adviser, also stressed the North would never engage in a negotiation to exchange its core nuclear facility for partial sanctions relief as it did in the no-deal Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February last year.The remarks, carried by the North's Kore

The UN Security Council committee on sanctions against North Korea has approved the applications by two aid agencies for humanitarian activities in the communist state, its website showed Saturday, the first such approval this year.On Tuesday, the committee gave the green light to the Doctors Without Borders and Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit that have applied to bring items into the North that are required for emergency medical support and repairs to a drinking water supply system, respectively. U