The United States is always open to talks with North Korea, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, amid growing concern that the communist nation could restart testing of long-range missiles or nuclear weapons amid stalled talks with Washington.Esper made the remarks during an interview with Fox News aired Sunday (Washington time) when asked what the US would do if North Korea resumes nuclear testing, following a recent statement from the North's UN ambassador that denuclearization is off the negoti

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could lose "everything" if he acts in a hostile manner, sending a clear warning to the regime to refrain from provocations such as nuclear and missile tests.Trump sent the tweet as the two countries have exchanged heated rhetoric over their stalled negotiations on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.Earlier Sunday, North Korea said it had conducted an unexplained "very important te

Pyongyang announces conducting ‘very important test’ -- likely engine test for ICBM

North Korea said Sunday that it has conducted a "very important test" at its western satellite launching site, saying that the test's results will alter its "strategic position" going forward.The claim came days after news reports that the North's Sohae satellite launching station, also known as Donchang-ri site, had shown signs that could suggest the communist nation is preparing for a missile engine test.The site has been used to launch satellite-carrying long-range rockets

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday he doesn't think North Korea will engage in hostile acts and interfere with the upcoming US presidential election, an apparent warning that the communist nation shouldn't undertake provocations that could hurt his reelection chances."I'd be surprised if North Korea acted hostilely," Trump was quoted as telling reporters at the White House. "He knows I have an election coming up. I don't think he wants to interfere with that. Bu

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- North Korea on Saturday said denuclearization talks with the United States were "out of the negotiation table," while slamming European UN Security Council members who had recently denounced its "provocative" ballistic missile launches.The statement from North Korea's ambassador to the UN Kim Song came after Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom on Wednesday condemned North Korea's "continued testing of ballistic missile

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed Saturday that it‘s necessary to maintain dialogue momentum between Washington and Pyongyang, Cheong Wa Dae said, amid growing worries about the future of the Korea peace process.During half-hour phone talks, they also agreed that the recent situations on the Korean Peninsula are “severe” and “dialogue momentum should be maintained to achieve prompt results from denuclearization negotiations,” ac

The International Criminal Court said Thursday that it has no jurisdiction over North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.In 2016, leaders of nongovernmental organizations NK Watch and Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea filed a complaint against Kim with the ICC, holding him responsible for human rights violations in the North. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in its annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities issued Thursday that the alleged crimes referred to the ICC were

The Food and Agriculture Organization has once again designated North Korea as a food-deficit country in need of external aid. The UN agency also announced a weak outlook for food security in North Korea. In its latest report released Wednesday, FAO included North Korea on its list of 42 countries that need external assistance in food resources, according to Voice of America, a US-based news outlet, on Friday.  North Korea is expected to experience food shortages and an economic slump, said

The United States and North Korea appear to remain apart in their nuclear negotiations, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday, following a senior North Korean official's warning that Pyongyang could resume insults against US President Donald Trump.On Thursday, North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui issued a statement slamming Trump for hinting at the possibility of using military force against Pyongyang and referring to leader Kim Jong-un as "rocket man" for the first

South Korea has inched closer to hosting the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, following a proposal made by a new panel at the International Olympic Committee.At a press conference following the IOC Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (local time), IOC President Thomas Bach said the Executive Board will soon initiate "a targeted dialogue" with South Korea as the "preferred host" of the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics, following the recommendation from the

South Korea's National Security Council on Thursday reviewed unfolding developments on the Korean Peninsula and vowed to beef up cooperation with neighboring countries to push the nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea forward, the presidential office said. In the weekly session of the NSC's standing committee, its members also reviewed the results of last week's special summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states in Busan, 450

Tensions between the US and North Korea have heightened as the two sides exchanged threats and bellicose rhetoric of possible military actions if necessary, amid their stalled nuclear talks. But they appear to have no intention to wind up their diplomacy at least for the next few weeks, experts said. On Wednesday, Heino Klinck, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, said the US has been refraining from responding to every single one of North On Wednesday, US Deputy Assistant Sec

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Half a dozen European countries on Wednesday again condemned North Korea's 13 "provocative" ballistic missile launches since May, saying they violate UN Security Council resolutions and undermine regional and international security.A statement from the five European council members -- Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Poland -- and Estonia, which will join the UN's most powerful body in January, also condemns recent North Korean threats "to partne

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- North Korea warned Wednesday that tensions on the Korean peninsula will increase and the situation "take a turn for the worse again" if the United States goes ahead with a UN Security Council meeting on the country's human rights situation.North Korea's UN ambassador, Kim Song, said in a letter to the 14 other council members obtained by The Associated Press that Pyongyang considers any council meeting on its human rights "another serious provocation" r