Japan exported some strategic items and luxury goods to North Korea over the past several years in violation of international sanctions, UN reports have shown.According to 10 reports that the UN panel of experts wrote between 2010 and 2019, there have been multiple cases where restricted items, including sensitive equipment and luxury goods, have been shipped to North Korea from Japan despite UN sanctions. The revelation came at a time when Japan has accused the South of leaking sensitive indust

US President Donald Trump claimed Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was so happy to see him that the man of few expressions smiled.Trump was apparently referring to his latest meeting with Kim at the inter-Korean border on June 30, during which the young leader could be seen beaming.“You don’t have a man testing nuclear anymore,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “You have a man that was so happy to see me. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing. You

The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a defense bill amended to include provisions for the strengthening of sanctions against North Korea.The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, which approves $733 billion in spending and outlines defense policy, passed the House 220-197. It will need to be reconciled with a Senate version before being signed into law by President Donald Trump.The bill also includes an amendment earmarking $10 million for the verification of North

A top South Korean presidential official expressed uncertainty Friday over the possibility that the United States and North Korea will resume denuclearization negotiations this month as planned.Kim Hyun-chong, deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office, told reporters that the US appears to be waiting for a response from the North.“I think we have to wait and see,” he said after coming out of a meeting with his US counterpart, Deputy National Security Adviser

The Coast Guard found a small wooden boat believed to be from North Korea near the eastern sea border Friday morning, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday the boat was found some 30 meters off the coast of Goseong, Gangwon Province. The town is situated about 20 kilometers away from the border with the North.They also noted that nobody was aboard the boat at the time of the discovery. Authorities said while circumstances do not seem to merit suspicion of espi

Ministry of Unification Deputy Spokesperson Kim Eun-han said a media report on the “mass” arrival of North Korean defectors from Thailand was partially incorrect.News 1, a Seoul-based news agency, reported Friday morning that around 20 North Koreans were in government custody after arriving in the country on a Korean Air flight from Thailand on Thursday morning.In a phone call with The Korea Herald on Friday afternoon, Kim said the number of North Korean defectors that were reported

South Korea's parliamentary chief said Friday he will consider sending a delegation of lawmakers to North Korea to give fresh impetus to inter-Korean relations.National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang said an improvement in relations between the two Koreas is indispensable to the success of bilateral negotiations between the United States and North Korea. "There should be new momentum in inter-Korean relations. On the parliamentary level, I'll push to send a delegation to the North," Mo

North Korea has revised its constitution to stipulate that leader Kim Jong-un is the official head of state, according to a state media outlet. The new constitution, revised in April's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) session, states that the chairman of the State Affairs Commission (SAC), the communist state's highest seat of power, serves as its supreme leader that "represents the country," according to Naenara, a North Korean propaganda website.Kim rules the North as chairman of the

The UN Children’s Fund used contributions from South Korea to buy drugs and nutritional support for the vulnerable in North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.The South Korean government donated $8 million to the World Food Program and UNICEF early last month to support their work in North Korea. Some $3.5 million of the donation went to UNICEF. In response to RFA’s question on how Seoul’s donations were being used, UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific regional office com

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) has said that North Korea's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is capable of reaching anywhere in the US mainland, its first official assessment of the long-range missile.The Hwasong-15 ICMB that the communist country test-fired on Nov. 29, 2017, has an estimated range of 8,000 miles, or 12,874 kilometers, which is "capable of striking any part of the continental US," according to the "2019 Strategic Digest," an annual p

North Korea's official newspaper highlighted its "inseparable" relations with China on Thursday as they mark the 58th anniversary of signing a mutual defense treaty.The two countries signed the treaty on July 11, 1961, under which they are obliged to provide military and other assistance to each other, a deal seen as the bedrock of their strong alliance for decades. "Today's international environment requires the people of North Korea and China to work to advance the North Korea-C

North Korean news media warned Wednesday that a prolonged, severe drought could seriously damage its harvests of rice and other crops this year."Drought and high temperatures have been persisting in the west coast and middle inland areas," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report.The phenomenon is affecting crops in North and South Hwanghae and South Pyongan provinces, as well as the city of Nampo and other areas, according to the report. "In particular, ri

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were able to hold a third meeting on the inter-Korean border last month due to their sincere trust and bold will, Pyongyang’s propaganda outlet Maeari said Wednesday. Highlighting close relationship between Kim and Trump, Maeari noted that the top-level encounter in the Demilitarized Zone occurred just a day after the US president made a request by simplifying complex diplomatic protocol that typically takes weeks and months to

China has a positive view of the recent surprise meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom as it has created the momentum for positive change in the situation of the Korean Peninsula, Beijing's top envoy in Seoul said Wednesday.Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong made the remarks as he delivered a lecture during a forum of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party at the National Assembly, lawmaker Kim Han-jung told reporters afte

An Australian student who was expelled from North Korea denied on Tuesday that he had been spying on the authoritarian state while he lived there.Alek Sigley, 29, was released last week after being detained for several days, with Pyongyang later accusing him of promoting propaganda against the country online.“The allegation that I am a spy is (pretty obviously) false,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that he was “well both mentally and physically”.“I am still very inter