An Australian student in Pyongyang was detained for spying last month and admitted his "anti-state" activities, the North Korean state media said Saturday, two days after his expulsion from the communist nation. Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old university student in Pyongyang, was reported missing in late June, but he was released on Thursday and left the North Korean capital the same day. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the Australian had passed on data and photos on domestic sit

US President Donald Trump insisted Friday that the United States has a "very nice" relationship with North Korea following his diplomatic engagement with the regime's leader, Kim Jong-un.Trump returned this week from a visit to South Korea, where he held an impromptu meeting with Kim on the inter-Korean border and agreed to restart negotiations on the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.The US president, who has now met three times with Kim, has often touted North Ko

Debate has been sparked among experts over President Moon Jae-in’s recent remarks that the US and North Korea have effectively agreed to end the Korean War with the recent meeting of their leaders at Panmunjom. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un created fresh momentum for stalled denuclearization talks with symbolic gestures, such as shaking hands on the North’s side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas and then crossing together t

North Korea appears to have picked a former ambassador to Vietnam as its new chief nuclear envoy, a diplomatic source said, indicating the regime has effectively rounded out its team for upcoming working-level talks with the United States.During the impromptu summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Sunday, Pyongyang notified Washington of the makeup of its team to be led by Kim Myong-gil, the source said.Kim Myong-gil, well

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that his second summit with President Moon Jae-in had set a precedent for his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the DMZ on Sunday, it was revealed Thursday. The comments by Kim were captured on video after his meeting with Trump on Sunday in Panmunjom.  In the video, Kim is heard saying to President Moon Jae-in that the North “referred to the precedent of meeting with the South without being constrained by formalities and location.” M

Australia's prime minister says an Australian student has been released from detention in North Korea.Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament on Thursday that Alek Sigley had left North Korea and was "safe and well.''The 29-year-old Pyongyang university student lost contact with family and friends in Japan and Australia on Tuesday last week.Morrison's announcement was the first confirmation that he had been detained. (AP)

An Australian student who was detained in North Korea has been released and has safely left the country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been missing since June 25. Alarm was raised when the normally active social media user ceased all communication. Morrison interrupted Parliament to confirm that Sigley had been freed. He later said in a statement that Swedish authorities had helped secure the stud

The government said Thursday that now is time to focus on talks between the United States and North Korea to build on progress made at a recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The unification ministry made the remark, rejecting a local newspaper report that the government told the North about the need for an inter-Korean summit on the occasion of the Trump-Kim meeting at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom on Sunday.  "The governmen

North Korea’s UN Mission is accusing the Trump administration of deliberately trying to undermine peace efforts by pressuring all countries to implement UN sanctions. The mission said Wednesday that while the US is talking about dialogue it is "more and more hell-bent" on hostile acts.It cited a joint letter from the US, Britain, France and Germany on June 29 to UN member states calling for all North Korean workers abroad to be sent home _ the same day President Donald Trump prop

North Korea complained on Wednesday after the United States sent a letter urging countries to send back North Korean workers as President Donald Trump was inviting Kim Jong Un to hold talks.  The North Korean mission to the United Nations said the letter sent to all UN member-states showed that the United States is “practically more and more hell-bent on the hostile acts” against North Korea, even though it is seeking dialogue. The mission said the letter from the United States,

A senior North Korean official met with a special envoy from the Swedish government on Wednesday, the North’s state media said, amid speculation over possible discussions about an Australian student who has been missing in the North for the past week.Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee, “met and had a talk with Kent Rolf Magnus Harstedt,” the Korean Central News Agency said, without giving further details.  On Tue

The US and North Korea may hold high-level talks early next month in Bangkok after the countries’ leaders agreed to resume denuclearization negotiations Sunday at Panmunjom.Following working-level talks scheduled for mid-July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho are expected to attend the foreign ministers’ meeting at the ASEAN Regional Forum on Aug. 2 in Bangkok.The ARF foreign ministers’ meeting is the only ministerial-level conferen

More than 6 out of 10 South Koreans positively evaluate the historic meeting among the leaders of South Korea, the United States and North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, according to a survey released Wednesday.The survey, conducted by public pollster Realmeter with 501 adults aged 19 or older nationwide, found that 62.7 percent of the respondents gave a positive assessment of the meeting that took place Sunday and paved the way for Washington and Pyongyang to re

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US President Donald Trump to "show flexibility" towards North Korea, including the "timely" easing of sanctions, at the G20 summit last week, China's foreign minister said Tuesday.Xi visited North Korea prior to meeting Trump at the G20 in Japan on Saturday, and analysts had said the Chinese leader could use the trip as leverage in his trade war talks with the US leader.Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the next day at the Demilitari

South Korea has released two shipsit had seized on suspicion of transferring oil to North Korea as there was no deliberate breach of UN sanctions, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.South Korea seized four vessels to check whether they violated UN sanctions by making illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil or coal products to North Korean ships.A UN panel approved the release of the Hong Kong-flagged Light house Winmore and the South Korean P-Pioneer based on South Korean probe results that