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

North Korea has released a commemorative coin that emphasizes denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, an official from an inter-Korean cooperation body said Tuesday. Lee Sang-hyun, a member of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC), said he has obtained a commemorative coin issued by the North's central bank this year.  The coin obtained by Lee was engraved with text reading, "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," and "protection of the world's pe

North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho met with a special envoy from Sweden, Pyongyang's official news agency said Tuesday, raising speculation over whether the two officials discussed the whereabouts of an unaccounted-for Australian student.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Ri held talks with Kent Rolf Magnus Harstedt, special envoy of the Swedish government. The KCNA said that the two diplomats exchanged their opinions "on the development of bilateral relations an

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the US and North Korea have put an end to their hostile relations with the recent meeting of their leaders, who stepped back and forth over the Korean border on Sunday. “Although they did not sign any document, their action was tantamount to a de facto declaration of an end to hostile relations and the beginning of a full-fledged peace era,” Moon said during a Cabinet meeting. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Ki

Experts, political circle divided on DMZ meeting’s impact, significance

A ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday that the next summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to be held early next year in Singapore.Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the Democratic Party had predicted the surprise Trump-Kim meeting in Panmunjom on Sunday in a tweet the day before that said “a DMZ flash meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon.” The six-term lawmaker who sits on the parliamentary foreign affairs and unification committee wrote on Fa

North Korea's main newspaper denounced Japan as a "malignant cancer" of the region on Tuesday, blasting Tokyo's push to deploy missile defense systems that Pyongyang claims can be used to invade other countries.Referring to Japan's plan to set up a pair of US-developed Aegis Ashore systems in the country, the Rodong Sinmun said the systems target not only the Korean Peninsula but also China and Russia. In a commentary, the newspaper said the move is part of the country's broader scheme

The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea during the first half of this year totaled 546, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The figure was up from 487 recorded during the same period a year earlier, according to the ministry. The annual number of North Korean defectors peaked in 2009 with 2,914. The figures have averaged around 1,000-1,500 since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011, the ministry said.Currently, more than 32,000 North Korean defectors are livi

South Korea is in close cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) to discuss sanctions exemptions with the United Sates over its plan to send rice aid to North Korea, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.  Last month, the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs unveiled a plan to provide 50,000 tons of domestically harvested rice to North Korea through the WFP, which will handle its delivery and distribution there.  Details on how and when the assista

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korea and the United States have effectively declared an end to their hostile relations with the symbolic weekend meeting between their leaders at the inter-Korean border.Although they did not sign any document, their action was tantamount to a "de facto declaration of an end to hostile relations and the beginning of a full-fledged peace era," Moon stressed, speaking at a Cabinet meeting. He was referring to a meeting between US President

Where is it? 　　The 4-kilometer-wide DMZ runs for 250 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula, around 50 kilometers north of Seoul and 200 kilometers south of Pyongyang. 　At its center is the Military Demarcation Line, where the front line was located when the cease-fire stopping Korean War hostilities was signed in 1953. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to pull back their forces 2,000 meters.What is it? 　　A barrier separating North and South Korea, heavy weaponry is banned within the DMZ. P

With US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreeing to return to the negotiating table, South Korea’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy is expected to continue to ensure that the nuclear talks get back on track. Breaking a four-month stalemate was a near-impromptu meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom, inside the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas on Sunday, which came after Trump tweeted an invitation to Kim on Saturday from Japan where he was attending

The ruling Democratic Party and its smaller rivals on Sunday assessed the meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas and the United States at the inter-Korean border as a historic one.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party said the resumption of stalled talks is meaningful but stressed the national interest should be prioritized in the process of denuclearization talks.The DP highlighted President Moon Jae-in's mediating role in realizing a three-party meeting also involving U.S. President D

Stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington gained new momentum after US President Donald Trump set foot in North Korea Sunday. Following a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Peace House in Panmunjom, Trump said that he had invited Kim to Washington. “Anytime he wants to do it. I think we want to take this down to the next step, let’s see what happens,” he told reporters. Trump and Kim also agreed to resume working-level talks on denucleari

Trump becomes 1st sitting US president to step into NK, invites Kim to White House