The Korea Herald

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US to jointly address forum

Jun 8, 2019

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea and the United States will jointly address a public forum in Washington later this month, organizers said Friday, amid a protracted stalemate in talks with North Korea.Lee Do-hoon, Seoul‘s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his US counterpart, Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, will deliver keynote remarks at the Atlantic Council-East Asia Foundation Strategic Dial
NK, Russian officials discuss cooperation to enhance economic, trade relations

Jun 7, 2019

Senior North Korean and Russian officials met on Friday to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and trade relations, Pyongyang's official news agency reported.North Korea's Minister for External Economic Affairs Kim Yong-jae met his Russian counterpart, Alexander Kozlov, who was visiting Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "The talks discussed matters of further revitalizing the work of the DPRK-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Scie
Seoul denies claims of nonparticipation in NK ship monitoring

Jun 7, 2019

South Korea on Friday denied reports that it was not participating in international efforts to prevent North Korean ships from circumventing sanctions by transferring cargo at sea. “(South Korea) is actively participating in enforcing UN Security Council resolutions related to sanctions on North Korea,” a Ministry of National Defense official said Friday in response to a Voice of America report. On Thursday, Voice of America had cited a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as sayi
Public executions in N. Korea on decline: think tank report

Jun 7, 2019

Public executions in North Korea appear to have become less common, but it is unclear if the drop is due to an increase in the number of executions carried out in secret, a state-run South Korean think tank said in a report Friday.According to the White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2019 released by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, the reclusive regime continues to carry out public executions for "crimes disrupting the socialist order" such as watching or
Cheong Wa Dae 'cautiously optimistic' about possible inter-Korean summit

Jun 7, 2019

A top Cheong Wa Dae official struck a "cautiously optimistic" note on the possibility of holding another inter-Korean summit in the not-so-distant future.Speaking to reporters on background, the official said, "(We) are cautiously attempting to contact" North Korea in connection with a push for the fourth summit between the two Koreas. "The fact that we can't make public (relevant situations) and it's difficult to meet (North Korea) does not necessarily mean we are doing
Tokyo’s attempt at talks with N. Korea fails as Pyongyang skips Ulanbaatar Dialogue

Jun 6, 2019

Japan has faced difficulties engaging North Korea despite having expressed willingness to hold a summit with the North without preconditions. Tokyo had sought to convey its stance to Pyongyang during a two-day conference that kicked off Wednesday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, according to a Japanese news outlet on Wednesday. However, the communist regime had canceled its participation in the event. According to Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s Foreign Ministry sent Asian and Oceanian Affairs Burea
N. Korea ranked worst for press freedom: report

Jun 6, 2019

North Korea, along with China, Russia, Syria and other countries, has been rated as the worst in terms of press freedom, a recent report by a US freedom watchdog showed Thursday.Earlier this week, the US-based Freedom House released the annual report for 2019, titled "Freedom and Media: A Downward Spiral," in which the North got zero on a scale of zero to four.Dozens of other countries also received zero in the report. The report noted that freedom of the media has been deteriorating a
Trump disputes report of NK officials' execution

Jun 6, 2019

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday disputed a news report that North Korea has executed its nuclear negotiators over the collapse of February's summit between the two countries.South Korea's conservative Chosun Ilbo reported last week that North Korea had executed its special representative for the US, Kim Hyok-chol, along with four officials of the ministry of foreign affairs to hold them accountable for the no-deal summit in Vietnam between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."I
Cheong Wa Dae's NSC to seek more public support for N. Korea aid

Jun 5, 2019

South Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) held a meeting of its standing members Wednesday and decided to step up efforts to drum up public support for plans to provide North Korea with humanitarian assistance, Cheong Wa Dae said.The regular meeting, chaired by National Security Director Chung Eui-yong, came after a unification ministry panel endorsed the planned donation of US$8 million to the World Food Program(WFP) and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) for use to help childre
N. Korea may suspend propaganda show after Kim voices dissatisfaction: tour agencies

Jun 5, 2019

North Korea may suspend a propaganda group gymnastic and artistic performance from next week after its leader Kim Jong-un recently expressed dissatisfaction over its content and format, tour agencies specializing in trips to the North said Wednesday.Citing anonymous sources, China-based Young Pioneer Tours said on its website that the performance, titled "The Land of the People," could be suspended from Monday due to Kim's dissatisfaction with it. Koryo Tours, another Beijing-based tou
Pyongyang has 27 diplomats dispatched to UN offices: report

Jun 5, 2019

North Korea has 27 diplomats dispatched as permanent representatives to three UN offices as of this year, a US-based media outlet reported Wednesday.　According to Radio Free Asia, Pyongyang has nine diplomats -- including Ambassador Kim Song -- stationed at the UN’s New York headquarters, and nine -- including Han Tae-song, the ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva -- dispatched to Switzerland. Another nine are in Vienna, Austria, where international organizations, such as the I
Seoul approves $8 million donation to Pyongyang

Jun 5, 2019

South Korea on Wednesday approved a plan to dispatch $8 million in humanitarian aid to North Korea via UN agencies and is considering additional donations of rice to alleviate hunger and illness in the impoverished country. The South and North Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council, a decision-making body under the Ministry of Unification that deals with inter-Korean policies, gave the green light to the use of funds from the government budget to support humanitarian programs for North Korea
Resumption of US-North Korea negotiations is priority: unification minister

Jun 4, 2019

South Korea is making efforts to revive US-North Korea talks, as it is key to reviving inter-Korean relations, Seoul’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Tuesday.Speaking to foreign journalists in Seoul, Kim said inter-Korean business projects, the Kaesong industrial park and Kumgangsan tourism will be normalized once conditions are met. “At this point, the resumption of the US-DPRK negotiation is the important priority,” Kim said at a press conference at the Seoul Foreign
Public appearance of North Korean leader’s sister dispels punishment rumors

Jun 4, 2019

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, has appeared in public for the first time in nearly two months, dispelling speculation that she had been under probation over the breakdown of the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February. According to the Korean Central News Agency, Workers’ Party of Korea First Vice Director Kim Yo-jong and Kim Jong-un attended a mass gymnastics and artist performance called “The Land of the People” at the
North Korea's Mass Games return as nuclear talks stutter

Jun 4, 2019

PYONGYANG (AFP) -- Tens of thousands of performers took part in a stunning gymnastics show Monday night in Pyongyang as North Korea's spectacular "Mass Games" propaganda displays began their 2019 run.Following rehearsals over several months, vast numbers of people in colourful costumes took part in a precision synchronised performance at the cavernous May Day Stadium, portraying moments from Korean history and modern life.North Korean artistic performances are closely watched by observ