North Korea has not responded to South Korea's offer to work together to stem the spread of African swine fever after Pyongyang recently confirmed the outbreak of the highly contagious animal disease, the unification ministry said Monday.Last month, North Korea reported to the World Organization for Animal Health the outbreak of African swine fever at a farm in its northern region bordering China. On Friday, the South proposed through an inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border city of

A top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched an art troupe's performance together with the leader, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, belying rumors that he was purged for the leader's embarrassing no-deal summit with US President Donald Trump.Kim Yong-chol, who served as Pyongyang's chief interlocutor and counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, attended Sunday's performance by amateur art groups made up of the wives of military officers, together with leader Kim and oth

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reiterated Saturday that more analysis is needed to determine if what North Korea test-fired last month are ballistic missiles or not, even though his U.S. and Japanese counterparts characterized the launches as a violation of U.N. sanctions.Jeong made the remark during a session of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, stressing that the assessment of the North's May 9 launches is based on the close cooperat

North Korea remains an "extraordinary" threat to regional and global security, acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said Saturday, calling on China and other countries to work closely for sanctions.He, however, stressed his strong backing for diplomacy "to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and uphold the international rule of law," in his keynote speech during the 18th Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue,

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States is looking into reports that several top North Korean officials have been purged in the wake of the no-deal February summit between the countries' leaders. "We've seen the reporting to which you're referring," Pompeo said during a press conference in Berlin. "We're doing our best to check it out. I don't have anything else to add to that today."The Chosun Ilbo, a conservative South Korean daily, reported the

South Korea is to provide 50,000 tons of food aid to North Korea via an international organization in the coming week, a lawmaker said Friday.“The government is planning to offer 50,000 tons of food to North Korea through an international organization next week,” said Rep. Sul Hoon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.Sul’s remarks were made during the ruling party’s supreme council meeting at the border village of Panmunjom. Citing a UN survey that 10.1 million North

A group of North Korean defectors said Friday it spread hundreds of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets at North Korea's embassy in London last week.Fighters for a Free North Korea said three of its members visited the mission on May 21 to meet its staff and deliver a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but was denied. They attached dozens of leaflets slamming Kim as "a devil who killed his brother" at the embassy's main gate, wall, and threw some 500 others into its compound, it

The government plans to provide 50,000 tons of food to North Korea next week via an international organization, a ruling party lawmaker said Friday.North Korea needs more than 1.45 million tons of food to resolve its food crisis, Rep. Sul Hoon of the Democratic Party said during a meeting with senior party members held at the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas."Next week, the government plans to offer 50,000 tons of food to North Korea through an international organization,&qu

North Korea executed its nuclear envoy to the United States as part of a purge of officials who steered negotiations for a failed summit between leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, a South Korean newspaper said on Friday.Kim Hyok-chol was executed at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang, along with four Foreign Ministry executives, in March after they were all charged with spying for the United States, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified North Korean source."He was accused

South Korea's presidential office maintained a cautious stance Friday on news reports of a possible massive purge of top North Korean officials after the failed summit in Hanoi with the United States."I don't think that a hasty conclusion or comments on the issue are appropriate," Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said at a press briefing.She was responding to a local newspaper's report that North Korea had executed Kim Hyok-chol, its special envoy for the U.S., and some foreign m

North Korea has confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever, possibly adding to the country's already dire food situation and prompting South Korea to guard against the possible spread of the animal disease in areas bordering the North.North Korea reported the outbreak of the swine fever at a farm in its northern Jagang Province, which borders China, to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on Thursday.While the farm is located far from the border, South Korea's agriculture ministry on

Tough sanctions slapped on North Korea have begun to adversely affect the most vulnerable people there, experts said, stressing the need for swift humanitarian action for millions of hungry and sick people. What has hurt the lives of North Korean people the most are sanctions, and the widespread impact has reached those who already could not afford food, University of North Korean Studies professor Yang Moon-soo said during a roundtable held by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unificat

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Wednesday the recent missile launches by North Korea were a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, contradicting US President Donald Trump. North Korea launched multiple projectiles on May 4 and 9 -- of which the latter involved what were officially identified as short-range missiles -- in what is seen as a protest over the deadlock in nuclear talks with the US. While Trump played down the launches, his officials have been making contradic

A Panama-flagged vessel suspected of carrying North Korean coal appeared Tuesday to be returning to Indonesia, from where it had departed, after being refused port entry and drifting in the sea for over a month.Citing a ship tracking site, Voice of America Korea reported that the bulk carrier, Dong Thanh, started to move again after staying on the southernmost waters off Malaysia for about three weeks. As of Tuesday, the vessel is 242 kilometers from the Port of Jakarta in Indonesia, according t

US intelligence authorities say North Korea carried out cybercrimes such as cryptocurrency mining and bank theft to get around sanctions, according to US broadcaster Voice of America. Tonya Ugoretz, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s cyber readiness, outreach and intelligence branch, said Wednesday at a conference hosted by private US think tank the Aspen Institute that sanctions had motivated North Korea to carry out the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, the Bangladesh B