Cyber spies suspected of working for the North Korean regime have broadened attacks against official and corporate targets in South Korea, at a time of raised attention on nuclear negotiations and as its economy suffers from international sanctions. Early morning on Jan. 7, a group of reporters covering South Korea’s ministry in charge of relations with North Korea received a suspicious email carrying malicious code.The malicious email was disguised as an invitation to a press conference to prev

A top North Korean official, believed to be Ri Su-yong, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, apparently making a stopover on his way to Southeast Asia.Upon reaching a VIP section of the Beijing international airport, the official was greeted by Pyongyang's ambassador here, Ji Jae-ryong, and Chinese communist party officials. He was whisked away in a car, which later arrived at North Korea's embassy. (Yonhap)Diplomatic sources said the figure seems to be Ri, a vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party

South and North Korean officials held a regular meeting at their joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong on Tuesday, the unification ministry said, one day after Pyongyang partially returned its staff after an abrupt pullout last week.A total of 63 South Koreans, including nine people who crossed the border into the North earlier in the day, were to stay at the liaison office Tuesday, a ministry official said.  (Yonhap)"Representative liaison officials (from South and North Ko

A close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has headed back to Pyongyang after a trip to Russia amid speculation that Kim could visit Moscow soon for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a source said.Kim Chang-son, known as leader Kim's de facto chief of staff, arrived in Moscow on March 19, by way of Beijing, for a five-day stay in Russia. He stayed there before traveling to Vladivostok in the country's far east on Sunday."The delegation, led by Kim Chang-son, headed to

North Korea’s No. 2 leader and its premier sent a joint message to Chinese leaders to offer condolences over a deadly explosion at a Chinese chemical factory, Pyongyang’s official news agency said Monday. Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Premier Pak Pong-ju sent the message, dated March 22, to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, over the factory explosion in China’s eastern Jiangsu

North Korean officials have returned to the inter-Korean liaison office, according to a Unification Ministry official on Monday, and things appear to be back to business as usual just days after Pyongyang’s abrupt announcement of the withdrawal of all its staff.“The North Koreans said that they came down (to the liaison office) for the shift as usual,” the official said. (Yonhap)He added that the North expressed unchanged commitment to run the office in accordance with the agreement signed by th

North Korean decryption computers may have been stolen from its embassy in Spain in last month’s raid by as-yet unidentified assailants, a high-profile North Korean defector claimed Sunday. Thae Yong-ho, a former deputy North Korean ambassador to UK said on his blog that the group of men who allegedly infiltrated the North Korean Embassy in Madrid may have stolen computers used to communicate with Pyongyang, which would be a harsh blow to the communist regime. “The world is reporting on the atta

The UN Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption to allow a humanitarian project meant to improve children's health and nutrition in North Korea to move forward, according to the UN website.The exemption, granted on March 14, paves the way for an aid organization, Mennonite Central Committee, to bring items, such as hygiene kits and surgical tools, into North Korea.(Yonhap)The approval raised the total number of humanitarian exemptions related to North Korea currently in effect to 21. T

Dozens of South Korean officials headed to an inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea on Monday, the unification ministry said, despite Pyongyang's abrupt pullout of its staff from the office last week.Around 40 South Korean officials crossed the western land border on their way to the liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, according to the ministry. Together with about two dozen people already there, about 60-70 South Korean officials are expected to staff the office this week

Dozens of South Korean officials will head to the joint inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea for work this week despite Pyongyang's abrupt pullout of its staff there, a related ministry said Sunday.The Ministry of Unification said it has completed consultations with the North's relevant authorities on the entry of the South Korean officials into the compound as usual on Monday."They will leave for work normally tomorrow," a ministry official told reporters.The ministry, which handles daily

North Korea may be trying a new tack in diplomatic relations, raising questions for the future of inter-Korean relations and denuclearization. On Friday, North Korean officials at the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong withdrew from the facility, stating only that they were following orders from higher up. The North also stated that it will not concern itself with South Korean officials remaining at the facility, and that practical matters will be dealt with at a later date. The move came am

North Korean media continued to criticize Seoul's low-key stance toward practical cooperation with Pyongyang on Sunday while keeping mum for the third day on its abrupt withdrawal of staff from a liaison office with the South.North Korea pulled out of the inter-Korean liaison office in its border city of Kaesong on Friday without offering any detailed reasons, weeks after a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without an agreement. (Yonhap)Pyo

A senior North Korean official has left for Vladivostok in Russia's far east after ending his trip to Moscow in what's seen as part of preparations for a possible visit there by the North's leader Kim Jong-un. Kim Chang-son, the official with the North's State Affairs Commission, was spotted at Sheremetyevo International Airport in the Russian capital city at around 2:45 p.m. Saturday (Russia time). He was in Moscow for five days.  (Yonhap)Escorted by two guards, he quickly went into the VIP sec

North Korea’s ambassadors to China and the United Nations arrived in Beijing on Saturday, five days after they returned to Pyongyang. 　North Korean Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong and Ambassador to the UN Kim Song were seen at Beijing Capital International Airport earlier in the day after boarding an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang.  (Yonhap)　Their visit to Pyongyang could have been aimed at attending an annual meeting of the North‘s overseas diplomatic mission chiefs, a source said. But the No

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Friday he has ordered the withdrawal of new sanctions on North Korea, possibly signaling an intention to continue denuclearization negotiations with the regime.Trump was apparently referring to sanctions the US Department of the Treasury imposed on two Chinese banks on Thursday for allegedly helping North Korea evade sanctions. US President Donald Trumps, seated with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and National Security adviser John Bolton s