Spanish police and intelligence have linked an attack on the North Korean Embassy in Madrid on Feb. 22 to the US Central Intelligence Agency, Spain’s daily El Pais reported Wednesday.At least two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy, tied up staff and stole computers and cellphones have been identified to have connections to the CIA, according to the newspaper. (AP)The CIA has denied any involvement, but Spanish government sources said their response was “unconvincing,” El Pais said,

A North Korean media outlet urged the United States on Thursday to accept Pyongyang's offer to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear facilities in exchange for partial sanctions relief, insisting it is the best-possible proposal at this point.The North put forward the proposal at last month's second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, but the US turned it down, saying Pyongyang demanded the lifting of all key sanctions while offering to denuclearize Yongbyon on

The Japanese government announced Wednesday it won't submit a North Korean human rights resolution to a UN panel this month as part of efforts for a quick resolution to the abduction issue.It marks a break from more than a decade of Japan's practice of playing a leading role, along with the European Union, in the adoption of such resolutions against Pyongyang by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council.Tokyo cited a review of all related circumstances, including the results of the Hanoi summit betw

The unification ministry on Wednesday put off a decision on whether to allow businesspeople to visit a shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea, after the United States reacted negatively to the possibility of resuming such economic projects with Pyongyang.Last week, 179 people asked for government permission for their visit the factory park in the North's border town of Kaesong to check the equipment and facilities they left behind when the complex was closed in 2016 amid nuclea

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on North Korea Tuesday to act on its pledge to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.In an interview in Houston, Texas, where he will attend an energy conference, Pompeo said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had told him face to face "no less than half a dozen times" that he would denuclearize."Now we need to figure out how to do it, how to achieve it," he told KRIV Fox 26 Houston Morning News. (Yonhap)"Our goal is to keep America safe, to keep South Korea

President Moon Jae-in once again hopes to bridge the gap between North Korea and the US, but experts say the goal may be too high and room to maneuver too small. Seoul has had a significant role in facilitating the unprecedented level of US-North Korea dialogue seen over the past year. It was Moon’s special envoys to Pyongyang who delivered North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s message to US President Donald Trump in March last year, which was instrumental in initiating subsequent developments betwe

North Korean media stated their commitment to “complete denuclearization” nearly two weeks after the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi faltered.A propaganda website called Uriminzokkiri said in an article on Tuesday that it is Pyongyang’s firm stance to establish new relations with Washington, build a lasting and solid “peace regime” on the Korean Peninsula, and move toward complete denuclearization. It did not mention that the summit fell apart without a deal.(Yonhap)It also said the North’s leade

North Korea's state media did not mention leader Kim Jong-un in announcing a list of deputies newly elected to the communist state's rubber-stamp parliament on Tuesday, raising speculation about the reason for his exclusion.Kim's exclusion from the list of 687 new deputies, if confirmed, means he didn't run because elections in North Korea are a formality as all candidates are elected with 100 percent of the vote. State media did not mention Kim's candidate registration before or after the elect

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister was elected to the country's rubber-stamp parliament, state media reported Tuesday. Kim Yo-jong was on the list of 687 deputies newly elected to the 14th Supreme People's Assembly in elections held on Sunday, according to the North's state media. (Yonhap)The Korean Central News Agency also reported that 99.99 percent of eligible voters cast ballots and all new deputies were elected with 100 percent of the vote. (Yonhap)

South Korea will push for talks with North Korea, including summits, this year to deepen inter-Korean relations and help stalled denuclearization talks move forward between Washington and Pyongyang, the unification ministry said Tuesday."In close coordination with the US, (we) will push for inter-Korean talks to help the US and North Korea meet again and reach an agreement on denuclearization and corresponding measures," the ministry said in a report detailing its 2019 policy direction. (Yonhap)

North Korea will begin restricting the inflow of foreign visitors starting next week as it is struggling to cope with a surge in the number of tourists following the first US-North Korea summit last year, Chinese media reported Tuesday.North Korea plans to restrict the number of visitors to the country to 1,000 per day starting Monday, the state-run Global Times said, citing a source. The number of foreign visitors to North Korea peaked around July and August last year, with about 1,800 daily vi

The floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said Tuesday the party plans to send a special envoy to North Korea to examine whether it is sincere about denuclearization.At a parliamentary speech during the ongoing March extra session, Rep. Na Kyung-won said the move by the conservative party is aimed at directly delivering a message to the North's regime without distortion. (Yonhap)"If North Korea really seeks to denuclearize, we will tell the Kim Jong-un regime that we are willin

US President Donald Trump is committed to achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, the White House said Monday following the breakdown of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month.White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president didn't feel like the deal on the table was enough when he decided to walk away from the summit in Vietnam on Feb. 27-28. (Yonhap)"The president is 100 percent committed to denuclearization of the peninsula, and he's going to make s

Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, called on North Korea on Monday to make a wise decision for peace amid reports about its restoration of a rocket launch site.At a parliamentary speech during an extra session in March, Hong voiced grave concerns about reports on increased activity in the North's long-range missile launch site in Dongchang-ri. (Yonhap)"If something goes wrong, future negotiations could hit a snag severely. North Korea should make a wise judgment that be

North Korea held a national election on Sunday for its Supreme People’s Assembly, a rubber-stamp event thought to strengthen the solidarity of its communist regime. The North elects its legislators every five years in events similar to general elections for lawmakers here. But each constituency has a sole candidate and voters can only vote for or against.  An electoral worker shows a ballot during the election at a polling station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday. (AP-Yonhap)The Supreme People’