The latest series of overseas trips by ranking North Korean officials is a sign of the regime’s efforts to emphasize its policy shift toward diplomacy and a more open economy, coupled with its hopes of being viewed as a normal state before the end of the year, experts say.Since late November, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, has visited several Latin American countries including Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico to improve ties with those nations. He met with South Korean Foreign M

North Korea needs signs of economic benefits from US to move forward in denuclearization

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could still visit Seoul within the year, with the US fully supporting the plan, President Moon Jae-in said Saturday onboard a flight from Buenos Aires to New Zealand. “The possibility of Chairman Kim Jong-un visiting within the year remains open. President Trump and I shared the view that Kim Jong-un’s visit to Seoul would play a very positive role in North Korea-US denuclearization talks,” Moon said, referring to his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Buen

South Korean and US officials are expected to hold "working group" consultations on North Korea this week via videoconferencing, a diplomatic source here said Monday.The allies launched the new communication channel in November as part of efforts to coordinate their approach toward Pyongyang more systematically and frequently amid concerns about a possible schism over the issue of sanctions. This combined image of Lee Do-hoon (R), special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security af

President Moon Jae-in's use of a different word, instead of a "groundbreaking ceremony," to refer to the beginning of an inter-Korean road and railway reconnection project, appears to reflect his cautious approach in making sure the project doesn't violate sanctions, observers said Monday.In September's third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moon agreed to hold a groundbreaking ceremony before the end of the year for a reconciliation project to reconnect two sets of inter-Korean road

South Korea unveiled a midterm master plan for developing inter-Korean relations Monday mostly focusing on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the establishment of lasting peace and mutual trust with North Korea.The plan, the third of its kind, lays out the objectives and directions of the government's policy on inter-Korean relations for 2018-2022. It will replace the second plan drawn up in 2013 during the administration of former President Park Geun-hye.Under the latest pla

It is still possible for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit South Korea before the end of this year, the unification ministry said Monday, adding the government continues to make relevant preparations."We remain unchanged in our stance that (Kim's visit) will be possible and necessary before the end of this year," Baik Tae-hyun, a ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing. "We will calmly make the relevant preparations and efforts for agreements reached between the two Koreas to be

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has discussed bilateral ties with top Vietnamese officials during his trip to the Southeast Asian country, the North's state media said Monday.Ri met Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh during his trip there, according to the Korean Central News Agency. (Yonhap)"Both sides had an in-depth exchange of views and reached consensus on the issue of further developing the relations of friendship and cooperation be

US President Donald Trump is ready to give everything he promised to North Korea should the communist state faithfully implement its denuclearization steps, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said.Moon said Trump asked him to relay such a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in their summit held Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina.(Yonhap)"And the message was that President Trump has a very friendly view of Chairman Kim and that he likes him, and so he wishe

North Korea's sports minister said working together with South Korea to co-host the 2032 Olympics will contribute to making the divided peninsula one, a Tokyo-based pro-North Korean newspaper reported Sunday.In an interview with Chosun Sinbo, Kim Il-guk, who also serves as the president of the North's Olympic Committee, said, "So many logistical issues arise in the process of bidding to host Olympic Games. Solving problems one by one will serve as an opportunity for the North and the South to un

Extreme views of Kim could divide Korean society, experts warn

The North Korean soldier, who defected to the South across the heavily armed border on Saturday, is in his late teens or early 20s, a government source said.The soldier crossed the eastern land border into the South on Saturday morning. The crossing took place near a South Korean guard post in Goseong of Gangwon Province, northeast of Seoul, the source said. A guard post gets destroyed on the South Korean side of the fortified area in Gangwon Province, Nov. 15.(Yonhap)Further details about the s

BUENOS AIRES -- US President Donald Trump sees a need to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the earliest date possible, a ranking South Korean official said.Trump reaffirmed his commitment to holding the second US-North Korea summit early next year in his talks Friday (Argentine time) with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit. (Yonhap)"At the South Korea-US summit, the two leaders agreed on the need to hold the second North Korea-US summit at th

South Korea has decided to exempt a part of an inter-Korean road project from a preliminary feasibility study, reports citing officials said Sunday, in a sign that the South hopes to make as much progress as it can this year on inter-Korean cooperation projects.  (Joint Press Corp.)According to Yonhap News Agency, the construction of an 11.8-kilometer highway between Munsan and Dorasan Station in Paju, just south of the inter-Korean border, will be exempted from the customary feasibility study.

US President Donald Trump said that a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to take place in January or February, and three possible venues are under consideration, a news report said Sunday.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also said that he will invite the North's leader to the US at some point, and that he has "a good relationship" with Kim, according to Reuters. Trump was on his way back home from a G-20 summit in Argentina."We're getting along very wel