The two Koreas will finish demolishing 10 guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone and demining a battle site in the buffer zone this week as part of their military accord to reduce tensions and build trust, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday.The two tasks that began in October will end Friday, in an indication that the Koreas are committed to fulfilling the accord that their defense chiefs signed in September after the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong

North Korea on Thursday downplayed the first anniversary of what it claimed was the country's completion of its nuclear armament and refrained from criticism of the United States in an indication that Pyongyang doesn't want to break up the dialogue phase.Exactly one year ago, the North successfully test-fired the "Hwasong-15" intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be capable of striking anywhere in the United States and claimed the country completed the development of "the state nuclear

The head of the United Nations told South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha that his organization will continue to support the denuclearization of the peninsula and the establishment of a peace regime, Kang's ministry said Thursday.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Kang in New York on Wednesday (local time), as the minister made a stopover there on her way to Panama. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Yonhap)Kang briefed him on the security situation in Korea and requested

South Korea sent about 50 tons of pesticides to North Korea on Thursday to aid its fight against pine tree diseases, the Ministry of Unification said, amid signs of slow progress on stalled inter-Korean cooperation projects. Vehicles loaded with the chemicals crossed the military demarcation line, the de facto border bisecting the Korean Peninsula, via a western land route at around 8:30 a.m., a ministry official said. The materials were loaded at a parking lot in the North’s border town of Kaes

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he is "very hopeful" for a new meeting with North Korean officials to discuss the denuclearization of the regime.Pompeo was slated to meet with Kim Yong-chol, a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in New York Nov. 8, but the plan was abruptly postponed over what the US called a scheduling conflict. (Yonhap)"I don't have anything to add on the sequence of events in North Korea. But I'm very hopeful we will have senior-

PRAGUE -- When and if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit South Korea mostly depends on the North Korean leader himself, a ranking South Korean official said Wednesday, saying Seoul continues to hope for Kim's trip before the end of the year."We have consistently announced that we look forward to Chairman Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul before the year's end," the official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said."North Korea, on the other hand, may have to consider many issues,"

The two Koreas have agreed to begin a joint inspection of cross-border railways this week, which involves the test-operation of trains on North Korean rail tracks, the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday. “The South and North agreed to start an 18-day joint inspection of the inter-Korean railway by moving about 2,600 kilometers along the North Korean section of the railway from Nov. 30,” the ministry said. The joint operation will be divided into two parts. The first part will involve a six-d

North Korea has yet to respond to South Korea's proposal to launch a joint railway inspection this week, the unification ministry said Wednesday.The South made the proposal on Monday after the U.N. Security Council granted a sanctions exemption for the field survey, but the North hasn't given a clear-cut response yet, ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a regular press briefing. (Yonhap)When a South Korean official asked about the offer during a meeting of liaison officers in the North's borde

Additional sanctions exemptions are necessary if South and North Korea are to push in earnest for a project to modernize and reconnect their cross-border railways, a UN official was quoted as saying Wednesday.The reported remark by a Dutch diplomat leading the UN Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions means that a recent sanctions waiver granted by the council is limited to a joint railway survey the two Koreas are scheduled to undertake before launching the main construction. (Yonh

North Korea's titular leader is in Venezuela to meet with top officials of the Southern American country for discussions on bilateral relations, the North's state media reported Wednesday.Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People`s Assembly (left), arrives in Venezuela, Nov. 28 (Yonhap)Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, arrived in Caracas on Monday for an official visit, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not provide d

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed a willingness to allow inspectors into the country's main nuclear complex, a senior diplomatic source said Tuesday, citing a message sent to US President Donald Trump.Kim earlier expressed a willingness to permanently shut down the site in Yongbyon if the US took "corresponding" measures, but his apparent offer to allow verification has not been reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)If true, Kim's offer would mark a si

A French official has been taken into custody on suspicion of spying for North Korea, a number of foreign media outlets reported Tuesday. According to reports citing unnamed French sources, Benoit Quennedey, an official with the French Senate, was arrested on suspicion of “collection and delivery of information to a foreign power likely to undermine the fundamental interests of the nation.” Benoit Quennedey. Screen captured from YouTubeQuennedey is said to be undergoing questioning by French int

South Korea has allowed a major aid group to visit North Korea this week to discuss ways to expand humanitarian aid to the impoverished country, the organization said Tuesday.The unification ministry gave the green light to the Seoul-based Korean Sharing Movement for 14 of its officials to visit North Korea for four days starting Wednesday, it said. (Yonhap)They plan to meet with North Korean officials to discuss future projects that could take off if international sanctions on the communist nat

North Korea’s foreign minister is reportedly scheduled to visit Vietnam later this week, with reports saying his intention is to learn more about the Southeast Asian country’s model of economic reform. But experts say Vietnam’s special economic zones may be even higher on the agenda. Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho will embark on a trip to Vietnam from Thursday to Sunday, a Vietnamese news agency reported Monday, citing Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry. The ministry added that Ri is to visit Vietnam at th

　Controversy erupted Tuesday over a US general’s remarks that South Korea had asked the US Air Force to stop sending bombers over the Korean Peninsula in an effort to support ongoing diplomatic talks with North Korea. 　According to Agence France-Presse, US Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles Brown told Pentagon reporters Monday that US bombers are no longer conducting flights over South Korea, as Seoul has asked for such missions to be halted.  　While the Ministry of National Defense decli