Former South Korean Minister of Unification Jeong Se-hyun said Thursday that President Moon Jae-in should begin a contingency plan and persuade North Korea to take the first steps towards denuclearization."The Moon government should launch a contingency plan to ensure that the United States would not patch up the North Korean nuclear problem by eliminating the North's intercontinental ballistic missiles and freezing its nuclear weapons program," Jeong said in a parliamentary meeting organized by

The ruling Democratic Party chief plans to meet with a visiting North Korean official in charge of inter-Korean ties on Thursday, party officials said.Lee Hae-chan, the DP's chairman, plans to have dinner with Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, party officials said.Details about their planned meeting have yet to be revealed, but they are expected to discuss a proposed parliamentary meeting between the two Koreas and civilian exchanges. (Yonhap)Leading a five-

Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun will visit North Korea next week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its long-suspended tourism program to a scenic North Korean mountain, a government official said Thursday.More than 100 South Koreans, including Hyundai executives, lawmakers, former officials and journalists, will visit Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast for two days from Sunday, according to the unification ministry official."The government approved their request for a visit to Mo

North Korea plans to resume its international golf championship for amateurs next year after a lapse of two years, American broadcaster Radio Free Asia said Thursday, citing a British tour agency.Britain's Lupine Travel reportedly told RFA that the Amateur Golf Open Pyongyang will take place at the Pyongyang Golf Club on the outskirts of the North's capital on Sept. 5-6, 2019. (Reuters)The North-organized amateur golf competition had been held annually since 2011 but stopped after its sixth even

North Korea's media repeated its criticism of South Korea for carrying out military exercises on Thursday, calling them an "outright provocation" and "violation" of the inter-Korean agreement to halt hostility toward each other."The war training commotion by the warmongers is a grave violation of the agreement between the militaries of the North and the South that promised to completely halt hostilities toward each other," Uriminzokkiri, the North's external propaganda outlet, said in a commenta

South Korea's ambassador to the United States said Wednesday that he expects the US and North Korea to soon reschedule last week's canceled high-level talks.The planned New York meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-chol, was abruptly postponed due to what the US called scheduling issues. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Yonhap)Ambassador Cho Yoon-je told reporters the US views the cancellation as a "postponement" and is in talks with the

China has begun to ease the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea despite pledging to maintain pressure until the regime gives up its nuclear weapons program, a US Congress-related report showed Wednesday.The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission noted in its annual report that China had implemented sanctions more thoroughly than in the past between early 2017 and early 2018. (Yonhap)But there appeared to be an uptick in bilateral exchanges since the June summit between US President

A group of North Korean officials arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to attend an international forum and tour various local facilities.The five-member delegation is led by Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. They arrived at Incheon International Airport in the evening."I am very pleased to step onto the South's soil at a historic time when North-South relations have entered a turning point," Ri told reporters upon arriving at the airport just west of Seoul. 

Analysts say claims that Pyongyang ‘broke promise’ reflect Washington establishment’s critical view of Trump-Moon approach to NK

Seven North Korean officials were to arrive in South Korea late Wednesday to attend an international peace forum. The delegation includes Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Kim Song-hye, director of the United Front Department’s tactical office, and five other North Korean officials, the Ministry of Unification said earlier this week. They plan to stay here from Wednesday to Saturday. Kim Song-hye, director of the North Korean United Front Department`s tactic

North Korea is presumed to be continuing nuclear and missile activity even after its first summit with the United States in June, South Korea's spy agency was quoted as saying Wednesday.The National Intelligence Service made the report during a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to participants. The report came as the North's denuclearization process has made little headway in recent weeks, with the planned high-level talks between the US and the North can

The two Koreas will hold a meeting later this week to discuss cooperation in the aviation sector, the unification ministry said Wednesday.The meeting will be held on Friday at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, according to the ministry.Son Myung-soo, a senior official of the transport ministry, will lead a South Korean delegation. His North Korean counterpart is Ri Yong-son, deputy director-general of the General Administration of Civil Aviation. Baik Tae-hyun, Unif

South Korea's top nuclear envoy is seeking to visit Washington as early as next week to discuss the launch of a "working group" with the United States for closer coordination on North Korea's denuclearization, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Wednesday.Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs Lee Do-hoon has been coordinating a schedule for talks with his US counterpart Stephen Biegun to fine-tune details over the formation of the dialogue channel.During Bie

North Korea plans to open an international exhibition on health goods and sports science in Pyongyang next week, a media report said Wednesday.The "Pyongyang International Sci-Tech Exhibition: Health and Physical Culture" will be held at the Sci-Tech Complex in the North's capital from Nov. 22-26, according to the Korean Central News Agency."The exhibition will bring together over 100 units of the DPRK (North Korea) and different countries and regions. It will exhibit functional health goods, me

US President Donald Trump has dismissed a news report on North Korea's hidden missile bases as "inaccurate," amid growing skepticism over Pyongyang's willingness to follow through on its denuclearization commitment.Citing a report issued by Beyond Parallel, a group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, The New York Times said earlier this week that the North is continuing its ballistic missile program at more than a dozen "undisclosed" sites identified in commercial satellite im