A South Korean delegation departed for sports talks with North Korea on Friday to discuss ways to cooperate on future Olympic Games. South Korean Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang will meet his North Korean counterpart Won Kil-u with other officials at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong. The meeting will start at 10 a.m.South Korean Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang (right) shaking hands with North Korean Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u (Yonhap)The two sides will discu

South Korea's spy agency is analyzing a soil sample collected from around North Korea's nuclear test site, which Pyongyang demolished in May, lawmakers said Friday.In a briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee this week, the National Intelligence Service also said it is monitoring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's health through a 3-D video analysis program, according to the committee members. (Yonhap)"The NIS has asked outside experts to look into soil that was collected right after

WASHINGTON -- The United States said Thursday that sanctions on North Korea will remain in place until it gives up its nuclear weapons program, remarks following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sharp rebuke of "vicious sanctions."The two sides have been working to implement a deal reached by US President Donald Trump and Kim to achieve "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.North Korea is reportedly seeking sanctions relief in return."President Trump has been very clear that sanct

South and North Korea will hold a meeting of liaison office chiefs for the first time in about a month on Friday, a unification ministry official said Thursday.(Yonhap)Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung and his North Korean counterpart, Jon Jong-su, will meet at around 10 a.m. at the liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, according to the official. Chun and Jon, the co-heads of the office, last met on Sept. 28.When the office was launched in mid-September, they agreed to meet

Most coastal artillery guns sealed near border islands, except for one in North Korean territory

Son of late President Kim Dae-jung talks about importance of civilian exchange, his latest trip to Pyongyang, and his family legacy

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticized international sanctions against his regime, pledging to prove to “hostile forces” that his country is capable of growing into a powerful nation, the North’s media reported Thursday. “The hostile forces are foolishly keen on vicious sanctions to stand in our way toward promotion of the people’s wellbeing and development and to lead us to change and submission,” the Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying during a trip to the Wonsan-Kalma tourist

North Korea's propaganda media on Thursday hurled criticism at the United States for intervening in inter-Korean affairs.Uriminzokkiri, a website controlled by the Pyongyang government, said in a commentary that unreasonable interference by foreign forces should be thoroughly resisted. (Yonhap)"The problem is that the United States speaks openly about peace guarantee on the Korean Peninsula and support for improvement in inter-Korean relations but its behavior is contradictory in practice," said

Sexual abuse against women by officials in positions of authority has come to be part of ordinary life in North Korea, a human rights watchdog said Thursday, calling on Seoul to address human rights abuses in its negotiations with Pyongyang. 　The 86-page report by the US-based Human Rights Watch details how North Korean women engaged in trade and market activities and detained in prison camps have become easy targets for men in positions of power on the back of pervasive gender discrimination. 　

The South Korean government said Thursday it supports a new North Korean human rights resolution submitted to a UN panel.The Third Committee is expected to pass the resolution by consensus and forward it to a UN General Assembly session for a vote next month, according to Kim Deuk-hwan, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.If it's adopted, it would mark the 14th straight year for the UN to condemn the communist nation's human rights abuse in writing. (Reuters)This year's resoluti

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has criticized international sanctions on his regime, blasting "hostile forces" for attempting to hamper its efforts to improve the lives of its people, the North's state media reported Thursday.Kim made the accusation during a trip to a construction site of the Wonsan-Kalma tourist area on the North's east coast, according to the Korean Central News Agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (second from left) speaking during his trip to a construction site in Wonsa

The armed forces of South and North Korea are at the forefront of the peace process with the implementation of a bilateral confidence-building pact Thursday, the South's top military officer said.The two sides ceased all "hostile acts" against each other along the border -- land, sea and air -- as of the start of the day in accordance with the comprehensive military agreement, Army Gen. Park Han-ki, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters, as he toured Yeonpyeong Island, just south

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to meet with his North Korean counterpart next week in a bid to make progress on denuclearization and arrange a second summit between the two countries’ leaders.During an interview Wednesday on the conservative US radio program “The Laura Ingraham Show,” Pompeo said he would talk with his North Korean counterpart about plans to invite inspectors to the North’s nuclear and missile sites, as well as plans to hold the second US-North Korea summit early next y

North Korea said Wednesday that relations with Russia are "further strengthening" as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.Vice Foreign Minister Sin Hong-chol led a North Korean delegation to Moscow, where he had talks with his Russian counterpart, Igor Morgulov, on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, the North's official mouthpiece.The two sides "agreed to further accelerate the development of the bilateral relations and

The North Korean regime spends about 600 billion won ($520 million) a year on purchases of luxury goods, the head of South Korea's state spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday.Suh Hoon, director of the National Intelligence Service, said the items include automobiles, fur and liquor, according to Rep. Lee Eun-jae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.Suh Hoon, director of South Korea`s National Intelligence Agency, in a file photo (Yonhap)Suh was speaking at a closed-door annual parliamentary