A North Korean art troupe's planned performance in South Korea will be unlikely to be held as agreed in October as details have not been determined, a government source said Friday."The South and the North have not reached an agreement on schedules and places for the performance," the official said on condition of anonymity. "Under current circumstances, it will be hard for the performance to be held in October." (yonhap)South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agre

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will head to South Korea next week to coordinate efforts to bring about the full denuclearization of the communist nation, the US State Department said in a statement. The trip comes amid what experts perceive as a prolonged battle of nerves between Washington and Pyongyang over the timeline on talks related to the North’s denuclearization.  (Yonhap)Biegun will travel to Seoul from Monday and Tuesday to meet with his South Korean counterpa

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Thursday sanctioned two Singapore-based firms and an individual over their alleged money laundering on North Korea's behalf.The Department of the Treasury said it is targeting Wee Tiong, a commodities trading company, WT Marine, a marine fuels company, and Tan Wee Beng, a Singaporean national who serves in senior positions in both firms.The designations are the latest action taken by the US to enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea and squeeze the regi

A North Korean official urged the United States on Thursday to immediately lift sanctions against his country, warning that the country's "confidence-destroying measures" would undermine denuclearisation talks.   The US has insisted on maintaining stringent international sanctions on North Korea until it gives up its nuclear weapons, even as the two countries' leaders are expected to hold a second summit soon.   "We think that sanctions and pressure do more harm than good," Song Il Hyok, deputy

South Korea did not violate international sanctions by repairing and remodeling the recently launched inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea, a Unification Ministry official said Thursday.Around 10 billion won ($8.8 million) from the Seoul government’s South-North cooperation fund was used in repairing and remodeling buildings and facilities for the liaison office that opened in the border town of Kaesong last month to bolster cross-border communication, according to an earlier report from t

The Koreas' vice defense ministers held brief talks over their countries' recent military agreement on the sidelines of a security forum in Beijing on Thursday, Seoul's defense ministry said.During the 10-minute talks, Suh Choo-suk and his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyong-ryong affirmed their shared position over the prompt enforcement of the agreement aimed at reducing military tensions, preventing accidental clashes and building mutual trust. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk (

South Korea denied a media report Thursday that North Korea has provided notification of its decision to lift the freeze on South Korean business assets in a suspended industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong. A local newspaper earlier reported that the North informed South Korea of the decision, saying it could signal the resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which has been mothballed since 2016.  (AP)"The media report that the North informed us of its decision to remove

The two Koreas and the US-led U.N Command on Thursday wrapped up the process of disarming the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone, Seoul's defense ministry said.As of 1 p.m., they completed the work of withdrawing military posts, armed troops and firearms from the JSA in the buffer zone separating the two Koreas, in line with last month's inter-Korean agreement aimed at reducing tensions, preventing accidental clashes and building mutual trust.On Friday and Saturday, the three sides wi

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper highlighted North Korea's time-honored friendly relations with China on Thursday as the two countries marked the anniversary of China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War.The official newspaper, an organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, also said in an editorial that the country still cherishes and thanks China for the sacrifice it made decades ago and remains confident that their bilateral ties will get stronger."On Oct. 25, 1950, our republic was in the mi

WASHINGTON -- The United States has not changed its position that sanctions on North Korea must remain in full force despite the two Koreas' push to reconnect railways and roads across their border, a US government spokesperson said Wednesday.South Korea and North Korea plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony between late November and early December to reconnect and modernize railways and roads along their eastern and western coasts. (AP)The move comes amid rapid rapprochement between the Koreas,

Presidential office rejects opposition claim that Moon's approval of Pyongyang Declaration violates Constitution

The Seoul government is working to earn visitation rights for South Korean businessmen who operated factories at the now-shuttered industrial park in North Korea, an official at the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday, and the trip could come as early as next week.The government is negotiating with the North on the businessmen’s visit to the border town of Kaesong to inspect their properties, Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a press briefing.  Kaesong Industrial Complex (Yonh

WASHINGTON -- The United States will decide whether to inspect the demolition of a North Korean nuclear test site and declare an end to the Korean War in the course of negotiations with the North, a senior South Korean official said Tuesday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this month that he will allow inspectors to visit the test site in Punggye-ri to confirm that it was "irreversibly" dismantled in May.The North has also sought to declare an end to

South Korea's defense ministry plans to propose to North Korea that vice minister-level officials head a joint military committee to be formed to carry out a set of tension reduction measures agreed to at last month's summit, officials said Wednesday.The South will put forward details of its offer, including the level of the co-chair of the envisioned panel, when their Army generals meet each other at Panmunjom on Friday."(We) will discuss the formation and operation of the joint military commit

WASHINGTON -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States met in Washington to continue coordination on North Korea's denuclearization, the South Korean side said Tuesday.Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held talks with US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun Monday. (Yonhap)The two mainly talked about a potential second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ongoing negoti