Amid a thaw on the Korean Peninsula, the US State Department reiterated its “close contact” with South Korea in coordinating the allies’ engagement with North Korea, Voice of America reported Tuesday.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right). (Yonhap)“We remain in close contact with the ROK to coordinate our DPRK engagement,” an unnamed state department official told VOA when asked about the two Koreas’ recent decision to hold a cross-border basketba

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification on Tuesday said that reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War will be top of the agenda for the Red Cross talks scheduled this Friday. It is also expected to exchange delegation rosters with North Korea ahead of the talks, which will be held at the North’s Kumgangsan, a ministry official said. The official told The Korea Herald that rosters are likely to be exchanged by Wednesday.  South Korean Red Cross employees answer phone calls at the Kor

South Korean officials and private businesses visited North Korea on Tuesday to prepare for the renovation of key facilities for the opening of a joint liaison office in the North’s border city of Kaesong.  Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung (center) answers reporters at the South and North Korean customs, immigration and quarantine office, June 8, before leaving for Kaesong to inspect facilities for a planned inter-Korean liaison office. (Yonhap)Setting up a joint liaison office was an agr

US President Donald Trump on Friday hinted that he would personally talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday (US time) via direct phone call, but questions remain on whether the exchange will be made in such a manner. “I‘m going to be actually calling North Korea,” Trump told Fox News in an interview when asked what he planned to do on Father’s Day, without elaborating who he would be speaking to. The US president also said during an impromptu news conference at the White House that he

With the two Koreas set to hold talks on sports Monday, expectations are growing that cross-border sports exchanges would lead to improved inter-Korean ties. Plans surrounding the joint entrance and teams for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in August are expected to be discussed, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to jointly participate in the games during the inter-Korean summit on April 27. (Yonhap)“Sports diplomacy” has often been successfu

The US hinted at adopting a “front-loaded” model in the early stage of North Korea’s denuclearization at the recent US-North Korea summit, a think tank affiliated with the South Korean spy agency said Thursday, which requires the North to swiftly transfer all its nuclear arsenal to the US. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached an agreement on the North’s denuclearization at Tuesday’s historic summit in Singapore, in which Kim pledged to work toward denuclearizatio

The agreement reached between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore is receiving mixed reactions, but Pyongyang sees it as a win. North Korea’s state media outlets, the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun, each reported the results of the summit on Wednesday, including the full text of the agreement. Rodong Sinmun dedicated four pages of its Wednesday edition to the summit, including 33 color photos.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and US Pre

The United States and North Korea on Tuesday said they would commit to establishing new bilateral ties, feeding hopes for the normalization of US-North Korea diplomatic relations, but experts noted there is still a long road ahead. After their face-to-face summit in Singapore, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced a joint statement in which the leaders committed to establishing new bilateral relations and making joint efforts to build a “lasting and stable” peac

North Korea’s state media have been delivering swift updates of Kim Jong-un’s itinerary in Singapore, which experts and officials have noted as “unusual,” yet “strategic.” The North’s Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday reported that Kim took a surprise overnight tour of Singapore and learned about “social and economic development, merely hours after the North Korean leader wrapped-up the tour. The Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean ruling party’s official newspaper, also reported on the tour. (K

The first session of the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was joined by only the two leaders’ respective translators, but they were joined by their aides at the expanded bilateral meeting. (Yonhap)Trump was flanked by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton, as previously announced by the White House. Sitting across the table from the US team were North Korean leader Kim, Kim Yong-chol, fir

North Korea’s state news agencies on Monday said its leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Singapore to discuss with US President Donald Trump the issues of denuclearization and establishing new US-North Korea ties, “as required by the changed era.” The Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun reports came a day after Kim and Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday to attend the first sit-down between a US President and a North Korean leader set for Tuesday. This photo, taken from the Korean Central Ne

An advance inspection team of South Korean officials and civilians visited North Korea’s border city of Kaesong on Friday to prepare for the opening of a joint liaison office.The 14-member team headed by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung crossed the military demarcation line at 8:34 a.m. via a western land route to check possible locations, facilities and equipment. (Yonhap)“I believe the establishment of the liaison office between South and North Korea is the first step in implementing th

Unlike the US, which has been vocal about key events leading up to the planned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next week, the North has kept mum about such matters. Since announcing the June 12 summit between Trump and Kim on May 27, without mentioning that it is taking place in Singapore, North Korea’s state-run news agencies have been silent about the summit and the US-North Korea talks at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Singapore and New York, whi

Projects aimed at restoring North Korea’s forests are budding again amid warmer inter-Korean ties.At high-level talks held Friday, the two Koreas agreed to hold a meeting for cross-border reforestation projects, while announcing dates for other inter-Korean talks. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said the meeting on reforestation would likely take place in late June. “In a nutshell, North Korea’s devastated woodlands affect the entire Korean Peninsula, not just North Korea,” Shin Hye-ji, a r