China granted over 41 billion won ($35.2 million) worth of aid to North Korea in the first eight months of this year amid a stalemate in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, according to sources Tuesday.Its aid to North Korea is lkely to surpass that of last year, as more could be delivered in the fourth quarter following President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pyongyang in June, they noted.Chinese maritime customs statistics showed that Beijing’s aid to Pyongyang amounte

US Forces Korea unveiled on Friday a photograph of its commander observing a firing drill by a South Korean artillery brigade in a frontline training ground in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of USFK and the Combined Forces of Command, visited the South Korean army’s 5th Artillery Brigade at Rodriquez Range along with Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk, deputy commander of CFC, for a live fire demonstration on Oct. 23, USFK said in a Facebook post with a photo of the two and Ge

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was told by his father to never give up nuclear weapons, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner reportedly told a Trump biographer.According to Doug Wead’s book “Inside Trump’s White House,” Kushner discussed with Wead the letters that Kim and Trump wrote to each other, the Washington Times reported Tuesday.“You can see from these letters that Kim wants to be friends with Trump, but his father to

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on Wednesday that he expects to promote dialogue with Tokyo through his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday.Lee arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for a three-day trip to attend the Japanese emperor’s enthronement ceremony and mend ties between Korea and Japan which have dipped to their lowest level in years over wartime history and trade restrictions. “The goal is to create an atmosphere to promote dialogue as much as possible. &helli

A South Korean court is under fire for sentencing the operator of one of the world’s largest child pornography websites to a year and six months in prison.US and UK authorities announced last week that 337 individuals had been arrested in 38 countries and accused of crimes related to use of the site. They included the US, the UK, Ireland, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic and Canada.Last year, a 23-year-old South Korean named Son Jong-w

President Moon Jae-in is expected to send a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe through Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon as part of efforts to improve bilateral relations that have plummeted over wartime history and trade restrictions.Lee will be making a three-day trip to Tokyo from Oct. 22 to attend Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony. He is likely to hold talks with Abe on Oct. 24, according to Japanese news reports citing government sources. The prime minister said in

The wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk left the prosecutors’ office around midnight on Wednesday after being questioned over allegations that she forged a document and managed a dubious private equity fund. It was the sixth time prosecutors summoned Chung Kyung-shim, a professor at Dongyang University, for interrogation. She was questioned Oct. 3, 5, 8, 12 and 14.Chung’s lawyers said Tuesday that Chung has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and a cerebral infarction, or stroke. T

KBS reporters on Wednesday called on former liberal politician Rhyu Si-min to take responsibility for inappropriate remarks made by a guest on Rhyu’s YouTube show.During the live broadcast of the show “Alileo” on Tuesday, a reporter said prosecutors had leaked information about the investigation into former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family to a KBS reporter because they liked her.“Prosecutors spilled out everything because they liked the KBS reporter. … They

Following Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s resignation Monday, the Liberty Korea Party reiterated its opposition to establishing a separate agency for the investigation of crimes by senior government officials.The bill to set up the agency is among the fast-tracked bills on prosecution reform, which the main opposition party insists should be reconsidered from square one.The Liberty Korea Party and minor opposition Bareunmirae Party have accused the ruling Democratic Party of trying to stop the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid tribute to his late grandfather and father on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party, Pyongyang state media reported Friday.Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun with members of the political bureau of the Workers’ Party central committee on Oct. 10, the 74th founding anniversary of the party, the Korean Central News Agency said.The bodies of Kim’s grandfather and the country’s founding leader Kim Il-sung an

Nearly 40 percent of this year’s budget for inter-Korean cooperation has not been spent amid a lull in bilateral relations. Most of the unspent budget had been set aside for South Korea’s provision of rice to North Korea through the World Food Program, which has been halted due to Pyongyang’s refusal.According to data from the Unification Ministry, released by Liberty Korea Party Rep. Yoo Min-bong on Thursday, the government approved expenditure of 92.1 billion won ($77 million

The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the United States and Japan met Tuesday in Washington, where they reaffirmed the importance of coordination on North Korea to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the US State Department said. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held bilateral and trilateral meetings with his US and Japanese counterparts to discuss Saturday’s working-level nuclear negotiation

Democratic Party Floor Leader Lee In-young said Tuesday the ruling party will refer an opposition lawmaker to the parliamentary ethics committee for alleged intervention in ongoing probes and the use of abusive language. Rep. Yeo Sang-kyoo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, who chairs the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said Monday the prosecution should not deal with the case of a physical standoff in parliament, in which he was involved.In April, Liberty

The prosecution on Thursday indicted Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s relative Cho Beom-dong on a number of charges, including embezzlement, over dubious financial dealings involving a private equity fund in which the minister’s wife and children had invested.Cho Beom-dong, 36, is the de facto owner of Co-Link Private Equity, the operator of a fund in which the minister’s wife and their two children, as well as his brother-in-law and his two children, have invested a combined 1.4 bil

The United States plans to offer a 36-month suspension of some sanctions on North Korea in exchange for shutting down the Yongbyon nuclear facility, according to a report by US online media Vox on Wednesday.The proposal is reportedly being considered for discussions between both countries when they meet for working-level talks this weekend.Vox also reported that US President Donald Trump promised North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their meeting at Panmunjom in June that he would sign a decla