Over 44,000 South Koreans joined an online petition in just five days to disband the Blue House press corps in a bizarre twist after two members of the press corps were beaten by Chinese security guards during President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Beijing last week.Chinese security guards beat and injured two South Korean photojournalists, who were members of the traveling press corps accompanying President Moon on his state visit to China, last Thursday. The journalists were trying to cover Moon’s a

North Korea commemorated the sixth anniversary of its former leader Kim Jong-il’s death without holding a major event, but his son repeated his pledge to build a nation “self-reliant in defense.”After Kim Jong-il died on Dec. 17, 2011, North Korea held large-scale gatherings on the first, second, third and fifth anniversaries to pay tribute to the late leader. Even after the death of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, the North held large commemorative gatherings only on the first three annivers

China did not export any refined oil products to North Korea in October under United Nations sanctions, Voice of America reported on Thursday, citing data from the Korea International Trade Association. China’s export volume of all refined oil products such as gasoline to North Korea were marked “0” in October in the KITA data on trade between the two countries, down from $166,106 in September, the US broadcaster said. China exported $240,000 worth of other petroleum products to North Korea in O

Pyongyang has warned that it won’t avoid a war with the United States although it does not want one, denouncing senior US officials’ recent hard-line remarks against the reclusive state.US politicians’ threats of a pre-emptive war against Pyongyang and the ongoing largest-ever joint aerial drills by Seoul and Washington have made the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula “an established fact,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said. “The remaining question now is: When will the war break out?” th

North Korea threatened to take “merciless self-defense” measures if the US tries to enforce a naval blockade against the reclusive state as part of sanctions.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson mentioned the “right to interdict maritime traffic transporting goods” to and from the North after the country on Nov. 29 test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of striking anywhere in the US. (Yonhap)Several academics and military experts have called for a naval blockade to

The central stream of Seoul’s Han River saw the season’s first ice formation on Friday, the earliest in 71 years, as frigid temperatures continued.In 1946, the first ice formation on the river was observed on Dec. 12.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, this season’s first ice formation on the river took place 42 days earlier compared to last winter, when it occurred on Jan. 26 this year, and 29 days earlier than the average.  (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The date of the firs

The White House said Wednesday that now is not the time for talks with North Korea, contradicting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s offer a day earlier to begin talks with Pyongyang at any time and without preconditions.“Given North Korea’s most recent missile test, clearly right now is not the time,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told Reuters and Yonhap News Agency. (Yonhap)Tillerson said Tuesday that the US is “ready to talk anytime North Korea would like to

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US is ready to have talks with North Korea without preconditions, taking a step back from an earlier stance that Pyongyang must first commit to nuclear disarmament before any negotiations with Washington. “It is not realistic to say we’re only going to talk if you come to the table ready to give up your program,” Tillerson told a forum co-hosted by the Korea Foundation and the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington on Tuesday. “They have too much i

The bitcoin market is becoming a target of hackers backed by North Korea as the value of the digital currency continues to soar, a British broadcaster reported.The North Korean government, financially strapped under the strongest-ever international sanctions, is eyeing bitcoin exchanges to gain financial profit, Sky News said on Sunday citing security researchers.“Recently, we’ve discovered that some of the ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’ groups are trying to hack financial institutions like banks

The strongest cold wave of this winter began and will continue to grip the nation throughout the week, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Monday.Temperatures in inland regions fell to around minus 10 degrees Celsius Monday morning with strong winds. They are forecast to dip even further Tuesday morning, with Seoul seeing a low of minus 12 degrees. 　 People are seen bundled up in warm clothes in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday morning, as the season’s strongest cold snap sent the me

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has relisted North Korea as one of the 37 nations suffering from food shortages, a US broadcaster said on Friday.In its fourth-quarter report on Crop Prospects and Food Situation, the FAO has included North Korea in the list of countries that need external assistance for food, according to Radio Free Asia. (Yonhap)The FAO said North Korea saw a reduced agricultural output due to a drought, and international sanctions have led to an econ

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is seeking to visit North Korea to discuss its participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, South Korean government sources said Friday. “The IOC is believed to be discussing with North Korea a possible trip by President Bach to Pyongyang for talks on the country’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics,” a source said.The IOC is seeking the visit based on close consultation with the South Korean government. (Yonhap)It remains to be