Kim-Trump summit could be discussed if Xi visits Pyongyang: unification ministerUnification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday a summit between Pyongyang and Washington could be on the agenda if China's leader Xi Jinping visits North Korea. Xi is speculated to make a state visit later his month or early next month, sources said the previous day, citing recent visits by Xi's security guards and ceremonial staff to Pyongyang as indicators. If that happens, a Kim-Trump summit "will surely be discussed," Chung told reporters outside the government complex in Seoul, though he acknowledged the visit had yet to be confirmed by Beijing. "Gigantic tectonic plates are in motion," he said, referring to a series of recent summits among the United States, China and Russia. "Now is time for us to deeply contemplate strategic options for stability, peace and mutual prosperity amidst these tectonic changes in the geopolitical landscape of Northeast Asia surround the Korean Peninsula," he said. Seoul has been seeking to repair strained inter-Korean relations. It is said to have worked to place North Korea-related issues on the agenda of the recent Trump-Xi summit.May 21, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea briefly reports on women's football team's AFC final bidNorth Korea's state media on Thursday briefly reported on its women's football club's advancement to the final of a top Asian club tournament, after beating a South Korean rival. In a short dispatch, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the semifinal between "the Naegohyang Team of the DPRK and the Suwon Team of the ROK" took place in South Korea the previous day, using the acronym of each country's official name. "The Naegohyang Team beat its rival 2:1 and advanced into the final" of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League," it said. It was the first KCNA report on the team since March 29, when it covered the team's quarterfinal victory. The dispatch omitted several details surrounding the match, including the South Korean crowd's reception of the visiting team and the torrential rain that drenched the pitch. The Rodong Sinmun, the official paper of the ruling Workers' Party and one of the few publications accessible to ordinary North Koreans, did run photos of players competing in the downpour. South Korean national flags on the players' uniforms, however, wMay 21, 2026By Yonhap
1st inter-Korean women's football match in South in years kicks offSouth Korea's Suwon FC Women face North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC Wednesday night in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in what will be the first inter-Korean sports match on South Korean soil in seven-and-a-half years — a match that carries political weight far beyond the pitch. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, speaking at a National Assembly session Wednesday ahead of the evening kickoff, framed the match as an opportunity to set a "positive precedent" for inter-Korean ties. "I think the arrival of the North Korean sports team marks a meaningful milestone, as it is the first time a North Korean athletic team has set foot in the South in seven-and-a-half years," Chung said. "The ministry will carefully manage the situation in hopes that the event can help restore the long-fractured trust between the two Koreas." Chung explained that while Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young would attend the match in person, he chose not to. “The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) requested our assistance in ensuring that the AFC Women's Champions League could be held independently oMay 20, 2026By Park Ji-won
InterviewActivist bets on sports to reopen door between Seoul, PyongyangNorth Korean footballers will play in the South for the first time in years on Wednesday evening, when Naegohyang Women's FC faces Suwon FC Women in a match that offers a rare glimpse of inter-Korean sports engagement. For Kim Kyung-sung, a veteran civic activist who has spent more than two decades using sports to help build bridges between the two Koreas by promoting South-North sports exchanges, the occasion was encouraging — but he warns that the way Seoul is handling it could jeopardize more than the match. Kim said Seoul must drop what he calls the "inter-Korean frame" and treat North Korea strictly as an international sports counterpart if it wants to keep the door to dialogue open. “North Korea has already declared the South and the North to be ‘two hostile states,’” Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times. “From their point of view, there is effectively no inter-Korean exchange anymore and if Seoul keeps using that framework, Pyongyang is likely to bristle.” Kim said sports remains one of the few areas where Pyongyang shows willingness to follow internatioMay 20, 2026By Jung Min-ho
North Korean officials tour drone operator training facility in Russian Far EastNorth Korean officials toured a key facility for training drone operators in Russia’s Far East on Friday, local authorities reported, amid efforts to boost economic and scientific exchanges. North Korea's South Pyongan Province delegation has been visiting Russia’s Far Eastern Amur region since last Monday and toured the Center for Drone Competencies in Belogorsk last Friday, according to the regional parliament. At the Center for Drone Competencies, North Korean officials from the provincial parliament learned about the region’s achievements in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their use in the military, agriculture, monitoring and logistics. The delegation reportedly observed “drone operations” and learned how to control and maintain UAVs, with special attention paid to “training specialists in the operation of unmanned systems and developing educational programs for young people.” The center was created in 2023 and trains UAV operators from among Russian servicemen participating in the Ukraine war. It closely collaborates with the national military and also provides drMay 19, 2026By NK News
Unification ministry defends white paper against criticism over 'two-state' languageThe unification ministry on Tuesday pushed back against criticism that its newly published white paper violates the Constitution, clarifying the controversial "two-state" language does not reflect official government policy. "It does not at all mean recognizing North Korea as a legal state," a ministry official told reporters. "It is meant to pursue policy based on acknowledging North Korea's political entity and statehood." The paper, released Monday, outlines the Lee Jae Myung government's North Korea policy around three key principles: Seoul respects North Korea's system, does not pursue unification by absorption and will not engage in hostile activities. It says Seoul seeks peaceful coexistence with North Korea, while still aiming for eventual unification, "given the reality that South and North Korea effectively exist as two states." The paper also called for transforming Pyongyang's "hostile two-state policy" into a "peaceful two-state" relationship seeking unification, a wording that drew criticism from some who argued it risks legitimizing North Korea as a separate sovereign statMay 19, 2026By Yonhap
No reports of MDL crossings by N. Korean troops this year amid border fortification: sourceNorth Korean troops have not crossed the inter-Korean border so far this year as Pyongyang appears to have completed land-clearing work as part of its border fortification measures, a military source said Tuesday. North Korean troops crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) at least 17 times last year, but there have been no reports of such violations so far this year, according to the source. The sharp contrast comes as North Korea appears to have largely completed work to level the ground and clear brush near the border by late 2025. Since April 2024, North Korean troops have been detected briefly crossing the MDL when it installed barbed wire fences, planted mines and erected anti-tank barriers as part of border control measures. The South Korean military issues warning messages and fires warning shots in the event of such a border intrusion in a bid to prompt North Korean troops to withdraw, but no such need arose this year, according to the source. North Korea has bolstered border fortification work since the North's leader Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean relations as those betwMay 19, 2026By Yonhap
Unification white paper pivots to peaceful 'two-state' coexistence with N. KoreaThe Lee Jae Myung government has shifted its focus to a peaceful "two-state" coexistence with North Korea, rather than pressure and confrontation, the unification ministry's white paper showed Monday, striking a markedly different tone from its predecessor. The annual paper reflects the push by the Lee government, which took office in June last year, to repair the strained inter-Korean relationship based on building mutual trust. The previous conservative Yoon Suk Yeol government sought to bring about change in North Korea through pressure and the influx of outside information. The latest white paper laid out three key guiding principles: Seoul respects North Korea's system, does not pursue unification by absorption and does not engage in hostile activities. Built on these principles, the government has framed its overarching policy as one of "peaceful coexistence and mutual growth on the Korean Peninsula." In particular, regarding Pyongyang's "two hostile states" policy, the document specified the ministry's stance that highlights the need for a transition to a "peace-oriented two-stateMay 18, 2026By Yonhap
Trump, Xi reaffirm shared goal of denuclearizing N. Korea: White HouseWASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed their shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea during their recent summit talks in Beijing, the White House said in a fact sheet released Sunday. The two leaders met in the Chinese capital on Thursday and Friday, during which they discussed a range of key issues, including security on the Korean Peninsula, the status of Taiwan, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and bilateral trade. "President Trump and President Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea," the White House said in the fact sheet. During an ABC interview broadcast earlier in the day, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also said that Trump and Xi "agreed that the goal on the Korean Peninsula remains denuclearization." The reaffirmation of the denuclearization goal came as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and is apparently pursuing the international community's recognition of its status as a nuclear power. It remains unclear whether China's agreement on the goal would translatMay 18, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim chairs army commanders' meeting, orders southern border defense build-upNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has convened a meeting with commanding officers of the armed forces and called for reinforcement of front-line units on the southern border, state media reported Monday. Kim made the call Sunday in a meeting with the commanders of the army's divisions and brigades, stressing that advancement of military technology at key units, particularly front-line forces, plays a critical role in effective deterrence of war, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It marked the first such gathering since Kim took power in late 2011. Urging the military to continue to heighten their awareness against North Korea's "arch" enemy, the North Korean leader highlighted the country's policy of turning the southern border into an "impregnable fortress" and strengthening the front-line units. To this end, the country plans to remodel the military organizational structure and strengthen the first-line units and other major units as an "important decision to more thoroughly deter war," Kim said, according to the KCNA report. He also emphasized the commanders' responsibiMay 18, 2026By Yonhap
