Seoul urged not to give up on abductees in North Korea This April 20, 2021, file photo shows the North Korean flag fluttering at the North Korea consular office in the Chinese border city of Dandong. Human rights groups call on the government to be step up efforts to resolve issues regarding South Korean abductees and prisoners of war in North Korea on Aug. 30, the International Day of the Disappeared, a day created to remember the victims of enforced disappearance. Reuters-YonhapGov't vows to redouble efforts for victims on International Day of the DisappearedBy Jung Min-hoWhen a North Korean agent hijacked a Korean Air flight carrying his father and forced the pilot to land in North Korea in December 1969, Hwang In-cheol was only two years old.Despite 53 years passing, Hwang and his family remain undeterred in their quest to search for him.“No matter how long it takes, we will not give up on him because we can't. We hope leaders in the government feel the same,” Hwang told The Korea Times on Wednesday.He spoke on the occasion rights advocates marked as the International Day of the Disappeared, a day created to remember the Aug 30, 2023By Jung Min-ho
S. Korea ready to become most vocal 'speaker' over N. Korea's human rights: minister Vice Unification Minister Moon Seoung-hyun reads a keynote speech of Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho at the annual Korea Global Forum in Seoul, Aug. 30. YonhapSouth Korea's unification minister said Wednesday the government is willing to play the role of the most vocal "speaker" in efforts to make the international community aware of North Korea's dismal human rights situations.At the annual Korea Global Forum hosted by Seoul's unification ministry, Minister Kim Yung-ho stressed the need to make perpetrators accountable for North Koreas' human rights violations."In the process, the South Korean government is ready to become the largest speaker and hub in efforts to raise awareness of the North's human rights situations," Kim said in a keynote speech read by the country's vice unification minister.Kim said the unification ministry will issue reports on North Korea's economic and social situations and closely cooperate with the United Nations on a mission to help resolve Pyongyang's human rights abuse.In regard to the North's provocations, the minister warned North Korea will pay the Aug 30, 2023
Is North Korea preparing crown princess Kim Ju-ae as successor? North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talks with North Korean Navy Commander Adm. Kim Myong-sik, right, with the leader's daughter, Ju-ae, sitting in the middle during their congratulatory visit to the anniversary of the Navy on Aug. 28, in this image captured from the North's Korean Central Television, Aug. 29. YonhapInterpretation mixed over North's extensive coverage of Kim's daughterBy Nam Hyun-wooNorth Korea again directed the media spotlight on Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of leader Kim Jong-un, running a video footage of its navy commander saluting the presumed 10-year-old, rekindling a debate over whether the North is preparing to make her the rightful heir to the regime.The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Aug. 29 that Kim made a congratulatory visit to the Naval Command of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) with his daughter on Aug. 27. The television network also released a video image of KPA Navy Commander Adm. Kim Myong-sik saluting Ju-ae, further fueling speculation about her elevated status.“When the respected Comrade Kim Jong-un arrived at tAug 30, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
Kim says North Korea must be ready against US-led invasion plots while US, allies start new drills This photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter Ju Ae, third from right, visiting the navy headquarter in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday. EPA-YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military to be constantly ready for combat to thwart its rivals' plots to invade his country, state media said Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Japan held a trilateral naval exercise to deal with North Korea's evolving nuclear threats.The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been separately holding summer bilateral exercises since last week. North Korea views such U.S.-involved training as an invasion rehearsal, though Washington and its partners maintain their drills are defensive.Kim said in a speech marking the country's Navy Day on Monday that the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been made unstable “with the danger of a nuclear war” because of U.S.-led hostilities, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.He accused the U.S. of conducting “more frantic&rdquoAug 29, 2023
ANALYSIS Bloody purges may be imminent in North Korea amid worsening food crisis This photo released on Aug. 22 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the flood situation in a tidal area of South Pyongan Province, North Korea. Signs of a bloody purge of top-ranking officials appear imminent in North Korea as Kim searches for scapegoats amid a worsening food crisis, according to analysts on Tuesday. YonhapTop-level officials could be executed as Kim searches for scapegoats: analystsBy Jung Min-hoA bloody purge of high-ranking officials appears to be imminent in North Korea as Kim Jong-un, its dictator, searches for scapegoats amid a worsening food crisis, according to analysts.In assessments of the North's current economic and political situation, Tuesday, experts said at least several officials in charge of the economy, particularly food production management, could be executed. The North has often used such forms of punishment in the past to place the blame on bureaucrats for policy failures.The analyses come as North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun is being investigated over flood damage in farmlands along its western coast. During his visit to a tidal areAug 29, 2023By Jung Min-ho
N. Korea's Kim visits navy command, calls for bolstering naval forces This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Aug. 29, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, visiting the North's navy command, Aug. 27. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for bolstering naval forces as he visited the country's navy command, while denouncing South Korea, the United States and Japan for stepping up their trilateral military cooperation, according to the North's state media Tuesday. The report came as Seoul, Washington and Tokyo staged a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters south of the Korean Peninsula earlier in the day in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile threats, including its purported space rocket launch last week.During his visit to the navy command Sunday ahead of Navy Day, Kim stressed the navy should become a component of the country's nuclear deterrence, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)."To achieve the successes in rapidly developing the naval force has become a very urgent issue in view of the enemies' recent aggressive attempts and character of military acAug 29, 2023
N. Korean workers return home from China by road for 1st time since pandemic Buses cross a bridge from North Korea's border city of Sinuiju to China's Dandong, Aug. 16. YonhapMore than 300 North Korean workers returned home Monday from a Chinese border city, multiple sources said, a day after Pyongyang reopened its borders for its citizens abroad for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.Around 300 to 400 North Koreans left Dandong in northeastern China earlier in the day for the North's border city of Sinuiju by bus, according to the sources.It marked the first time for North Koreans to return home by road transportation since the two countries closed their borders in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.On Sunday, North Korea announced it would allow its citizens overseas to return home amid eased concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the reclusive regime's official reopening of its border. (Yonhap)Aug 28, 2023
N. Korea criticizes European countries for sending F-16 jets to Ukraine North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during an armistice anniversary event in this July 28 photo carried by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korea criticized a recent decision by the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway for providing F-16 fighters to Ukraine in its fight against Russia as an "anti-peace act," the North's state media said Monday.The commentary by the North's Institute of International Studies came as Pyongyang has expressed support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amid speculation of an arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow. "Their decision to supply even fighters is an anti-peace act of inciting a long war and totally destroying the regional peace and stability," said the English-language commentary, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.Claiming the move shows the "sinister intention" of the United States and European countries to defeat Russia, the commentary said the U.S. is the "arch criminal" pushing Europe to the brink of a "horrible nuclear war."In what appearAug 28, 2023
Worsening food shortage forces Pyongyang to reopen borders An Air Koryo commercial plane is seen through barbed wire as it taxies on the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Aug. 22. AP-YonhapNorth Koreans abroad return home after over three yearsBy Lee Hyo-jin North Korea on Sunday approved the return of its citizens from abroad after over three years of stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, taking a big step toward aligning with global efforts to “live with the virus," according to analysts. Experts say that the Kim Jong-un regime's decision is likely driven by an exacerbating food crisis and economic difficulties, although the isolated nation still remains wary of a full-scale reopening of its borders.Pyongyang's state media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported Sunday that North Korean citizens who had been staying abroad were recently allowed to return home, marking the first approval of international passenger travel since the reclusive regime shut its borders in January 2020.“Concerning the easing of the worldwide spread of the infectious disease, the citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of KoAug 27, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
N. Korea allows citizens abroad to return after reopening border North Koreans line up at a check-in counter for Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, at Beijing Capital International Airport, Aug. 22. YonhapNorth Korea has lifted an entry ban imposed on its citizens staying abroad over COVID-19 concerns, state media reported Sunday, reopening its border following more than three years of its stringent virus restrictions.The North's national emergency epidemic prevention headquarters announced that North Korean "citizens abroad have been allowed to return home," as it has decided to "adjust the anti-epidemic degree in reference to the eased worldwide pandemic situation," according to the Korean Central News Agency.It added that those who return home will be put under "proper medical observation at quarantine wards for a week."The move came after North Korea resumed commercial flights with China and Russia last week following more than three years of border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Flights operated by Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, arrived in Beijing and Vladivostok from Pyongyang last week, bringing the North's people Aug 27, 2023
