North Korea after 10 years of Kim Jong-un: Better armed but more isolated than ever In this June 12, 2018, file photo, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un looks at his document at a signing ceremony with U.S. President Donald Trump during their historic U.S.-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore. AFP-YonhapTen years after Kim Jong-un assumed power North Korea is better armed but deeply isolated and more dependent on China, despite actions by the young leader that raised ― and dashed ― hopes of economic transformation or international opening.Kim's pursuit of nuclear weapons defined his first 10 years in power, but analysts say the path has left him isolated and facing perhaps the greatest challenges yet.Those weapons may stand in the way of political breakthroughs needed to improve a shattered economy and prevent millions from starving, as ongoing anti-pandemic lockdowns and sanctions that have left him over-reliant on China.Kim embraced a different style than his idiosyncratic father, seeking to "normalize" North Korea by institutionalizing and delegating more leadership; winning international respect through nuclear weapons and summiDec 16, 2021
North Korea in commemorative mood ahead of 10th anniversary of ex-leader's passing This file photo taken on June 18, 2019, shows commuters riding a bus past portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, on Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang. AFP-YonhapNorth Korea is holding a series of events memorializing late leader Kim Jong-il ahead of the 10th anniversary of his passing this week, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.Kim, the father of current leader Kim Jong-un, died on Dec. 17, 2011, after having ruled the reclusive regime since the death of his father and national founder, Kim Il-sung, in 1994. In Pyongyang, young workers and students held a meeting to remember the late leader, and an art exhibition opened with works depicting his life, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. In an editorial, the North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, said the past decade has been a "history of learning and following Kim Jong-il's faith, determination and courage for a revolution." The state media also said international organizations sent flower baskets to mark the anniversary.Eyes are on whether North Korea will hold a massive Dec 16, 2021
Brother of North Korea's founder dies: state media This 2015 file photo captured from North Korea's state TV shows Kim Yong-ju, a brother of the North's founder Kim Il-sung. Pyongyang's state media confirmed his death on Dec. 15. YonhapKim Yong-ju, a brother of North Korea's late founder Kim Il-sung, has died, according to Pyongyang's state media Wednesday.The North's leader Kim Jong-un sent a wreath the previous day to express condolences over his death, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim Yong-ju was a former honorary vice chairman of the standing committee of the North's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly, and a winner of the Order of Kim ll-sung and the Order of Kim Jong-il, the report said, without giving further details, such as when he died."Kim Yong-ju devotedly struggled to implement the Party's lines and policies and made a contribution to accelerating socialist construction and developing the Korean-style state social system, while working at important posts of the Party and the state for many years," it said. Born in 1920, he was involved in a power struggle with Kim Jong-il, before the son of the nationalDec 15, 2021
North Korea's Kim at critical crossroads decade into rule In this Oct. 10, 2010, file photo, then-North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il, left, walks by his son Kim Jong-un on the balcony as they attend a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the regime's ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang. AP-YonhapToo young. Too weak. Too inexperienced. Since taking power following his father's sudden death 10 years ago this week, Kim Jong-un has erased those widespread doubts that greeted his early attempts to extend his family's brutal dynastic grip over North Korea.Early predictions about a regency, a collective leadership or a military coup were crushed by an estimated hundreds of executions and purges targeting family members and the old guard. That ruthless consolidation of power, together with a larger-than-life personality seemingly made for carefully packaged TV propaganda, has allowed Kim to make clear that his authority is absolute.But as North Korea's first millennial dictator marks a decade in rule this Friday, he may be facing his toughest moment yet, as crushing sanctions, the pandemic and growing economic trouble converge. If KDec 14, 2021
Moon says US, China, North Korea agree in principle on end-of-war declaration President Moon Jae-in / YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in said Monday that the United States, China and North Korea agree in principle on declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and Seoul will push to make it happen.Moon was speaking at a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after bilateral summit talks in Canberra.He said he believes an end-of-war declaration will help revive stalled talks between South and North Korea and between North Korea and the U.S. (Yonhap)Dec 13, 2021
New US sanctions on North Korea to dampen momentum for end-of-war declaration gettyimagesbankBy Nam Hyun-wooRi Yong-gil, North Korea's minister of People's Armed ForcesA fresh set of U.S. sanctions against North Korea is feared to dampen the momentum for South Korean President Moon Jae-in's proposal to declare an official end to the Korean War, as it comes as a virtual rejection of Pyongyang's demand for the U.S. to withdraw its “hostile policies” against it, which is a precondition that the bellicose regime set for end-of-war declaration talks.The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Friday (local time) that it has designated 15 individuals and 10 entities “for their connection to human rights abuse and repression in several countries around the globe, pursuant to multiple sanctions authorities.” Among those designated are North Korea's Central Public Prosecutors Office, the Scientific and Educational Film Studio of Korea and Ri Yong-gil, minister of People's Armed Forces who was until recently minister of social security. The OFAC accused the prosecutors' office and Ri of human rights Dec 12, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
US designates North Korean defense minister, others for human rights violation A North Korea flag flutters over concertina wire at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this 2017 March file photo. Reuters-Yonhap The United States designated North Korea's new Defense Minister Ri Yong-gil and a number of entities in North Korea, China and Russia as those responsible for human rights violations, Friday.The U.S. Department of Treasury also designated North Korea's Central Public Prosecutors Office as a similar such entity.Ri, currently serving as North Korea's defense minister, was designated for his role as the former head of the ministry of social security, which, the department said, uses the court system to "prosecute and punish persons for political wrongdoing in a legal process involving fundamentally unfair trials.""These trials sometimes end in sentencing people to terms at the DPRK's notorious prison camps, run by the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Social Security," it added, also noting the death of Otto Dec 11, 2021
Remains of US soldier killed in Korean War identified This undated photo, provided by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Dec. 8, shows U.S. Army Cpl. Benjamin Bazzell, 18, of Seymour, Conn., killed during the Korean War, who has been identified. AP-YonhapBeverly Guliuzza was overcome with a mix of shock, sadness and relief when military officials told her they had identified the remains of her brother, Benjamin Bazzell, an Army corporal who went missing in action during the Korean War in 1950 when she was just 12.The notification to Guliuzza, now 84 and living with family in Everett, Washington, came last year, seven decades after she had last seen her older brother in their hometown of Seymour, Connecticut. The identification was publicly announced Tuesday by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, an arm of the U.S. Defense Department.``When I found out all of this, it was just very sad but also very thankful that there was closure because it had always been missing in action and we never knew,`` Guliuzza said in a phone interview Wednesday. ``When someone is reported missing in action it's like you're in limbo. My mom never got toDec 10, 2021
End-of-war declaration a potential 'turning point' for peace: unification minister South Korea's unification minister said Thursday the declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, if issued, could be a "turning point" to open a new phase for peace and urged North Korea to accept its dialogue offer. Unufication Minister Lee In-young / YonhapLee In-young said it is the right time to push for the end-of-war declaration to help bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table as the reclusive regime seems more open to talks by not dramatically raising military tension and restoring the inter-Korean communication lines in October. "(The North) has been seemingly showing a more open manner toward dialogue than before," Lee said in an academic conference in Seoul. "North Korea has fired multiple short-range missiles this year, but it hasn't severely deteriorated the situation by raising high-level tension."Lee said reaching an agreement on the declaration under the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula would provide a "sure turning point for a new phase of peace." The minister expressed hope for the North to respond before it is too late so as not to weDec 9, 2021
US committed to dialogue with North Korea despite no success so far: White House czar White House policy coordinator for Asia Kurt Campbell / Korea Times fileThe United States remains committed to engaging with North Korea diplomatically despite having no success so far, White House policy coordinator for Asia Kurt Campbell said Tuesday."To date, we have not had success, but we are still determined to put our best foot forward with respect to diplomacy," Campbell told reporters after taking part in a forum hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, a think tank run by South Korean conglomerate SK Group.His remarks come amid a prolonged suspension in dialogue between the U.S. and the North.Pyongyang has stayed away from denuclearization talks with the U.S. since 2019. It has also ignored repeated outreaches from the Joe Biden administration, which took office in January.Campbell said the U.S. and South Korea continue to seek the "best way" to engage North Korea."That dialogue (between Seoul and Washington) is very strong, and we continue to be joined at the hip with respect to our outreach to Pyongyang," he said. (Yonhap)Dec 8, 2021
