North Korea urges full vigilance against Omicron coronavirus variant In this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Aug. 31, a worker disinfects a school in North Korea. YonhapNorth Korea said Monday it has strengthened preventive measures against COVID-19 in response to growing concern about the Omicron variant, a move that heralds a further delay in easing its stringent border control.The reclusive nation had been seen preparing to reopen its land border with China and Russia, at least partially, before the end of this year.But the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus has put the country and many other parts of the world on high alert.In a report, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) pointed out the variant, which is five times more contagious than the delta one, is causing serious worries around the globe.The country's officials and other "workers" are concentrating all efforts on "thoroughly ensuring perfection" in the emergency virus control and prevention campaign, it added. The KCNA piece marked the latest in a string of Omicron-related reports by the country's tightly-controlled media outlets sNov 29, 2021
Chinese police capture North Korean convict on the run The New Amnokgang Bridge that was designed to connect China's Dandong New Zone, Liaoning Province, and North Korea's Sinuiju. YonhapChinese police have captured a North Korean prisoner who staged a daring escape from jail in October and had been on the run for more than forty days, authorities said Sunday.Officials in northeast China were offering a $23,000 bounty for the recapture of the escapee, in a manhunt that has sparked massive interest on social media. The 39-year-old prisoner, identified by the Chinese name Zhu Xianjian, was jailed in China after fleeing reclusive North Korea.He escaped the facility in Jilin city by scaling a shed and vaulting the outer wall on October 18, and managed to stay at large before being captured Sunday.A one-line statement from Jilin police said he had been reprimanded at about 10:00 am Sunday morning, without giving more details.Videos shared by state-run Beijing News showed an emaciated-looking man being carried by several officers, with a photograph of him then lying on the ground with his hands behind his back.Zhu was convicted of illegal entrNov 29, 2021
President Moon makes last-ditch effort to realize North Korea talks within tenure President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea at Myeongdong Cathedral in downtown Seoul, Nov. 25. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooPark Sun-won, first deputy head of the National Intelligence Service / Courtesy of Cheong Wa DaeSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in is making a last-ditch effort to realize tangible progress in his proposal to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which he believes will be a powerful enticement to bring North Korea back to denuclearization talks.As part of his efforts, the President replaced three out of four deputy heads at the country's spy agency to refresh its behind-the-scenes communications with Pyongyang over the end-of-war declaration. Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday that Moon named three new deputy heads of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The NIS has four deputy heads who report directly to NIS Director Park Jie-won, with the first in charge of overseas/North Korea, the second in counter-espionage, the third scientific intelligence, anNov 28, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Over half of South Koreans say inter-Korean summit at Beijing Olympics not possible: poll President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Reuters-YonhapMore than half of South Koreans believe an inter-Korean summit at the Beijing Winter Olympics, slated for February, will not be possible, a survey showed Friday.According to the survey on 1,000 adults by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Nov. 20 and 21, 53.9 percent said an inter-Korean summit during the Winter Olympics would not be possible, while 40.1 percent said it would be.South Korea has sought to use the Beijing Games to create fresh momentum for the resumption of stalled diplomacy with the North, though uncertainty still lingers over whether the North would accede.In particular, Seoul has been pushing for the political declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War in the hopes it would serve as a catalyst to advance its stalled peace agenda.In the same survey, 67.2 percent said an end-of-war declaration is necessary, while 27.6 percent said it is not.Respondents were split on whether Pope Francis' possible visit to the North would affect the ongoing efforts for peace on the Korean PenNov 26, 2021
Seoul monitoring North Korea's nuclear, missile activities: unification ministry This photo, taken from the South Korean border city of Paju, Nov. 24, shows North Korea's Kaesong city across the border. YonhapSouth Korea is monitoring North Korea's nuclear and missile activities in close cooperation with the United States, the unification ministry said Friday, following reports the North appears to be continuing the operation of a nuclear reactor at its mainstay Yongbyon complex.38 North, a U.S. monitoring website, said Wednesday steam was detected emanating from the 5-megawatt reactor in an indication at least one generator is in operation, citing recent satellite imagery.Asked to comment on the report, deputy ministry spokesman Cha Duck-chul declined to confirm "intelligence matters" but said the government is keeping tabs on the North's nuclear facilities. "The government continues to monitor North Korea's nuclear and missile activities under close South Korea-U.S. coordination," he told a press briefing. "South and North Korea agreed to a shared goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula ... for which the two sides should jointly make efforts."The government is Nov 26, 2021
Satellite imagery indicates continued operation of North Korea's nuke reactor: 38 North gettyimagesbankNorth Korea appears to be continuing the operation of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at its mainstay Yongbyon complex, a U.S. monitoring website has said, citing satellite imagery. 38 North reported Wednesday recent commercial satellite imagery of the complex north of Pyongyang provided further evidence of activity at the 5-megawatt reactor, which can produce up to 6 kilograms of plutonium ― a fissile material used for a bomb ― a year."Steam is emanating from the reactor's generator hall, indicating that at least one of the generators is running," the website said. "Additionally, water continues to be discharged from the auxiliary pipe into the channel leading to the Kuryong River."The website said the new activity at the rector is "notable," as production of fissile materials is likely needed to accomplish North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's goal of strengthening nuclear capabilities announced during the country's eighth party congress in January.Construction of a new wing south of the experimental light water reactor seems to continue, although there are no signNov 25, 2021
End-of-war declaration, Beijing Olympics are separate issues: minister Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Nov. 24. YonhapSouth Korea's push to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing are two separate issues, a top official in charge of inter-Korean relations said Wednesday, amid concerns that the U.S. move to boycott the games could throw a wet blanket on Seoul's peace initiative.Unification Minister Lee In-young made the remark during a press conference in Seoul, after U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Washington was mulling a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics in February. South Korea has been considering the Beijing Games as one of the opportunities to restart the inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea talks that remain stalled since the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit."I don't think we need to analyze or approach the Beijing Olympics and the end-of-war declaration as inseparable issues," the minister told reporters. "We do hope the Beijing Olympics will be a peace Olympics, but I hope you don't think that what happens to the Beijing Olympics necessariNov 24, 2021
North Korea yet to reopen land border with China: unification ministry The New Amnokgang Bridge that was designed to connect China's Dandong New Zone, Liaoning Province, and North Korea's Sinuiju. Korea Times fileNorth Korea has yet to reopen its land border with China amid indications of brisk preparations to ease lockdown measures attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Seoul's unification ministry Monday.South Korea has been closely monitoring signs of the North reopening its border, which has remained closed for nearly two years due to the virus crisis."Signs of preparations to resume trade have been continuously detected, but it's not at a stage to say trade has resumed or the North Korea-China border lockdown has been lifted," ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told a regular press briefing. Earlier this month, local media broadcast footage of a train crossing the bridge over the Amnok River connecting Sinuiju in North Korea to the Chinese port city of Dandong."We are monitoring the situation attentively, as the North's easing of border lockdown would result in better environment for cooperation between the two Koreas or with the interNov 22, 2021
North Korea calls for glorifying Kim's era as mass movement conference closes In this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, the 5th Conference of Frontrunners of the Three Revolutions, which opened in Pyongyang, Nov. 18, is under way. YonhapNorth Korea has called for praising the era of leader Kim Jong-un as a large-scale conference on carrying out a mass movement for the country's development wrapped up, its state media said Monday.The 5th Conference of the Frontrunners in the Three Revolutions, which kicked off in Pyongyang on Thursday, closed with the adoption of an appeal that calls for the glorification of "the great era of Kim Jong-un," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).The three-revolution movement is a mass movement devised under Kim Il-sung, the North's late founder and grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong-un, to continue "the revolution in the realms of ideology, technology and culture even after the establishment of the socialist system."At the start of the conference, Kim sent a letter to the participants and called for strengthening the country's self-reliance."It is the feelings and aspirationNov 22, 2021
North Korea denounces UN resolution criticizing its human rights abuses In this Sept. 23 file photo, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nation Zhang Jun speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea on Sunday rejected a draft U. N. resolution criticizing the country's human rights violations as it vowed to continue to resolutely counter hostile forces.The angry reactions came four days after the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly approved the resolution. The resolution, the 17th of its kind adopted annually by the U.N. panel, is expected to be endorsed at the General Assembly next month.North Korea's Foreign Ministry said it categorically rejects the anti-DPRK "human rights resolution" of the hostile forces, calling it a product of anti-DPRK hostile policy and double standard, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."We will never tolerate any attempts that violate the sovereignty of our state, and we will continue to resolutely counter to the end the ever-worsening moves of thNov 21, 2021
