South Korea to provide up to 10 billion won for civilian aid projects for North Korea President Moon Jae-in / YonhapSouth Korea decided Friday to provide up to 10 billion won ($8.5 million) to help civilian organizations carry out aid projects for North Korean people facing urgent humanitarian needs amid the global coronavirus pandemic, the unification ministry said.Under the decision approved by a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges, up to 500 million won can be provided to a single project designed to improve nutrition and health conditions for North Korean citizens, according to the ministry.Previously, the government provided financial support for such humanitarian projects in a 50-50 matching fund scheme, in which it covered up to half of the spending necessary to purchase materials and transport them into the reclusive North."The government intends to complement the financial limits of civilian organizations committed to and capable of carrying out inter-Korean cooperation projects," the ministry said. "We hope that it will lead to the improvement in the quality of life of North Korean citizens."Applicants must first win consent from the NortSep 24, 2021
'Not yet': North Korea opposed to formally ending Korean War This photo provided by the North Korean government Sept. 16 shows a test missile is launched from a train on Sept. 15, in an undisclosed location of North Korea. North Korea on Friday rejected President Moon Jae-in's proposal to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 war as "something premature.” AP-YonhapNorth Korea on Friday rejected President Moon Jae-in's proposal to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 war as "something premature," arguing that such a declaration would be meaningless as long as the U.S. "hostile policy" remains unchanged.Vice Foreign Minister Ri Thae-song made the rejection in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, saying that an end-of-war declaration has "no legal binding force" and will "become a mere scrap of paper in a moment upon changes in situations.""There is no vouch that the mere declaration of the termination of the war would lead to the withdrawal of the hostile policy toward the DPRK, under the present situation on the peninsula inching close to a touch-and-go situation," he said.DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic ofSep 24, 2021
North Korean paper calls for speedy harvests to minimize loss from natural disasters In this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency, Sept. 15, North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun makes field inspection visit to a rural area. YonhapNorth Korea's official newspaper on Thursday called for all-out efforts to speed up harvests of crops to minimize loss from natural disasters and maximize grain production amid worries about chronic food shortages. "All means at our disposable should be mobilized for harvesting and threshing grains in the autumn," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said. "All sectors, units and party organizations should also ramp up efforts to support the farming community.""Carrying out autumn harvests with our whole mind is not just work to resolve food problems for our people but also a powerful political business," the paper said.The paper also stressed the importance of accurate weather forecasting and improvements in farming techniques needed to protect crops from flooding and other natural disasters. North Korea has called for better water management and speedy harvests of crops as it wants to prevent the repeSep 23, 2021
Top diplomats of South Korea, US, Japan reaffirm cooperation on North Korea Top diplomats of South Korea, Japan and the United States hold trilateral talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 22. YonhapThe top diplomats of South Korea, Japan and the United States on Wednesday reaffirmed their cooperation in dealing with various regional issues, such as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and climate change, the State Department said.The meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday (local time). "The secretary and the foreign ministers highlighted the global scope of U.S.-Japan-ROK cooperation based upon our shared values, as well as our commitment to preserving and promoting regional peace, stability and prosperity," State Department spokesman Ned Price said of the trilateral meeting."The discussion included ways to deepen cooperation between our countries through multilateral efforts to tackle the pressing global challenges, such as combating the climSep 23, 2021
US open to discussion with North Korea on end of war declaration: Pentagon spokesman U.S. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Sept. 20. AP-YonhapThe United States is open to discussing a possible end of war declaration with North Korea as it seeks to engage with the reclusive state in dialogue over a number of other issues, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier called on the U.S. and South Korea to formally end the Korean War with North Korea."We continue to seek engagement with the DPRK to address a variety of issues, and we are open to discussing the possibility of an end of war declaration," the Department of Defense spokesman, John Kirby, said in a press briefing, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."The United States remains committed to achieving lasting peace on the Korean peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea," he added.The 1950-53 Korean War ended only with an armistice, technically leaving the divided Koreas at war to date.Moon, in his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York this wSep 23, 2021
Moon's proposal to end Korean War faces feasibility questions President Moon Jae-in addresses the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Tuesday (EST). YonhapUnresponsive Pyongyang, Washington-Beijing rivalry stymie talksBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Moon Jae-in once again renewed his call for a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War in an effort to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, but the feasibility of his proposal is questionable, given the state of relations between the two Koreas and the U.S. During a speech at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Tuesday (EST), Moon proposed a trilateral or quadrilateral declaration to proclaim a formal end to the Korean War. The war ended in an armistice signed in 1953 by the U.S.-led United Nations Command, China and North Korea, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war.“Today, I once again urge the community of nations to mobilize its strengths for the end-of-war declaration on the Korean Peninsula, and propose that the three parties of the two Koreas and the U.S., or the four parties of the two Koreas, the U.S. and China, come togetheSep 22, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Moon proposes formal end to Korean War in UN speech President Moon Jae-in speaks during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 21 (local time), at U.N. headquarters in New York City. AP-YonhapSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in suggested once again in his United Nations speech Tuesday that the two Koreas and the United States, probably joined by China, declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War."I propose that three parties of the two Koreas and the U.S., or four parties of the two Koreas, the U.S. and China come together and declare that the War on the Korean Peninsula is over," he said, addressing the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly here."When the parties involved in the Korean War stand together and proclaim an end to the War, I believe we can make irreversible progress in denuclearization and usher in an era of complete peace."Declaring an end to the war will "mark a pivotal point of departure in creating a new order of 'reconciliation and cooperation' on the Korean Peninsula," he added.It marked his last speech at the annual U.N. session, with his single five-year tenure slated to finish in eaSep 22, 2021
North Korea says nuclear sub deal could lead to arms race North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Yonhap North Korea said Monday that a controversial new defense deal in which the United States, Australia and Britain will share nuclear submarine technology could spark an arms race in the Asian-Pacific corridor.Last week, the White House announced the multinational deal, called AUKUS, which was immediately criticized by China and angered France, which had a submarine deal with Australia canceled because of the pact."These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts, which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and trigger off a chain of a nuclear arms race," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said, according to the Washington Post, quoting a foreign ministry official."It is quite natural that neighboring countries including China condemned these actions as irresponsible ones of destroying the peace and stability of the region and the international nuclear nonproliferation system and of catalyziSep 21, 2021
North Korea's nuclear program going 'full steam ahead,' IAEA chief says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / AP-YonhapNorth Korea's nuclear program is going "full steam ahead", U.N. atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said in a speech to an annual meeting of his agency's member states on Monday."In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (the) nuclear program goes full steam ahead with work on plutonium separation, uranium enrichment and other activities," said Grossi, who issued a report last month saying Pyongyang appeared to have restarted a nuclear reactor that is widely believed to have produced plutonium for nuclear weapons. (Reuters)Sep 20, 2021
North Korea discounts South Korea's new SLBM as 'rudimentary, toddling-stage' weapon A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva, Oct. 2, 2014. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea questioned whether South Korea's newly unveiled submarine-launched ballistic missile was a real SLBM, Monday, claiming even if it was, it would be nothing more than a "rudimentary, toddling-stage" weapon that cannot serve as an effective means of attack.The chief of the North's Defense Science Agency made the claim in an article carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), days after South Korea unveiled its first indigenous SLBM by announcing the successful test-launch from the 3,000-ton ROK Navy submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho."According to the released photos, it had the typical structure and form of a surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missile ... and it looks like a somewhat clumsy weapon, which is far from a sea-based one," agency chief Jang Chang-ha said, claiming the pictures could have been photoshopped.Alleging South Korea seemed to have failed to complete key underwater ejection technologies, Jang noted the missile "cannot be an effective meanSep 20, 2021
