Report: North Korea likely to reopen land trade routes with China In this 2020 June file photo taken in Dandong, China, North Korea's Sinuiju is seen across the Aprok River that separates the two countries / Korea Times fileNorth Korea is likely to reopen suspended land-based trading routes with China after months of delays, according to a Japanese press report.A source based in the Chinese city of Dandong, in Liaoning Province, told the Nikkei that information about the reopening came from North Korean officials. North Korea-China trade is likely to "resume at the end of the month," the source said.Dandong is an important point of exchange for the two countries. Close to 90 percent of North Korea's trade is conducted with China, and 70 percent of all China-North Korea trade took place through Dandong before the pandemic.North Korea's closure of its borders since the start of the pandemic has led to a dramatic decline in activity, but the country may have left maritime routes open for emergency goods.Earlier this year, the Port State Control Committee of the Asia-Pacific showed North Korean ships entering different Chinese ports.Activity has yet toAug 10, 2021
North Korea leader's sister slams South Korea, US over joint military exercise Kim Yo-jong / YonhapThe sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday slammed South Korea and the United States for going ahead with joint military exercises, denouncing the drills as the "most intensive expression" of Washington's hostile policy toward Pyongyang.Kim Yo-jong expressed "strong regrets" to South Korea for what she called an "act of betrayal" as the South kicked off a preliminary training with the U.S. in the run-up to next week's main exercise, after her earlier warning that the maneuvers will cloud inter-Korean relations.She said the exercise shows that U.S. calls for unconditional talks and diplomatic engagement with the North are nothing but hypocrisy designed to conceal its ulterior intention of invasion, and vowed to further strengthen the country's "absolute deterrence" to cope with U.S. military threats."The combined exercises are the most intensive expression of the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and a self-destructive act that threatens the safety of our people and further endangers the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Kim said in a statement caAug 10, 2021
Activists charged with espionage allegedly used local newspaper for N. Korean propaganda This combined photo shows four South Korean activists entering the Cheongju District Court, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, to attend an arrest warrant hearing on Aug. 2 for allegedly taking orders from North Korea to stage anti-weapons protests. YonhapFour South Korean activists charged with espionage were found to have used a local online newspaper to disseminate N. Korean propaganda and to update Pyongyang about investigations against them, sources said Monday.According to the sources, the activists used an online media website owned by one of them, a 47-year-old man surnamed Son, as a channel to glorify the regime.The activists were recently arrested on espionage charges for allegedly taking orders from Pyongyang and staging a series of protests opposing Seoul's plan to procure U.S.-built F-35A stealth fighter jets. They were allegedly ordered to promote the "greatness of the chairman," referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, to different South Korean groups, especially the youth, through the newspaper. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the National Police AgAug 9, 2021
Seoul seeks ambiguous approach to North Korea before Korea-US military drills The national flags of South and North Korea fly at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, Monday. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooSeoul is resorting to an ambiguous approach to Pyongyang over its upcoming combined military exercises with the U.S., by consulting with Washington on offering humanitarian aid to the North. This is interpreted as the Moon Jae-in government's compromise plan in which the administration can show its willingness for talks with Pyongyang while dodging domestic criticism that it is letting the North take the lead in the inter-Korean tug-of-war over the summertime military drills.Foreign Affairs Minister Chung Eui-yong had a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Friday in which the two discussed ways to “cooperate with the DPRK in areas such as humanitarian cooperation, and agreed to make continued efforts to engage with the DPRK,” his ministry said. The DPRK is an acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The U.S. State Department also said the two sides “agreed to explorAug 9, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea paper says current hardships from pandemic, flood damage as challenging as war In this 2020 December file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, workers disinfect a public facility in Dancheon, North Korea. YonhapNorth Korea's main newspaper said Monday that the country is faced with war-like challenges from a triple whammy of the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, global sanctions and recent flooding."The challenges arising from an unprecedented global health crisis, protracted border closure and abnormal weather disasters have led to a crisis no less challenging than those during war," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the country's ruling Workers' Party, said in an editorial.The paper also called on its people to help achieve a self-reliant economy that advances regardless of "any sanctions by hostile forces" or other external factors, including the lockdown."All party members and workers must strive to lead the world with our own creation using our own hands and finding it on our own land," it said.Adding to North Korea's woes from the pandemic and international sanctions were recent heavy downpours that battered the country's easteAug 9, 2021
South Korea to explore all possibilities of helping North Korea with recovery from flood damage: unification ministry In this frame grab from video released by North Korea's Korean Central Television on Aug. 5, part of residential area is submerged due to heavy rain in South Hamgyong Province. YonhapSouth Korea will try to help North Korea with recovery efforts in a flood-hit eastern province while leaving all possibilities open as to how to provide assistance, the unification ministry said Monday.The remark came a day after North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un ordered full state support for recovery efforts in South Hamgyong Province, hit hard by recent heavy downpours, and that the country held an emergency meeting of the provincial military commission to discuss recovery plans.On Monday, unification ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo said that when the North suffered damage from flooding or other disasters in the past, the South provided humanitarian assistance through various channels, including government and civilian channels as well as via international agencies."This time as well, it will also figure out damage in the North and its needs for support while leaving all theAug 9, 2021
North Korea could give entire population single COVID-19 shot in less than 10 days: 38 North AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine / AFP-YonhapNorth Korea could, in theory, give its entire population a single COVID-19 vaccine shot in less than 10 days, using vaccines that require standard refrigeration, such as AstraZeneca's, according to a U.S. website monitoring the reclusive state.In an article on the North's vaccination capabilities posted Thursday, 38 North made the projections "based on ideal conditions," as it analyzed Pyongyang's erstwhile vaccination efforts, such as an anti-measles campaign in 2007.The website also stressed that the North's cold chain infrastructure is capable of supporting the countrywide deployment of vaccines that require standard refrigeration between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, while vaccines requiring ultra-cold temperatures could also be deployed if the initial rollout was limited geographically."Provided they had time to prepare, i.e., ensure the integrity of the cold chain and have sufficient stock of consumables, the North Koreans could, in theory, vaccinate the entire population of 25 million people in less than 10 days for single inAug 7, 2021
North Korea continues developing nuclear, missile programs in 2021 -U.N. report A North Korea flag flutters over concertina wire at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this 2017 March file photo. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea continued developing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs during the first half of 2021 in violation of international sanctions and despite the country's worsening economic situation, according to an excerpt of a confidential United Nations report seen by Reuters, Friday.The report compiled by a panel of independent sanctions monitors for the U.N. Security Council North Korea sanctions committee said Pyongyang "continued to seek material and technology for these programs overseas.""Despite the country's focus on its worsening economic travails, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continued to maintain and develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs," the sanctions monitors concluded.North Korea is formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The isolated Asian nation imposed a Aug 7, 2021
Report: North Korean teens caught listening to BTS song Boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit MusicNorth Korean high school students who were caught singing and dancing to a song by South Korean boy band BTS are under investigation, according to a South Korean press report Thursday.A source in North Korea's South Pyongan Province said that the students were trainees with North Korea's Red Youth Guard who were taking a break from training, Seoul Pyongyang News reported. The Red Youth Guard is a North Korean militia organization of teenage cadets.The students of Anju Middle School were listening to BTS' hit song, "Blood, Sweat & Tears" on an MP3 player and belting out the lyrics, the source said.A local chapter of North Korea's Workers' Party and state security were notified of the activities. The group is being investigated for engaging in "reactionary ideology and culture," in violation of North Korean law, the report said.In December North Korea passed laws against reactionary ideology and culture, a reference to flows of information from the outside world, including South Korean entertainment media and broadcasts.SP News' source said tAug 6, 2021
Biden gov't likely to seek incremental sanctions relief for North Korea: CRS report U.S. President Joe Biden / AP-YonhapThe U.S. government appears to envision offering partial sanctions relief in exchange for North Korea taking denuclearization steps but such "incremental" sanctions relief would be difficult to move forward without congressional support, a congressional report showed Friday.That is because the sanctions on the North are targeting not just the country's weapons development but also a host of other issues, such as human rights abuses, money laundering, international terrorism and cyber operations, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said."The (Joe) Biden approach... appears to envision offering partial sanctions relief in exchange for partial steps toward denuclearization," the report said. "Incremental sanctions relief could be difficult to accomplish without congressional support.""The possibility of sanctions relief is complicated by, among other factors, U.S. legal requirements ... U.S. sanctions on North Korea target not just weapons development but also human rights abuses, money laundering, weapons trade, international terrorism anAug 6, 2021
