Unification ministry hopes for North Korea to respond to offer for discussion on virtual conference system Unification Minister Lee In-young / Yonhap The unification ministry on Thursday expressed hope that North Korea will respond to South Korea's recent offer for discussion on setting up a virtual conference system for inter-Korean talks.South Korea made a proposal to discuss the matter with North Korea days after the two Koreas restored cross-border communication lines last week that had been severed for more than a year after North Korea cut them off in protest of anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from the South. North Korea has yet to provide answers to the offer. "We have sufficiently explained the need for the establishment of a virtual conference system for the sake of safe dialogue amid the coronavirus situation. Since we made the offer for discussions in that context, we expect the North to respond," a ministry official said.Saying that the North has not yet provided answers to the offer, the official said that the ministry continues to make all necessary preparatioAug 5, 2021By Lee Hyo-sik
North Korea puts major rice-producing areas on high alert against flooding North Korean farmers in Gaepung County, North Hwanghae Province are seen from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, July 29. YonhapNorth Korea has been taking flooding prevention measures in major farming areas in the country's southwest in an effort to minimize damage to grain production amid forecasts of heavy downpours, state media reported Thursday."Emergency steps have been taken to prevent damage from flooding at cooperative fields in Jaeryong County," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said. "Anti-flooding efforts have been seriously undertaken basically to prevent farming areas in Anak County from inundation."The counties located in South Hwanghae Province are known as major rice-producing areas.Various anti-flooding measures, such as the repair of reservoirs and streams, have also been taken in Sariwon, Hwangju and other areas of North Hawnghae Province, according to the paper. Hwanghae provinces are in the country's southwestern region and were among those hard hit by last summer's back-to-back typhoons anAug 5, 2021
North Korea criticizes British fleet of warships ahead of port call in South HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier / AP-YonhapNorth Korea slammed a British decision to deploy the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in Asia ahead of the carrier's port call in South Korea later this month.Pyongyang's foreign ministry published on Tuesday a statement from Choe Hyon-do, a researcher with the North Korea-Europe Association, accusing Britain of escalating tensions in the region."Britain, which intensifies the situation by pushing warships into the distant Asia-Pacific region, is using the move as an excuse to use [North Korea] as a threat," Choe said. "It is a kind of provocation."The Queen Elizabeth and a fleet of warships embarked on a world tour in May. The Carrier Strike Group has so far conducted joint exercises with Indian and Singaporean forces, and is expected to take part in drills with the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea."The days when the British Empire threatened various countries around the world with 'inclusion diplomacy' and colonized them at will have passed forever," the North Korean statement read. "Better to pay attention to the tAug 4, 2021
North Korean officials attend Russian Embassy's exhibition, resume in-person diplomacy In this photo distributed by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, North Korean officials attend a photo exhibition held by the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang on Aug. 3. YonhapNorth Korean officials attended a photo exhibition held by the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang and highlighted their cooperative ties, state media showed Wednesday, signaling Pyongyang's resumption of in-person diplomacy suspended due to the coronavirus. The photo exhibition was held Tuesday "to mark the 20th anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong-il's historic visit to Russia and the 10th anniversary of his visit to the Siberian and the Far Eastern regions," according to the Korean Central News Agency.Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader, Kim Jong-un, ruled North Korea until his death in 2011.Participants, including Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il, praised the leaders' trips to Russia as "important events that made distinguished contribution" to advancing Pyongyang-Moscow relations, and ensuring peace and security in the region, it added.North Korea claims to be coronavirus-free, but it has taken relatAug 4, 2021
US will not accept nuclear North Korea despite North Korean ambitions: US official Sydney Seiler / Korea Times fileThe United States will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea despite the latter's apparent ambition to become a nuclear state, a ranking U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.Sydney Seiler, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, argued the North's true intention, at least for the time being, may be to be accepted as a nuclear state."We have made clear in all of our negotiations ― what it is we expect from the North ... and what benefits would accrue to the DPRK," he said in a webinar hosted by the Washington Times Foundation, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."But until now, the regime just has simply not wanted to take these exit ramps," he added.Seiler said the North has had many opportunities to denuclearize in exchange for incentives that it is said to seek, such as improved relations with the United States, as well as a security guarantee.Pyongyang, however, has "simply squandered away an opportunity to move forward with it, wAug 4, 2021
Restoration of inter-Korean liaison hotlines requested by Kim Jong-un: NIS In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves to participants in a workshop of the commanders and political officers of the Korean People's Army, in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 27. AP-YonhapThe recent restoration of long-severed communication hotlines between Seoul and Pyongyang was initiated at a request by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's spy agency said in a parliamentary briefing Tuesday. "(The restoration) was what Chairman Kim Jong-un requested," the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was quoted by Kim Byung-kee and Ha Tae-keung, senior members of the parliamentary intelligence committee, as saying during a parliamentary briefing. A week earlier, Cheong Wa Dae announced that the two Koreas reopened direct cross-border liaison hotlines and were resuming inter-Korean communications. The liaison hotlines were disconnected by the North about 13 months ago in protest of propaganda leaflets coming in from the South. "Through the (reconnected) communication lines, South and North Korea are regularly talking on the phone twAug 3, 2021
North Korea wants US to allow fuel, metal trade to restart talks - South Korea lawmakers This handout image obtained on July 30, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, shows oil tanker M/T Courageous docked in an undisclosed location and date. - A U.S. federal court on July 30 ordered the seizure of an oil tanker suspected of making deliveries to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions against Pyongyang. AFP-YonhapNorth Korea wants international sanctions banning its metal exports and imports of refined fuel and other necessities lifted in order to restart denuclearization talks with the United States, South Korean lawmakers said on Tuesday.The North has also demanded the easing of sanctions on its imports of luxury goods to be able to bring in fine liquors and suits, the lawmakers said after being briefed by South Korea's main intelligence agency.The briefing came a week after the two Koreas restored hotlines that North Korea suspended a year ago.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have shared a willingness to rebuild trust and improve ties since April, and Kim had asked to reconnect the hotlines, the lawmakers said.They also sAug 3, 2021
North Korea answers South Korea's calls via radio hotline In this July 27 photo, a South Korean service member uses the inter-Korean western military communication line. YonhapNorth Korea answered South Korea's calls via a radio hotline on Tuesday for the first time since all fixed communication lines between the two sides were restored last week, officials said. Last week, South and North Korea reopened all cross-border communication lines, including military hotlines, 13 months after Pyongyang cut them off in protest over anti-regime propaganda leaflets flying in from the South.Though both of the two direct military communication lines ― the western and eastern hotlines ― operated normally, Pyongyang had not answered the South's calls via ship-to-ship radio links that use the global merchant marine communication, officials said. "This morning, we again called the North at the designated time via the international network hotline, and got an answer from the North," a ministry official said.The restoration of the radio hotline came after Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned that the future of inter-Korean relatAug 3, 2021
Blinken to urge ASEAN members to fully implement UN sanctions on North Korea: State Dept. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken / Reuters-YonhapU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to call for full implementation of U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea when he meets with his counterparts from the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a State Department spokesman said Monday."During this week's meeting Secretary Blinken will ... reiterate U.S. positions on pressing regional issues, including calling on the Burmese junta to immediately end the violence and restore Burma to the path of democracy, supporting freedom of the seas in the South China Sea, improving resilience and transparency through the Mekong-U.S. partnership and urging ASEAN members to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions on the DPRK," the spokesman, Ned Price, said in a press briefing.DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.The department earlier said the top U.S. diplomat will take part in five virtual meetings related to ASEAN between Monday and Thursday (U.S. time), including the ASEAN Regional ForuAug 3, 2021
North Korea slams human rights group for criticizing China's forced return of defectors In this June 24 file photo, North Korean defectors and college students clean gravestones at the Seoul National Cemetery as volunteering work. YonhapNorth Korea on Monday slammed an international human rights group for criticizing China's repatriation of defectors, calling the group a "villainous human rights plot organization."Last month, Human Rights Watch raised concerns after China sent nearly 50 North Korean refugees back to their homeland where they could face torture and imprisonment, saying that more refugees are at risk as Pyongyang has recently reopened its borders.The North's foreign ministry lashed out at the group, accusing it of making an "anti-China human rights racket" and spreading rumors about forced repatriation."When it comes to 'Human Rights Watch', it is a villainous 'human rights' plot organization which, describing itself as an international human rights body, has actively engaged in the anti-China 'human rights' rackets by the successive U.S. administrations," the ministry said on its website.The ministry also slammed the organization for slandering the "trueAug 2, 2021
