Seoul, Pyongyang restore cross-border communication lines An official of South Korea's Ministry of Unification calls with his North Korean counterpart at the Seoul branch of the joint inter-Korean liaison office, Tuesday, when the two Koreas restored communication lines 13 months after Pyongyang cut them off in June last year. Courtesy of Ministry of UnificationExpectation grows on improvement in inter-Korean relations By Nam Hyun-wooSouth and North Korea have restored their communication lines, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday, with leaders of the two countries agreeing to rebuild mutual trust for better inter-Korean relations. This latest development has raised hopes for another reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula and a resumption of the stalled nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea. “South and North Korea have agreed to restore their communication lines, which had been severed, as of 10 a.m., Tuesday,” presidential senior secretary for public communication Park Soo-hyun said during a press conference.All direct communications between the two Koreas were cut unilaterally severed by the North on June 9, 2020Jul 27, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea says restoration of cross-border hotline will play positive role in improving relations In this April 27, 2018, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, poses with President Moon Jae-in inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. AP-YonhapNorth Korea said Tuesday that the restoration of inter-Korean communication lines will play a positive role in improving inter-Korean relations."Now, the whole Korean nation desires to see the North-South relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible," the official Korean Central News Agency said, confirming that all inter-Korean communication liaison lines were restored as of 10 a.m. "The top leaders of the North and the South agreed to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust and promoting reconciliation by restoring the cutoff inter-Korean communication liaison lines through the recent several exchanges of personal letters," the KCNA said.The restoration "will have positive effects on the improvement and development of the North-South relations," it said. (Yonhap)Jul 27, 2021
Two Koreas reopen cross-border communication line President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Korea Times fileInter-Korean military hotlines are back to normal operation after a 13-month suspension, the defense ministry confirmed Tuesday, saying the two Koreas will resume regular daily calls via the communication lines.Earlier in the day, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that the two sides agreed to reopen all direct communication lines at 10 a.m. as part of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations."South and North Korean military authorities restored military communication lines and put them back to normal operations from 10 a.m. Tuesday, to implement agreements by the leaders," the ministry said in a release. "Phone calls and faxing to exchange documents now operate normally."The restoration came 413 days after Pyongyang cut off the lines in June last year in protest over Seoul's supposed failure to stop activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the communist nation.Starting Tuesday afternoon, the two sides will also resume theirJul 27, 2021
North Korea's economic paradox: how de-marketization is driving up value of North's won Shoppers and merchants are seen at a “jangmadang,” or an unofficial market in North Korea, in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, in this photo taken last Sept. 5 from China's Jilin province, which borders North Korea, by Japan's Kyodo News using a telephoto lens. YonhapBy Go Myong-hyunTo borrow from Winston Churchill's quote on Russia, North Korea is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” But recent economic reports coming out of North Korea seem to indicate that there is yet another layer inside the riddle: a paradox.Go Myong-hyun, senior research fellow at Asan Institute for Policy Studies / Courtesy of Go Myong-hyunThe movements in North Korea's foreign exchange market since late last year have been perplexing. The exchange rate between the North Korean won and U.S. dollar (as well as Chinese yuan) has been stable for a long period, balanced at around 8,000 won per dollar since 2013. But this apparent stability collapsed last year as the North Korean won appreciated from the long-term equilibrium of 8,000 won per dollar to 5,000 won per dollar by thisJul 26, 2021
North Korea to hold national conference of war veterans to celebrate end of Korean War Korean War veterans arrive in Pyongyang, July 25, to attend the 7th National Conference of War Veterans, North Korea's state media reported July 26.North Korea plans to hold a national conference of war veterans to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, state media said Monday, despite the global coronavirus pandemic."The 7th National Conference of War Veterans is to be held in Pyongyang with splendor on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.The Korean War ended in an armistice signed on July 27, 1953, which leaves South and North Korea technically in a state of war. The North called the war the Fatherland Liberation War and designated the armistice signing date as Victory Day.War veterans participating in the conference arrived in Pyongyang on Sunday, while party officials visited the lodging quarters to award the participation certificates and congratulate the war veterans, according to the KCNA.The KCNA did not say when the conference will take pJul 26, 2021
North Korean paper calls grain production 'life-or-death' matter In this frame grab from video released by North Korea's Korean Central Television on July 16, crops are suffering from drought. YonhapNorth Korea's official newspaper on Friday called for all-out efforts to maximize grain production this year, saying successful farming is a "life-or-death" matter that could determine the country's fate."The top priority issue of this year's national policy is successful farming," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the country's ruling Workers' Party, said in an editorial."All citizens living in this country should provide every possible support while regarding good farming as a life-or-death matter that determines the fate of themselves and their children as well as that of their country," it added.Saying that farming has been carried out as planned so far, the paper warned that typhoons and flooding, which devastated the country's major rice-producing areas last summer, could hit the country this year too."The guard cannot be lowered at any moment with regard to farming," the paper said. "Given the lessons learned from last year and in light of the impJul 23, 2021
Moon requests Sherman's role in efforts for dialogue with North Korea In this photo provided by Cheong Wa Dae, President Moon Jae-in and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pose prior to their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, July 22. AP-YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in asked U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to play a proactive role for the resumption of talks between Washington and Pyongyang, as they met each other at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday.Moon recalled his summit agreement with President Joe Biden in May to continue joint efforts for the shared goal of completely denuclearizing Korea and establishing permanent peace, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.Sherman expressed hope that North Korea will respond positively to the Biden administration's dialogue offer at an early date. She was quoted as saying that she wants the United States and South Korea to maintain a closely coordinated campaign on the North Korea issue.The official added that she plans to have in-depth discussions on the matter during her upcoming visit to China.Moon and Sherman also exchanged views on other regional and global issues, Jul 22, 2021
Sherman, FM Chung reaffirm efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue table U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman bumps elbows with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong prior to their meeting at the ministry office in Seoul, July 22. AP-YonhapU.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong agreed Thursday to work closely together to bring North Korea back to the denuclearization talks, the foreign ministry said. The two shared the understanding when Sherman paid a courtesy call on Chung in Seoul earlier in the day. Sherman arrived here Wednesday from Japan, where she had trilateral talks with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, respectively. "Minister Chung and Deputy Secretary Sherman reaffirmed the goal of achieving the complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, which was affirmed by the leaders of the two leaders at the time of the Korea-U.S. summit," the ministry said in a release. "While sharing an understanding that diplomacy and dialogue are essential in achieving the goal, (the two sides) also agreed to continue close cooperation at everyJul 22, 2021
Deputy US Secretary of State Sherman renews calls for North Korea to resume dialogue Japan's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, center, Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, left, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pose prior to their trilateral meeting in Tokyo, July 21. EPA-YonhapU.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman renewed calls Wednesday for North Korea to return to dialogue, stressing Washington's willingness to take "some patience" and holding out prospects of a "brighter future" for Pyongyang.Sherman made the remarks following trilateral talks with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, respectively, in Tokyo after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon rejected U.S.' overtures for dialogue last month. "The United States has made it clear that we are ready to engage with North Korea. They know that. We hope they'll respond positively," Sherman said during a joint press conference with Choi and Mori. "But as my colleagues have said, we must exercise some patience, perhaps not too much but some."The deputy secretary then recalled the memory of her accompanying former Defense Secretary Jul 21, 2021
North Korea highlights friendly ties with Russia on summit anniversary In this April 25, 2019, file photo, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk past honor guard officers during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia. North Korea on July 20 vowed efforts to advance friendly relations with Russia on the occasion of the anniversary of a joint declaration adopted when Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000. AP-YonhapNorth Korea on Tuesday vowed efforts to advance friendly relations with Russia on the occasion of the anniversary of a joint declaration adopted when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000.The North's foreign ministry also said that the declaration adopted after the summit between then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Putin has served as a "driving force" in their bilateral ties against "complicated international conditions of the 21st century.""Our republic's stance remains unchanged that the friendly and cooperative relations between North Korea and Russia should be continuously expanded and advanced to live up to the spirit of the joint declaration and the new era of our time and that we wilJul 20, 2021
