Will Pyongyang return to negotiating table? North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a session of the plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, Thursday, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. YonhapNorth Korean leader stresses 'both dialogue and confrontation' with USBy Kwon Mee-yooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un emphasized stable control of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Friday, and said the isolated state should be ready for "both dialogue and confrontation," in an apparent conciliatory gesture toward South Korea and the United States. It is rare for the bellicose North to mention dialogue, and considering the remarks were made a day before U.S. special representative for North Korea Sung Kim's visit to Seoul, attention is now on whether stalled denuclearization talks will get a makeover.According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, during a ruling Workers' Party of Korea meeting Thursday, Kim said the country has “made a detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the newly emerged U.S. administration tJun 18, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo
'North Korea hacked into South Korean nuclear energy institute' Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party holds a press conference at the National Assembly, Seoul, Friday, where he claimed North Korea hacked into the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute last month. YonhapBy Kim RahnSouth Korea's state-run institute dealing with nuclear-related technology was the target of an attack by a group of North Korean hackers, main opposition People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said Friday.According to the lawmaker, 13 unauthorized IP addresses accessed the intranet system of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, May 14.IssueMakersLab, a Seoul-based group of malware analysts, tracked the IP addresses and found some of them were linked to the server of “kimsuky,” which is believed to be a state-backed North Korean hacking group, Ha said.The cyber espionage group has been detected in previous hacking attacks targeting South Korean government organizations and is believed to have attempted to gain access to the cyber networks of global companies developing COVID-19 vaccines last year.Ha also said some of the IP addreJun 18, 2021By Kim Rahn
North Korea's Kim says it must prepare for 'both dialogue and confrontation' with US North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / AP-YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country needs to prepare for "both dialogue and confrontation" with the United States under President Joe Biden, state media reported Friday.At a plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Thursday, Kim outlined his strategy for relations with Washington, and the "policy tendency of the newly emerged US administration", the Korean Central News Agency said.Kim "stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state" and reliably guarantee a "peaceful environment", KCNA reported.The North Korean leader "called for sharply and promptly reacting to and coping with the fast-changing situation and concentrating efforts on taking stable control of the situation on the Korean peninsula", the agency said.Pyongyang had already accused Biden of pursuing a "hostile policy" and saying it was a "big blunder" for the veteran Democrat to say he would deal with the Jun 18, 2021
Debates arise over call to cancel joint military drills Moon Chung-in, chairman of the Sejong Institute and former special advisor to President Moon Jae-in for foreign and national security affairs, speaks during a webinar "Nurturing Negotiations: How to Jumpstart and Sustain Diplomacy with North Korea," co-hosted by the Washington-based National Committee on North Korea and the Seoul-based East Asia Foundation, Wednesday. Captured from YouTubeExperts express concerns over weakening of combined nuclear deterrence capabilitiesBy Jung Da-minA debate has arisen over whether South Korea and the U.S. should cancel their annual joint military exercises scheduled to be held in August, with some government officials and experts ― who advocate engagement with North Korea ― saying Pyongyang will not return to denuclearization talks as long as they continue to be held. However, others question whether such a cancellation would have any effect at all noting the distinct probability that the North will not take any corresponding actions.In August, the allies are scheduled to hold the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) command post exercise without thJun 17, 2021
North Korea makes rare humanitarian donation for Myanmar: UN data North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / YonhapNorth Korea has donated $300,000 to a project by the United Nations to provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, U.N. data showed Thursday, a rare case for the impoverished state to join global aid efforts.The North made the donation to the U.N.-led project aimed at offering anti-coronavirus support, food assistance and other aid to Myanmar, according to the data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).North Korea is among more than a dozen countries and organizations that have chipped in for the project. South Korea has also donated $600,000 to the cause.OCHA data showed that North Korea last made such a donation to a U.N.-led assistance project in 2005. The North's donation came amid brewing political turmoil in Myanmar in the wake of a military coup in February.North Korea and Myanmar have maintained friendly relations.In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Myanmar's president on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the Southeast Asian country's independence and expressedJun 17, 2021
North Korea holds key party meeting for second day with focus on economy A session meeting of North Korea's Workers' Party meeting is held in this photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency, June 17. YonhapNorth Korea held a key Workers' Party meeting for the second day with a focus on economic issues, according to state media Thursday, amid speculation that foreign policy could also have been discussed.Photos released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed leader Kim Jong-un presiding over a panel discussion during the second-day plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon was seen taking down notes in one of the photos.Ri's attendance suggests that policy directions for the U.S. and South Korea could have been discussed.Wednesday's meeting consisted of a series of panel discussions and consultative meetings to "successfully push ahead with the fighting tasks for the second half of the year without any deviation," the KCNA said.The sector panels included various areas, such as metal, railway transport, the chemical industry, electricity, coal, the light industry, the agriculJun 17, 2021
Ruling party chief proposes small modular reactors as energy aid to North Korea Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during his speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, June 16. YonhapThe head of South Korea's ruling party on Wednesday proposed the installation of small modular reactors (SMRs) in North Korea, calling it a useful way to supply energy to the country when it is free from nuclear weapons."Under the precondition of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, SMRs could be a useful way to supply energy to North Korea that has many mountainous regions and a shortage of power transmission and distribution networks," Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), said in his speech to a parliamentary plenary session."SMR is highly likely to emerge as an effective energy source for Middle Eastern nations or countries with heavy geographical restrictions."The party chief made the proposal as part of his broader vision to help his country attain carbon neutrality."There are barriers to attaining complete carbon neutrality only based on renewable energy. It will be inevitable to come up with an enerJun 16, 2021
Both sanctions and diplomacy critical to denuclearizing North Korea: Kritenbrink The image captured from the website of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee shows Daniel Kritenbrink, nominee for assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, delivering opening remarks in a confirmation hearing in Washington, June 15. YonhapStrict and continued enforcement of sanctions on North Korea while also seeking to engage with the reclusive state diplomatically are important to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the nominee for U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said Tuesday.Daniel Kritenbrink also said he would try to find ways to further strengthen sanctions on the North if confirmed."As I noted at the outset, the Biden-Harris administration is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. And, if confirmed, I would support an approach that relies both on sanctions enforcement and deterrence, as well as a practical calibrated approach, open to diplomacy," he said in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."If confirmed, I would be delighted to learn more about the Jun 16, 2021
North Korean leader opens meeting to discuss how to cope with 'current international situation' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a key Workers' Party meeting on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency Wednesday. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un opened a key Workers' Party meeting to discuss ways to deal with the "current international situation," food shortages, anti-pandemic efforts and other economic issues, state media said Wednesday.The multiday plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee was convened for "taking measures to solve the pending issues urgent for improving the economic work and the people's living and for the discussion of and decision on issues for powerfully and correctly pushing forward crucial state work under the prevailing situation," according to the Korean Central News Agency."Saying that in particular, the people's food situation is now getting tense as the agricultural sector failed to fulfill its grain production plan due to the damage by typhoon last year, he stressed that the plenary meeting should take a positive measure for settling the problem," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying."He set forth the tasks for the stJun 16, 2021
Unification minister delays US visit Unification Minister Lee In-young, right, and Defense Minister Suh Wook attend a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooUnification Minister Lee In-young has postponed his long-prepared trip to the United States as it was not expected his visit would yield desirable results, according to the ministry, Tuesday.Starting this year, Lee had been planning a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet the newly inaugurated Joe Biden administration's officials to discuss how to revive stalled North Korean nuclear negotiations and resume cross-border exchanges. Lee is a long-time advocate of engagement with the North.Inter-Korean ties have been deadlocked since the summit between the U.S. and North Korea in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019 ended without a deal. “Despite having prepared for the minister's U.S. visit in late June, we decided to put it on hold after considering numerous factors,” a senior ministry official said. According to the official, ongoing uncertainties between South and North Korea as well as U.S. government officials' hectJun 15, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
