North Korea conducted short-range missile test North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / YonhapNorth Korea fired short-range missiles this past weekend, just days after the sister of Kim Jong Un threatened the United States and South Korea for holding joint military exercises.The missile tests were confirmed by two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. They come as North Korea has ignored offers from the new administration to resume negotiations, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week pressed China to use its ``tremendous influence'' to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.The officials, however, sought to downplay the significance of the missile tests, noting that they are not covered by U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to deter North Korea from pursuing a nuclear program. Biden himself told reporters the missile tests were not a provocation. ``There's no new wrinkle in what they did,`` he said.The Biden administration has been open about its desire to engage the North in negotiations even as the regime has batted away calls for the two nations to talk. In NMar 24, 2021
S. Korea not to co-sponsor this year's UN resolution on North Korean human rights Korea Times fileSouth Korea decided not to co-sponsor a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on North Korea's rights violations for the third consecutive year, though it will join the document's adoption by consensus, a Seoul official said Tuesday.The council is set to adopt the resolution for the 19th straight year during the 46th session in Geneva this week, as Seoul seeks to avoid tension with the North amid its efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue."The government's position will remain the same as it has been," the official told reporters, saying the decision followed a "comprehensive consideration of various situations.""But the government plans to participate in the adoption of the resolution by consensus, as it did last year," he added.The planned adoption of the resolution comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the "authoritarian regime" in Pyongyang of "systemic and widespread abuses" against its own people last week.After rejoining the Human Rights Council earlier this year following its withdrawal in 2018, the U.S. participated in the resolution as a coMar 23, 2021
Is US pressure on China, North Korea leading to new Cold War? North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping wave to people on a street in Pyongyang, June 20, 2019. Korea Times fileChinese, Russian top diplomats demonstrate unity against USBy Kang Seung-wooThe U.S.' moves to rally its allies against North Korea and China are raising the specter of a new Cold War, according to diplomatic observers, with the totalitarian states, along with Russia, teaming up to address the “hostile policy,” Tuesday. The new era of geopolitical rivalry is putting South Korea in the hot seat, given that Seoul is maintaining deep partnerships with both Washington and Beijing.The latest sign of a second Cold War came, Tuesday, the day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged verbal messages, which confirmed the two countries' bilateral cooperation. According to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim “stressed the need to strengthen the unity and cooperation between the two parties and two countries to cope with the hostile forces' all-round challenges and obstructive movesMar 23, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
US-China tensions feared to weaken efforts to denuclearize North Korea A North Korean flag flies over the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 20, 2021. A rancorous U.S.-China rivalry that appears to have brought North Korea and China even closer is casting a pall over cooperation between the major powers in charting a course for Pyongyang's denuclearization, experts say. EPAA rancorous Sino-U.S. rivalry that appears to be bringing North Korea and China even closer is casting a pall over cooperation between the major powers in charting a course for Pyongyang's denuclearization, analysts said Tuesday.The bitter public war of words among top U.S. and Chinese officials in Alaska last week marked a sobering reminder of key geopolitical fault lines between their countries and of the challenge to fostering their cooperation on diverse tricky issues, including peace on the Korean Peninsula.Compounding the challenge are emerging signs of Beijing and Pyongyang seeking to tighten their unity against "hostile forces" ― with Moscow's sour ties with Washington feared to dim the prospects of cooperation for regional stability."The overall geopoliticaMar 23, 2021
Kim calls for unity with China against 'hostile forces' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping / YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for stronger strategic communication and unity with China to address "hostile forces" in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media said Tuesday.Kim sent the message "to notify the accounts of the 8th Congress of the WPK, as required by the times that call for intensifying the strategic communication between the two parties on the basis of deep comradeship," the Korean Central News Agency said, without mentioning when the message was sent. WPK is the Workers' Party of Korea."It stressed the need to strengthen the unity and cooperation between the two parties and two countries to cope with the hostile forces' all-round challenges and obstructive moves," KCNA added.Kim described in detail the measures that North Korea took during the party congress in January, including "policy stand on the bolstering of defense capabilities of the country, the inter-Korean relations and the DPRK-U.S. relations.DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic PeoplMar 23, 2021
Moon's plan to revive peace initiative through Tokyo Games faces hitch This Feb. 16 aerial photo shows the National Stadium in Tokyo, a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics. AP-YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Moon Jae-in's bid to take the Tokyo Olympic Games as an opportunity to revive the peace initiative toward North Korea is facing uncertainties, as the sporting event appears to be losing steam on Japan's decision to bar overseas spectators. Moon has been successful in using the Olympic Games as a tool to draw North Korea out for talks with not only South Korea but also the U.S. Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, visited the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, leading to a series of inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea summits later that year. Experts said Monday, however, that could not be the case for the Tokyo Games, as the event is losing steam by shutting its doors to visitors from overseas and the Moon administration is too optimistic about North Korea's preparedness to send its athletes to compete amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Tokyo Games organizers said, Saturday, that overseas visitors will not be aMar 22, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Seoul to seek other ways to engage with North Korea as overseas fans banned from Tokyo Olympics This picture shows the logos of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo on March 20, 2021. AFPThe unification ministry said Monday it will look for opportunities to move forward the Korea peace process amid dimmed prospects for engaging with North Korea through the Tokyo Olympics following Japan's decision to ban foreign spectators.South Korea has been seeking ways to create opportunities to reengage with North Korea through events such as the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled for July and August this year."We will continue to seek ways to move forward the peace process on the Korean Peninsula with the given conditions and circumstances," Lee Jong-joo, the ministry's spokesperson, said in a regular press briefing."There are several opportunities we can use to promote the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, and the Tokyo Olympics could be one way," she said. (Yonhap)Mar 22, 2021
North Korean man extradited to US in sanctions case An embassy staff boards a shuttle bus before leaving their embassy in Kuala Lumpur on March 21, after the country severed diplomatic ties with Malaysia in response to the extradition of a North Korean citizen to the U.S. this month. AFPA North Korean citizen was taken into U.S. custody on Saturday after being extradited from Malaysia to face money laundering charges, making him the first North Korean extradited to the U.S. to face trial.Mun Chol Myong was in the custody of the FBI in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. His extradition came after a Malaysian court rejected his assertion that the charges were politically motivated.The Justice Department declined comment on Sunday.A federal judge in Washington had issued a warrant for Mun's arrest on May 2, 2019 on money laundering and conspiracy charges. Mun, who is in his 50s, has lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019 after the U.S. requested his extradition. Malaysia's government approved the extradition, but Mun challenged the bid.His lawyer has said Mun worrieMar 22, 2021
Uncertain future ahead for US-North Korea dialogue gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooDespite the highly hyped visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to South Korea last week, there were no major new initiatives for how to deal with North Korea, probably because the Joe Biden administration hasn't finished the review of its policy toward the country.Ahead of their arrival in Seoul, the United States attempted several ways to get in touch with North Korea, but the officials were more focused during their stay on the North Korean regime's nuclear program and human rights abuses, a move questioning the diplomatic undertone in its “two-track” approach to engaging Pyongyang. North Korea sought to insert itself in the secretaries' trip to South Korea by announcing that it will ignore the U.S.' overtures unless it drops its hostile policy toward the country, but it did not opt for any expected provocative actions, a decision hinting that the North may take a wait-and-see approach to the new American administration until the policy review process is finished in a few weeks.“AlthouMar 21, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
North Korean defectors talk about escape, new life in South in English Pak Yu-sung, center, grand prize winner of the 13th English speech contest organized by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), poses with judges and dignitaries including co-founders of the organization Lee Eun-koo, left, and Casey Lartigue Jr, third from right, during the contest at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of FSILee Hyo-jin North Korean defectors resettled in the South shared various experiences about their escapes and adaptation to life outside of North Korea at the 13th English speaking contest organized by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), Saturday. FSI is a Seoul-based non-governmental organization that provides free English lessons for North Korean refugees. Formerly known as Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR), the organization changed its name recently to reflect its new focus on public speaking over tutoring.Co-founded in 2013 by Casey Lartigue Jr. and Lee Eun-koo, it has supported over 460 North Koreans in English and public speaking education as well as career development, with the help of over 1,050 volunteers and coaches. The lMar 21, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
