US court orders North Korea to pay $2.3 billion over 1968 USS Pueblo seizure In a photo taken on July 28, 2017, a Korean People's Army guide walks aboard the USS Pueblo at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang, North Korea. A U.S. court has ordered North Korea to pay damages to the crew and family of the spy ship USS Pueblo, who were tortured and mistreated for 11 months in 1968 after being captured by the North Korean navy. AFPA US court has ordered North Korea to pay damages to the crew and family of the spy ship USS Pueblo, who were tortured and mistreated for 11 months in 1968 after being captured by the North Korean navy.The Washington federal court said that the surviving members of the crew and families of those now dead are owed compensatory damages for confinement and suffering of $1.15 billion and doubled that for punitive damages against Pyongyang.It said many of the 83-strong crew, one of whom was killed by the North Koreans when they seized the Pueblo on January 23, 1968, were mentally and physically abused during their captivity.In addition, wrote Alan Balaran, the government-appointed "special master" in the case to decidFeb 26, 2021
South Korea yet to finalize position on UN resolution on North Korea's human rights: ministry Delegates take part in the opening session of a United Nations Human right council held in Geneva, in this Sept. 9, 2019 file photo. AFP-YonhapSouth Korea has yet to finalize its position on this year's U.N. resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses, but it will continue communication with the United States and others on the matter, the foreign ministry said Thursday.The ministry's comment came as Seoul's stance on co-sponsoring the resolution drew attention this week after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for the U.N. Human Rights Council's role in addressing human rights violations by North Korea in his speech to the council's session."Our government's position in relation to the resolution has yet to be finalized. But with regard to the issue, we will continue to communicate with the international community, including the United States," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a press briefing.Choi also cited the remarks by Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon in the U.N. session that Seoul has "profound interest" in the human righFeb 25, 2021
'US needs to use China in North Korean nuclear issue' Victor Cha, a senior adviser and the inaugural holder of the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), speaks remotely, Thursday, during an online forum, titled “Free and Unified Korea: Options for the New U.S. Administration,” hosted by the Global Peace Foundation at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul hotel. Courtesy of Global Peace FoundationBy Kang Seung-wooFormer U.S. government officials who dealt with the North Korean nuclear issue for previous presidents have advised the new Biden administration to take advantage of China, the North's key ally and economic patron, in resolving the decades-long problem. U.S. President Joe Biden took office last month and his national security team is reviewing its policy toward Pyongyang, which will likely result in the undoing of many of the Donald Trump administration's foreign policies. “China obviously plays an important role in any negotiation, but given the state of U.S.-China relations, I think we have to approach that particular aspect with a great deal of sobriety, and so I think that means Feb 25, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
EXCLUSIVE There was another ranking North Korean defector from Kuwait before Ryu: source North Korea's former acting ambassador to Kuwait Ryu Hyun-woo has an interview with CNN in January. Captured from CNNBy Yi Whan-wooA North Korean official ranking higher than the country's former Acting Ambassador to Kuwait Ryu Hyun-woo, whose defection to South Korea was recently made public, also fled from the same Gulf state in 2017 and defected to the South, according to a reliable source.Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source told The Korea Times that the “higher-placed” official was not a diplomat but was in charge of a construction project involving North Korean workers. They were eventually sent back home after Kuwait enforced the 2017 U.N. Security Council sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime which was using “their” wage remittances to fund its nuclear and missile programs. The source also wondered why the government didn't reveal anything about the earlier defection.The Kuwaiti government maintains a non-interference stance on North Koreans defecting to Seoul via the South Korean Embassy there, respecting their individual right to traFeb 25, 2021By Yi Whan-woo
Will China, other countries show interest in Gaeseong Industrial Complex? The road to Gaeseong in North Korea remains closed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in this April 2013 photo. Korea Times fileBy Do Je-hae Some experts call for companies from China, Russia and other countries to do business in North Korea's Gaeseong Industrial Complex, to prevent the symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation from being shut down whenever inter-Korean relations go sour.It has been five years since the industrial complex in the North Korean border city was closed abruptly Feb. 10, 2016, during the Park Geun-hye administration, to protest North Korea's nuclear tests. The complex remains closed, despite calls from the businesses that took part in the project to reopen it. The Ministry of Unification has said this week that Seoul will continue to seek the reopening of the complex within the framework of international sanctions against North Korea. Pro-engagement experts have stressed that globalizing inter-Korean economic cooperation could be effective by making the two Koreas accountable not only to each other, but also toward a host of other countries with which they haveFeb 23, 2021By Do Je-hae
North Korean women get 240 days of childbirth leave: report North Korean women participate in a government-led mass rally in Pyongyang in this Feb. 19 photo from the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency. YonhapBy Jung Da-minWorking women in North Korea can get 240 days of maternity leave before and after giving birth, according to the Tongil Voice, a pro-North Korea propaganda outlet, Tuesday. The roughly eight-month-long leave is a part of the North's childbirth encouragement policies introduced in recent years as the country faces a low birthrate, estimated at less than two.“Women receive 240 days of maternity leave ― 60 days before and 180 days after childbirth,” according to an article by the outlet. “During this period, female workers receive prenatal and postnatal subsidies equal to 100 percent of their basic living expenses regardless of their length of service at work.”In South Korea, female workers can get 90 days of paid maternity leave before and right after giving birth, and can take another block of childcare leave, with a lower subsidy, afterward for up to a year.The North Korean media said the Feb 23, 2021
North Korean man caught on CCTV cameras 10 times, but military failed to respond Korea Times fileA North Korean man was caught on military surveillance cameras along the east coast 10 times after he swam ashore in the South last week, but soldiers did nothing to stop him even after alarm bells rang, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday.The announcement was a key point of the results of the JCS' weeklong probe into the Feb. 16 incident. The North Korean man was ultimately captured more than six hours later inside a restricted area north of the Civilian Control Line in the eastern border town of Goseong. He has expressed his desire to defect.According to the probe, the man is believed to have swum in the East Sea overnight wearing a hard-hat diving suit. Upon arrival near an observatory in the South at around 1:05 a.m., he passed through a drainage conduit beneath the barbed wire fences set up along the shore.He then moved along the street undetected until around 4:16 a.m., when guard soldiers found him through a CCTV camera and reported the case to his superiors. After a three-hour manhunt, the military took him into custody at around 7:27 a.m.After arriviFeb 23, 2021
North Korean defectors sue unification minister for defamation Choi Seong-kuk, third from left, a North Korean defector who is a cartoonist and human rights activist here, speaks during a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, before filing a defamation lawsuit against Unification Minister Lee In-young together with three other defectors. Screenshot from Mulmangcho's YouTube accountBy Jung Da-minFour North Korean defectors are suing Unification Minister Lee In-young for defamation over his recent remarks which they claim treated defectors as “liars.” The four, with help from Mulmangcho, an organization that supports North Korean defectors adjust to life in the South, held a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, to condemn the minister who said testimony from North Korean defectors needed verification and validation. They said Lee's remarks were no different from calling such testimony “untrustworthy lies."During a press conference with foreign media in Seoul, Feb. 3, Lee was asked whether the unification ministry would disclose its records on North Korean human riFeb 22, 2021
North Korean man caught on CCTV cameras, but border guards did nothing to stop him: authorities A North Korean man was caught on military surveillance cameras set up along the east coast at least four times after he swam ashore in the South, but border guards did nothing to stop him, an investigation has found.Military authorities have been looking into what went wrong with border security after the man was caught on Tuesday about 8 km away from the border inside a restricted area north of the Civilian Control Line in the eastern border town of Goseong.The man has expressed a desire to defect.The capture came after he was caught on a CCTV camera near the area, and a key point of the investigation has been to figure out how he ended up there without getting caught and why coastal border guards failed to catch him earlier.The miliary is expected to announce the outcome of the probe on Monday or Tuesday.According to sources familiar with the investigation, the North Korean man was caught on CCTV cameras at least four times after arriving at the coast until he passed through a drainage conduit beneath the barbed wire fences set up along the coast to prevent infiltrators.The militarFeb 21, 2021
North Korea appoints former trade minister as ambassador to China Former North Korean trade minister Ri Ryong-nam named ambassador to China, according to the North Korean foreign ministry. His appointment is seen to show Pyongyang's focus on strengthening economic ties and cooperation with North Korea's largest trade partner and patron. YonhapNorth Korea has appointed a former trade minister as the new ambassador to China, the country's foreign ministry said Friday, in what appears to be aimed at strengthening economic ties with its closest ally.Ri Ryong-nam, 61, replaced Ji Jae-ryong, who has served as top envoy in Beijing since 2010, according to a posting on the official website of the ministry. Ri is known for his expertise on trade and the economy as he worked as trade minister in 2008 and as external economic affairs minister until 2016. He also had served as the North's deputy premier handling foreign trade until recently.His appointment might be aimed at strengthening economic ties and cooperation with North Korea's largest trade partner and patron. It also appears to be in line with the North's push for a generational shift at key governmeFeb 19, 2021
