North Korea's acting envoy to Kuwait has defected to South Korea: lawmaker North Korea's acting ambassador to Kuwait has defected to South Korea, the latest in a recent string of high-profile escapes from the isolated country, a South Korean lawmaker said on Monday.Ryu Hyun-woo had led North Korea's embassy in Kuwait since former Ambassador So Chang-sik was expelled after a 2017 U.N. resolution sought to scale back the country's overseas diplomatic missions.Ryu defected to South Korea last September, according to Tae Yong-ho, who was North Korea's deputy ambassador to Britain before settling in the South in 2016 and being elected as a lawmaker last year.Kuwait had been a key source of foreign currency for Pyongyang, which sent thousands of labourers there, mostly forconstruction projects.Tae said Ryu is also the son-in-law of Jon Il Chun, who once oversaw a Worker's Party bureau responsible for managing the ruling Kim family's secret coffers, dubbed Room 39.The National Intelligence Service declined to comment.Ryu's defection could be a sign that the North Korean elite who shore up leader Kim Jan 25, 2021
South Korea expects flexible solutions to joint military exercise Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during a press conference at the South-North Korea Dialogue Office in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooUnification Minister Lee In-young hoped Monday that South Korea and the United States will find a flexible way to conduct their envisaged combined military exercises to ensure North Korea does not react with tension-stoking provocations.Lee also said the government will make efforts this year to normalize inter-Korean relations and restore communication channels.The remarks at a press conference came after the North preemptively protested the annual joint military exercises. Seoul and Washington are now discussing how to configure an upcoming military drill in March.“We have four things to consider ahead of the exercise and they are COVID-19, the Tokyo Summer Olympics, the U.S.'s new Korean Peninsula policy and the transfer of wartime operational control,” Lee told reporters.“So far, both the U.S. and the North have refrained from taking tension-raising moves, so I expect the allies to find wise and flexible ways to pJan 25, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea's propaganda outlet reports on Biden election U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20. AP-Yonhap By Jung Da-minNorth Korea's propaganda outlet DPRK Today indirectly reported on the election of U.S. President Joe Biden, Saturday, the first time for a North Korean outlet to refer to Biden since his election in early November, three days after his inauguration at the White House.Citing Jajusibo, a “pro-Pyongyang outlet” based in South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province, the DPRK Today article dealt with the news of a recent riot and violent attack against the U.S. Congress at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., by fervent supporters of then-President Donald Trump.The DPRK article then went on to say the U.S. Congress confirmed the election of Biden the day after the riot. “The U.S. Congress could not announce the election of Biden due to the riot, but it could announce it the following day,” read the article, which was published threJan 25, 2021
Biden's security team raises hopes for rapid North Korea policy review Then-President-elect Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with members of his national security and foreign policy agency review teams in Wilmington, Del., Dec. 28, 2020. / AP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWith the new U.S. administration busy finalizing the roster of its national security team, questions are arising in South Korea over when President Joe Biden will unveil his policy toward North Korea. As the team features many experts on Pyongyang, some believe that Washington could complete a review of its North Korea policy within a couple of months. However, others claim that issues involving the Kim Jong-un regime still rank below other diplomatic agenda items involving Iran, China and Russia, so it is still expected to take some time before the Biden team comes up with a new strategy. The consensus here on the estimated length of time for the policy review is up to six monthsSo far, President Biden has nominated Antony Blinken as state secretary and Wendy Sherman as his deputy, while naming Sung Kim as acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, all oJan 24, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea sees talks as way to advance nuclear program, says US intel official North Korean soldiers march in formation during a military parade marking the Workers' Party Congress, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Jan. 14, in this photo provided by the North Korean government. APThe top U.S. intelligence officer for North Korea warned, Friday, that the country sees diplomacy only as a means to advance its nuclear weapons development, even as the new Biden administration says it will look for ways to bring Pyongyang back to talks. President Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Tuesday that the new administration planned a full review of the U.S. approach to North Korea to look at ways to increase pressure on it to return to negotiations. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated this Friday, saying North Korea's nuclear weapons were a serious threat to peace and Washington had a vital interest in deterring PyongyangSydney Seiler, the U.S. national intelligence officer for North Korea, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies earlier that Pyongyang's weapons development has been a consistent policy for 30 years."EJan 23, 2021
North Korea ranks worst in undernourishment in Asia-Pacific region Employees harvest grain at the Koh Chang cooperative farm near Pyongyang, Oct. 17, 2019. TASS-YonhapNorth Korea was ranked the worst in terms of prevalence of undernourishment among its population in the Asia-Pacific region, a report showed Friday.According to the report jointly compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and other global agencies, more than 45 percent of the North's population was suffering from undernourishment from 2017-2019.The proportion was the highest among Asia-Pacific countries surveyed. It was much higher than the corresponding figure of around 30 percent for the second-worst countries, such as East Timor and Afghanistan, the report showed. The report also showed that only 28.6 percent of North Korean children aged 6-23 months were able to have the minimum acceptable diet (MAD), indicating that over seven out of 10 babies could not have a minimum amount of meals every day.North Korea is known for chronic food shortages, which appear to have been aggravated in recent years due to extreme weather conditions and global sanctionsJan 22, 2021
Blinken indicates changing course in North Korea policy Defense cost-deal between Seoul, Washington likely to be made soonBy Kang Seung-wooU.S. State Secretary nominee Antony Blinken hinted Tuesday (local time) that the Joe Biden administration may entirely rethink its policies toward North Korea, claiming that under Donald trump the situation with Pyongyang has deteriorated considerably.State Secretary nominee Antony Blinken speaks during his confirmation hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. / Reuters-YonhapBlinken did not specify what policies the United States will adopt in dealing with the totalitarian state during his confirmation hearing, however, as Biden and members of his foreign policy team have been critical of Trump's handling of the Kim Jong-un regime, his comments are seen as heralding a big shift from their predecessor's dealings with the North. “I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued administration after administration, and it's a problem that has not gotten better,” Blinken said beJan 20, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
No. of North Korean defectors plunges in 2020 amid border closure This photo taken on Dec. 3, 2018, shows a woman holding a mobile phone while walking through Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang. AFPThe number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea dropped sharply last year apparently due to the North's border closure to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus, government data showed Wednesday.According to the data provided by the unification ministry, a total of 229 North Koreans settled down in South Korea last year. The number was far fewer than the 1,047 tallied a year earlier and 1,137 registered in 2018.During the first quarter, 135 North Koreans defected to the South. The figures in the second, third and fourth quarters dropped to 12, 48 and 34, respectively.The plunge is attributable to the North's move to close its border with China since January last year.North Korea claims to be coronavirus-free, but it has remained on high alert by closing its borders and restricting movement of people to stave off an outbreak of the highly contagious disease.As of the end of last year, the total number of North Korea defectors living in South Korea stoodJan 20, 2021
US will review entire North Korea policy: Blinken Antony J. Blinken, speaks during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of State before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Jan. 19, 2021. AFPThe new U.S. administration of Joe Biden plans to review the country's entire approach and policy toward North Korea, Biden's secretary of state nominee said Tuesday.Antony Blinken said the new administration may also try to find ways to get humanitarian assistance to the North to help lessen the suffering of North Korean people if necessary."I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued administration after administration, and it's a problem that has not gotten better," Blinken said in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."In fact, it's gotten worse," he said.The former deputy secretary of state said the government will begin by looking at what options it has to increase "pressure on North Korea to come to the negotiating table, as well as what other diplomatiJan 20, 2021
Outgoing US envoy says hope alone won't resolve North Korean issue In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris poses for photos during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. APOutgoing U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday that hope alone will not resolve the North Korea issue, highlighting the importance of combined exercises between Seoul and Washington amid the North's threat to continue developing its nuclear capabilities.Harris made the remark at a webinar in Seoul, one day after President Moon Jae-in said South and North Korea can discuss issues regarding the allies' combined military exercises, if necessary, in response to the North's repeated calls to halt the joint maneuvers. "While we hope for diplomacy with North Korea to be successful, we all can recognize that hope alone is not a course of action," the ambassador said, citing the North's "unrelenting pursuit of nuclear weapons" and China's "malign activities." Seoul and Washington have held large-scale military exercises twice a year, and their springtime one is supposed to take place around March. North Korea has long bristled at suchJan 19, 2021
