North Korea replaces economy-related Cabinet members President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium Choe Ryong-hae, front row third from left, speaks during the fourth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, Sunday, the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday. YonhapBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea carried out a massive cabinet reshuffle in posts related to economic affairs during a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the North's rubber-stamp legislature, Sunday, showing its commitment to, and the urgency for, quick economic recovery, experts said.The SPA gathered to discuss and announce follow-up measures on the country's new five-year economic plan announced during the Eighth Congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) the previous week, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Monday.The fourth session of the 14th SPA took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, five days after the eight-day congress ended. President of the SPA Presidium Choe Ryong-hae delivered opening Jan 18, 2021
Moon calls on Biden to move forward from Singapore agreement with North Korea President Moon Jae-in speaks during a New Year press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. YonhapBy Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in underlined an agreement reached between the U.S. and North Korea in Singapore in 2018 as a starting point for diplomacy under the incoming Joe Biden administration during a New Year press conference, Monday.The 2018 Singapore Declaration, the outcome of a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12, laid out the principles for establishing new U.S.-North Korea relations and building a robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Moon stressed that the agreement between two of the combatants in the 1950-53 Korean War should be carried on with despite the change in administrations in the U.S. as the first step to breaking a prolonged deadlock in negotiations since the failure of a follow-up summit in Hanoi in February 2019. “The Singapore Declaration under the Trump administration was a very important declaration for denuclearization and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said durinJan 18, 2021By Do Je-hae
North Korea set for Supreme People's Assembly session following party congress In this photo released by North Korea's Korea Central News Agency on Sunday, North Korean citizens and soldiers gathered in Pyongyang on Jan. 15 in the state's drive to push its citizens to maximize on the agreed terms at the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party held earlier this month for days. YonhapNorth Korea is to kick off a parliamentary session in Pyongyang on Sunday in an apparent legislative step to follow up on the country's ruling party congress that recently ended. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Choe Ryong-hae, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), and parliamentary representatives offered flowers at the statues of former North Korean leaders at Pyongyang's Mansudae hill on Saturday, ahead of the fourth session of the 14th SPA. The 687 parliamentary representatives have been in Pyongyang to attend the recent eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party, and they are likely to gather again for the latest parliamentary session, scheduled at the capital. The SPA is the highest organ of power under the constitutionJan 17, 2021
Military parade pressures Biden to take North Korea seriously North Korea displays new submarine-launched ballistic missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang, Thursday. / AP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea used a Thursday evening military parade marking its latest party congress as a fully calibrated warning to the incoming Joe Biden administration in an attempt to keep its focus on its nuclear program and extract concessions from the United States, according to diplomatic experts. On the occasion of the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party that ended on Tuesday, the Kim Jong-un regime staged a military parade in Pyongyang, highlighted by the unveiling of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that was labeled as the Pukguksong-5, possibly an upgraded version of the Pukguksong-4 that was showcased at another parade in October to mark the party's 75th founding anniversary.Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University, said the North “exquisitely” took advantage of the military parade against the U.S.“The Kim regime already showed what it could in the October parade, Jan 15, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea to hold marathon 'virtually' Participants of the Pyongyang Marathon run down Mirae Scientists Street in the North Korean capital in this April 9, 2018, photo. YonhapBy Kim Rahn, Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea will hold its annual international marathon event this year ― virtually ― according to the official website of the competition and Koryo Tours, the official event partner of the marathon, Friday.The website highlighted that the virtual Pyongyang Marathon is “open to all nationalities,” specifically mentioning “South Koreans.”The North has held the Pyongyang Marathon, also known as Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, since 1981 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung in April. It has allowed the participation of foreigners since 2014, but South Koreans have been unable to participate.Last year's event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, amid the prolonged pandemic situation, the event organizers have come up with a virtual marathon, which “aims to give you the feeling of taking part in the Pyongyang Marathon as much as poJan 15, 2021By Kim Rahn
North Korea seen staging military parade: source North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile “Pukguksong-4A” is being displayed during a North Korean military parade held in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2020 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of foundation of the country's ruling Workers' Party. / YonhapNorth Korea appeared to have staged a military parade on Thursday, a South Korean government source said, after Pyongyang wrapped up a rare party congress with calls to bolster its nuclear arsenal.The military parade began at around 6:00 p.m. and was in progress as of 8:00 p.m., the source said on condition of anonymity.Asked whether North Korea staged a military parade, a South Korean military official replied that the military was keeping a close watch on North Korea.Earlier in the day, North Korea's state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un attended a mass art performance held to celebrate the recently concluded party congress.The performance took place on Wednesday, a day after the North wrapped up the eighth congress of its ruling Workers' Party, which was held for more than a week since its opening on Jan. 5.On MondJan 14, 2021
Concerns arising over Biden's national security team By Kang Seung-wooAs President-elect Joe Biden puts together his national security team, diplomatic experts here are expressing concerns that his policy toward North Korea may follow in the footsteps of the Barack Obama administration's “failed” diplomatic efforts. Kurt Campbell / YonhapOn Wednesday (local time), Biden picked Kurt Campbell, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia under former President Obama, as Indo-Pacific coordinator, a newly created position focusing on issues involving China. “Campbell is an architect of the Obama administration's pivot to Asia and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), so he is a prestigious figure well-versed in issues involving the Asia-Pacific region. However, looking at the Biden team, there are no fresh figures, raising concerns that they may pick up where they left off in the Obama administration's foreign policy,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University.“Frankly speaking, the Obama administration's foreign policy is regarded as a failure. It neither contJan 14, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Time to shift focus on arms control with North Korea: experts gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un's pledge to boost his country's nuclear arsenal during its latest party congress is leaving little room for compromise on Pyongyang's complete denuclearization. With the North standing firm against giving up its nuclear ambitions after decades of unsuccessful U.S. diplomacy, experts are advising the incoming Joe Biden administration to shift the conversation with the regime from denuclearization to arms control, which they believe is a more realistic approach to the challenge.Previous U.S. administrations have dealt with the North Korean nuclear program from a denuclearization perspective, which led to decades of disappointment when it came to actual results, according to Van Jackson, a former Pentagon official who advised several Democratic presidential campaigns. “Denuclearization has been unachievable and therefore unrealistic since at least 2006,” Jackson told The Korea Times.“You don't test nuclear weapons and then get rid of them, particularly when your national security policymakers feel besiegedJan 14, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Possibility of 2021 Moon-Kim summit drawing attention President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greet each other at the northern side of Panmunjeom in May 2018, a few weeks ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore in June. Courtesy of Cheong Wa DaeBy Do Je-hae The possibility of another summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year is gaining attention thanks to moves by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The ruling bloc began floating the idea of a fourth summit between the two following Moon's New Year speech Monday, which showed his unwavering commitment to renewing talks with the North “anywhere anytime.”Moon's close aides, including senior secretary for political affairs Choi Jae-sung and DPK Rep. Youn Kun-young, a former presidential aide involved in preparations for the Moon-Kim summits in 2018, are highlighting the need for another inter-Korean summit this year to revive momentum for the President's “peace process” on the Korean Peninsula. “The launch of the U.S. Joe Biden administration will bring changes in the environment within and Jan 13, 2021By Do Je-hae
North Korean leader pledges to strengthen nuclear arsenal North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gestures at the congress of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang on Tuesday, state media reported Wednesday. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to strengthen his country's nuclear arsenal in his closing address to a top ruling party meeting, state media reported Wednesday, days before Joe Biden takes office as US president.Kim is looking to grab the attention of the incoming Biden administration, analysts say, with his country more isolated than ever after closing its borders to protect itself against the coronavirus pandemic.A nuclear summit between Kim and outgoing US President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February 2019 broke down over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return."While strengthening our nuclear war deterrent, we need to do everything in order to build the most powerful military," the official Korean Central News Agency cited him as telling the Workers' Party congress.Earlier in the eight-day congress ― twice as long as the previous meeting in 2016 ― Kim called the US "the fundamental obstacle toJan 13, 2021
