Ex-UN chief calls on gov't to 'rectify' ban on sending anti-North Korea leaflets Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulFormer U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Thursday for the government to "rectify" a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea, saying the law made South Korea a target of international human rights criticism.Ban made the call in his pre-released New Year's speech posted on his foundation's website, as U.S. politicians and other critics voiced concerns that the ban could hurt freedom of expression and efforts to deliver outside information into the reclusive state.Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party and its supporters argued that the ban is necessary to protect residents in the tense border region where the leaflets were released and that external criticism has amounted to "interference in internal affairs.""Human rights are not an internal affair but a universal value of humankind. The law has invited criticism from the international community that it is an 'anti-human rights act' that succumbed to North Korea's demands," Ban said in the speech."I cannot help Dec 31, 2020
Experts mixed on North Korean leader's messages in congress North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWith North Korea's much-heralded party congress set to take place early next month, Pyongyang watchers showed mixed opinions on what messages North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will deliver during the political event, Wednesday.Some expect Kim will release a message to the incoming Joe Biden administration to exert influence on the new U.S. government's policymaking on his country, while others predict that the reclusive country, plagued by COVID-19, may extend a conciliatory gesture to South Korea to help break through its current challenges.The North's Korean Central News Agency announced earlier in the day that Kim presided over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and decided to hold a party congress in early January, but the state media did not elaborate on a specific date. The eighth party congress, the first since May 2016, comes at a critical time for the country as it is sufferingDec 30, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
6 countries provide $10 million in food aid to North Korea this year: UN In a photo taken on Dec. 24, 2020, two women hold North Korean flags as they sit in a park in front of the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang. AFPRussia, Switzerland and four other countries have provided about $10 million in food assistance to North Korea this year to help its choric food shortages, U.N. data showed Wednesday.According to the data provided by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the countries, also including Sweden, Norway, Canada and Bulgaria, have provided food assistance worth $10.5 million this year through the World Food Programme (WFP).Switzerland offered $5.22 million in food aid to the North, followed by Russia with $3 million and Sweden with $1.04 million, the data showed. Norway, Canada and Bulgaria came next by offering $680,000, $550,000 and $5,600 worth of assistance, respectively.Details were not available on how the aid was delivered to North Korea at a time when the North has sealed its border since early this year in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic.North Korea has been suffering from chronic food shorDec 30, 2020
Human rights groups file constitutional complaint over leafleting ban North Korean defectors and South Korean activists prepare to launch ten helium balloons carrying leaflets criticizing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during a rally at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, in Paju, denouncing the country's third nuclear test, in this Feb. 16, 2013 file photo. APNearly 30 human rights groups here filed a constitutional complaint Tuesday over a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into North Korea and requested an injunction against the law.The organizations, including the Transitional Justice Working Group and Keunsaem led by North Korean defectors, claimed that the leafleting ban infringes on the human rights of North Koreans and supports the autocratic regime in Pyongyang."By using the safety of people in border regions as an excuse, they are giving up on the human rights of North Korean people who are thirsty for outside information, while supporting the autocratic regime," the human rights groups told reporters.The National Assembly, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), rDec 29, 2020
Kim Jong-un 2nd-most searched figure on Google in 2020 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea at the party's headquarters in Pyongyang on Nov. 30. / YonhapBy Kim RahnNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un was the second-most searched figure in the world on Google in 2020, according to Google Trends and reports, Friday.Kim ranked second in the people category to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.Google searches for Kim especially hiked between April 26 and May 2, when there was a barrage of media reports regarding suspicions about his health after CNN reported he was in a critical condition after surgery.Along with Kim's name, some other keywords linked to speculation about his health were also highly searched, including “death,” “coma,” and “brain dead,” according to the Korean language version of Voice of America (VOA).While rumors also rose that his powerful sister Kim Yo-jong might succeed him if he died or could not manage the state anymore, “Kim Yo-jong” and “Kim Jong-un sister” were also searched a lot.The brouhaha surrounding Kim's heDec 25, 2020By Kim Rahn
Biden government likely to seek North Korean dialogue rather than sanctions: think tank U.S. President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event to introduce key Cabinet nominees and members of his climate team at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, Saturday. AFP-YonhapThe incoming U.S. administration of Joe Biden could seek dialogue with North Korea next year rather than focusing on sanctions, though a nuclear deal between the countries is unlikely in the year, a local think tank said Tuesday.In its 2021 forecast for international affairs, the foreign ministry-affiliated Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) predicted South Korea's renewed role in facilitating dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang and preventing the North's possible provocations. The institute released a summary of the annual forecast, which is set to be released on its website on Wednesday. It touched on various topics, including next month's launch of the Biden administration and its geopolitical implications."In 2021, chances are high that rather than focusing on sanctions pressure against the North, the U.S. administration would complete its policy review at an early daDec 22, 2020
North Korea claims no confirmed cases of coronavirus: WHO Health workers disinfect a subway station in Pyongyang in this picture from North Korea's Rodong Shimmun on Aug. 1, 2020. Capture from Rodong Shimmun-YonhapNorth Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on more than 10,000 people but no outbreak has been reported in the country yet, a World Health Organization report showed Tuesday.The North has conducted tests on a total of 10,960 people as of Dec. 10 and claims that no cases have been reported, according to the agency's latest weekly situation report on COVID-19.From Nov. 27 to Dec. 3 alone, 791 people were tested while another 766 tested negative from Dec. 3 to 10, the agency said.A total of 33,223 people has been released from quarantine as of Dec. 3, it added.North Korea has claimed to be coronavirus-free, but it has been relatively swift with its antivirus campaign by closing its border earlier this year and toughening quarantine measures. (Yonhap)Dec 22, 2020
Concerns over leafleting ban stems from lack of 'accurate understanding': unification ministry U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea Tomas Ojea Quintana. YonhapConcerns over South Korea's recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea stems from a lack of understanding of the measure, the unification ministry said Monday.Last week, the ruling Democratic Party rammed the leafleting ban through the National Assembly after forcefully ending a filibuster by the main opposition party objecting to the bill, despite concerns that the ban undermines the right to freedom of expression.The ruling party and the government have argued that the legislation is necessary to protect the lives and safety of residents living in the border areas because such leaflets could provoke the North to undertake bellicose acts, such as opening fire to shoot down leaflet-carrying balloons."We believe that in a situation where an accurate understanding of the legislation is lacking, some unbalanced opinions have been raised at home and aboard," the ministry said. "We will further strengthen communication with relevant officials and organizations at home and abrDec 21, 2020
Ruling party chief expresses regret over criticism of new law banning anti-Pyongyang leaflets Activists in South Korea, including North Korean defectors, have long been floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets from inter-Korean border areas in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to send them to North Korean sky. Korea Times fileRuling Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon on Monday voiced his regret over growing criticism that the new law banning the launching of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border runs afoul of the right to freedom of expression. Last Monday, the National Assembly, where the DP commands a majority, passed a bill that penalizes the sending of propaganda leaflets critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un or his political system into the North, despite strong objection by opposition lawmakers.Since then, many critics, including U.S. lawmakers, have raised concerns that the new law may undermine the freedom of expression. They also said the ban could also cut off what little access North Korean people have to outside information."It's regrettable that some people in the U.S. Congress are mentioning (the need to) reconsider the revised law," the DP chairman said dDec 21, 2020
North Korean leader tightens control amid faltering economy By Kang Seung-wooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has stepped up a wide range of efforts to strengthen his grip on power, as the reclusive state's current unfavorable conditions, dented by COVID-19 and its bleak economy, are feared to pose a threat to the regime's survival. The totalitarian state recently passed new laws, including those on foreign culture and telecommunications, and has carried out executions related to the pandemic. Pyongyang watchers believe such steps are mainly aimed at stopping possible cracks in the “rent-seeking” North Korean elite, who have fallen victim to decreased cross-border trade with China since the pandemic began. Earlier this month, the Kim regime held a plenary meeting of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly to adopt the new laws, according to the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).“The law on rejecting the reactionary ideology and culture specifies the principles to be certainly observed by all the institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens in further cementing our ideological, revolutionary and class pDec 20, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
