How I learned to stop worrying and love North Korean elevators Inside Yanggakdo Hotel in September 2018 Korea Times photos by Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarI used to be afraid of elevators. They took away my sense of control, and once they were moving I couldn't stop them. To cope with this, if I were on a long elevator trip sometimes I would press a few extra buttons so the elevator would stop at more floors, giving me a chance to breathe. I especially hated glass elevators, high-speed elevators and express elevators. I often experienced vertigo for minutes after particularly traumatizing rides. And sometimes at the top of buildings, I had an alarming sensation that the whole building was about to tip over. My first trip to North Korea in 2010 somehow allayed me of that fear, and then a return trip in 2018 reignited it. North Korea doubtlessly has the least safe elevators I've ever ridden. Perhaps that's what temporarily cured me, like how going skydiving must cure anyone of a fear of flying. Some of the most memorable elevators I rode included the elevator to the top of the Juche Tower and the Yanggakdo Hotel elevators. It was common for the elevatorFeb 11, 2020By Jon Dunbar
Trump does not want another summit with Kim before election: CNN U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire on Feb. 10, 2020. AFPU.S. President Donald Trump told his advisers that he does not want another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the November presidential election, CNN quoted two sources as saying Monday.The report comes as denuclearization negotiations between the two countries have stalled since the unfruitful second summit between Trump and Kim in February 2019."And as Trump focuses on his re-election campaign his appetite to engage on the issue has waned," CNN reported, citing the sources.Members of Trump's reelection campaign also do not believe North Korea is a crucial factor in the vote, it said.One official familiar with the Trump administration's efforts with North Korea told CNN that the negotiations are now "dead." An official added there is little appetite within the president's inner circle to pursue a denuclearization deal with North Korea before the election, with the risks of restarting talks greatly outweighing the potential benefits.Meanwhile, North Korea appears unintFeb 11, 2020
North Korea enhanced nuclear, missile programs in 2019 in breach of sanctions: UN report In a photo taken on Feb. 8, 2020, people bow before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Mansu Hill, to mark the 72nd anniversary of the founding of Korean People's Army in Pyongyang. AFPNorth Korea continued to enhance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs last year in breach of United Nations sanctions, according to a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters on Monday.The country also illicitly imported refined petroleum and exported some $370 million worth of coal with the help of Chinese barges, the report added.The 67-page report to the U.N. Security Council North Korea sanctions committee, which is due to be made public next month, comes as the United States tries to revive stalled denuclearization talks with North Korea."In 2019, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) did not halt its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which it continued to enhance, in violation of Security Council resolutions," the independent U.N. sanctions monitors wrote."Despite its extensive indigenous capability it uses illicit external procuFeb 11, 2020
Businessmen urge government to reopen Gaeseong complex South Korean businessmen and civic group members hold a press conference in Seoul, Monday, urging the government to reopen the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSouth Korean businessmen who ran factories at the now-shuttered joint industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Gaeseong urged the government Monday to reopen the facility immediately.The Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC), established in 2004, was abruptly shut down by the Park Geun-hye administration, Feb. 10, 2016, in retaliation for the North's fourth nuclear test, Jan. 6, and long-range missile launches, Feb. 7, that year. A total of 124 South Korean companies operated facilities there employing 54,000 North Korean workers. The conservative government decided the hard currency earned through the “joint venture” was used to fund the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.“It has been four years since the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which was the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation. During the period, military tensions on the KoreFeb 10, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea uses money transfer apps to avoid UN sanctions gettyimagesbankBy Park Jae-hyukNorth Korea is expected to upgrade its own mobile payment app to bypass international sanctions against its financial transactions and to improve the country's financial infrastructure, according to a private think tank here, Friday.The KB Financial Group Research Institute said in its recent report that North Koreans have used a mobile payment app named “Woolim” since 2018.The app, which is known to be an imitation of China's WeChat Pay and Alipay, allows its users to make magnetic and near field communication-based payments with money loaded onto prepaid cards.Its users can buy products on North Korea's e-commerce platforms using the app.In addition, Woolim enables money transfers between its users.Although the app has yet to be used frequently even in Pyongyang, researcher Sohn Gwang-soo, the report's author, forecast the North Korean authorities will induce North Koreans to use the app for better monitoring of financial transactions.“Woolim is intended to naturally absorb the function of private loans into the public sphere,”Feb 10, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Individual tourism to North Korea 'win-win' for all sides Kyungnam University President Jae Kyu Park speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Kang Seung-wooBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in's “ambitious” proposal for individual tourism by South Koreans to North Korea has been drawing both positive and negative comments. Some praise it as a fresh means to engage the North and make progress in efforts to denuclearize the reclusive state, while critics claim it would breach international sanctions placed on Pyongyang.However, Kyungnam University President Jae Kyu Park, a former South Korean minister of unification, believes it could serve as a win-win solution for inter-Korean relations and North Korea-U.S. ties.During his Jan. 14 New Year press conference, President Moon floated the idea of the government allowing citizens to make individual tours to the North, including possible hometown visits by families separated by the Korean War, as part of efforts to expand cross-border exchanges that he hopes will help improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington.&ldqFeb 9, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea on highest alert to protect Pyongyang from coronavirus In this undated photo distributed Feb. 7 by the North Korean government, workers produce face masks to help prevent spread of a new coronavirus in Pyongyang. AP North Korea is exerting every effort to prevent the new coronavirus from reaching Pyongyang, the country's state media said Saturday. The capital's anti-epidemic headquarters is meticulously carrying out testing and disinfection measures at every road into Pyongyang and at the same time strengthening all tests and medical monitoring, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, even though no confirmed case has been reported in the NorthNorth Korea announced Friday that it had restructured departments at its Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters so that responsibilities were rearranged to better deal with the virus.The KCNA said all Pyongyang residents with records of overseas trips would undergo examinations, with the city government putting extra efforts into secure testing methods.Thoroughly blocking the novel coronavirus is a vital responsibility of protecting the safety and lives of the people, the KCNA said. EarliFeb 8, 2020
Trump may reduce focus on North Korea in election year President Donald Trump arrives to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. AP-YonhapBy Do Je-haeU.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address has always captured the Korean media's attention due to its usual reference to North Korea. But the North was missing Feb. 4, while President Trump mentioned other diplomatic issues such as Iran and Venezuela.The absence has led to questions about what it could possibly mean for the Korean Peninsula. “In front of the very Congress that has been consumed with the impeachment debate, Trump claimed U.S. economic and military strength are unmatched in the world,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Woman's University, said. “He said his policies have allies contributing more and have put America's enemies on the run. But Trump made no mention of North Korea. This will leave observers in Asia asking about the future of U.S. policy on denuclearization.”Absence of outomes There is diverse speculation on why Trump left out North Korea. Some exFeb 7, 2020By Do Je-hae
North Korea has 1st case of coronavirus infection: report Supermarket assistants wear face masks at the Munsu-dong diplomatic compound amid the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. Yevgeny Agoshkov/TASS/By Park Si-soo A North Korean woman living in Pyongyang recently tested positive for coronavirus and those who had contact with her are being quarantined, a South Korean newspaper reported on Friday, citing a source in the reclusive state. The woman showed symptoms of the infection after a trip to China, according to the JoongAng Ilbo. Further information ― including personal details of the patient, the exact date of her infection and her condition ― remains unknown. North Korea's state broadcaster said on Feb. 2 that the country had yet to confirm any case of infection, its most recent update. If the report is true, the woman's infection would have been confirmed early this week. “As the chances of coronavirus spreading into North Korea increase, authorities started putting all people who had overseas trips recently into quarantine for a certain period,” the source was quoted as saying. “The first patient is a woman liviFeb 7, 2020
PHOTOS Life or death: A glimpse into North Korea shivering with coronavirus fears An ambulance and a woman near a supermarket at the Munsu-dong diplomatic compound amid the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. Yevgeny Agoshkov/TASSNorth Korea is yet to confirm any case of infection, but it has intensified preventive efforts against coronavirus. It has tightened its borders with China and increased its quarantine for those coming from the neighboring country.Last week, North Korea declared the launch of a national emergency system against the new virus, calling such preventive efforts a "political matter" that could determine the fate of the country.Checkup of drinking water sources North Korea is preparing to examine drinking water sources, such as rivers and lakes, to make sure the new coronavirus won't flow into the country, state media reported Thursday.The move is the latest in a series of measures that the North has taken to fight the fast-spreading virus that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.“Detailed work plans are being drawn up to analyze the water quality of rivers, streams and lakes that are being used as sources ofFeb 6, 2020
