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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Gov't to provide support for over 500 North Korean defectors facing tough living conditions

The government will provide additional assistance to more than 500 North Korean defectors deemed to be facing harsh living conditions here. The person is the photo is unrelated to the story. GettyimagesbankSouth Korea will provide additional assistance to more than 500 North Korean defectors deemed to be facing harsh living conditions, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The ministry said it conducted two rounds of surveys on the living conditions of North Korean defectors last year and found that a total of 553 of them need additional support to ease hardship in making ends meet.Dire living conditions for some North Korean defectors came into the spotlight after a 42-year-old defector and her 6-year-old son were found dead in their apartment apparently due to starvation. The ministry did not provide details on how much and in what forms the help will be granted to the defectors.North Korean defectors receive settlement support usually for five years from their arrival in the South, which includes helping them get homes, jobs and education.Much of such support, however, is not avai

Jan 21, 2020
Gov't to provide support for over 500 North Korean defectors facing tough living conditions
  • South Korea going into detail on individual tours to North Korea

US reaffirms need for inter-Korean cooperation, denuclearization to move in lockstep

In this June 12, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore. APThe United States reaffirmed Monday that inter-Korean cooperation should proceed "in lockstep" with progress in North Korea's denuclearization, as Seoul continued to push for individual tours to the North.Earlier, Seoul's unification ministry said it is looking at ways to hold talks with Pyongyang on allowing tours to North Korea on an individual basis. The push has gained traction after President Moon Jae-in cited it last week as a way to expand inter-Korean exchanges without violating sanctions."The United States supports inter-Korean cooperation and coordinates with our ROK ally to ensure inter-Korean cooperation proceeds in lockstep with progress on denuclearization," a State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency, using the abbreviation for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.The comment underscores Washington's concern that any flow of resources to North Korea could undermine its "maximum pressure" campaign

Jan 21, 2020
US reaffirms need for inter-Korean cooperation, denuclearization to move in lockstep
  • Trump's defense suggests US troop presence in South Korea is form of foreign aid

North Korea signals tougher stance against US

By Kang Seung-wooThe unexpected replacement of North Korea's top diplomat indicates that Pyongyang is picking up where it left off more than two years ago, or a new anti-U.S. hardline policy, according to diplomatic observers, Monday.Ri Son-gwonThe replacement is also unlikely to help improve inter-Korean ties, experts said. According to media reports, the North has appointed Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, as its foreign minister, sacking Ri Yong-ho, a career diplomat, apparently over the stalled nuclear talks with the U.S., despite three meetings between their leaders. The new foreign minister had been the North's key official for relations with South Korea.The regime has yet to confirm the appointment; while the South Korean unification ministry said it was also trying to confirm the reports. After a long-range missile test in November 2017, the Kim Jong-un regime had been committed to dialogue with Seoul and Washington. It participated in the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang the following year and the North Korea leader has

Jan 20, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea signals tougher stance against US
  • Trump likens North Korea talks to 'beautiful game of chess'
  • North Korea's economy up 1.8% in 2019: UN report
  • North Korea replaces foreign minister: report
  • Trump's defense suggests US troop presence in South Korea is form of foreign aid

North Korea replaces foreign minister: report

North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho speaks at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2018. Photo by John Angelillo/UPIBy Park Si-soo North Korea reportedly has replaced foreign minister Ri Yong-ho in a major political reshuffle which, if true, would have a significant impact on the North's diplomatic stance. NK News, an online news outlet specializing in North Korea, reported the change on Saturday, citing multiple unnamed sources in the reclusive state.His replacement would be Ri Son-gwon, NK News reported. The outlet said the change probably would be confirmed on or before Thursday, when an event for diplomats is scheduled in Pyongyang.South Korea's unification ministry, which is in charge of North Korea affairs, did not confirm the development, saying any change in Ri's status should be assessed cautiously.The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. Ri Yong-ho ― who was born in 1956 and has been the North's foreign minister since 2016 ― did not attend the annual gathering of world leade

Jan 19, 2020
North Korea replaces foreign minister: report
  • North Korea signals tougher stance against US

North Korea's economy up 1.8% in 2019: UN report

A group of government officials participate in a group exercises on the first official "sports day" of the new year at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Jan. 12, 2020. APNorth Korea's economy grew 1.8 percent year-on-year in 2019, with growth expected to continue in the next few years despite international sanctions, according to a U.N. report. The North's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) marked its first increase in three years after backtracking 4.2 percent and 3.5 percent in 2018 and 2017, respectively, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development's World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020 stated, ThursdayThe report forecast the growth trend to continue at 2.2 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year, though it did not elaborate further on its estimates.North Korea's average GDP growth between 1997 and 2011 stood at 0.8 percent. The estimate spiked to reach 3.9 percent in 2016 but reported a 4.2 percent contraction in 2018 amid multilayered sanctions imposed over the North's nuclear and missile tests.The report also said North Korea's consumer price inf

Jan 18, 2020
North Korea's economy up 1.8% in 2019: UN report
  • North Korea signals tougher stance against US

US envoy calls on South Korea to consult with US about engagement with North Korea

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris poses for a photo after a group interview at the ambassador's residence in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2020. AFPSouth Korea should consult with the U.S. about its plans to engage with North Korea to avoid any "misunderstandings" that may trigger sanctions, the top U.S. envoy to Seoul said Thursday. Ambassador Harry Harris made the remark as South Korea is pushing to expand inter-Korean exchanges to facilitate the stalled nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. President Moon Jae-in said earlier this week that individual tours to the North do not violate the U.N. sanctions and that it could eventually induce the North to return to dialogue and win international support for partial relief of sanctions. "President Moon's continued optimism is encouraging," Harris was quoted by Reuters as saying to foreign journalists in Seoul. "But with regard to acting on that optimism, I have said that things should be done in consultation with the United States.""In order to avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions, it's better to ru

Jan 17, 2020
US envoy calls on South Korea to consult with US about engagement with North Korea
  • South Korea, US agree to closely coordinate on inter-Korean projects
  • South Korea, US not discussing troops deployment as part of defense cost deal: Seoul envoy
  • Pentagon claims shared defense costs benefit South Korean economy
  • Ruling party lawmaker condemns US Ambassador Harris for remarks on alliance consultations
  • US envoy's blunt talks add to concerns on alliance

South Korea, US agree to closely coordinate on inter-Korean projects

In this June 12, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore. APSouth Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to coordinate closely on possible inter-Korean projects amid stalled nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul's chief nuclear envoy said Thursday.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark to reporters after holding talks with his U.S. counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, in Washington.The pair met after President Moon Jae-in expressed a desire earlier this week to implement inter-Korean projects as a way to facilitate denuclearization negotiations between the North and the U.S. Most of the projects, including efforts to reconnect railways and roads between the Koreas, have stalled due to United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang."(Biegun) and I agreed that from now on, South Korea and the U.S. will continue to hold close consultations on inter-Korean cooperation projects. We are just beginning," Lee told

Jan 17, 2020
South Korea, US agree to closely coordinate on inter-Korean projects
  • South Korea, US not discussing troops deployment as part of defense cost deal: Seoul envoy
  • US envoy calls on South Korea to consult with US about engagement with North Korea

Trump likens North Korea talks to 'beautiful game of chess'

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He before signing the Phase 1 trade deal between the United States and China, during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. UPI-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he views the on-again, off-again nuclear talks with North Korea as a "beautiful game of chess."Trump made the remark during a White House signing ceremony for a phase-one trade deal between the United States and China, giving Beijing credit for "helping us with North Korea.""China is helping us with a lot of the things that they can be helping us with, which you don't see in a deal, but they have been very, very helpful with respect to Kim Jong-un, who has great respect for President Xi," Trump said, referring respectively to North Korea's leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping.He continued: "It's all a very, very beautiful game of chess, or game of poker, or ― I can't use the word checkers because it's far greater than any checker game that I've ever seen, but it's a very beautiful mosaic."Trump appeared to

Jan 16, 2020
Trump likens North Korea talks to 'beautiful game of chess'
  • Australian student says North Korea forced him to admit spying
  • Seoul reaffirms focus on North Korean engagement
  • North Korea signals tougher stance against US

Australian student says North Korea forced him to admit spying

Alek Sigley says he was forced to sign a false confession while held in North Korea. (AFP/NICOLAS ASFOURI)An Australian student arrested for spying and expelled from North Korea last year said he was forced to write a false confession while held incommunicado.Alek Sigley was studying modern Korean literature at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang when he went missing in June, sparking international alarm.Canberra has no diplomatic representation in Pyongyang and turned to Sweden, the protecting power for its citizens.Stockholm sent an envoy and Sigley was released after nine days in detention ― a much shorter period than some foreigners arrested in the authoritarian North.Sigley had written articles for a number of publications while in Pyongyang and North Korean authorities accused him of espionage, saying they released him on grounds of "humanitarian forbearance". Writing in South Korean academic journal Monthly North Korea, Sigley said he was forced to admit guilt during an "unpleasant" nine-day interrogation "completely cut off from the outside world"."From my point of view, I wa

Jan 15, 2020
Australian student says North Korea forced him to admit spying
  • Trump likens North Korea talks to 'beautiful game of chess'

US slaps sanctions over North Korea overseas workers

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two companies for exploiting North Korean overseas labor after a UN deadline to return workers who bring vital revenue to the regime.The sanctions ― which block any US assets of the companies and criminalize any financial transactions with them ― come amid a stalemate in diplomacy as North Korea threatens to test a new weapon.The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Korea Namgang Trading Corporation, a North Korean company which it said has maintained workers in Russia, Nigeria and the Middle East.It also blacklisted Beijing Sukbakso, a Chinese company that has handled lodging and remittances for workers."The exportation of North Korean workers raises illicit revenue for the government of North Korea in violation of UN sanctions," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.Under a UN resolution unanimously approved in 2017, countries had until December 22 last year to send back all workers from North Korea.Human rights groups have long charged that the workers live in virtually slavery-like conditions, with proceeds

Jan 15, 2020
US slaps sanctions over North Korea overseas workers
  • Seoul reaffirms focus on North Korean engagement
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