Deportation of 2 NK fishermen was legitimate: Unification Minister Ruling Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Lee In-young, right, joins the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee hearing on Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Jhoo Dong-chanUnification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said the government's recent decision to deport two North Korean fishermen was necessary and legitimate during the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee hearing, Friday.Citing the safety of South Korean citizens as the government's first priority, Kim said the administration had to confirm whether the two North Korean fishermen really wanted to defect to South Korea after they killed 16 fellow fishermen on their squid fishing boat last month.“Their statements were inconsistent,” Kim said during the hearing.“They first said they wanted to defect to the South, and then shifted their position by saying they want to die in North Korea if they have to.”Earlier this week, the nation's human right groups condemned the government's decision to deport the two fishermen to the North where they are likely to face torNov 15, 2019By Jhoo Dong-chan
North Korea demands US implement Singapore summit agreement In this file photo taken on September 30, 2019, Chair of the delegation of North Korea, Kim Song, speaks during General debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on September 30, 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. AFP-YonhapNorth Korea's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday urged the United States to implement last year's agreement between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, saying the two countries have made little progress in their relations because of "political and military provocations" by the U.S.Ambassador Kim Song leveled the criticism during a speech at a U.N. General Assembly meeting on the International Atomic Energy Agency, an organization he accused of "ignorance of the prevailing reality of the Korean Peninsula," according to the Associated Press.Kim Jong-un and Trump held their first summit in Singapore in June 2018 and agreed to "work toward" complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.The two leaders also agreed to establish new relations between theirNov 12, 2019
NK official calls on US to meet year-end deadline before 'window closes' A North Korean foreign ministry official has urged the United States to make a "forward-looking" decision within this year, saying the "window for opportunity is closing every day."The remarks by Jo Chol-su, director-general of the North American department at the North's foreign ministry, at the 2019 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on Friday are the latest in a series of attempts by Pyongyang to pressure Washington to come up with new proposals in their denuclearization talks by setting the deadline as the end of this year."We have given considerably much time to the U.S., and we will wait for some results until the end of this year," Cho said in an answer to a participant's question during a session of the conference."Though we expect everything to go into a positive direction, I want to say that the window for opportunity is closing bit by bit every day," he added.Claiming that the North has done its best to show a willingness for progress, the official said that a response "on the same level" from the U.S. is required to have trust as this issue "cannot be resolved unilaterallNov 9, 2019
Fourth Kim-Trump meeting in Russia? U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he has been invited to attend World War II anniversary celebrations in Russia in May, prompting speculation of a possible meeting there with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Trump said in response to a reporter's question that he was invited to attend the May celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory in the war.Russian government officials said earlier that Kim had also been invited, but that he had not sent a response yet."I was invited. I am thinking about it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It's right in the middle of our campaign season, but I am thinking -- I would certainly think about it."Trump and Kim have had three meetings since June 2018 to try to reach a deal on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic and political concessions.Negotiations between the two sides have stalled due to gaps over the extent of denuclearization and sanctions relief, but both leaders have expressed a willingness to meet again.Meanwhile, Trump mentioned Kim again as he addressed the issue of releNov 9, 2019
N. Korea's harvest estimated to come below average, aggravate food shortages North Korea's crop production this year is estimated to come below average due to unfavorable weather conditions, which is feared to worsen its already serious food shortages, an international organization has said."Harvest of the 2019 main season crop is complete (in North Korea) ... Overall, a below-average output is estimated for the 2019 main season crops," according to the November issue of the Crop Monitor Early Warning report by GEOGLAM, a Switzerland-based crop monitoring organization, released on Friday."Below-average production is estimated in main cereal producing areas located in the south (the provinces of South and North Hwanghae and South Pyongan, locally knows as the 'Cereal Bowl') due to irregular rainfall and low reservoir levels during the summer," the organization said, adding that given such expectations, "The overall food security situation in 2019/20 is not expected to improve."North Korea experienced severe droughts throughout the spring and summer seasons. Then in September, it was hit hard by Typhoon Lingling. The organization categorized the impoverished naNov 9, 2019
US, North Korea envoys meet briefly at nonproliferation conference in Moscow Jo Chol-su, chief of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's North American Affairs Division, was spotted at Beijing Capital International Airport, Oct. 3, 2019. YonhapThe U.S. special envoy for North Korea and a North Korean foreign ministry official handling American affairs spoke briefly to each other during a reception for participants in a nuclear nonprolifereation conference in Moscow, a participant said.Special Envoy Mark Lambert had a five-minute talk with Jo Chol-su, director-general of the North American department at the North's foreign ministry, in the reception Thursday for the 2019 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference, according to the participant.Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, was also present at the reception but did not exchange greetings with Jo, apparently reflecting the chilled relations between the two Koreas.Jo stayed at the reception for about 40 minutes. The three-day forum, which will run through Saturday, has drawn much attention as the officials from the United States and North Korea could possibly hold talks on the margins of the conferenceNov 8, 2019
North Korean defector meets with Trump at White House Grace Jo, center, who was born in North Korea, joins other participants following a meeting with US President Donald J. Trump (not pictured) in delivering remarks to members of the news media regarding their opposition to communism, outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, Nov. 7, 2019. Also in this picture is Executive Director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Marion Smith (L); Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (2-R), who is originally from Vietnam; and Daniel Di Martino (R), who grew up in Venezuela. EPA-YonhapA North Korean defector met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday as part of a group of "victims of communism."Grace Jo was among five participants in the event that commemorated the National Day for the Victims of Communism. The event was closed to the press.According to a pool report, the participants later spoke to reporters, with Jo describing Trump as "very nice" and therefore having too kind an opinion of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Trump has often boasted of his personal relationship with the North Korean leader,Nov 8, 2019
North Korean defectors to South surpass 800 in 2019; 1,000 by year-end More than 800 North Korean defectors have resettled in the South so far this year, and their number is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year.South Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday 828 North Koreans sought and were granted asylum in the South.A total of 229 North Koreans resettled in the South in the first quarter, 319 in the second, 223 in the third and 57 so far in the fourth quarter.The numbers reflect similar levels of migration and asylum-seeking among North Koreans from a year ago. In 2018, 1,137 North Koreans resettled in the South, according to Seoul.Their numbers have decreased significantly since Kim Jong-un fully assumed power in 2012. In 2009, the ministry said as many as 2,914 people had defected to the South; that number has more than halved since Kim took power.North Koreans are seeking new lives in the South despite challenges. In July, a North Korean woman and her infant son were found dead in their Seoul apartment, triggering outrage among defectors about "government neglect."South Korea has increased the resettlement award for defectors since tNov 7, 2019
South Korea proposes sending delegation to inspect facilities at Mount Kumgang North Korean foreign affairs ministry's Kim Myong-gil, center, speaks on behalf of the state in front of the North Korean embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 5, 2019, after he met Stephen Biegun, the United States Special Representative for North Korea, to discuss about North Korea's denuclearization process. YonhapSouth Korea has proposed sending a delegation to inspect its long-abandoned facilities at North Korea's Mount Kumgang, the unification ministry said Wednesday, after Pyongyang rejected Seoul's offer to hold face-to-face talks on the fate of the suspended joint tour program.In the proposal sent Tuesday, the ministry said the delegation will be comprised of government officials and business people. The move appears aimed at seeking face-to-face contacts with the North to discuss the fate of the tour program to the mountain on its scenic east coast.The proposal came about a week after Pyongyang turned down Seoul's offer for working-level talks over its demand to remove all the facilities built by the South at the mountain in an apparent threat to end the joint tour program."ScNov 6, 2019
Cheong Wa Dae, spy agency show different views over North Korea's ICBM capabilities National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong speaks during the National Assembly's annual audit into Cheong Wa Dae, Nov. 1, at the National Assembly in Seoul. YonhapBy Jung Da-min The heads of the National Security Office (NSO) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) have offered different assessments of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities at their respective audits by the National Assembly.NIS chief Suh Hoon, speaking to lawmakers at the Assembly, Monday, said the North had developed the technology to launch such missiles from mobile launchers, or transporter-erector launchers (TELs), and had conducted several tests.Rep. Lee Eun-jae, a member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) who attended the closed-door audit, cited Suh as saying, “North Korea loads an ICBM on a TEL, which is driven to a test site and then the missile is transferred to another launch pad and launched. This is a launch using a TEL.”Three days earlier, Chung Eui-yong, the NSO chief, downplayed the North's capabilities, telling lawmakers his agency wouldNov 5, 2019
