UN lowers Pyongyang sanctions to allow US humanitarian aid A scene from Mennonite Central Committee's promotional video. Screen capture from YouTubeThe U.N. Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption to allow a humanitarian project meant to improve children's health and nutrition in North Korea to move forward, according to the U.N. website.The exemption, granted on March 14, paves the way for an aid organization, Mennonite Central Committee, to bring items, such as hygiene kits and surgical tools, into North Korea.The approval raised the total number of humanitarian exemptions related to North Korea currently in effect to 21. The exemptions are valid for six months.Humanitarian activities are not banned under international sanctions, but related materials are subject to sanctions waivers from the U.N. Regarding the medical equipment, the group said it will deliver the items by hand during a monitoring visit in May.Last week, the Voice of America said U.S. charity group Christian Friends of Korea embarked on a three-week trip to North Korea, marking the first visit to the country by a U.S. aid organization since Washington said in DeMar 25, 2019
South Koreans head to joint liaison office after North's pullout Vehicles carrying South Korean officials of the inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea head to Gaesong through the inter-Korean customs, immigration and quarantine office on Gyeongui Line in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. YonhapDozens of South Korean officials headed to an inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea on Monday, the unification ministry said, despite Pyongyang's abrupt pullout of its staff from the office last week.Around 40 South Korean officials crossed the western land border on their way to the liaison office in the North's border town of Gaesong, according to the ministry. Together with about two dozen people already there, about 60-70 South Korean officials are expected to staff the office this week, officials said.Their dispatch came despite the North's withdrawal of its staff from the office Friday. The North did not give a clear reason for the pullout, only saying the decision was based on an order from "higher-ups." Experts and analysts said the move appears to be designed to pressure Seoul to do more to persuade the United States to lower its demands inMar 25, 2019
US wants to 'continue denuke talks' with North Korea A woman displays a banner with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula, in Seoul, March 19. AP-YonhapCheong Wa Dae denies sending invitation to Trump By Kim Yoo-chulWashington appears to want to continue “denuclearization talks” with North Korea with U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirming his good relationship with its leader Kim Jong-un despite calls from aides to impose additional sanctions on the North.“It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!,” Trump wrote on Twitter, Saturday (KST).His remarks didn't reverse any existing economic pressure but rather referred to new potential sanctions that had not been made public, and as of last week, would not be going forward. The Treasury Department earlier said it was applying new sanctions against two unnamed Chinese shipping companies among others.CheongMar 24, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
Seoul says it will continue to push for inter-Korean projects President Moon Jae-in / YonhapSouth Korea will continue to push for joint projects with North Korea, officials here said Saturday, despite the North's withdrawal from a joint liaison office that may undermine their communication.Under the decision made at a meeting headed by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, the government will likely propose holding inter-Korean dialogue on various joint projects that include the connection of roads and railways between the two Koreas.The meeting came one day after North Korea pulled out all its officials from the joint liaison office in its border town of Kaesong without offering any detailed reasons.The ministry officials noted the military communication line was now the only dialogue channel between the divided Koreas."Today we only confirmed the military communication line continued to work," a ministry official said, adding the meeting did not discuss exactly how it could be used to ensure continued dialogue.The liaison office opened in September under an agreement reached at an inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon JaeMar 24, 2019
N. Korea's top envoys to China, UN arrive in Beijing North Korea's ambassadors to China and the United Nations arrived in Beijing on Saturday, five days after they returned to Pyongyang. North Korean Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong and Ambassador to the U.N. Kim Song were seen at Beijing Capital International Airport earlier in the day after boarding an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang. Their visit to Pyongyang could have been aimed at attending an annual meeting of the North's overseas diplomatic mission chiefs, a source said. But the North could have used the opportunity to brainstorm ideas about its negotiating strategy with the United States.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Hanoi in late February for their second summit but failed to reach a nuclear deal as they were miles apart on how to match Pyongyang's denuclearization steps with sanctions relief from Washington.Washington has been calling for tightened sanctions against Pyongyang ever since, demanding more tangible denuclearization steps. (Yonhap)Mar 23, 2019
N. Korea's media keep mum on withdrawal from inter-Korean liaison office North Korea's state-controlled media made no mention of the withdrawal of the staff from a liaison office with South Korea on Saturday, a day after the North's abrupt move that is seen as putting pressure on Seoul over Pyongyang's nuclear program. Weeks after a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without an agreement, North Korea pulled out of the inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border city of Kaesong on Friday. North Korea's media, including the Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central Television, had kept mum on the withdrawal as of Saturday morning.Some analysts said the North's withdrawal is apparently aimed at intensifying pressure on South Korea, which has been brokering talks between Washington and Pyongyang. "The North's decision basically seems like a protest to urge Seoul to persuade the U.S., as this Washington factor has been an obstacle to carrying out agreements made between the two Korean leaders," Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far East Studies at Kyungnam University, said.The office opened in Mar 23, 2019
Trump cancels new sanctions on North Korea Captured from Trump's twitterU.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he has ordered the withdrawal of new sanctions on North Korea, possibly signaling an intention to continue denuclearization negotiations with the regime.Trump was initially thought to be referring to sanctions the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed Thursday on two Chinese shipping companies accused of helping the North evade sanctions.The Washington Post later reported, citing officials familiar with the matter, that Trump was in fact referring to future sanctions that had been scheduled for the coming days.The confusion lay in Trump's announcement on Twitter."It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea," he wrote, although no new North Korea-related sanctions were announced Friday."I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!" he said.The announcement came as negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program have hit an impasse following the collapse of last month's summitMar 23, 2019
North Korea pulls out of inter-Korean liaison office The inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, North Korea. Korea Times fileBy Park Si-sooNorth Korea has abruptly withdrawn its officials from an inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, North Korea, South Korea's unification ministry said Friday, in a setback to inter-Korean relations that have been peaceful for more than one year.The ministry said the North had notified the South during a liaison officers' meeting earlier in the day that it would pull out of the office in accordance with a directive from above and later put the decision into action.It happened three weeks after the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam collapsed due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the nuclear-armed North.The North said it “is pulling out with instructions from the superior authority,” according to the ministry. It didn't say whether North Korea's withdrawal of staff would be temporary or permanent.The North said it “will not mind the South remaining in the office” and that it would notify the South about practical matters later, the ministry said in a statement.SeoMar 22, 2019
Ex-US envoy opposes Trump's North Korea approach By Yi Whan-wooJoseph YunA former chief U.S. negotiator for North Korea's nuclear disarmament said the U.S. needs a step-by-step approach to denuclearization instead of an “all-or-nothing” tactic. Joseph Yun, a former U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, called President Donald Trump's “no deal is better than a bad deal” stance mere rhetoric, saying the two countries could have “salvaged something” during their latest summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.Yun suggested for the U.S. to lift some of the sanctions placed on the North to help ease Kim into the idea of dismantling his nuclear arsenal in return. This includes the Yongbyon reactor complex, which was a central point of contention at the summit, as well as accounting for nuclear weapons and fissile material that Pyongyang is still believed to be hiding, he said.“We need to see a step-by-step approach...there is no other possible approach,” Yun said in an interview with KBS World Radio. He attributed the collapse of the summit between Trump and Kim to a lack of preparation.&ldquMar 22, 2019By Yi Whan-woo
N. Korea to hold parliament session with newly elected deputies on April 11 North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature will hold its first session with newly elected deputies next month, state media said Friday."The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea made public on Wednesday a decision to convene a SPA session" in Pyongyang on April 11, the Korean Central News Agency said.North Korea held nationwide polls earlier this month and elected 687 deputies. Held every five years, it was the second such election under the current leader Kim Jong-un following the one in March 2014. The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the constitution, but it actually rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. It holds a plenary session every April to mainly deal with budgets and a cabinet personnel reshuffle.This year's meeting is drawing keen attention as the North could unveil its policy on its nuclear and missile programs following the collapse of Kim's second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi last month. (Yonhap)Mar 22, 2019
