Japan not drafting UN resolution on Pyongyang's human rights abuse Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, 26 December 2018. EPA-YonhapThe Japanese government announced Wednesday it won't submit a North Korean human rights resolution to a U.N. panel this month as part of efforts for a quick resolution to the abduction issue.It marks a break from more than a decade of Japan's practice of playing a leading role, along with the European Union, in the adoption of such resolutions against Pyongyang by the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council.Tokyo cited a review of all related circumstances, including the results of the Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month."In the second North Korea-U.S. summit, there was a serious discussion on the abduction issue," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press briefing.Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) meets Shigeo Iizuka (C), leader of a group of families of Japanese abducted by North Korea, Sakie Yokota (2nd L), the mother of Megumi Yokota, one of tMar 13, 2019
Seoul, Washington set for 'working group' session on Pyongyang In this Feb. 28, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP-YonhapA South Korean official in charge of the peace regime issue will head to the United States on Wednesday for a "working group" meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.Rhee Dong-yeol, director general of the ministry's Korean Peninsula peace regime bureau, plans to meet with Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea, in Washington, D.C. on Thursday (local time). They will be joined by several other officials of the two sides handling North Korea affairs in the first face-to-face working group session since the unsuccessful Hanoi summit between the U.S. and North Korea late last month.Top agenda items include ways to revitalize the denuclearization process and Seoul's pursuit of a sanctions waiver for the planned video reunions of separated families living on the other side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Some equipment needs to be brought into the North for the humanitarian project.The allies are also expected to touch on SMar 13, 2019
Pyongyang's weapon programs remain intact: UN panel This Dec. 5, 2018 image provided by DigitalGlobe provided on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 shows a satellite image of North Korea's Sohae facility. AP-YonhapNorth Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs have remained intact as the country has developed new means to evade sanctions, a United Nations panel said Tuesday.North Korea's main nuclear facility in Yongbyon has remained active, with its 5-megawatt reactor in operation since December 2015, according to an annual report by a panel of independent experts for the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions implementation on the North.It said satellite imagery of the complex from February to November 2018 showed the excavation of water channels and the construction of a building near the reactors' water discharge facilities.A new building could also be seen on the west side of the light water reactor, the panel said.In Pyongsan, the site of uranium mines, the panel said it observed the removal of spoil piles, which indicated possible mining activity.But in Kangson, there was no significant change around its possiblMar 13, 2019
INTERVIEW Rogers expects NK to push for opening markets Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Stanford Hotel in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk'Kim Jong-un is different from his father'By Kim Bo-eunSkepticism is growing over North Korea completely denuclearizing following the failure of the Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Many are raising doubts about Kim's sincerity, but legendary American investor Jim Rogers believes he is serious about ending the regime's nuclear program and opening up the North Korean economy, because he thinks Kim is different from his father and grandfatherRogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, said Kim is virtually not "Korean" but “Swiss,” due to his background of being educated there."Kim is a different person. He grew up in Switzerland," he said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Friday. The 76-year-old investor was here for leisure company Ananti's board meetings, the first he has attended since he began a three-year teMar 12, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
US envoy: North Korea denuclearization must not be incremental In this file photo taken on Feb. 9, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun listens to South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul. Biegun said Washington's goal is the complete denuclearization of North Korea by the end of Donald Trump's first term, insisting it will not settle for incremental disarmament. AFPThe Trump administration will insist North Korea follow through on its commitment to completely eliminate its nuclear weapons before the U.S. agrees to the lifting of international sanctions, the State Department's special envoy for North Korea said Monday. In his first public comments since President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month, envoy Stephen Biegun said ``the missing variable'' in making a deal is the North's unwillingness to offer complete, verifiable denuclearization. ``We are not going to do denuclearization incrementally,'' Biegun said at a conference sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He said there is room for ``confidence-building'' mMar 12, 2019
Bolton issues warning messages to North Korea By Lee Min-hyungU.S. National Security Advisor John BoltonU.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton issued a warning to North Korea Sunday (local time) over its recent moves to rebuild missile facilities. “The leverage is on our side right now, not on North Korea's,” he said in a local media interview.The remark came amid growing signs that the North is apparently moving towards restarting its nuclear and missile programs in the wake of the failure of its second summit with the U.S. last month.In recent days, a number of satellite images have shown that Pyongyang has started construction at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Tongchang-ri. Some think tanks, including the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), have claimed that the facility has returned to normal operation status after analyzing the images.The hawkish adviser, however, did not give details on what Washington will do in response to the regime's seemingly renewed activity at the facility.“I'd rather not get into the specifics,” Bolton said. “The UnitedMar 11, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Fine dust partially from North Korea: minister South Korea's environment minister said Monday some fine dust particles that blanketed most of the South last week came from North Korea.Minister Cho Myung-rae told the National Assembly he believes North Korea is one of the many causes for fine dust coming into South Korea.Cho made the remarks replying to a question from an opposition lawmaker during a meeting of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee."There are several reasons for the inflows of fine dust, but I believe some of the dust particles came from North Korea during times of their heavy concentrations (in South Korea)," said Cho, answering a question from Rep. Lee Jang-woo of the Liberty Korea Party.Lee had asked Cho about the cause of high levels of fine dust in pristine areas in Jeju, Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces early this month.In the first seven days of March, most of South Korea, including Seoul, was hit by heavy concentrations of ultrafine particles that were about six times higher than the maximum density recommended by the World Health Organization.South Korea's state-run laboratories have argMar 11, 2019
Kim Jong-nam murder suspect freed after charges dropped Siti Aisyah speaks during a press conference at the Indonesian Embassy after her release in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 11. APSiti Aisyah, third from left, with officials from Indonesian Embassy during a press conference at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 11. APBy Jung Min-hoSiti Aisyah, one of two women charged with the murder of the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been released in Malaysia.Aisyah, 26, an Indonesian woman charged with Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 30, with killing Kim Jong-nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017, was freed on Monday after the Shah Alam High Court approved prosecutors' request to drop the charges against her.It is unclear why the prosecution made that request.Aisyah and Doan claimed they had been tricked into carrying out the murder plan by North Korean agents, who told them they were playing a prank for a reality TV show. The two said they thought what they smeared on him was lotion.“I feel happy. I did not know this will happen. I did not expect it,” Aisyah rMar 11, 2019By Jung Min-ho
North Korea elects top assembly members North Koreans wait for their turn to vote during the election at a polling station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday. AP-YonhapBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea held a nationwide “parliamentary election,” Sunday after the failure of the Hanoi summit ironically raised hopes that its leader Kim Jong-un may announce new plans relating to the implementation of updated economic strategies.New members for the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) are expected to be announced Monday or Tuesday, according to observers, Sunday. A total of 687 deputies are elected, one from each constituency. Although the SPA does not possess any actual power, its role being strictly “rubber stamp” in nature, it still indicates a pathway of reform for Kim's new cabinet, North Korean watchers say. North Korean state-media reported Sunday that the election came at a critical time when the country is facing a new task to carry out new economic strategies declared by Kim last April during the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).“It wMar 10, 2019
Kim Jong-un says economic growth 'urgent task' President Moon Jae-in, right, and first lady Kim Jung-sook wave before leaving Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, for a seven-day state trip to Brunei, Malaysia and Cambodia, Sunday afternoon. YonhapMoon begins seven-day state trip to Brunei, Malaysia and Cambodia By Kim Yoo-chulWhen North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toured the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, he saw a country worthy of emulation and articulated his determination to improve the North's impoverished economy.Quoting direct comments from Kim, the North's Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Saturday that he ordered officials to put a greater emphasis on improving the people's quality of life.“No revolutionary tasks stand before us other than the improvement of the economy and people's daily lives,” Kim said.The KCNA did not say whether the comments were a result of reports from an economic delegation led by Kim Pyong-hae and Oh Su-yong to the Vietnamese industrial city of Hai Phong and popular tourist attraction Halong Bay. Kim and Oh are thought to have the authority to report directly to the North Korean leader onMar 10, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
