UN grants sanctions waivers for French NGOs' humanitarian aid to Pyongyang North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Kim Song waits to address the United Nations Security Council, at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. YonhapThe U.N. Security Council has granted sanctions exemptions to two French nongovernmental organizations for the provision of humanitarian assistance to North Korean children and people with disabilities.A U.N. committee handling sanctions on North Korea granted the waiver for Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI) and Handicap International late last month, according to the committee's website.The list of goods approved for Handicap International, including crutches and wheelchairs, are worth 233,362 euros (US$263,300) in total, according to a document on the website. Handicap International received a similar waiver last month for its project to reduce the occurrence of disabilities in children.The list of items approved for PUI was not disclosed. The website said the goods will be used to improve children's nutritional status. The approvals raised the total number of humanitarian exemptions related to North Korea currently in effect to 12. ThFeb 14, 2019
NK denounces South's military moves Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki speaks with a soldier at an army unit in Gwangju on Feb. 2. Courtesy of Joint Chief of StaffBy Kim Bo-eunNorth Korea's media condemned the South Korean military, Wednesday, for the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) chairman's recent visit to military units.JCS Chairman Park Han-ki visited units of the Army, Marines and Air Force during the Lunar New Year holiday, to check their defense posture and thank soldiers for their service.Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's ruling Workers' Party's mouthpiece, referred to the JCS chief's visit as “going against the flow of an era of dialogue and peace.”The paper also criticized a winter-season drill that was held in Gangwon Province last month.In addition, it referred to the defense ministry's plan for 2019 to 2023 unveiled last month, and said these are in line with “dangerous military moves.”The plan stated the South would increase defense spending by an average of 7.5 percent each year over the next five years, with the goal on building “independent capabilities to counter threats fFeb 13, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Russia considering shipping 50,000 tons of wheat to N. Korea as humanitarian aid Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he delivers his speech at the plenary session of the Business Russia forum in Moscow, Feb. 6. APRussia is considering providing North Korea with 50,000 tons of wheat as humanitarian assistance at the request of Pyongyang, the chief of the Russian Senate's foreign affairs committee was quoted as saying.Konstantin Kosachev, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, made the remark during a meeting with North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyong-jun on Monday, Tass news agency reported."The Russian agencies are considering the request of the Korean side on granting them 50,000 tonnes of wheat to make up for the losses caused by natural disasters last year," Kosachev was quoted as saying. "We hope that a solution will be found."Kosachev said Russia has been providing the North with humanitarian aid both via international organizations and on a bilateral basis and that the country's commitments under the World Food Program, totaling US$8 million, "will be fulfilled in full."Kosachev also said that trade between the NortFeb 13, 2019
N. Korea faces serious food insecurity with children taking brunt: UN report People gather in front of the large statues of former North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il at Mansudae Hill, Pyongyang, Feb. 6. A recent report from the United Nations shows that many North Korean children suffer from food shortages. YonhapMore than four out of 10 North Koreans are facing food insecurity with a third of its children unable to get the minimum daily intake of food, a United Nations report showed Wednesday, indicating severe food shortages aggravated by years of natural disasters.According to the report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 10.9 million people in North Korea are deemed "food insecure," which accounts for some 43 percent of the North's total population. In particular, one out of three children aged 6-23 months do not receive "the minimum acceptable diet" while one out five are facing "chronic malnutrition."The severe food insecurity was attributed to natural disasters in recent years, which have wrought havoc on the country's farming sector."The country is critically dependent on agriculture for its food security, which has beFeb 13, 2019
Jim Rogers denies Pyongyang's invitation Jim Rogers / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-kyoungLegendary investor Jim Rogers Wednesday denied media reports that he would visit Pyongyang in March to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.In an email inquiry about North Korea's invitation and his plan to travel to Pyongyang, he answered that he had not heard anything from the reclusive regime about any such meeting.“We know nothing about it at all. No one has contacted us about the meeting. We will let you know if we know more,” Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holding, told The Korea Times via email. On Tuesday, citing sources from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the government, local newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Kim invited Rogers, and the U.S. government approved the visit.Rogers' denial is likely to come as a big disappointment for Cheong Wa Dae, which viewed the potential visit as a move to provide the impetus for the opening of the Kim Jong-un regimeThe 76-year-old investor, who visited North Korea twice before as an individual tourist, has drawn keen attention in South Korea after he first expressed Feb 13, 2019By Kim Jae-kyoung
S. Korean IOC member emphasizes fairness in making joint Olympic team with N. Korea Ryu Seung-minSouth Korea's lone International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, Ryu Seung-min, said Wednesday that he believes fairness and the proper process should be considered important when his country begins talks with North Korea on fielding joint teams at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Ryu, a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission, will fly to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, later Wednesday with South Korean sports minister Do Jong-hwan, and Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung, for a meeting with North Korea and IOC officials. They will discuss organization of unified Korean teams at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a joint Korean bid for the 2032 Summer Games."The tripartite meeting will be an opportunity for each party to express its ideas, instead of producing an immediate outcome," Ryu said. "I hope discussions on unified Korean teams can be carried out under fair rules of sports."In Lausanne, South and North Korea are expected to exchange their opinions on sports disciplines they wish to compete in together at Tokyo 2020. But Ryu said that to foFeb 13, 2019
US, North Korea yet to narrow differences on denuclearization: envoy U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok-chol. Yonhap The U.S. envoy for North Korea was quoted as saying Monday (local time) that the two sides are yet to narrow their differences on denuclearization before this month's second bilateral summit.U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun made the remark during a meeting with a visiting South Korean parliamentary delegation to Washington, D.C., according to the group.Biegun and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol, held talks in Pyongyang last week to hammer out the agenda and logistics for the Feb. 27-28 summit to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.According to the delegation members, the U.S. envoy said the two sides laid out what each side seeks from the summit but will start narrowing their differences in the next round of talks.South Korea's presidential office said eaFeb 12, 2019
Religious leaders, civic group officials visit North Korea for new year event A group of South Korean religious leaders, civic group officials and lawmakers heading to North Korea for a joint new year event with their North Korean counterparts arrive at the Donghae Highway Transit Office in Goseong, Gangwon Province, Tuesday. Yonhap A group of religious leaders, civic group officials and lawmakers headed to North Korea on Tuesday to hold a joint new year event with their North Korean counterparts.The delegation, consisting of about 250 South Koreans, plans to cross the eastern inter-Korean border to Mount Geumgang on the North's east coast for a two-day stay there. They included leaders of South Korea's major religions, labor unions and civic groups representing women, youth and farming communities. About 10 journalists were also among them.During the two-day stay, they plan to hold a joint new year event and meetings with their North Korean counterparts. On the second day, they plan to watch the sunrise together and visit a temple.They are eFeb 12, 2019
North Korean media intensify calls for 'corresponding' measures from Washington before summit U.S. and North Korean flags for sale at a shop in Hanoi, Vietnam, late last month. Hanoi is the venue for the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for Feb. 27-28. AP-Yonhap North Korean media outlets intensified calls for "corresponding" measures, including sanctions removal, from the United States on Tuesday as their leaders are set to hold a second summit later this month."The U.S. should respect our leading and preemptive efforts and respond to them with corresponding practical action," Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda outlet, said in an article."Our stance to usher in a new future for global peace and security and open an era of cooperation between North Korea and the U.S. remains unchanged." Tongil Sinbo, a North Korean propaganda weekly, also urged the U.S. to retract "unfair" sanctions on North Korea, saying that the nuclear issue will not be resolved if Washington continues to make "unilateraFeb 12, 2019
Vietnam's top diplomat to visit North Korea ahead of Trump-Kim summit Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, right, shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho at the government guesthouse in Hanoi, Vietnam in this November 2018 file photo. AP-Yonhap Vietnam's top diplomat was on his way to North Korea Tuesday amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be set for a state visit to the Southeast Asian country late this month.Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who doubles as Vietnam's deputy prime minister, boarded an Air Koryo flight bound for Pyongyang at an international airport in Beijing, after arriving in the Chinese capital on an Air China flight earlier in the day.He was accompanied by five government officials, including the ministry's protocol chief, according to an informed source. Also in his entourage were Vietnamese journalists.Kim Chang-son, a close aide to the North Korean ruler and director of the State Affairs Commission, was expected to visit Hanoi for consultations with Vietnamese auFeb 12, 2019
