Hopes grow for inter-Korean relations to advance denuclearization process A train carrying a team of South Korean officials who will inspect railway sections in the North with their North Korean counterparts travels through the demilitarized zone in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soonBy Kim Bo-eunInter-Korean projects, which were put on hold for months after the summit between leaders of the South and North in September, are back on track.The long-stalled joint inspections of railway sections in the North began Friday, a key step in the project to connect railways of the South and North.The Koreas also went forward with their plan on forestry cooperation, with the South delivering 50 tons of pesticides to the North, and discussing the issue of modernizing tree nurseries there.The stalling was seen as being due to The U.S. disapproval of the Koreas moving forward with joint projects while no progress was being seen regarding North Korea's denuclearization.The government's stance was to advance inter-Korean relations to create a virtuous cycle involving the North's nuclear disarmament.Now that the South and North are movingDec 2, 2018By Kim Bo-eun
NK defector soldier in late teens or early 20s: source The North Korean soldier who defected to the South across the heavily armed border on Saturday is in his late teens or early 20s. YonhapThe North Korean soldier, who defected to the South across the heavily armed border on Saturday, is in his late teens or early 20s, a government source said.The soldier crossed the eastern land border into the South on Saturday morning. The crossing took place near a South Korean guard post in Goseong of Gangwon Province, northeast of Seoul, the source said.Further details about the soldier were not available.Under a military deal signed during September's inter-Korean summit, the two Koreas agreed to dismantle 11 border guard posts each to reduce tensions, but they later agreed to keep one of them each. The Goseong guard post is the one that the South decided to keep.Saturday's defection marked the first time a North Korean soldier defected across the land border since another soldier crossed the central western border on Dec. 21 last year. (Yonhap)Dec 2, 2018
Pompeo: US-N. Korea summit to happen 'shortly after first of year' U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 28. ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that he expects a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to take place "shortly after the first of the year."Pompeo also said in an interview with CNN that the U.S. is seeking a "substantive next step" in the denuclearization talks with the North and that the Trump administration will not prematurely lift sanctions on Pyongyang.The interview took place after Trump held a one-on-one meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in Argentina. North Korea, including a possible second summit between Trump and Kim, was believed to have been a key topic in the talks."I hope it'll happen pretty soon. We're working hard at it. I think it'll happen shortly after the first of the year but I don't have any additional information to share with you this morning," Pompeo said in the interview.Nuclear talks between the U.S. and the North have stalled as Pyongyang wants Dec 2, 2018
Politics should remain separate from humanitarian assistance to North Korea Bart Vermeiren / YonhapPolitics should be kept separate from efforts for humanitarian aid, the head of the North Korean office of an international Red Cross organization has said, adding that any link between them could be "dangerous" as it could turn assistance into a "negotiation tool."Bart Vermeiren, head of mission of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), made the remark in a recent interview in Seoul with Yonhap News Agency, amid growing calls for waiving sanctions for humanitarian projects."I think that humanitarian aid should remain depoliticized. It should not actually be linked to politics because it becomes dangerous. Then humanitarian aid becomes a tool, a negotiation tool so that should not be the case," he said.Vermeiren was in Seoul on a four-day trip to meet Red Cross colleagues and policymakers to discuss cooperation. This marked his first official trip since he was sent to Pyongyang in July last year. His term as head of the ICRC's Pyongyang office is to end in December.His call for politics to be steered clear of humanitarian assistance cDec 2, 2018
Kim Jong-un inspects fishery stations, in first reported activity in 13 days This photo released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, Saturday, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting fishery processing plants in the country's eastern coastal region. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected fishery plants in the country's eastern coastal region in his first reported public activity in 13 days, according to state media, Saturday. Kim visited three fishery processing factories run by the Korean People's Army (KPA) and carried out “field guidance,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.The KCNA said Kim first visited the May 27 Fishery Station and was pleased that it had caught more than 60,000 tons of fish in a short period of time.“Seeing the fish blocks filled at the freezing warehouse, he expressed great pleasure, saying they look like a treasure mountain and gold bars and the warehouse is almost filled with fish in a few days of the intensive fishing campaign,” the KCNA said in an English-language report.Kim then inspected the August 25 Fishery Station where he looked around the processingDec 1, 2018
North Korea soldier defects to South Korea: JCS A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the eastern land border, Saturday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). South Korean border guards detected the soldier crossing the military demarcation line at 7:56 a.m. with their surveillance equipment, the JCS said."Related agencies plan to question him regarding the details of how he came to the South," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters, adding that there were no "special activities" by the North Korean army on the border."Following the demolition of guard posts by the South and North, our security operations on the border have had no problem," a JCS official said. "The soldier is safely in our custody."This is the first defection since the two Koreas completely each destroyed 10 border guard posts, and completed demining a ridge in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Friday. (Yonhap)Dec 1, 2018
PHOTOS South Korean train travels to the North for joint railway inspection A South Korean train is departing from Seoul Station for a joint railway inspection with North Korea, Friday. YonhapA South Korean train departed for North Korea on Friday for an 18-day joint railway inspection that the Koreas are conducting as part of efforts to modernize, and eventually reconnect, rail lines across their border.The train, made up of six cars and carrying dozens of South Korean officials and experts, left Dorasan Station, just south of the inter-Korean border, around 9:05 a.m. for Panmun Station, near the North's border city of Kaesong.The train will be used to inspect 1,200 kilometers of rail track in the North through Dec. 18. The inspection is part of a summit agreement between the leaders of the Koreas, signed in April, to modernize and eventually reconnect rail systems across their border in a bid to foster reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula."The inter-Korean railway connection project is intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula," Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a ceremony at Dorasan Station to mark the launch ofNov 30, 2018
South Korea pushes for groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean connections A train bound from South Korea heads to Jejin Station in Goseong County in Gangwon Province in May 2007 after passing the military demarcation line that divides South and North Korea during a test of the connecting section between Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line. YonhapSouth Korea is sticking to the plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean railway and road connection projects this year as the two Koreas are to begin a joint inspection of the rail system in North Korea this week, a unification ministry official said Thursday.After a months-long delay, South and North Korea are set to launch an 18-day joint inspection of the western and eastern railways of the North on Friday. A South Korean train will leave for the North early in the day with dozens of officials and railway experts on board.This is part of the two Koreas' plan to modernize and reconnect their railways and roads as agreed upon by their leaders in April. Imjingang Station in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, connects South Korean district of Munsan to Gaesong in North Korea through Gyeongui Line railway. YonhapTheyNov 29, 2018
Man wrongly imprisoned as North Korean spy wins big state compensation A South Korean man imprisoned for 13 years on fabricated charges of spying for North Korea has won a huge state compensation through a court battle, officials said Wednesday.The Seoul Central District Court ruled recently that the state must pay a compensation of 1.3 billion won (US$1.15 million) and its penalty interest to Na Jong-in and his family to compensate for their mental and financial damage caused by his wrong detention.Na, now 80 years old, was indicted in 1985 on charges of violating the National Security Law by illegally visiting North Korea and drew a 15-year prison term the following year.The former entrepreneur was accused of acting as a resident spy after his North Korea visit and collecting military secrets. He was released from prison in January 1998 after spending 13 years behind bars.In March 2015, Na requested a retrial, arguing that he had never received espionage instruction and training from North Korea, and was forced to make false confessions during illegal detention and torture by investigators.He was acquitted of his espionage charges in August 2017 Nov 28, 2018
Additional sanction waivers necessary if Koreas to earnestly push for railway project An U.N. official said additional sanctions exemptions are necessary if South and North Korea are to push in earnest for a project to modernize and reconnect their cross-border railways. YonhapAdditional sanctions exemptions are necessary if South and North Korea are to push in earnest for a project to modernize and reconnect their cross-border railways, a U.N. official was quoted as saying Wednesday.The reported remark by a Dutch diplomat leading the U.N. Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions means that a recent sanctions waiver granted by the council is limited to a joint railway survey the two Koreas are scheduled to undertake before launching the main construction.The unidentified diplomat was quoted by the Voice of America as saying that additional sanctions exemptions are needed if the railway projects involve the delivery of any goods subject to sanctions. Another U.N. Security Council official was quoted as saying that the recent waiver is only for the "survey mission."The recent sanctions waiver paved the way for the planned joint railway survey to go forwaNov 28, 2018
