Spending Christmas in Pyongyang? Chinese agency sells $600 tickets to make it happen A Chinese-based agency is selling tour programs to spend Christmas Day in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang.According to the website of Young Pioneer Tours, a three-day tour to Pyongyang sells for 475 pounds (US$608) and a four-day program, which also includes tours to the border city of Kaesong and the Demilitarized Zone bordering South Korea, sells for 595 pounds ($762).The agency specializes in North Korea tourism. Late American student Otto Warmbier used one of its programs to visit the North in 2016, though he was detained during the trip for taking down a political propaganda sign from a hotel and spent 17 months there before returning home in a coma and dying days later.The Christmas trip begins on Dec. 24, taking tourists from the Chinese city of Dandong near the border with the North to Pyongyang by train. The program includes sightseeing of major points of attraction in Pyongyang, such as Kim Il Sung Square and Mansudae Grand Monument, on Christmas Day.The four-day program also includes a trip to the inter-Korean border city of Kaesong and DMZ the following day. (Yonhap) Nov 27, 2018
Mexico keeps persona non grata status for North Korean envoy North Korean Ambassador to Mexico Kim Hyong-gil, who has been declared persona non grata by Mexican government as of Sep.7, 2017, speaks to the press on the following day. According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim started his term there on June 20, 2016. Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-minMexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs in September last year declared North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyong-gil as persona non grata and expelled him from the country.Ahead of the inauguration ceremony of Mexico's president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador next month, Kim's status remains unchanged.“The position of North Korean ambassador to Mexico is still vacant,” the Mexican Embassy in Seoul told Korea Times Monday. “We haven't heard about any plans to lift the measure yet.”As a North Korean delegation is heading for Mexico City to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony on Dec. 1, it is speculated that their strained diplomatic relations may improve.The delegation is led by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Nov 26, 2018
PHOTOS North Korean gift Pungsan dogs have six puppies President Moon Jae-in, right, and first lady Kim Jung-sook with Gomi and her six puppies. Cheong Wa Dae-YonhapBy Jung Da-minCheong Wa Dae has released photos of the first couple of Korea with six puppies of Pungsan dogs, a gift from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.“Featured in the photo are puppies of 'Gomi' and they were born on Nov. 9,” the presidential office said Sunday afternoon on its Twitter account. “The mother dog and six puppies are all well.”On Nov. 12, President Moon Jae-in said on his Tiwtter account that three puppies were female and the other three were male.In September, North Korean leader Kim presented Moon with two Pungsan dogs to mark the leaders' meeting in Pyongyang.The female is named Gomi and the male Songgang. Gomi was born in March 2017 and Songgang, in November 2017.The six puppies of Gomi and Songgang. Cheong Wa Dae-YonhapPresident Moon with Songgang. Korea Times filePresident Moon with Gomi. Korea Times fileNov 26, 2018
Two Koreas to speed up railway projects By Yi Whan-wooThe two Koreas may start a joint field study this week at the earliest on reconnecting their railways, according to a unification ministry official, Sunday.The study will be possible if the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) Sanctions Committee on North Korea grants a sanctions exemption, Friday. The United States on Sunday also granted an exemption to its independent sanctions and allowed the study to proceed.Such developments fuel speculation that other inter-Korean projects may proceed, under a condition that they faithfully observe sanctions on Pyongyang and sufficient consultations are made with the UNSC in advance.The UNSC had thwarted the rail inspection plan for months, amid U.S. concerns it may violate nuclear sanctions that include severe limits on shipments of fuel and other goods into the North.The survey would require the South to bring to the North fuel, food and a variety of equipment, including cars to test on northern tracks, as well as engineers.“The joint field study can begin soon, possibly this week,” a unification ministry official said. &ldqNov 25, 2018By Yi Whan-woo
Kim Jong-un's possible Seoul visit stirs up ideological divide A college student gives a speech during a rally organized by progressive activists at Gwanghwamun Square, downtown Seoul on Nov. 18, to welcome North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s possible visit to the South. / Korea Times photo by Suh Jae-hoonBy Yi Whan-wooProgressive-minded activists are calling for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit Seoul promptly to speed up inter-Korean reconciliation.But this has irked some conservatives because the activists are holding rallies where they speak highly of Kim and demand that South Koreans should welcome him in a “respectful manner.”On Nov. 18, left-wing activists organized a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul. The rally was the second of its kind since the group was launched on Nov. 7.The group, roughly translated as the Committee for Paektu Praise, is named after the Mount Paektu bloodline, a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership descended from founding leader Kim Il-sung.The rally was held only 50 meters from the U.S. Embassy in Korea. The event involved speeches in which participants welcoNov 25, 2018By Yi Whan-woo
UN grants sanctions exemption for inter-Korean railway survey In this photo provided by South Korea's Defense Ministry on Thursday, a South Korean soldier, right, and North Korean soldier, left, shake hands as they meet to open a road connecting the two sides across the demilitarized zone in a project to excavate Korean War remains near the military demarcation line inside the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon, South Korea. Courtesy of South Korea's Defense MinistryThe United Nations Security Council on Friday granted a sanctions exemption to enable the two Koreas to conduct a survey on reconnecting railways across their border, a diplomatic source said.The exemption was approved by consensus by the council's North Korea sanctions committee, paving the way for the survey and a groundbreaking ceremony before the end of the year.South Korea requested an exemption for deliveries of fuel and other material needed to conduct the survey in the North. Pyongyang is under heavy U.N. sanctions, including capped imports of refined petroleum, for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.As part of efforts to denuclearize the regime, South Korea has Nov 24, 2018
Koreas discuss modernizing Panmunjeom cables By Yi Whan-wooThe two Koreas had a working-level dialogue on modernizing underground cables in the border village of Panmunjeom, Friday.“The two sides discussed ways to replace copper cables with fiber-optic ones,” an official at the Ministry of Unification said.Chung Chang-rim, a director at the Ministry of Science and ICT, led the five-member South Korean delegation for the meeting at the liaison office in the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong, North Korea.Ri Yong-min, a senior official on communication affairs, led the Pyongyang delegates.The meeting came in line with Pyongyang's offer, Nov. 15, to hold talks on modernizing the communication network at Panmunjeom, according to the unification ministry.There are about 30 communication lines ― including phone and fax ― across Panmunjeom. They are used for daily communications, inter-Korean talks, air traffic issues, maritime issues and joint economic cooperation.An analyst said Pyongyang was believed to have made the offer as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seeks to boost the country's economy through advanced sciNov 23, 2018By Yi Whan-woo
NK sanctions set to be exempted for railway inspection By Kim Bo-eunThe U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea are set to be exempted to enable inspections of North Korean railways to take place.The government requested the exemptions to the UNSC Sanctions Committee on North Korea earlier this week, and a process is underway on the matter, according to the foreign ministry.While the ministry declined to comment on details, it is likely the government has requested an exemption on Resolution 2397, which bans the entry of petroleum into North Korea.This was seen to be the resolution that prevented the U.N. Command (UNC) from granting approval for the plan to inspect the North's railways, because it involves a South Korean train carrying personnel and supplies including oil going to the North.For the exemption to be approved, a consensus needs to be reached among 15 UNSC member states taking part in the sanctions committee on North Korea. Key states such as China and Russia are in support of granting exemptions. The U.S. up until recently had been against the idea, but at a recent meeting with South Korea expressed its &ldquoNov 23, 2018By Kim Bo-eun
North Korea blasts US again for sticking to sanctions North Korea accused the United States on Friday of an "inhumane act" of imposing sanctions even on school supplies and toys for children in the communist nation, the latest in a series of criticism seen as a call for easing such restrictions amid stalled denuclearization talks.Uriminjokkiri, the North's external propaganda website, said that the U.S. has completely blocked the North's trade and economic exchanges with the rest of the world with reckless sanctions, and even committed such an "inhumane act" of making school supplies and toys subject to sanctions.The article was about the North's efforts to guarantee the rights of children to mark the 29th anniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, but it highlighted the point that U.S. sanctions are affecting children in the country.State media outlets of the North have been repeatedly criticizing the U.S. for keeping sanctions, as American officials said they have no intention of relaxing them before the communist nation gives up its nuclear programs.On Thursday, Uriminjokkiri blasted the U.S. for imposing sanctionNov 23, 2018
IAEA calls on North Korea to re-admit nuclear inspectors The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency flies in front of its headquarters in Vienna, May 28, 2015. ReutersThe head of the U.N.'s atomic watchdog has called on North Korea to allow inspectors back in to monitor its nuclear program. Speaking at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency Thursday, Director General Yukiya Amano noted that Pyongyang had in September talked about denuclearization measures including the ``permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon'' _ a reactor where it produces plutonium. Amano said there has been activity observed at Yongbyon, but ``without access the agency cannot confirm the nature and purpose of these activities.'' At a news conference later Thursday, he said he couldn't elaborate on when exactly the activity was observed. IAEA inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009 but Amano said the agency continues to prepare for their possible re-admittance. ``The agency continues to enhance its readiness to play an essential role in verifying (North Korea's) nuclear program if a poliNov 23, 2018
