CIA key official makes secret visit to Seoul Harry Harris, left, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea and Andrew Kim, head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul in July. / Korea Times fileBy Park Ji-wonA senior Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official on Korean affairs secretly visited South Korea and met senior officials of the two Koreas, according to local media reports last week.Andrew Kim, chief of the CIA's Korea Mission Center (KMC), made his visit to Seoul and went to the border village of Panmunjeom on a four-day trip from Wednesday to meet officials of the two Koreas, and returned to the U.S. on Saturday. Kim was said to have mediated efforts by the U.S. and two Koreas to narrow differences on denuclearization ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned visit to North Korea in late November, the reports said.Kim reportedly discussed the issue with South Korean government officials and lawmakers.The move came with denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States stalled after Pyongyang asked Washington to offer corresponding measures in exchange for its agreeNov 18, 2018By Park Ji-won
Two Koreas on rapid military reconciliation A South Korean guard post in the border country of Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, is demolished, Thursday. The two Koreas will destroy 10 guard posts near the border area on each side by the end of this month. / Joint Press CorpsExpectations rise for inter-Korean air routesBy Lee Min-hyungThe two Koreas are on a rapid track to disarm fortifications on land border areas and ease military tension by taking concrete steps to realize their common goal of building peace on land, sea and in the air.The latest in a series of inter-Korean tension-easing and trust-building steps came Friday when the two Koreas held a working-level dialogue to discuss launching air routes on their eastern and western coasts.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, North Korea offered to open international air routes on either coastal areas of the Korean Peninsula, which would allow aircraft from here and abroad to use the routes without restrictions.The land ministry plans to hold discussions with the defense and foreign ministries to decide whether to accept the North's proposal.The militNov 18, 2018By Lee Min-hyung
Kim Jong-un calls for modernized production in visit to glass victory North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the importance of modernized production during his visit to a glass factory in the country's western region, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim gave field guidance at the Taegwan Glass Factory in North Pyongan Province, where he praised "flawless" glassware and other optical apparatuses."Pointing out that the world is rapidly changing and developing, he called for directing steady efforts to putting the factory's overall production process and process for checking goods on a modern basis and introducing update technology, not content with the present success, and thus producing better optical glass and measuring equipment," the KCNA said in an English-language report.The KCNA added that Kim was accompanied by Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party, and two vice department directors of the party, Jo Yong-won and Kim Yong-su, among others.This was Kim Jong-un's first visit to Taegwan Glass Factory since May 2014. The plant is also said to have produced military lens, and wasNov 18, 2018
North Korean officials head home after 4-day cross-border trip Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, left, leave for Pyongyang with his North Korean delegation at the Gimpo International Airport, Saturday. YonhapA five-member North Korean delegation left South Korea on Saturday to return home after wrapping up their four-day visit to attend an international peace forum.The North's delegates, led by Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, left Seoul earlier in the day, and arrived in Beijing. Sources said it seems they will stay in China for two days before returning home, though it is not known whether they plan to hold any meetings with Chinese officials.After arriving here late Wednesday, they visited the Second Techno Valley in the Pangyo district of the city of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the following day, and held a meeting with South Korean officials, including Gyeonggi governor Lee Jae-myung, to discuss various issues, such as pushing for joint business projects. On Friday they attended the 2018 International Convention for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia Pacific, whicNov 17, 2018
US voices appreciation for North Korea's release of American citizen In this file photo taken on March 09, 2018, the North Korean flag flies above the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, China. Pyongyang said Friday that it had expelled a US citizen who had entered its territory illegally, an unusually swift resolution of a case that could have further complicated reconciliation moves between the two countries. The man, identified as Lawrence Bruce Byron, had been in custody after crossing into North Korea from China, Oct. 16, the official Korean Central News Agency said. AFP-YonhapU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed appreciation Friday for North Korea's release of an American citizen held there for alleged illegal entry.Pompeo said in a statement that the United States "appreciates the cooperation" of North Korea and the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which facilitated the release.Pyongyang said earlier that it was deporting an American citizen, identified as Bruce Byron Lowrance, after detaining him for illegally crossing its border with China last month.He confessed to have entered the North under the direction of the U.S. Central IntelligencNov 17, 2018
US upbeat about North Korean denuclearization despite new weapon test US President Donald J. Trump during the signing of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Nov. 16. EPA-YonhapThe United States expressed confidence Friday that North Korea will honor its commitment to denuclearize despite its test of an unspecified “newly developed high-tech tactical weapon.”North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the "successful" test of the weapon at a national defense institute, state media reported earlier in the day.This marked the first such inspection by Kim since he watched an intercontinental ballistic missile launch in November 2017."At the Singapore Summit, President Trump and Chairman Kim made a number of commitments regarding final, fully verified denuclearization and creating a brighter future for North Korea," a State Department spokesman said in response to a query from Yonhap News. "We are talking with the North Koreans about implementing all of those commitments."The summit in June yielded a commitment by Kim to work toward "complete" denuclearization of the KorNov 17, 2018
Seoul backs UN resolution on N.Korea human rights By Yi Whan-wooSouth Korea's backing of a resolution adopted by a U.N. General Assembly committee on North Korea's dire human rights records, Thursday, was in accordance with a policy to pursue “substantive improvement, according to the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.said.The U.N. Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural affairs, passed the resolution calling for the Kim regime's accountability for human rights violations.The decision came as South Korea is trying to speed up reconciliation with the North while maintaining U.N. policies that are at odds with Kim Jong-un's regime.The regime has been denying U.N. accusations of crimes against humanity, while at the same time calling for sanctions against it to be eased.Circulated by Japan and the European Union, the resolution was passed by consensus without a vote. It was co-sponsored by 61 member states, including South Korea.It is expected to pass the U.N. General Assembly in December for the 14th consecutive year.“This year's resolution, while largely maintaining the content of previous versioNov 16, 2018By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea to deport American it detained for illegal entry North Korea says it will deport an American citizen it recently detained for illegally entering the country.The Korean Central News Agency said Friday the U.S. citizen was detained on Oct. 16 for illegally entering the country from China.It says the U.S. citizen told investigators that he was under the direction of the Central Intelligence Agency.It says North Korea decided to deport him but did not say when.In May, North Korea released three American detainees as it engaged in diplomacy with the United States and South Korea. (AP)Nov 16, 2018
North Korea says it has tested 'ultramodern tactical weapon' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, speaks to military officials at an unspecified national defense institute in this photo that appeared in the North's state newspaper Rodong Sinmun 's Friday edition. / YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the successful test of ``a newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon,'' the nation's state media reported Friday, though it didn't describe what sort of weapon it was.It didn't appear to be a nuclear or missile-related test, a string of which last year had many fearing war before the North turned to engagement and diplomacy early this year. Still, any mention of weapons testing could influence the direction of currently stalled diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang that's meant to rid the North of its nuclear weapons.The North hasn't publicly tested any weapons since November of last year, but in recent days Pyongyang reportedly expressed anger at South Korea's resumption of small-scale military drills with the United States, and Friday's announcement could be in response to those drills. Even if the test was a message for WaNov 16, 2018
UN panel adopts resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses A United Nations committee on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for accountability for gross human rights violations in North Korea.The U.N. Third Committee, which oversees humanitarian issues, passed the document by consensus without a vote. It is expected to pass the U.N. General Assembly next month for the 14th consecutive year.The South Korean government said it joined the consensus-based decision in accordance with a policy to work together with the international community for a "substantive improvement" in the human rights of North Korean people.In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this year's resolution, while largely maintaining the content of previous versions, welcomes ongoing diplomatic efforts on Pyongyang and takes note of the importance of dialogue and engagement to address the human rights and humanitarian situations there.It was co-sponsored by 61 member states. The resolution "condemns the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in and by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."In particular it citeNov 16, 2018
