Portraits of a dynasty: North Korea's ever-present Kims Portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are seen on the facade of a government building in Pyongyang, North Korea, September 11, 2018. Reuters Overseas North Korean citizens pay their respect in front of paintings of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il at a silk factory in Pyongyang, North Korea, September 7, 2018. ReutersOne of the first things any traveller to North Korea notices is a huge portrait of Kim Il Sung, pictured in front of an airplane and workers alongside the road as you drive out of Pyongyang International Airport. It's an image that soon becomes very familiar.Millions of portraits, mosaics and paintings of Kim Il Sung, founder of North Korea, and his son Kim Jong Il, the father of current leader Kim Jong Un, offer daily reminders to the public of the central role of the Kim dynasty in their nation's story.Smiling images of the Kims are everywhere you go. Portraits are mandatory not just in public places like train stations, hospitals, schools and factories, but even in private spaces such as the living rooms of apartmSep 25, 2018
Moon, Trump to coordinate 2nd US-NK summit U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-In at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Monday. AP South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday discussed plans for a second meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, agreeing they would work on it together, the White House said.Moon and Trump met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly following a third summit between the South Korean and North Korean leaders last week.Moon shared the outcome of that meeting with Trump, including Kim's renewed commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the White House said in a readout."President Trump commended President Moon on conducting a successful third inter-Korean summit with Chairman Kim, and noted that there remained much work to be done to accomplish their mutual goal of achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," the statement said.It also said the two men agreed thSep 25, 2018
Moon seeks international support for inter-Korean ties President Moon Jae-In, left, is greeted by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at U.N. headquarters, Monday, AP South Korean President Moon Jae-in sought to rally international support for his efforts to denuclearize North Korea and improve his country's ties with the communist state Monday in a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres."President Moon expressed gratitude to the U.N. secretary-general for expressing his support and urging international attention every time there is an important change in conditions on the Korean Peninsula, such as an inter-Korean summit, North Korea-U.S. summit or reunion of separated families," Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.The meeting between Moon and Guterres came four days after Moon returned from his first-ever trip to Pyongyang for his latest and third bilateral summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."President Moon explained the outcome of the third inter-Korean summit (in 2018) held last week in Pyongyang," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.The South Korean president then asked for the U.Sep 25, 2018
Moon, Trump discuss 'corresponding measures' for NK denuclearization President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with U.S. Donald Trump at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Monday. AP South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday discussed possible ways to reward North Korea for its denuclearization measures that will apparently include a second U.S.-North Korea summit."The leaders agreed to continue communicating closely about corresponding measures," said Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.In their bilateral summit held in New York, the leaders of South Korea and the United States also agreed on the need to show North Korea a bright future following its denuclearization. "The leaders agreed to seek ways to encourage North Korea's denuclearization process by showing a bright future it may enjoy once it reaches complete denuclearization," the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said.Still, the leaders noted the need to maintain international sanctions against the North for the time being, the spokesman added.Moon arrived here Sunday foSep 25, 2018
Unification minister vows support for separated families Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyon vows support for families separated since the Korean War in their joint ceremony celebrating the Chuseok holiday in Imjingak Park in Paju, just south of the demilitarized zone on Monday. YonhapUnification Minister said Monday the government will beef up efforts to reconnect families separated for decades since the Korean War in various ways in the follow-up negotiations with North Korea.Cho Myung-gyon was speaking to a group of divided families who jointly celebrated the Chuseok holiday at Imjingak Park in Paju, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas."For both South and North Korea, the problem of divided families is an urgent task that can't be delayed," Cho said in an address. "The scene of the divided families exchanging their addresses and wishing for each other's health at the recent reunion touched people's hearts. We will make every effort to help them keep their promises to see each other again."Cho said the government will seek various ways to check if separated relatives are still living, allow them to visit their Sep 24, 2018
Kim Jong-un to visit Seoul in December: CJ chairman North Korean leader Kim Jong-un plans to visit Seoul in December, the chief of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group has said. Sohn Kyung-shik was a member of the South Korean delegation that accompanied President Moon Jae-in this week for his three-day trip to North Korea. He joined the delegation as the head of the Korea Employers Federation, a major business lobby. During a joint press conference after the third summit, Kim said he made a promise to visit Seoul "in the near future." Moon later added that what Kim meant by the "near future" was "this year." CJ Group chairman Sohn Kyung-shik. Korea Times file"Chairman Kim Jong-un said he will come to Seoul in December," Sohn told reporters in New York on Friday (U.S. time), adding that the exact date and his itinerary appeared not to be fixed and it is upon Moon's invitation.If Kim makes the visit, it would be the first time that the North's highest official has set foot in the South's capital since the division of the Korean Peninsula. Asked about his prospects for inter-Korean economic projects, Sohn said such a pSep 24, 2018
PHOTOS Kim Jong-un with finger-heart pose North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un makes a “finger-heart” for a photo while his wife Ri Sol-ju places her hand below the heart during the visit to Mount Paektu with President Moon Jae-in and South Korean officials, Thursday. Cheong Wa Dae-YonhapBy Jung Da-minPhotos of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un making a “finger-heart” while visiting Mount Paektu with President Moon Jae-in on the third day of the Pyongyang summit have been released by Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday.Chairman Kim poses with the gesture while his wife Ri Sol-ju places her hand below the heart in the photos taken with 12 South Korean officials including South Korean National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, National Intelligence Service director Suh HoonSuh-hoon, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa and Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon.According to the presidential office, Foreign Minister Kang suggested Chairman Kim make the gesture, explaining the finger heart is loved by the South Korean people.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa suggests the North's Chairman Kim Jong-un make Sep 24, 2018
Trump says he won't rush into any deal with North Korea U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / AFPUnited States President Donald Trump has said he will not be hasty in making any deals with North Korea, stressing "very good" relations with the communist country's leader.In his speech in Missouri at a campaign rally on Friday (U.S. time), Trump said, "Chairman Kim Jong-un sent me a beautiful letter two days ago," though he did not elaborate on details.Pointing to the release of Americans who had been detained in the North and the return of remains of American soldiers who went missing during the 1950-53 Korean War, Trump said the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea is "going very well," and "Let's see what happens ... I am in no rush."Both Washington and Pyongyang have floated the possibility of a second meeting between their leaders to move forward negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The historic first meeting was held in Singapore in June.After holding a third summit with Kim this week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to fly to the U.S. on Sunday to for a meeting Sep 22, 2018
North Korea's new envoy 'ready to cooperate with UN' North Korea's new United Nations Ambassador Kim Song, left, shakes hands with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the U.N. chief's office in New York. YonhapBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea's new Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song started working Thursday after the three-day inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang ended.Ambassador Kim met U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the organization's New York headquarters to present his credentials. Kim told reporters he was ready to "work with the U.N." on international affairs and that he would like to express North Korea's "supreme leader" Kim Jong-un's "warm greetings."But Kim did not comment on South Korean journalists' questions on recent inter-Korean affairs and prospects for North Korea's denuclearization."There will be an opportunity to talk about that issue next time," he said.South Korea and the U.S will hold a summit in New York on Sept. 24 (local time), on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.A meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho is also expected to be heSep 21, 2018
North Korea establishes global fund to fight TB, malaria North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a hospital in Pyongyang in this 2014 file photo. North Korea is stepping up its fight against TB and malaria. YonhapBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea has set up an international fund to fight tuberculosis and malaria.In downtown Pyongyang, the Korea Fund against TB & Malaria (KFTM) is an independent organization working closely with the Ministry of Public Health on TB and malaria control plans, the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Tuesday.According to the KCNA, the fund aims to provide technical and financial help to public health organizations on TB and malaria control by relying on donations from home and abroad.North Korea has been suffering from a high incidence and mortality from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The number of cases detected in the country has been rising in recent years despite the international community's humanitarian aid.In particular, many TB patients are suffering from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Experts say this is because North Koreans tend to abuse antibiotics, aftSep 21, 2018
