Putin says 'Normalization of US-North Korea ties is vital for peace' Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a roundtable meeting on interregional cooperation between Russia and China following the Russian-Chinese talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 11, 2018. AFPRussian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that it was vital for peace on the KoreanPeninsula that the United States and North Korea normalized their troubled relationship. Putin was speaking at a news conference in the port city of Vladivostok after holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The White House said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump had received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asking for a second meeting. (Reuters)Sep 11, 2018
PHOTOS Koreas to restart joint excavation of historic palace site in Kaesong The front view of Manwoldae in Gaeseong. Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationA section of Manwoldae, where South and North Korea will do an archaeological survey from Sept. 27 to Dec. 27. Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationSouth and North Korea will resume their joint excavation of the site of an ancient palace in the North's border town of Gaeseong late this month, Seoul's cultural heritage authority said Tuesday.The Cultural Heritage Administration said that it has agreed during a working-level meeting with the North's National Reconciliation Council in Gaeseong on Thursday to conduct a joint survey and preservation of the Manwoldae site for three months from Sept. 27 to Dec. 27. Manwoldae was a palace of the 918-1392 Goryeo Dynasty for about 400 years.The two Koreas will hold a ceremony to celebrate the resumption of the joint project on Oct. 2, with relevant officials from both sides attending, the agency said.The Koreas conducted seven rounds of joint excavation of the historical site spanning 250,000 square meters of land from 2007 to 2015 and discovered tracesSep 11, 2018
North Korea propaganda outlet slams ex-leader Park for 'dashing hope of youth' By Jung Da-minFormer President Park Geun-hye. Korea Times August file.North Korea's propaganda website DPRK Today has slammed former President Park Geun-hye, saying her administration created the so-called "N-Po (or N-Give up) generation," because of policy failures.Those in this South Korean generation have given up on things including dating, marriage and having babies due to economic hardship."The fact that young people have fallen to 'N-Po generation' beyond '5-Po generation' and '7-Po generation' reveals the sins of traitor Park Geun-hye, who has driven 'the age of national unhappiness,' 'the age of national despair'," DPRK Today's Saturday editorial said.This came amid the North Korean media's graphic criticism of the South's opposition parties for not passing a bill for the implementation of the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration that followed the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The North's propaganda websites, including DPRK Today and Uriminzokkiri, have been publishing such editorials before and after the North's Sep. 9 FounSep 11, 2018
North Korean leader offered denuclearization in 2 years: Bolton North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered to dismantle his nuclear weapons program within two years when he met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last spring, a top U.S. administration official said Monday.According to U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, Kim made the proposal during his first meeting with the South Korean leader in April. He then backed down and accepted Moon's counterproposal to denuclearize within a year."He said we can do it in two years," Bolton said in a speech to the Federalist Society. "Moon Jae-in said to Kim Jong-un -- and President Moon told this to President Trump -- Moon Jae-in said, 'Well, why don't we do it in one year.'"Kim agreed, Bolton said, adding that that caused him to remark in the past about pushing for denuclearization in a year."I thought they could do it even more quickly than that, but one year is not bad," he said. "We're still waiting for them."The hawkish security adviser has long expressed skepticism about North Korea's promises to denuclearize.He was reportedly one of the officials behind Trump's recent decision to cancel USep 11, 2018
Kim Jong-un suggests 2nd summit in letter to Trump: White House U.S. President Donald Trump has received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un calling for a second meeting between the two, and planning is already under way, the White House said Monday.Trump said last week that he is expecting a letter from Kim amid stalled negotiations to dismantle the regime's nuclear weapons program.The letter was "very warm" and "very positive," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a press briefing.She said the U.S. is "open" to a second summit and talks are under way to coordinate it."We will let you know when we have further details," Sanders said when asked if the meeting could take place in Washington. "But certainly, something that we want to take place and will -- already continue to work on making that happen."Trump and Kim held their first summit in Singapore in June, and North Korea committed to work toward "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S.But negotiations to implement the deal have appeared to hit an impasse. Washington demands a full inventory of Pyongyang's nucSep 11, 2018
'Cheong Wa Dae poorly handled N. Korea coal case' By Park Ji-wonA senior lawmaker from the major opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) raised an allegation that Cheong Wa Dae intentionally delayed taking countermeasures against imports of North Korean coal to the South, insisting it “had no willingness to ban the shipments from the North.”Based on data from the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Coast Guard, Rep. Shim Jae-cheol claimed the Korea Customs Service was already aware of the fact the North Korean coal was shipped to the South, Oct. 3 and 11, by Sky Angel Rich Glory ships, after a tipoff from the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.However, the presidential office failed to convene a meeting for 13 days to deal with the case.The LKP has been continuing criticism of the government, stating that it is covering up allegations on the issue and concealing the facts.The presidential office has held four meetings on the matter, Oct. 16 and 24, and Nov. 10 last year and July 20 this year, Shim said.Three South Korean firms allegedly imported North KoSep 10, 2018
PHOTOS North Korea skips nukes on anniversary stamps The (North) Korean Stamp Corporation released this collection of stamps marking the 70th anniversary of the regime's founding. KCNA-YonhapBy Jung Da-minThe national emblem. KCNA-Yonhap.The national flag. KCNA-Yonhap.North Korea issued a set of stamps promoting its self-reliant socialist economy and the excellence of its science technologies on the 70th anniversary of the regime's founding, North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun reported Sunday.Issued by the Korean Stamp Corporation, the five stamps in a row do not feature or mention nuclear weapons or missiles.Only one of the stamps features soldiers holding guns with a phrase reading "matchless and victorious forces of revolution."Another stamp shows a soldier, factory worker, teacher and farmer together with a phrase reading "unity in one mind," while another next to it features a worker with the phrase "self-rehabilitation."On another stamp, North Korea's showcase Ryomyong Street and Pyongyang Sci-Tech Complex are featured together with a trolleybus, tractor and truck, with a phrase "Hail to our glorious country Democratic PSep 10, 2018
North Korean restaurants back in business in China A large North Korean restaurant in the Chinese city of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, which borders the North, reopened over the weekend after being closed on the order of the Chinese authorities eight months ago.Beijing's closure order was issued for all North Korean business entities in January in accordance with United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang. Following three summit meetings between North Korea and China this year and a recent relationship improvement, however, a number of the North's restaurants in China are moving to resume business.The Morangwan Restaurant, a North Korean establishment on Shenyang's Xita Street, which was closed on Jan. 8 this year, resumed its business over the weekend.With the reopening, the restaurant's first-floor lobby was brightly lit, and employees were seen moving up and down the stairs leading from the lobby to the second floor.The restaurant was previously renowned for its showy music and dance performances by students of Pyongyang's art college, who were also serving as its employees.According to sources, Morangwan had prepared to reopen after cSep 10, 2018
Kim Jong-un hopes to consolidate ties with China North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed hope to consolidate the country's "special" relations with China in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy, the North's state media said Monday.On Sunday, Kim met with Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, who was in Pyongyang to attend the North's military parade to celebrate its 70th founding anniversary. Kim expressed hope to "further solidify and deepen the special and firm relations between North Korea and China" through stepped-up high-level exchanges and close communications, according to the Korean Central News Agency.Li was quoted as saying that his country's relations with the North are getting stronger based on a "special relationship" between the leaders of the two countries. He added that China remains firm in its efforts to move the ties forward "in a sustainable and stable matter regardless of international situations."During the meeting, Li delivered Xi's personal letter to Kim, the KCNA said, without providing details on the content.ChiSep 10, 2018
'North Korea takes strong turn for market economy under Kim' The Korea Institute for National Unification hosted a press conference titled “Eight major changes in North Korea's economic society in the days of Kim Jong-un” at the Press Center in Seoul on Thursday Korea Times photo by Jung Da-minBy Jung Da-minDespite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's much-publicized on-site inspections of a Pyongyang bag factory or a Sinuiju cosmetics factory and other manufacturing facilities, service industries such as trade, retail and lodging are the main forces behind its economy, experts say.“The economic development of North Korea has been faster than before with an accelerated market economy since Kim Jong-un took power, at least before the onslaught of international sanctions,” Lee Seog-ki, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET)’s Center for Global Industry and Trade told a Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) forum in Seoul on Thursday.“It is the commercial, distribution, tourism and other service industries that are leading economic growth in NortSep 10, 2018
