Japan holds secret talks with NK: report By Lee Min-hyungJapan held a secret talk with North Korea without notifications to the United States to discuss the repatriation of Japanese people abducted by the regime, according to reports, Wednesday. The meeting was between Shigeru Kitamura, head of Japan's Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and North Korea's Kim Song-hye who is in charge of unification issues, the Washington Post reported.Washington reportedly expressed regret over the secret meeting, as the country has kept Japan up to date on its ongoing dialogue with the North. The U.S. is known to have viewed the meeting as an act of distrust.South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not make any official statement on the issue, saying that it was not in a position to comment on reports related to other countries.“We have no official comment over the overseas report, as it is not about the South and has little to do with our diplomatic activities,” a ministry spokesman said without giving any details.The reported meeting between Tokyo and Pyongyang in Vietnam was part of the former's efforts to bring Aug 29, 2018
North Korea vows to deepen relations with Cuba North Korea said Wednesday that it will strengthen relations with Cuba as the two marked the anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties almost six decades ago.North Korea and Cuba have "consolidated their friendly ties in their fight for building socialism for the past 58 years," said the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, calling the ties those of "invincible" and "eternal comrades.""Our people will continue to make active efforts to strengthen and advance the time-honored and friendly relations with Cuba based on principles of revolution and camaraderie," it added.The newspaper also heaped praise on Cuba for making progress in improving its economy, which it said have been devastated by oppression from imperialists, apparently pointing to the sanctions imposed by the United States.North Korea and Cuba established diplomatic ties on Aug. 29, 1960. The North recently sent high-ranking officials, including its No. 2, Choe Ryong-hae, to the island country in a bid to demonstrate their long and friendly relations. (Yonhap)Aug 29, 2018
US ratchets up pressure on North Korea with military drill card U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis (L) walks with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford from the West Wing of the White House to make a statement in response to North Korea's latest nuclear testing, in Washington, Sept. 3, 2017. ReutersSouth Korea has no additional agreement with the United States on the suspension of major combined military drills, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday in response to reports of the Pentagon chief's related comments.Secretary of Defense James Mattis indicated the allies may seek to resume the maneuvers if the North remains recalcitrant despite the June 12 Singapore summit agreement."We took the step to suspend several of the largest exercises as a good-faith measure coming out of the Singapore summit. We have no plans at this time to suspend any more exercises," he told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday (local time).His position reflects a palpable sense of frustration among U.S. officials over Pyongyang's recent attitude. It also seems aimed at putting additional pressure on North Korea for its refusal to advance theAug 29, 2018
South Korea to spend more on inter-Korean exchanges By Kim Bo-eunThe Moon Jae-in government increased the size of its inter-Korean affairs fund for next year by 14.3 percent, according to the unification ministry's budget plans. The fund for next year is 1.1 trillion won, up from 964 billion won this year. The increase reflects inter-Korean exchanges that have been stepped up after leaders of the South and North held a summit in April.“The ministry's budget for 2019 was drawn up to focus on carrying out the Panmunjeom Declaration,” a unification ministry official said. The declaration is a set of agreements reached at the summit.The fund is set to cover costs related to fulfilling these, such as holding separated family reunions and connecting and modernizing railways and roads.The amount allocated for family reunions has been increased to 33.6 billion won from 1.2 billion won this year. This is based on plans to enable six reunions next year and three occasions of visits to hometowns.A total of 504 billion won has been allocated for inter-Korean economic cooperation including rail and road projects and reforestation in thAug 28, 2018
North Korea to host international marathon Sept. 23 Competitors run through Kim Il-Sung square during the Pyongyang Marathon in the North Korean capital in this photo taken on April 9, 2017. / AFPNorth Korea said Tuesday that the Pyongyang International Autumn Marathon will be held Sept. 23 in the North's capital for the second year in a row.DPR Korea Tour, a website run by the North's National Tourism Administration, announced the date of this fall's international marathon event, inviting marathon enthusiasts from all over the world and regions to Pyongyang.The event, which includes 5-kilometer, 10K, and half and full marathons, will begin and end on the road in front of Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace in central Pyongyang, with full course runners needing to run four laps on a route throughout the city, according to the website."The second Pyongyang International Autumn Marathon is expected to draw huge attention from marathon lovers worldwide, as the event has been scheduled for September to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of (North Korea)," it said.Last year, Pyongyang hosted the autumn marathon event on Oct. 29 but apAug 28, 2018
Trump called off Pompeo's NK visit after 'belligerent letter' from Kim's key aide: report In this file photo taken on August 3, 2018 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press conference on the sidelines of the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Singapore. AFPU.S. President Donald Trump called off a visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after the latter received a belligerent letter from a senior North Korean official just hours after the trip was announced last week, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The Post quoted two unnamed senior U.S. administration officials as saying the letter came on Friday from Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, who led previous rounds of talks with Pompeo. The newspaper said the exact contents of the message were unclear, but it was sufficiently belligerent that Trump and Pompeo decided to call off the journey. The planned trip had been announced the previous day for this week and Pompeo had intended to introduce a newly named special envoy, Stephen Biegun, to his North Korean counterparts. The White House referreAug 28, 2018
Ostrich skin and Neo-Viagra? A shopping guide to North Korea In this Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, photo, a page shows North Korean shoppers on the "2018 Korea Commodities" catalog, produced by the North's Committee for the Promotion of International Trade, at a hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. APThis Aug. 15, 2018, photo shows the "2018 Korea Commodities" catalog, produced by the North's Committee for the Promotion of International Trade, at a bookstore in a hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. APOstrich skin ready for tailoring, huge flat-screen TVs, ``Neo-Viagra'' and a cure for cancer? North Korea's official shopper's guide is glossy and full of testimonials from satisfied customers and phone and email contact information for the dozens of companies pitching their latest products -- though good luck reaching any of them. The ``2018 Korea Commodities'' catalog, produced by the North's Committee for the Promotion of International Trade, reflects a side of North Korea often lost in the shadow of its nuclear weapons. Leader Kim Jong Un and many other North Koreans firmly believe their country needs to make more and better consumer goods and sell theAug 27, 2018
North Korean media echoes China's criticism of US By Jung Da-minMonday's edition of the North Korean Workers' Party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun highlighted the tensions between China and the U.S.In an editorial titled "Deteriorating China-U.S. relations," the newspaper dealt with the U.S. 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which restricts Chinese investments in the U.S. and prohibits government organizations from using some services provided by Chinese mobile communication firms like Huawei and ZTE.The publication also highlighted the Chinese government's strong protest of the U.S. definition of China as a "threat.” Although the North's position was not stated in Rodong Sinmun, the regime's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri on the same day criticized the NDAA for "breaching" the June 12 joint statement following the summit between the U.S. and North Korea.The Uriminzokkiri article also criticized the U.S. military presence in the South, mentioning that the bill calls for a minimum of 22,000 U.S. troops to be stationed in South Korea. The article also slammed the U.S. plan to establish a new missile defense system.MeanAug 27, 2018
Summit in Pyongyang may deal with 'nuclear list' By Kim Yoo-chulU.S. President Donald Trump's recent decision to delay Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to North Korea has raised concerns that nuclear negotiations may face a deadlock, derailing the months of tepid progress between Washington and Pyongyang.Cheong Wa Dae said it regrets the delay, but spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said President Moon Jae-in will still meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang next month as planned.The upcoming inter-Korean summit will cover specific details on the North's denuclearization, which have been touched on but seen little progress. Political analysts in Seoul say Moon will try to get concessions from Kim regarding “concrete actions.”“Washington needs to see a specific action plan from Pyongyang toward nuclear disarmament as this is believed to be key to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. President Moon will try to persuade Kim to hand over a list of his nuclear weapons, ICBMs and unknown test sites at the upcoming talks," said Kim Joon-hyung, a North Korean expert at Handong University, Monday. The North iAug 27, 2018
North Korea 'developing bitcoin exchange, mining cryptocurrencies' North Korea appears to have tried to mine cryptocurrencies on a small scale as transactions of such coins are hard to trace and could be easily used to launder real money, a local report showed Monday.The report, compiled by a research unit of South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), also claimed that a North Korean technology firm, named Chosun Expo, is developing and selling a market-exchange platform for bitcoin.North Korea seems interested in the defining "characteristics of cryptocurrencies, including anonymity, difficulties of tracing money and cashability," the report said.Citing a media report, the KDB unit said North Korea may have tried to mine bitcoin between May and July last year, but the attempt appears to have been unsuccessful.Ordinary North Koreans, however, appear to have little knowledge of cryptocurrencies, the report said.In recent interviews with North Korean defectors, all of them replied that they don't know about cryptocurrencies in the North, according to the report.North Korea has been under international sanctions for its nuclear and missile pAug 27, 2018
