War-separated families meet for first time in 65 years Lee Keun-sum, left, 92, from South Korea, hugs her son Ri Sang-chul, 71, from the North, at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast. They split in 1951, when the son was only four, at the height of Korean War. Eighty-nine South Koreans, mostly in their 70s and older, met about 180 long-separated relatives in the reunion, which will continue through Wednesday. / Korea PoolBy Kim Bo-eun, Joint Press CorpsRelatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War tearfully reunited at Mount Geumgang in North Korea, Monday, for the first time in 65 years.Participating from the South were 89 people who registered with the Korean Red Cross to find their relatives in the North, accompanied by family members.Kim Choon-sik, 80, embraced his two sisters as they wept in his arms.Kim fled his hometown of Ongjin County in South Hwanghae Province, and came to the South with his parents and his younger brother during the war, thinking the evacuation would be temporary. His younger sisters stayed with his grandparents in the North, thinking their family would return but they never did.“ForAug 20, 2018
PHOTOS Foreign tourists go off beaten path on North Korea's sacred volcano In this Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, photo, Sinead of Australia stands in the cool water of Lake Chon during a hike arranged by Roger Shepherd of Hike Korea on Mount Paektu in North Korea. Hoping to open up a side of North Korea rarely seen by outsiders, Shepherd, a New Zealander who has extensive experience climbing the mountains of North and South Korea is leading the first group of foreign tourists allowed to trek off road and camp out under the stars on Mount Paektu, a huge volcano that straddles the border that separates China and North Korea. APIn this Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018, photo, Roger Shepherd of Hike Korea, in light green, center, walks near the camp site near Mount Paektu in North Korea. APForeign tourists looking to go off the beaten path in North Korea can now camp out on the country's biggest volcano.Hoping to open up a side of North Korea rarely seen by outsiders, a New Zealander who has extensive experience climbing the mountains of North and South Korea is leading the first group of foreign tourists allowed to trek off road and camp out under the stars on Mount Paektu, aAug 20, 2018
PHOTOS South Koreans cross inter-Korean border for family reunion A South Korean participant for a reunion sits inside a bus as she arrives at the South's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine), just south of the DMZ in Goseong, South Korea, August 20, 2018. Reuters South Korean participants for a reunion arrive at the South's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine), just south of the DMZ in Goseong, South Korea, August 20, 2018. ReutersSouth and North Korea will begin their weeklong reunion event for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War on Monday.A total of 89 South Koreans will hold the first session of meetings with their families living in North Korea at a Mount Kumgang resort on the North's east coast at 3 p.m.They left for the venue early in the day from Sokcho, South Korea's northeastern town, where they spent the night.The first group meeting will be followed by a dinner hosted by the North Korean side from 7-9 p.m.# Click to the photo gallery: Family reunion with long-lost relativesOn their second day, they are scheduled to meet again in the morning and have lunch together, the first time for separated familiesAug 20, 2018
N. Korea demands declaration of end of Korean War By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea has called on the United States to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War in line with an agreement between their leaders at their Singapore summit in June.“There is no reason to ignore a declaration to end the war. It is a preliminary and essential process to pave the ground for detente and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said on Aug. 17.The demand came amid U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s possible fourth visit to Pyongyang to discuss how the two countries can speed up the North’s nuclear disarmament.North Korea has been accusing the U.S. of dragging its feet in building trust on the path to denuclearization.Rodong Sinmun also claimed that South Korean citizens and Korean people living in the U.S. had held rallies calling for a declaration to end the war.“The U.S. should implement phased and simultaneous measures, like the end-of-war declaration, to build mutual trust and make a breakthrough in the security of the world,&Aug 19, 2018
Kim's right-hand man visits Cuba By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s purported right-hand man Choe Ryong-hae is visiting Cuba, according to Cuba’s official news agency Prensa Latina last week.It said Choe, vice chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, arrived in Havana on Aug. 16, as the leader of a delegation.Choe’s visit comes after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho visited Iran early August, a move seen as a bid to bolster ties with Pyongyang’s few remaining allies.Ri Su-yong, director of the Workers’ Party International Affairs Department, also visited Havana in July, meeting President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Raul Castro, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and other Cuban leaders.“Choe is on a working visit to the island and was received yesterday by First Vice President Salvador Valdes, with whom he reviewed ties between both countries,” the news agency said.It said Choe separately met Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez and shared thoughts on the Pyongyang-Havana ties that date back to the 19Aug 19, 2018
'Non-socialist' lifestyle under crackdown in N. Korea By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea is being vigilant against the influx of any “non-socialist” lifestyle amid the reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.The sources said the authorities were especially keeping an eye on “non-socialist” behaviors in public ahead of the country’s 70th founding anniversary on Sept. 9.“Inspection units, including youth groups from the ruling Workers’ Party are deployed across the country to warn or detain citizens found wearing condemned fashions or hairstyles,” a source said.“There have been crackdowns on non-socialist behaviors in the past, but because these did not seem to help the situation, they are now strengthening the crackdown.“With the approach of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean regime on Sept. 9, the Central Committee has given special instructions to root out non-socialist phenomena, such as fashion choices and hairstyles that do not fit the socialist lifestyle.”The youth groups from the Workers’ Party joiAug 19, 2018
N. Korea smuggles tobacco products By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea is raising cash by smuggling tobacco products, including counterfeit cigarettes, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.They said the impoverished Kim Jong-un regime even raised the export price for a carton of cigarettes by 10 percent.“The smugglers used to sell a carton of cigarettes to China for 50 yuan ($7.20), but now it a carton is sold for 55 yuan,” a source told Radio Free Asia (RFA) last week.The smuggling comes amid U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea to prevent the flow of cash to the regime being used to develop nuclear weapons.Another source said North Korean cigarettes had been popular in China because they were inexpensive and of reasonable quality compared to Chinese cigarettes.“There are even Chinese, especially those farmers in the border region, who insist on smoking only North Korean cigarettes,” the source said.According to RFA, some North Korean cigarettes are intended for domestic consumption, but most are falsely labeled with fake foreign brands and smuggled to Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast AAug 19, 2018
Video games catch on in North Korea Foreign computer and video games are becoming popular in North Korea, while the Kim Jong-un regime is producing its own games, including this first-person shooting game called ?Hunting Yankee.? / Captured image from Arirang-Meari.By Yi Whan-wooForeign computer and video games are becoming popular among North Korean youth, according to defectors in Seoul.They say the games vary from "Grand Theft Auto 5," "FIFA Online" and "Project IGI2" and that "every one of" their friends played them when they (the defectors) were in the reclusive state.Such popularity comes as North Korea introduces its own computer and video games."I played almost all of the most famous South Korean video games in North Korea ... Every one of my friends has played foreign video games," a defector, 14, told Daily NK in Seoul recently."All kids learn about the game and play it once it is carried on a USB stick and hits the streets."The defector said it was uncertain where the games originated, although it is speculated they are being smuggled from China.Another defector said game lovers could play in a group byAug 19, 2018
N. Korea to greet Xi in 'unprecedented manner' Tourists walk on the Broken Bridge over the Yalu River that divides North Korea and China in Dandong, Liaoning Province, on Aug. 12. / Reuters-YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooNorth Koreans are expected to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in an “unprecedented manner” when he joins Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the North’ s regime on Sept. 9, according to analysts.If confirmed, the visit will be the first by the highest-ranking Chinese official since Hu Jintao’s 2005 trip.Such an historic visit fuels optimism that Pyongyang-Beijing ties will reach a peak, economic cooperation will prosper and living conditions in the North will improve significantly, the experts said.“North Korea has not announced Xi’s trip yet, but once it does, the public will be excited about its possible impact on economy,” said An Chan-il, a defector who heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul.“Xi’s visit means the blood alliance will be fully restored and it will raise hope for China’s active role Aug 19, 2018
Reunions of separated families to begin Monday By Yi Whan-wooA group of 89 elderly South Koreans gathered in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, Sunday, before crossing the Demilitarized Zone to reunite with their loved ones in the North, Monday.They attended a meeting at Hanwha Resort, where the Ministry of Unification officials briefed them about the schedule, procedure, protocol and other details concerning the reunion.They will travel by a bus and depart Sokcho around 8:30 a.m., Monday, and pass through the border immigration office before arriving at North Korea's coastal resort on Mount Geumgang at 12:30 p.m.Past participants of the reunion were required to step out of the bus for immigration procedures. But this time, those that have difficulty in moving around can remain inside the bus, the ministry said. At 3 p.m., they are expected to meet family members they were separated from during the 1950-53 Korean War for the first time.The family members from the South will be accompanied by government officials, medical staff and journalists, with the total number of South Koreans entering the North estimated to be about 560.They are theAug 19, 2018
