Pyongyang becomes hotspot for Chinese tourists A tourist takes a selfie during a visit to a subway station in Pyongyang on July 23, 2017. Korea Times fileBy Ko Dong-hwanThe number of Chinese tourists to North Korea has reportedly skyrocketed to 2,000 a day, following warmer relations between China and North Korea after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent visits to Beijing.Reports citing Chinese tourism agencies in regions close to the border say Chinese tourists to North Korea have filled all available trains. An agency in Dandong, in Liaoning Province, said up to 2,000 Chinese were going to Pyongyang daily and all train seats were booked until July 10. When asked about safety, an agency official reportedly said Chinese “inundating all the tourism hotspots in North Korea” will likely prevent any problems.NK News, an American news site specializing in North Korea, said there had been a sudden uptick in Chinese group tourists from early June after a travel ban was lifted.Tourists bow before statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung, left, and Kim Jong-il on Mansu hill in Pyongyang on July 23, 2017. Korea TimJun 27, 2018
Rogers calls on Kim Jong-un to follow Chinese model Legendary investor says will invest in North Korea once sanctions are clearedBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― Legendary investor Jim Rogers has called on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to take a cue from China to open up his country's economy and engage with the international community.He believes there are a couple of models North Korea can follow, but China would be the best one to ensure its successful transition without major hiccups.Jim Rogers“Kim should use the Chinese model because the Chinese are his friends and mentors and they are there,” Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, said in a recent interview with The Korea Times .The interview was conducted at his residence in Singapore after the historic June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.“He should start with the Chinese model for running and directing most things, with entrepreneurs allowed to make their own money,” he said.His advice to the North's recalcitrant leader did not come just from his gut feeling but from his own practical experience.“The last time I visited Jun 27, 2018
'Japan cannot compete with united Korea' Rogers expects worst-ever financial crisis in 2 to 3 yearsBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― Following the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hopes are running high that unification will come sooner rather than later.Most countries are welcoming thawing relations between the two Koreas as they want peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. For many, unification would be considered an ideal solution to end the North Korea nuclear crisis.However, not all countries are seemingly espousing the two Koreas' unification because a unified Korea will become much stronger and more competitive.Jim Rogers, a legendary investor and chairman of Rogers Holdings, speaks during a recent interview at his residence in Singapore. / Korea Times photo by Jeong Min-seungLegendary investor Jim Rogers believes that unification would bring great prosperity for Korea but it would be a nightmare for Japan, which has shown a lukewarm attitude toward the South Korean and U.S. decision to halt joint military exercises.“Japanese companies want to invest in NoJun 27, 2018
North Korea-US talks lead China to keep distance from anti-North sanctions A pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Wednesday that China will be able to keep away from international sanctions on the North following the recent launch of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.The Chosun Sinbo said in an article that the U.S.-led international sanctions on North Korea will face changes, as the North has risen to the status of a strategic nation through the completion of its nuclear weapons program and created an atmosphere for dialogue with the U.S."Until last year, the U.S. had attempted to incite conflict between North Korea and China by bringing Beijing into the anti-North sanctions networks," said the article titled "Construction of a New, Fair and Just World.""China is now able to keep its distance from the U.S.-led sanctions, because the DPRK has accomplished its nuclear weapons capabilities and risen to the status of strategic nation," said the article.DPRK is the abbreviation for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's formal name.It then noted that regional powers at odds with the U.S. are now pursuing closer relationships with NJun 27, 2018
Koreas hold talks on railway cooperation South Korean Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol, left, leaves Office of the Inter-Korean Dialogue in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in Tuesday morning with other members of the South Korean delegate to head to the south side of truce village Panmunjeom at the inter-Korean border for a meeting with North Korean counterpart to discuss about laying down railways crossing the border. YonhapThe two Koreas are set to discuss cooperation on connecting and modernizing railways running across their border Tuesday as part of efforts to follow up on their recent summit agreement. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom, according to the unification ministry. South Korea sent a three-member delegation led by Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol. His counterpart is Vice Railroad Minister Kim Yun-hyok."We will come back after discussing practically necessary matters for connecting and modernizing railways of South and North Korea," the South's chief delegate told reporters before leaving for the talks. "There could be limits due to sanctions (on the North), Jun 26, 2018
Mattis: UN Command to receive remains of troops killed in Korean War U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis steps away after speaking with the media at the Pentagon, in Washington, June 20. Speaking to reporters on his plane en route to a stop in Alaska, June 24, Mattis laid out plans for a less contentious, more open dialogue with Chinese leaders as he travels to Asia, less than a month after he slammed Beijing at an international conference for its militarization of islands in the South China Sea. AP-YonhapThe United Nations Command in South Korea will handle North Korea's return of the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said.The repatriation was part of an agreement reached by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their historic summit on June 12.U.S. Forces Korea said over the weekend that it had moved 100 wooden coffins to the inter-Korean border to prepare for the remains' delivery, with about 200 expected to be returned."The United Nations Command in ROK, in the Republic of Korea, is prepared, now, to receive those remains," Mattis told reporters Sunday en rJun 26, 2018
'NK should reciprocate in deal with US' Gregory Treverton, former chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunNorth Korea should reciprocate in its denuclearization deal with the U.S., according to one of the U.S.'s top authorities on intelligence. The remarks came after the historic summit between leaders of the states in Singapore last week, where the U.S. agreed to provide regime security for North Korea and to suspend joint military drills with South Korea, in return for North Korea's complete denuclearization. “North Korea should reciprocate such as through halting its enrichment programs, listing its nuclear facilities or providing a denuclearization time table,” Gregory Treverton, former chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, told The Korea Times in an interview in Seoul. Treverton was visiting to attend the 2018 Global Intelligence Summit hosted by the Institute for National Security Strategy last week.To criticism that the U.S. made concessions, while the agreement did not include details on North KoJun 25, 2018
North Korean restaurants in China to resume business AFPNorth Korean restaurants in Chinese cities near the border with the North are moving to resume business as relations between the two countries improve rapidly, sources said Monday.Following the three meetings this year between the leaders of North Korea and China, some North Korean restaurants in three northeastern Chinese provinces -- Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang -- have been seen preparing to reopen after months of closure linked to international sanctions.At the Reungrado Restaurant in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, which was closed by order of the Chinese authorities on Jan. 10 this year, interior renovation work was under way as of last Saturday."The Reungrado Restaurant was closed for the past five months. But its shutters have been opened recently and a pile of cement bags apparently linked to a renovation work were seen at its entrance. Refrigerators and other restaurant equipment were also spotted entering the restaurant," said a source."Signs of a resumption of business at the Reungrado Restaurant appear to have been affected by the new atmosphere following successive Jun 25, 2018
Koreas hold talks on restoring military communication lines The two Koreas held working-level talks on fully restoring military communication lines Monday as part of efforts to reduce tensions and build trust, officials here said.The first colonel-grade meeting in more than seven years began at 9:58 a.m. and ended at 11:00 a.m. It took place at the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine office in Paju, just south of the inter-Korean border.Army Col. Cho Yong-geun led the South Korean delegation, while Col. Om Chang-nam represented the North.Seoul's military plans to issue a statement on the outcome of the talks later in the day.The two militaries were expected to discuss ways to completely restore western and eastern communication lines, such as telephone and fax lines designed to prevent any misunderstandings that could needlessly raise tensions or trigger accidental clashes.The two sides opened the western communication line in 2002 and the eastern one the following year.The western line was suspended in 2016 following Seoul's shutdown of the inter-Korean industrial complex in the border city of Kaesong, but its telephone link was restored inJun 25, 2018
South Korea picks candidates for reunions with North Korean families South Korea began a process Monday to select those who will meet their long-separated family members in North Korea in late August.The two Koreas agreed to hold their first family reunion event in nearly three years at the North's Mount Kumgang resort from Aug. 20-26, a follow-up to the April 27 summit deal.It would enable 100 South Korean people, mostly elderly ones, to get together with their families across the border, decades after being separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.More than 57,000 South Koreans are registered with the country's Red Cross as hopeful participants in such family reunions.The humanitarian agency set the criteria for successful applications in an eight-member committee session.It chose 500 candidates at random using a computer and plans to deliver the shortlist of 250 applicants to the North by July 3 for the confirmation of fates of their families.Conditions considered include age, family background and if an applicant is healthy enough for days of cross-border travel.The two Koreas are scheduled to exchange their final lists of participants on Aug. 4. (YonhJun 25, 2018
