Two Koreas to discuss reconnecting military hotline Seoul, Pyongyang to narrow differences on military, humanitarian agendasBy Lee Min-hyungStarting next week, the two Koreas plan to hold working-level negotiations to realize the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration. On Monday, Seoul and Pyongyang will hold colonel-level talks about restoring suspended military communication channels on the eastern and western inter-Korean border area.According to the Ministry of National Defense, South Korea will send a delegation led by Army Colonel Cho Yong-geun for talks with a North Korean group led by Colonel Om Chang-nam at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) office in the South's border village of Paju at 10 a.m.The delegates will review and discuss details of a recent military agreement signed during a general-level dialogue in mid-June.At that time, the two Koreas agreed to “fully restore” cross-border military communication lines along the East and West Sea, and reached a series of agreements on easing tension in some disputed inter-Korean border areas.“Both sides will negotiate working-level procedures to restore theJun 24, 2018
N. Korean synchronized swimmers North Korean synchronized swimmers: Synchronized swimmers perform as the flag of the Workers' Party of Korea is displayed on a large screen during a dolphin show at an amusement park in Pyongyang, June 22. / AP-Yonhap Jun 24, 2018
North Korea keen about environmental protection By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea is interested in protection of migratory birds and conservation of wetlands and forests, according to an international environmental organization.During a recent press conference in the South last week, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), a nonprofit organization aimed at protecting migratory waterbirds and their habitat in the region, said North Korean officials are now increasingly aware of the organization's sustainable development projects.The organization pointed out Pyongyang became the 36th member of the EAAFP in April.It also pointed out that two North Korean sites _ Mundok Wetland Reserve in South Pyongan Province and Rason Wetland Reserve in North Hamgyong Province _ were included last month in the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty on the conservation of important wetlands.The treaty requires all member states to designate wetlands, rivers, lakes, tidelands, seaweed beds and coral reefs as sites of global significance.The treaty was adopted in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.The Pyongyang authorities have treatedJun 24, 2018
Malaysia to reopen embassy in Pyongyang By Yi Whan-wooMalaysia is geared toward reopening its embassy in North Korea, after their relations were strained by the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's estranged half-brother at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017.During his recent visit to Tokyo, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country will reopen the embassy in Pyongyang when asked about pursuing good relations with Kim.Mahathir's Japan trip came after he was elected as Malaysia's new leader in May.The assignation of Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of Kim Jong-un, led to the diplomatic row between North Korea and Malaysia.Malaysia recalled its ambassador, banned its citizens from traveling to North Korea and canceled visa-free entry for North Koreans.North Korea retaliated with a travel ban on all Malaysians in Pyongyang, trapping three diplomats and their six dependents.They were only able to leave North Korea after Malaysia agreed to hand over Kim Jong-nam's remains and send home three North Koreans wanted for questioning.Two women _ Indonesian Siti Aisyah and VietnameseJun 24, 2018
N. Koreans hail Kim Jong-un after Trump summit By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korean citizens are hailing their leader Kim Jong-un for successfully holding the June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang. This was the first dialogue between a North Korean leader and a sitting American president.“Kim Jong-un is being increasingly praised for the North Korea-U.S. summit,” a source said last week, pointing out Kim also held two summits with President Moon Jae-in and three with Chinese President Xi Jinping this year alone.Another source said the Singapore summit has been the “talk of the town among officials in the Workers' Party, military and government, as well as students and employees at universities” and that they find reports and photos related to the summit interesting.“Young people are brimming in anticipation of reunification,” it said.The third source claimed the readers of the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, “go over every detail of the summit and make predictions on what changes will Jun 24, 2018
Is China loosening noose on North Korea? North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju, looks around the traffic control center in Beijing, during his latest visit to China from June 19 to 20 for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China appears to be easing sanctions on North Korea following Pyongyang's reconciliatory mood with Washington. / YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooChina appears to be easing sanctions on North Korea, while stepping up efforts to resume economic cooperation, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.The sources said last week Chinese customs are turning a blind eye to the flow of banned goods across the Pyongyang-Beijing border.They said such signs of loosening sanctions are particularly noticeable in aviation and tourism, following the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, June 12, and another one between Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping, June 19.“The Chinese customs officers who used to check every single item following x-ray scans are now searching only around half of all vehicles,” a source said. Another source said whJun 24, 2018
US to send 215 caskets to Pyongyang for remains of soldiers killed in Korean War North Korean soldiers carry a coffin believed to contain the remains of a U.S. soldier to the border with South Korea during repatriation ceremonies at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, October 9, 1998. REUTERS-YonhapThe U.S. military plans to send 215 empty caskets to North Korea via the inter-Korean border on Saturday to get back the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War, a South Korean military official said. About 30 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) vehicles carrying the caskets were scheduled to depart from the Camp Humphreys base in Pyeongtaek for the border village of Panmunjom on Saturday afternoon, the official said on condition of anonymity. "North Korea will repatriate the remains in the caskets," the official said. Recovering and repatriating the remains of U.S. troops killed during the 1950-53 war was one of the agreements that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached during their historic summit in Singapore earlier this month. North Korean soldiers hand over to United Nations troops standing at the inter-Korean bordJun 23, 2018
Trump extends sanctions on Pyongyang for 1 year U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday extended sanctions on North Korea for a year, citing the "unusual and extraordinary" threat posed by its nuclear weapons program. The extension comes 10 days after Trump's historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, during which the North committed to "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for U.S. security guarantees. "The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," Trump wrote in a routine notice to Congress. For this reason, Trump said, six executive orders that were issued under his and past administrations to sanction North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs must continue in effect beyond June 26. "Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emerJun 23, 2018
PHOTOS Rare historic photos of Korean War you should not miss In this photo from July 8, 1951, a North Korean soldier, center, looks at Time magazine flanked by two U.S. soldiers in Gaeseong during ceasefire talks for the Korean War in Gaeseong. This is one of 14 Korean War-related photos at the National Institute of Korean History (NIKH) collected from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). / Courtesy of NIKH In this photo taken on Dec. 18, 1950, a South Korean soldier bids farewell to his mother at Daegu Station. In this photo taken on April 27, 1954, workers repair broken train tracks at an unidentified location in North Korea. In this photo taken on Sept. 23, 1950, a KoJun 22, 2018
Two Koreas hold Red Cross talks The South Korean delegation speaks to reporters before heading to Mount Kumgang in North Korea for a Red Cross meeting, Friday. / YonapThe two Koreas are set to hold a Red Cross meeting on Friday to discuss a set of humanitarian issues, including holding a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations.The inter-Korean Red Cross talks will begin at around 10 a.m. at a hotel on Mount Kumgang on the North's scenic east coast, according to the unification ministry. Earlier in the day, South Korea's four-member delegation led by Park Kyung-seo, head of the Korean Red Cross, left for the meeting venue using the eastern land route to the North. The North will also send a three-member delegation headed by Pak Yong-il, vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the CountryHigh on the agenda is a reunion of families, which the leaders of the two countries agreed in April to hold on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day. "We will come back after having good consultations with the North on a set of humanitarian issues, iJun 22, 2018
