A North Korean delegation inspecting possible venues here for arts performances will arrive in Seoul on Monday for the second day of its two-day visit. The delegation will return to North Korea later in the day.The seven-member team, led by the head of the North‘s Samjiyon Orchestra, Hyon Song-wol, is to arrive in Seoul by KTX bullet train from Gangneung, Gangwon Province, to look around candidate venues in Seoul.  Hyon Song-wol, center, head of a North Korean delegation, arrives at Seoul Statio

Investigators are looking into possible irregularities in a real estate transaction with the children of former National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon, local media reported Sunday. According to news reports citing unnamed prosecution officials, investigators looking into allegations surrounding Won have secured evidence of suspicious developments in a real estate purchase made by one or more of his children. Won, who is suspected of a wide range of wrongdoings including interfering wit

A North Korean delegation arrived in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Sunday to check out venues for its proposed art performances at next month‘s PyeongChang Winter Games. The trip came amid brisk inter-Korean cooperation on the North’s participation in the Olympic Games to open in three weeks.The seven-member team is led by Hyon Song-wol, head of the North‘s Samjiyon Orchestra, and known as one of the most influential women in the secretive communist nation. She also serves as director of the Mora

President Moon Jae-in and French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone conversation Thursday and discussed ways to work together on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, and for a successful PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. President Moon Jae-in and French President Emmanuel Macron (Yonhap)According to Cheong Wa Dae, the two leaders spoke for about 30 minutes from 7:20 p.m. during which Moon gave a detailed account of inter-Korean talks. Seoul’s presidential office added that Moon expr

While the government celebrates Wednesday’s inter-Korean agreement on the PyeongChang Winter Games as a step forward in creating a “peace Olympics,” South Korea is once again finding itself divided over the North Korea issue. On Wednesday, the two Koreas agreed on a range of issues on North Korea’s participation in the games, including the use of the “Korean Unification” flag at the opening ceremony and forming a unified women’s ice hockey team. 　 Players from both South Korea and North Korea po

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday denounced former President Lee Myung-bak’s accusations of political revenge as an “insult.”“President Moon Jae-in said that he cannot hold back outrage at the fact that former President Lee Myung-bak raised the death of President Roh Moo-hyun in talking of political revenge,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun said.  Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun conveys President Moon Jae-in`s reaction to former President Lee Myung-bak`s announcement at the president

While the government celebrates Wednesday’s inter-Korean agreement on the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games as a step forward in creating a “peace Olympics,” controversies and potential pitfalls remain. Players from both South Korea and North Korea pose for group pictures after their game at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women`s World Championship Division II Group A tournament at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon Province in April 2017. (Yonhap)On Wednesday, the two Koreas

Former President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday called on the prosecution to question him in various investigations, accusing the Moon Jae-in administration of taking revenge for the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun. “It is clear that the investigations into Cheong Wa Dae officials and government officials who worked with me have been aimed at me from the very beginning,” Lee said, describing the investigations into alleged wrongdoings of past administrations as “political plots, revenge for t

Former President Lee Myung-bak is being pushed into an increasingly tight corner as authorities delve deeper into allegations surrounding previous administrations.  Former President Lee Myung-bak. YonhapOn Wednesday, investigators looking into allegations surrounding auto parts maker DAS raided the office of another parts maker, IM, and homes of an undisclosed number of company’s officials. Lee’s eldest brother Lee Sang-eun is the official majority shareholder of DAS, but it has been alleged the

The outlook for Moon Jae-in administration’s drive to reform organs of state power appears bleak with conservative opposition hitting back immediately after the plans were announced.  (Yonhap)On Sunday, Cheong Wa Dae revealed reform plans for the National Intelligence Service, National Police Agency and the Public Prosecutors’ Office, aiming to increase transparency and prevent one body wielding too much power. The gist of the plans is to limit the NIS to North Korea and overseas intelligence, r

The National Intelligence Service will be stripped of its powers in domestic affairs and the prosecution’s investigative role will be reduced, the Moon Jae-in administration’s reform plans showed Sunday. The measures are part of the Moon administration’s efforts to prevent abuse of power and friction among various government bodies with investigative powers -- the NIS, National Police Agency and Public Prosecutors’ Office. The plans, revealed by Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Ch

Hopes for a lasting thaw in inter-Korean relations and decreasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising, with South Korean and US leaders expressing willingness to talk directly with North Korea. On Thursday, Moon also spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who expressed support for Seoul’s efforts to improve relations with North Korea.“The two leaders agreed to increase strategic communication and cooperation so that the recent inter-Korean talks can go beyond the Olympics and lead to p

Hopes for a lasting thaw in inter-Korean relations and decreasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising, with South Korean and US leaders expressing willingness to talk directly with North Korea. In a late-night telephone conservation with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that he is willing to talk with Pyongyang if conditions are met, and reassured of no military actions while the two Koreas are engaged in dialogue. President Moon Jae-in and

The US has no plans to take military action against North Korea, and is willing to engage the regime in talks should conditions be met, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. According to South Korea’s presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, Trump confirmed that the US will not take military action during the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games in a telephone conversation with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in late Wednesday.   President Moon Jae-in speaks to US President Donald Trump on Wedn

President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that South Korea will approach the North Korean nuclear issue with both engagement and pressure, and that cooperation with the US has been critical in inter-Korean relations. “The purpose of sanctions and pressure is to bring North Korea to dialogue, (but) it cannot be said that dialogue is the only solution,” Moon said at the New Year’s press conference held Wednesday at the Blue House.While Seoul will engage the North and endeavor to resolve the North Korea

High-level inter-Korean talks were held at Panmunjeom on Tuesday.At the talks, the two sides earnestly discussed the matter of the North Korean delegation’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games, and issues surrounding improving inter-Korean relations in accordance with the hopes and expectations of the Korean people, and agreed to the following. 1. South and North agreed to actively collaborate for the success of the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games a

North Korea on Tuesday confirmed its participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and agreed to hold military talks with South Korea. The agreement came in the first inter-Korean talks to be held in more than two years. South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (left) exchanges a joint press statement with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son-gwon at their meeting at the Panmunjeom in the DMZ in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. (AP-Yonhap)South Korea’s delegation, led

The two Koreas on Tuesday held their first talks in more than two years, with the South hoping to lay the foundation for further dialogue, while the North focused on its participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. 　South Korea’s delegation, led by Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon, and the North Korean delegation met at Panmunjeom at 10 a.m. The North Korean delegation was led by Ri Son-gwon, the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country. CPRC is North K

South Korea is making preparations for North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, as the two sides prepare for a rare meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Tuesday’s meeting will be the first high-level dialogue between the two Koreas since December 2015. The agenda is expected to focus on North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang games that will run from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday, a working-level taskforce has b

A visit to South Korea by a leading United Arab Emirates figure on Monday has raised more speculations surrounding presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok’s visit to the UAE last month. Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak of Abu Dhabi -- chief of Abu Dhabi’s Organization & Administration Department and a key associate of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan -- arrived in Seoul on Monday.However, with the exception of his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, little