North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s step-grandmother and the national founder Kim Il-sung’s second wife Kim Song-ae died in 2014, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification confirmed Thursday, in a booklet of North Korean personnel data published annually by the ministry. In the updated booklet, Kim Song-ae was categorized under “deceased,” with a note saying that she died in 2014. This is the first time the government has officially acknowledged her death.Her sign and specific date of death remains un

South and North Korea held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to highlight the significance of their goal of modernizing and reconnecting cross-border railways and roads, amid the Seoul government’s efforts to improve inter-Korean relations despite stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The ceremony kicked off at Panmun Station in the North’s border town of Kaesong at around 10 a.m., according to the South’s Ministry of Unification. Several ranking officials from both

The two Koreas on Wednesday kicked-off a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the reconnection and modernization of inter-Korean roads and railways.The event started around 10 a.m. at Panmun Station in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong, according to South Korea's Ministry of Unification. (Yonhap)A special Kaesong-bound train carrying some 100 South Korean participants left Seoul Station earlier in the day. Among them were Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon a

The United Nations Security Council has agreed to exempt this week’s groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean road and railway projects from sanctions, reports said Tuesday, in another sign of the US softening its stance toward North Korea. Negotiations with the UNSC North Korea sanctions committee on the groundbreaking ceremony were completed Tuesday in New York, said Yonhap News Agency, citing an unnamed South Korean Foreign Ministry official. A South Korean soldier inspects the train that was

South Korea and the US agreed Friday that a groundbreaking ceremony for the modernization and reconnection of inter-Korean railways should be held next week, with the US agreeing to waive sanctions for the event. The US apparently decided to support the Koreas’ project to recover 1950-53 Korean War remains as well. “Through the (US-South Korea) working group, it will now be possible to proceed as planned the groundbreaking ceremony linked to the inter-Korean railway project,“ Lee Do-hoon, the So

The top US nuclear envoy said Friday that successful cooperation between South Korea and the US will help bring an end to “war and hostility” on the Korean Peninsula, while adding that the US was excited to hear the results of the two Koreas’ joint railway survey. “The work we do together is not just for US-South Korea relations, it’s for the future of the Korean Peninsula,” Stephen Biegun said during a meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon in Seoul. “And if we are succe

For those who don’t enjoy skiing, annual family ski trips can be quite dull. But in recent years, ski resorts in South Korea have found an ironic yet new target group -- nonskiers. Major resorts here are trying to come up with fresh ideas every winter, slowly transitioning into “theme parks,” where everyone can spend quality time. The Vivaldi Park resort, located about 60 kilometers east of Seoul in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, has been frequented by locals and tourists for over two decades. Wit

The two Koreas have made 285 rounds of contact, including 46 meetings, at the joint liaison office in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong so far, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Thursday. The liaison office opened in September. The contact includes five meetings among government officials from both sides, five working-level talks, and 36 meetings between chiefs and deputy chiefs of the office. On top of this, 173 messages or documents were exchanged at the office.  Koreas open their

South Korea’s Unification Minister said Wednesday that North Korea’s denuclearization process had yet to get “fully on track,” indicating that the Seoul government believes Washington and Pyongyang have yet to properly discuss corresponding measures for the North‘s steps towards denuclearization.“Regarding the issue of North Korea’s denuclearization, it would be an accurate assessment to say that the process (of talks between the US and the North) is not fully on track at the moment,” Unificatio

Parents of an American university student who died last year after being detained in North Korea are seeking over $1 billion in compensation from the rogue regime, Voice of America said Tuesday, citing a US court document. The family of Otto Warmbier, who died days after he was returned to the US in a comatose state in 2017, filed a lawsuit against North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in April. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia and charged the North

With the groundbreaking ceremony for modernization and reconnection of inter-Korean railways and roads slated for Dec. 26, similar events held more than a decade ago are being remembered. But analysts say that with a shift in circumstances surrounding the Korean Peninsula since, the focus has now moved to “modernizing” North Korea’s railway system rather than “reconnecting” sections of cross-border tracks. “In the early 2000s, it was more about ‘reconnecting’ the railways, but North Korea has sh

The two Koreas agreed on Thursday to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the modernization and reconnection of cross-border railways and roads this month, in accordance with the agreement reached between the two leaders in September. “As a result of an inter-Korean meeting (held Thursday), a consensus that the groundbreaking ceremony should be held on Dec. 26 at Panmun Station in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong was reached,” a statement released by the South’s Ministry of Unification said. I

South Korea reaffirmed that it will swiftly discuss with North Korea holding a groundbreaking ceremony to link cross-border roads and railways by the end of the year, the South’s Ministry of Unification said Tuesday. A ministry official told reporters that the government will specify its plans to hold the ceremony by “swiftly carrying on” negotiations with the North on the matter, while stressing that the event is an agreement reached between the leaders of the two Koreas in September. Though th

South Korea’s budget allocated for inter-Korean projects next year has exceeded 1 trillion won ($890.7 million) for the first time since 2016, the Ministry of Unification said Monday. A total of 1.1 trillion won has been earmarked for the inter-Korean cooperation fund in 2019, which is 15 percent higher than the 959.3 billion won set aside for 2018, the ministry said in a report. The ministry noted that this is the first time in three years that the fund has risen to over 1 trillion won.  A Sout

The latest series of overseas trips by ranking North Korean officials is a sign of the regime’s efforts to emphasize its policy shift toward diplomacy and a more open economy, coupled with its hopes of being viewed as a normal state before the end of the year, experts say.Since late November, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, has visited several Latin American countries including Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico to improve ties with those nations. He met with South Korean Foreign M

South Korea has decided to exempt a part of an inter-Korean road project from a preliminary feasibility study, reports citing officials said Sunday, in a sign that the South hopes to make as much progress as it can this year on inter-Korean cooperation projects.  (Joint Press Corp.)According to Yonhap News Agency, the construction of an 11.8-kilometer highway between Munsan and Dorasan Station in Paju, just south of the inter-Korean border, will be exempted from the customary feasibility study.

South Korea sent about 50 tons of pesticides to North Korea on Thursday to aid its fight against pine tree diseases, the Ministry of Unification said, amid signs of slow progress on stalled inter-Korean cooperation projects. Vehicles loaded with the chemicals crossed the military demarcation line, the de facto border bisecting the Korean Peninsula, via a western land route at around 8:30 a.m., a ministry official said. The materials were loaded at a parking lot in the North’s border town of Kaes

The two Koreas have agreed to begin a joint inspection of cross-border railways this week, which involves the test-operation of trains on North Korean rail tracks, the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday. “The South and North agreed to start an 18-day joint inspection of the inter-Korean railway by moving about 2,600 kilometers along the North Korean section of the railway from Nov. 30,” the ministry said. The joint operation will be divided into two parts. The first part will involve a six-d

North Korea’s foreign minister is reportedly scheduled to visit Vietnam later this week, with reports saying his intention is to learn more about the Southeast Asian country’s model of economic reform. But experts say Vietnam’s special economic zones may be even higher on the agenda. Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho will embark on a trip to Vietnam from Thursday to Sunday, a Vietnamese news agency reported Monday, citing Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry. The ministry added that Ri is to visit Vietnam at th

North Korea’s state-run newspaper on Monday lambasted the US, claiming that the country has been using the communist nation’s human rights conditions as a means to draw concessions in denuclearization talks between the two countries. In a Korean-language commentary titled “Dissecting the US’ hideous intentions reflected in its complaints on human rights issues,” Rodong Sinmun mentioned the Human Rights Watch report released earlier this month, which had claimed there was widespread sexual violen