[US-NK Summit]Whirlwind of diplomatic activities leading to Trump-Kim summitBy Jung Min-kyungWith the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for Tuesday morning in Singapore, Trump’s threat to rain “fire and fury” upon the reclusive nation almost a year ago seems like distant memory.The Korea Herald has organized the sequence of key events leading up to the summit chronicling the whirlwind of diplomatic activities surrounding the US and th

North Korea’s state news agencies on Monday said its leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Singapore to discuss with US President Donald Trump the issues of denuclearization and establishing new US-North Korea ties, “as required by the changed era.” The Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun reports came a day after Kim and Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday to attend the first sit-down between a US President and a North Korean leader set for Tuesday. This photo, taken from the Korean Central Ne

An advance inspection team of South Korean officials and civilians visited North Korea’s border city of Kaesong on Friday to prepare for the opening of a joint liaison office.The 14-member team headed by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung crossed the military demarcation line at 8:34 a.m. via a western land route to check possible locations, facilities and equipment. (Yonhap)“I believe the establishment of the liaison office between South and North Korea is the first step in implementing th

Unlike the US, which has been vocal about key events leading up to the planned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next week, the North has kept mum about such matters. Since announcing the June 12 summit between Trump and Kim on May 27, without mentioning that it is taking place in Singapore, North Korea’s state-run news agencies have been silent about the summit and the US-North Korea talks at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Singapore and New York, whi

Projects aimed at restoring North Korea’s forests are budding again amid warmer inter-Korean ties.At high-level talks held Friday, the two Koreas agreed to hold a meeting for cross-border reforestation projects, while announcing dates for other inter-Korean talks. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said the meeting on reforestation would likely take place in late June. “In a nutshell, North Korea’s devastated woodlands affect the entire Korean Peninsula, not just North Korea,” Shin Hye-ji, a r

Seoul’s Ministry of Unification on Tuesday declined to confirm media reports claiming that the South has asked the North to grant diplomatic immunity to South Korean officials to be stationed in the joint liaison office in North Korea. The two Koreas reaffirmed at high-level talks held Friday a plan to open a liaison office in the North’s border city of Kaesong “at an early date.” The talks aimed to hammer out details in implementing agreements reached at the April 27 inter-Korean summit.  Kaeso

The two Koreas on Friday agreed to hold military and Red Cross talks this month and open a liaison office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, according to a joint statement released by the South’s Ministry of Unification.The statement came as a result of the high-level meeting held the same day at the truce village of Panmunjeom at the border. The talks aimed to bring about the swift implementation of agreements reached at the summit on April 27. Both sides will continue to cooperate in

North Korea’s former spymaster Kim Yong-chol and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in New York on Wednesday as the two countries continued to engage in multi-channel dialogues across continents to arrange a summit meeting. In addition to the New York meeting, US and North Korean officials have been in talks in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, and in Singapore for the possible summit between their leaders on June 12. This handout photograph obtained courtesy of the US Department

Pyongyang’s growing calls for the repatriation of former North Korean restaurant workers who came to South Korea in 2016 may be an obstacle for Seoul at high-level talks Friday, experts said. North Korea on Tuesday said a decision to send back the defectors would prove the South Korean government’s “sincerity” toward sustained development of inter-Korean ties and peace on the peninsula. The announcement followed the same demand made by the North’s Red Cross Society on May 19. On the North’s rece

Expectations for the revival of the inter-Korean celebration of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration is rising, with the two Koreas set to hold the stalled high-level talks. The June 15 Declaration was announced after the first-ever inter-Korean summit held in 2000. The declaration marked an unprecedented thaw on the peninsula after the 1950-53 Korean War, and was celebrated annually through jointly organized events until 2008.  (Yonhap)Despite having been discontinued for nearly a decade,

The two Koreas agreed to hold high-level talks this week, signaling a revival of cross-border projects. The first round of high-level talks to implement agreements reached at the inter-Korean summit on April 27 will take place Friday, according to Seoul. The announcement came as a result of a surprise meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday, when they reaffirmed the swift implementation of the agreements. (Yonhap)The ministerial level me

United States President Donald Trump’s cancellation of a planned summit with North Korea is likely to deal a heavy blow to inter-Korean ties, which have already been strained over the North’s recent belligerent rhetoric.Trump on Thursday called off what was expected to be an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for next month, citing the North’s “open hostility.” The surprise announcement apparently shook the Moon Jae-in administration, prompting it to convene a cr

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-kwan on Friday said that his country is willing to talk with the US anytime. (Yonhap)He also said that US President Donald Trump’s decision to call off the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June does not meet the world’s desire.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

North Korea destroyed its Punggye-ri test site in front of international journalists Thursday, pool reports said, in what Seoul officials said appears to be a step toward denuclearization ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June. (Source: Joint Press Corps)The North dynamited the northern underground tunnel in Punggye-ri, a northeastern remote area, around 11 a.m., according to a brief pool report.The western and southern tunnels wer

North Korea on Thursday renewed its threats against the US, saying it would reconsider the scheduled summit between their leaders next month based on US decision and behavior. “Whether the US will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States,” Choe Son-hui, North Korea‘s vice foreign minister, said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Choe threatened to make a sugg

US President Donald Trump’s indication of some flexibility in the timetable for dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program is fueling speculations that a “Trump model” of denuclearization might be taking shape. In his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington, Trump noted that “all- in-one would be nice” in North Korean denuclearization, but hinted at some leeway on the matter.  North Korea test-launched the Hwasong-15 missile in November 2017. (KCNA-Yonhap)“I don’t think I wa

Top diplomats of China and Japan will visit Washington on Wednesday, media outlets reported Tuesday, ahead of a US-North Korea summit in June.  Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi greets North Korean officials in Pyongyang on May 2. (Yonhap)Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will discuss issues concerning both the US and China with US ranking officials in Washington on Wednesday, a local media outlet reported, citing an unnamed source. North Korea’s denuclearization, which is the main agenda item of

Signs that North Korea is preparing for the scheduled dismantlement of its key nuclear test site this week are growing, amid lingering doubts over whether the actual decommissioning will take place. Satellite imagery from May 15 shows North Korea making necessary preparations, such as building an observational stand for visitors for the dismantling of its Punggye-ri test site, according to 38 North, a US website monitoring the North, on Sunday.  (Yonhap)North Korea said last month that it would

Amid a mood for a thaw on the Korean Peninsula, complications surrounding the arrival of 12 North Korean restaurant workers in 2016 are emerging as an obstacle to inter-Korean ties. Two years ago, when inter-Korean relations were icy, 12 female North Korean defectors made headlines as they arrived in Seoul wearing masks that covered their nose and mouth, and colorful jackets. This file photo provided by the Ministry of Unification shows North Korean restaurant workers arriving in South Korea in

North Korea’s sudden postponement of talks with South Korea is raising concerns over planned inter-Korean projects and questions over whether Pyongyang will agree to another meeting. The two Koreas initially agreed to hold a ministerial-level early Wednesday, but Pyongyang indefinitely postponed the talks, taking issue with the ongoing South Korea-US military exercise. Families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War say goodbye to each other after a reunion held in 2015. (Joint Press Corps)The matt