If North Korea perfects its intercontinental ballistic missile re-entry technology next year, it is likely to seek talks with the United States after declaring itself a nuclear state, a state-run think tank said Thursday.  North Korea test fires the “Hwasong-15” ICBM on Nov. 29. (Yonhap)“If the North launches the missile on a standard trajectory and its re-entry technology is confirmed, there is a high possibility that North Korea will seek disarmament talks with the US on its proclaimed nuclear

Despite sharing the common goal of achieving North Korea’s denuclearization, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster are once again at odds in representing Washington’s approach toward the rogue nation. (Yonhap)On Tuesday, Tillerson said the international community could not start talks with North Korea unless it is ready to talk, but hinted that Washington has not ruled out the possibility of a dialogue channel with the isolated nation.“We can’t talk unless

North Korea may be turning its cyberwarfare to the growing cryptocurrency market, with increasing reports pointing to Pyongyang in bitcoin-related hacking attempts. The reclusive regime may be eying the virtual currency as its transactions are difficult to trace, allowing Pyongyang to bypass international sanctions, experts here said.  (Yonhap)“It is difficult to trace a bitcoin exchange if North Korea wants its financial transactions to remain in the dark,” Lee Kyung-ho, a professor at Korea Un

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is scheduled to visit Japan on Tuesday with the issues of North Korea and Japan’s wartime sexual slavery of Korean women likely to loom over the entire stay. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)The two-day visit will include a meeting with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. “During the meeting to be held on Tuesday, the two ministers will exchange views on issues of mutual concern, such as South Korea-Japan relations, Nor

Oh Chung-sung, the 24-year-old North Korean solider who dashed across the border last month, has not yet spoken about life in the reclusive state that he desperately wanted to escape. But his body has offered some clues already. Receiving treatment for the critical gunshot wounds he suffered during his dash across the border at a South Korean hospital, his health and dietary condition have provided a window into the North’s current hygiene and living standards.On top of hepatitis B, doctors foun

The outcome of the latest summit between the leaders of South Korea and China embodies the two nations’ willingness to work on their differences over the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system here and reaffirm their cooperation on North Korean issues, an expert said. From left: South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Yonhap)“President Xi avoided directly referring to THAAD and was cautious in addressing the issue in meetings, which could indicate th

On Dec. 5, two empty wooden boats were found adrift in waters near Niigata Prefecture in Japan.Soon the Japanese Coast Guard also detected two dead bodies presumed to be from the boats.  Eight bodies presumed to be North Koreans were found in a boat grounded on a beach in Akita Prefecture, Japan on Nov. 27. (Yonhap)It was just a mere day after three decomposed bodies were found off the coast of Sakata in the adjacent Yamagata Prefecture. Remains of eight people were found in a boat grounded on a

The Donald Trump administration has nominated former White House official and Washington-based academic Victor Cha as the next US ambassador to South Korea and asked for Seoul’s approval, US sources said Sunday. According to sources in Washington, the request was recently delivered to the South Korean government in the form of an “agrement,” a formal request sent to the receiving state from the sending state before dispatching a diplomatic representative. The decision was made after an extensive

More North Korean entities and individuals will be subjected to South Korea’s unilateral sanctions, as Seoul steps up efforts to curb the North‘s weapons development programs, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday.According to the Foreign Ministry, an additional 20 North Korean firms and 12 individuals will be subjected to Seoul‘s sanctions from Monday. North Korea`s "Hwasong-15" missile test on Nov. 29. (Yonhap)“It is expected that the updated sanctions will block the inflow of illegal financial

Dozens of nations have not completely upheld international sanctions imposed on North Korea, claimed a Washington-based think tank.  (Yonhap)A total of 49 countries including China, Germany, Brazil, India, and France have violated United Nations Security Council between March 2014 and September 2017 “to varying degrees,” the Institute for Science and International Security said in its report published on its website Tuesday. North Korea “often cooperates with or otherwise exploits countries with

South Korea expressed regret Tuesday over Japan’s disregard for its previous vow to honor the victims of colonial-era forced labor in its managing of UNESCO World Heritage-listed industrial facilities.  Hashima Island, also known as Battleship Island, is located 15 kilometers from the city of Nagasaki, southern Japan. (Yonhap)“The government expresses regret over the implementation report that Japan recently submitted as part of its follow-up measures on the world heritage listing of its modern

The United States reiterated denuclearization as a precondition for talks with North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s request that Washington must recognize it as a nuclear weapons state to start dialogue.  North Korea test-fires its new "Hwasong-15" missile on Nov. 29. (Yonhap)“It is not enough for (North Korea) to stop its program where it is today,” US State Department spokesperson Katina Adams told Voice of America on Monday. “We do not see any signs that North Korea is willing or interested

With just about 70 days ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, North Korea chose to indirectly forfeit by missing the deadline to send its qualified figure skating pairs team, a report said Friday.  (Yonhap)“North Korea’s Olympic Committee missed an Oct. 30 deadline to confirm it would send its qualified pairs figure skating team to the Winter Games,” NBC Sports said.In September, North Korean figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik grabbed their golden ticket to PyeongChang by finishi

North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile is a newly developed weapon rather than a variant of existing models, South Korea’s military said Thursday.  North Korea tests its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday. (Yonhap)“(We) are assessing that the Hwasong-15 is a new type,” Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing. The announcement follows North Korea’s release of photos that showcased updated features of its new

North Korea declared completion of its missile development program Wednesday by claiming success in test-firing of its longest-range intercontinental missile to date, but outside experts said the communist regime is not there yet. North Korea test-fires a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile in July. (Yonhap)The missile reached an altitude of around 4,500 kilometers and flew 960 kilometers before landing in the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It was launched from the

North Korea’s nuclear and missile hit list includes Cheong Wa Dae, the White House and major cities in both South Korea and the United States, a European think tank report said.  (ECFR)“North Korea lacks a clear distinction between the use of nuclear weapons against military targets and their use against civilian targets, or any plan for a gradual escalation from attacking military bases to striking cities,” the European Council on Foreign Relations said in a recent report. The hit list names pr

The South Korean military is delivering updates on the North Korean soldier who was wounded while defecting, via loudspeaker broadcasts to the North amid the rogue regime’s refusal to talk directly with the South.  (Yonhap)The FM Radio “Freedom Voice” system near the inter-Korean border has been broadcasting about the recovery of the 24-year-old soldier, identified only by his surname Oh, after he sustained gunshot wounds while crossing the border on Nov. 13, the South Korean military said Sunda

Despite a series of complaints from North Korea against sanctions imposed against the country, its key business partners are showing signs of upholding the measures drawn to cripple the rogue nation’s economic growth.  (From left) Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Yonhap)North Korea’s exports to China in October dropped 62 percent on-year, amounting to about $90 million, showed Chinese customs data released Thursday. The figure also fell nearly 38 percent compar

North Korean-built underground tunnels designed for a surprise invasion of South Korea pose a bone-chilling reminder that the 1950-53 Korean War never actually ended. After the first was discovered in November 1974, three more tunnels were uncovered in the following decades. All four run either below or nearby the Demilitarized Zone in the South and have been altered since to deprive them of their initial purpose. The Korea Herald visited the third tunnel Tuesday. The tunnel is 73 meters below t

With an expected summit between the leaders of South Korea and China next month, attention is being paid to whether the two countries will be able to mend strained ties caused by Seoul’s deployment of an advanced US missile defense system and Beijing’s economic retaliation.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. (Yonhap)Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed to work together to organize President Moon Jae-in’s state