New Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Thursday vowed to resolve inter-Korean relations with a long-term perspective amid a deepening dilemma over nuclear issues in the wake of North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. He took office on July 3, vowing to restart activity at the Kaesong industrial park, reunions of separated families, humanitarian aid and other inter-Korean initiatives. His commitment, however, faces headwinds, as Pyongyang has been developing its nuclear

With North Korea being defiant in its nuclear ambitions, US Vice President Mike Pence on Monday ruled out the possibility for any negotiations, vowing further economic sanctions instead of a “failed policy” of past administrations.  Mike Pence (Yonhap-AP)“(The US president) ought to be willing to sit down and explore common interests to advance peace, security and prosperity in the world in virtually every case, with North Korea being an exception, unless and until it permanently abandons its nu

The 2017 South Korean presidential election was filled with excitement and concern, with five unique candidates vying to fill the vacuum left by former President Park Geun-hye. Among the five was Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party, the only female candidate in the race who fought hard to the end.  Sim Sang-jeung (Yonhap)On Monday, Sim announced she would step down from her role as chief of the minor opposition party, which holds just six parliamentary seats and is not recognized as

Leaders of the US, China and Japan on Saturday put their heads together to “tackle the menace of North Korea,” following North Korea’s claim of a successful test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in separate meetings on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, stressing the need to reach consensus over North Korea’s ongoing provocations.  US President Donald Trump and

North Korea will celebrate its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with fireworks, the North’s state media said. Lauding Tuesday’s test-firing of the Hwasong-14 as “a very great success,” the official Korean Central News Agency said a celebratory firework show will be held along the Taedong River in Pyongyang on Thursday evening.  A group of North Korean spectators watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Pyongyang. YonhapOn Wednesday, North Korea’s state media claimed to have s

North Korea claimed Tuesday to have successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a large-sized nuclear warhead. This may mean the addition of the reclusive regime to a list of nations that possess ICBMs and nuclear warhead miniaturization technology, including the US, Russia, China, India and Israel.

South Korea and the United States conducted a massive joint missile exercise here Wednesday in a show of force after North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile test a day earlier. The allies fired a barrage of missiles in the East Sea, including the US Army Tactical Missile System and South Korea’s Hyunmoo-2A, a ballistic missile with a range of 300 kilometers, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  South Korean and US troops hold a joint missile drill along the east coast of the Korean

With President Moon Jae-in having reaffirmed the deployment of a US missile shield here, China is likely to step up pressure at an upcoming summit with South Korea, including through additional retaliation, an expert said Monday. During his four-day visit to Washington, Moon reassured US congressional leaders on the Terminal Altitude Area Defense system installation by saying that he believes the system is “necessary for the defense of the people of both countries.” (Yonhap)Moon is expected to f

Cheong Wa Dae is providing live updates of President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Washington via official social media accounts. As of Friday, the uploaded posts on Facebook and Twitter included “from-the-scene” details on his official schedule ranging from Moon’s visit to a Korean War memorial and a warm arrival at the Blair House, the VIP guesthouse near the White House. The accounts also shared US responses to the visit by sharing US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s video showing Moon enter

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- US President Donald Trump said on Twitter he talked about a new trade deal with his visiting South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, calling their first dialogue a “very good” one. “Just finished a very good meeting with the President of South Korea. Many subjects discussed including North Korea and new trade deal!” read his tweet posted shortly after he hosted a dinner for President Moon at the White House in Washington. (Yonhap)The two are scheduled to hold a summit meeting o

Unification Minister nominee Cho Myoung-gyon said Thursday that he sees only a slim chance of North Korea giving up on its nuclear weapons program, but South Korea should still take bold and practical measures to induce it to take that course. Speaking at his parliamentary confirmation hearing, the nominee also stressed that denuclearization is a prerequisite to the reinstatement of any inter-Korean business projects. “North Korea’s nuclear issue is closely related to a matter of survival for ou

Seoul’s Unification Ministry has allowed an international aid group to ship tuberculosis treatments and construction materials for hospital wards to North Korea, it said Tuesday, marking the first shipment to the North under the new administration. According to the ministry, the Eugene Bell Foundation Korea’s shipment is valued at 1.9 billion won ($1.7 million), with medication worth 1.5 billion won and construction materials estimated at 350 million won. The wards will be built with materials p

Unification Minister nominee Cho Myoung-gyon will pursue an inter-Korean summit if it is needed to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issues and thaw inter-Korean tensions. He will also consider the development of South Korea’s own “freikauf” model for the reunion of families separated by the Korean War, said Cho on Monday. “Various solutions, including a South-North Korea summit, should be reviewed for the sake of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, bringing peace on the Korean Peninsula and d

The outlook of Seoul’s suggestion to form an inter-Korean team for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics appears bleak, with the North’s International Olympic Committee member displaying skepticism toward the plan.Chang Ung, the only North Korean member of the IOC and former International Taekwondo Federation chief, expressed his doubts toward Seoul’s Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan’s proposal of a joint women’s hockey team and holding skiing games on North Korean slopes. President Moon Jae-in make

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, responsible for the bloody suppression of the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju, has requested that the petition for an injunction against the publication of his memoir be reviewed in Seoul. According to the Gwangju District Court and the May 18 Memorial Foundation on Sunday, Chun has requested the case to be reviewed in Seoul, saying that the Gwagnju court may be influenced by public sentiment. According to court records, Chun filed a motion seeking to trans

A North Korean-led taekwondo organization will participate in a world taekwondo championship in South Korea opening Saturday, amid the Moon Jae-in administration seeking “sports diplomacy” to repair its relationship with North Korea. A 36-person delegation of the North Korean-led International Taekwondo Federation will arrive in Seoul by plane via Beijing on Friday and is scheduled to stay until July 1, the ITF and the South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said Thursday. The delegation includes

A South Korean traveler who went missing for 12 days on a mountain near Baguio city in the Philippines was rescued Tuesday, said the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. The hiker, whose name was not disclosed, was worn out from starvation and exposure, but he was not in a critical condition and was able to speak. He had been stranded on Mount Pulag since June 9, but managed to call the Korean community in Angeles on June 13 when he found a signal on his mobile phone. His cellphone battery died shortl

North Korea may already possess operational nuclear and advanced chemical weapons, a US think tank said, amid heightening tensions on the peninsula over the communist state’s relentless military provocations. “During the past 40 years and more, North Korea has consistently pursued expanding its nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) programs with impressive single-mindedness and determination and fully in line with its national philosophy of juche,” wrote Joseph Bermudez Jr., chief analytics off

A female Army major was ordered to intervene to settle a sexual harassment case on behalf of a male officer by pretending to be the suspect’s sister, reports from the South Korean Army and National Human Rights Commission showed Sunday.According to a petition filed by the major who was unnamed, she had worked as a professor at the Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and faced career disadvantages after defying a colonel’s request in 2015 to settle a sexual harassment cas

North Korea has demanded South Korea return a group of its citizens who defected while working at a restaurant in China last year as a precondition for reunions of families separated by the Korean War, in another move that casts a cloud over President Moon Jae-in’s pursuit of a cross-border thaw. Kim Yong-chol, a senior official in the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Unification of Korea told the AFP in Pyongyang that the South Korean government should repatriate the 12 former restaurant work