North Korea on Tuesday lashed out at the US for standing in the way of the two Koreas’ efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, a day before South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy is set to travel to Pyongyang. 　The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, carried a commentary titled “Blocking North Korea-South Korea relations is blocking the US’ own road ahead.” It called upon South Korea to pursue inter-Korean projects without being i

A key mission for South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy to Pyongyang is to salvage stalled denuclearization talks between North Korea and the US by persuading North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to take bolder steps to denuclearize, experts say. Headed by Moon’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, the five-member delegation will travel to Pyongyang on Wednesday for a one-day trip to set the date and agenda for the inter-Korean summit planned for this month, according to the presid

South Korean President Moon Jae-in named his national security adviser Chung Eui-yong as a special envoy to lead a delegation on a one-day trip to North Korea on Wednesday, the presidential office said Sunday. 　The delegation’s visit to Pyongyang comes as Moon is set to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this month amid a deadlock in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the US.  Led by Chung, the five-member delegation includes Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligen

It was two-for-five. South Korea bagged two gold and three silver medals in judo at the 18th Asian Games on Friday.  (Yonhap)Five South Korean judokas reached the final in their weight divisions, but Gwak Dong-han in the men's under-90 kilogram class and Kim Sung-min in the men's over-100 kilogram division were the only ones smiling in the end at Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall in Jakarta. Gwak delivered South Korea's first judo gold of the day after beating Altanbagana Gantulga of Mongol

South Korea won bronze in women's football at the 18th Asian Games on Friday. (Yonhap)The Taeguk Ladies beat Chinese Taipei 4-0 at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang, Indonesia, the co-host city of the Asian Games with Jakarta, to take third place in the women's football competition.  It was South Korea's third straight bronze at the Asian Games. The women's team also finished third at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014. South Korea have yet to play in a final of the Asiad women's football compe

(Yonhap) South Korea's Kim Sung-min won the over-100 kilogram division in the men's judo competition at the 18th Asian Games on Friday. Kim beat Duurenbayar Ulziibayar of Mongolia in the final at Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall in Jakarta to take a gold medal. This was Kim's first individual gold at the Asian Games. He won gold in the team event at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games but took bronze in the men's over-100kg. The 29-year-old knocked out Yin Yongjie of China in the quarterfinals an

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean forward Son Heung-min said Friday that he is determined to return his English Premier League club with an Asiad gold medal.  (Yonhap)Son's South Korea will take on Japan in the men's football final at the 18th Asian Games at Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong, Indonesia, on Saturday. South Korea are looking to defend their men's football title.For Son and his South Korean teammates, winning the final is more than just getting a gold medal. It will also give them exemp

Two-time defending champion South Korea reached baseball's gold medal game at the 18th Asian Games on Friday with a convincing win over China. (Yonhap)Cleanup Park Byung-ho launched a three-run home run and starter Im Gi-yeong held China to a run over 6 1/3 innings, as South Korea prevailed 10-1 in its last super round game at GBK Baseball Field.In Saturday's gold medal game, South Korea will face either Chinese Taipei or Japan, depending on the result of their super round game later Thursday.So

South Korea's Ha Jee-min won gold in the men's sailing laser standard at the 18th Asian Games on Friday.  (Yonhap)Ha finished first among 16 finalists who raced on courses from Indonesia National Sailing Centre in Jakarta with the net score of 21.8. Mohd Afendy Khairulnizam of Malaysia took silver at 23, while Jun Han Ryan Lo of Indonesia got bronze. This is Ha's third straight gold in the men's laser standard after topping the same event at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014. This was also South K

South Korea's Gwak Dong-han won the under-90 kilogram division in the men's judo competition at the 18th Asian Games on Friday.  (Yonhap)Gwak beat Altanbagana Gantulga of Mongolia in the final at Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall in Jakarta to take a gold medal.This was Gwak's first individual gold at the Asian Games. He won gold in the team event at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games but took bronze in the men's 90kg. Gwak first earned shido from Gantaluga at 1:52. But 31 seconds later, he excut

A scuba diver in his 40s was rescued on Friday some 20 hours after he went missing in rough seas off the southeastern port city of Busan, the Coast Guard and his family said.The 44-year-old man, surnamed Jin, went missing on an outing in waters near Namhyeongje Island off Busan on Thursday before being swallowed by strong currents and drifting 66 kilometers.(Busan Coast Guard)In waters about 28 kilometers off the southeastern city of Ulsan, Jin was able to hold on to a buoy overnight before aski

South Korea claimed four medals in track cycling on Friday, including a momentous gold by a tireless rider, as the competition drew to a conclusion.Na Ah-reum and Kim You-ri combined for the women's madison gold medal at the 18th Asian Games at Jakarta International Velodrome. (Yonhap)They earned 76 race points in the 25-kilometer relay event, beating Hong Kong's Pang Yao and Yang Qianryu by 15 points.With this gold, Na became South Korea's first quadruple gold medalist at these Asian Games and

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday reaffirmed his decision to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, but also warned he could “instantly” resume the drills, and they could be “far bigger than ever before,” both appeasing and pressuring North Korea amid the stalled denuclearization talks. (Yonhap)Without directly taking aim at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump blamed China -- North Korea’s biggest ally, currently engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the US -- for a l

The US appears to be turning up the heat on North Korea amid stalled denuclearization talks, with US Defense Secretary James Mattis hinting at a resumption of US-South Korea military drills and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang being delayed.　As the US reportedly responds to a “belligerent letter” from North Korea by stepping up the pressure, prospects of negotiations between North Korea and the US appear bleak unless the communist state makes a major concession, experts say

North Korea’s silence on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s canceled trip to Pyongyang is a sign of its deepening frustration over what steps to take next, with denuclearization talks likely to drag on, experts say. Trump canceled Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang, citing insufficient progress on North Korea’s denuclearization and laying some blame on China, North Korea’s major ally which is also engaged in an intensifying trade war with the US.Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)A report by the Washington Post on Mo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s canceled trip to North Korea is likely to further complicate the denuclearization talks between the North and the US, and could interfere with South Korea’s efforts to advance inter-Korean relations, experts say. 　US President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that he had told Pompeo to call off his planned trip to Pyongyang due to insufficient progress in dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. 　Trump also suggested nuclear negotiations with North Korea

North and South Korean family members separated for decades by the 1950-53 Korean War bid tearful farewells probably for the last time in their lives Sunday, ending two rounds of family reunions held for the first time in nearly three years.　The second round of the heart-wrenching family reunions, a reminder of the division of the Korean Peninsula, allowed 326 South Koreans to meet their families living in North Korea at the North’s Kumgangsan Resort from Friday to Sunday. For the first round, 1

South Korea will push to open an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong as scheduled, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday, amid concerns that the opening of the liaison office could violate sanctions on North Korea. Responding to a question on whether Seoul would go ahead with the opening without obtaining an exemption from UN sanctions imposed on North Korea, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said, “Yes.”“The South Korean government is pushing to open the inter-Korean liaison office

The court is expected to deliver its decision on issuing an arrest warrant for South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo later on Friday or early Saturday in connection with an online opinion-rigging scandal. Kim, who is suspected of orchestrating opinion rigging in favor of then-presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in, was transferred to a detention facility in the southwestern suburb of Seoul, after attending a hearing on his arrest warrant that lasted about two hours. Kim Kyung-soo (Yonhap)

North Korea on Friday stepped up demands for the US to declare a formal end to the Korean War amid expectations of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s imminent visit to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun said in an article that the US has “responsibility and duty” to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War in response to the North’s “good-will gestures” and “generosity.”“The US should show mutual trust through phased and simultaneous action by adopting the decl