After North Korea blew up tunnels, observation buildings and living quarters at its nuclear test site Punggye-ri in front of international journalists last week, more details of the trip were revealed by South Korean pool reporters Monday. Eight pool reporters from South Korea were allowed into the North at the last minute, joining some 20 reporters from the US, China, Russia and the UK to witness the destruction of the Punggye-ri site in the country’s mountainous northeast. (Joint Press Corps)T

The US-North Korea summit may be back on track following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s affirmation of his commitment to “complete denuclearization” and US President Donald Trump commenting negotiations over the summit are “going very well.”  　Kim has a firm commitment to “a complete denuclearization” and willingness to “end the history of war and confrontation” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during a press briefing Sunday after he held talks with Kim on the border village of Panmunj

South Korean pool reporters, who were initially invited but excluded from the flight to the North from Beijing a day earlier, left for North Korea on a state-owned plane on Wednesday to witness the dismantling of the North’s Punggye-ri nuclear site. The plane carrying a total of eight reporters took off from Seongnam Airport at 12:30 p.m. The plane is expected to arrive in the North’s eastern city of Wonsan, where a press center is located, at around 2 p.m.“As we are reporting on denuclearizatio

Eight South Korean reporters on Wednesday took a train to Punggye-ri, North Korea, to watch the dismantling of the major nuclear test site, after the regime accepted them into the country at the last minute. North Korean guides on a bus carrying South Korean reporters at the Kalma Airport, Wonsan, Wednesday. (Joint Press Corps)The special train departed from Wonsan for Punggye-ri at around 7 p.m., carrying reporters from South Korea, the US, China, Russia and the UK. The closing of the nuclear s

South Korean journalists on Tuesday were excluded from the flight to North Korea as the regime took some 20 journalists from four countries to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear facility. 　 North Korea did not issue visas to South Korean journalists initially invited to cover the closing of the Punggye-ri nuclear site, which it said would happen between Wednesday and Friday, without elaborating on reasons. Fore

North Korea’s dismantling of its major nuclear test site will likely go ahead as planned this week, but it was unclear as of Monday evening whether South Korean reporters would be able to cover the event.North Korea declined to accept a list of South Korean journalists assigned to cover the dismantling of the Punggyeri nuclear site, which the North said will happen sometime from Wednesday to Friday, the Unification Ministry said in a regular briefing on Monday. The Unification Ministry attempted

US President Donald Trump stressed Thursday (US time) that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime will not be affected if a denuclearization deal is reached between the two countries in an apparent effort to appease Pyongyang.　Trump also said that the “Libyan model” -- which Pyongyang has strongly opposed -- isn’t a model he is considering for North Korea’s denuclearization, but warned that Kim could face the same fate as Libya’s former leader if the North doesn’t strike a deal on its nuclear

For countries faced with a population decline, taking in migrants is not only necessary, but also desirable, provided that creative immigration policies are implemented, says the UN migration agency’s chief. William Lacy Swing, director general of the International Organization for Migration, warned against widespread anti-immigration and anti-refugee sentiment around the world, saying it is based on “false stereotypes and unfounded fear.” “People say … we don’t want any migrants, build a wall a

North Korea’s abrupt postponement of high-level talks with South Korea and its threats to call off the upcoming summit with the US are tactics to strengthen its position in negotiations with Washington, experts say.  With the US appearing to be raising the bar for North Korea’s denuclearization, North Korea might be expressing its discomfort and sending a message that it will not be swayed by Washington and Seoul ahead of the North Korea-US summit on June 12 in Singapore. North Korean Vice Forei

The head of the UN‘s World Food Program said Tuesday there is a “sense of optimism” among North Koreans and their leadership ahead of a historic summit between North Korea and the US, following his four-day visit to the country. David Beasley, the executive director of the World Food Program, noted the isolated country’s “genuine desire to be more open” as its leader Kim Jong-un appears to be seeking to break out of diplomatic isolation.“In my opinion, there was a tremendous sense of optimism by

South Korea on Tuesday condemned Japan’s repeated claim to the Dokdo islets in a foreign policy document presented to its cabinet, rekindling territorial and historical tensions between the two countries.　The Japanese government described the islets as “indigenous Japanese territory” in this year’s foreign policy document, known as the Diplomatic Bluebook, reported to its cabinet earlier in the day. 　Seoul’s Foreign Ministry urged Tokyo to immediately retract its claim over the ownership of Dokd

A complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea is impossible, unless the regime collapses or changes, a former senior North Korean diplomat said Monday. Given the North’s political system that idolizes its leader, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will never give up the country’s nuclear arsenal, and the only option for the rest of the world is to accept North Korea disguising itself as nuclear-free nation, said Thae Yong-ho, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to the U

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s mention of “prosperity” for North Korea if it ends its nuclear weapons programs may hint at economic rewards for the cash-strapped regime.  　Pompeo said Friday that his talks with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang had been “warm,” “constructive” and “good,” and he made clear that if North Korea dismantles its nuclear weapons in a permanent and verifiable way, the US would be willing to help boost the North’s economy.　“If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denucle

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday in Washington, D.C., ahead of the historic summit between North Korea and the US, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, left, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (AP)During the meeting, the countries’ top diplomats will exchange views on the outcome of the April 27 inter-Korean summit, ways to enhance policy coordination on achieving den

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to China for the second time in less than two months signals Pyongyang’s desire for Beijing’s involvement in the denuclearization process ahead of his summit with US President Donald Trump, experts say. 　The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday and Tuesday in the northeastern Chinese city of Dailan, where he reiterated his commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 　The summit might

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to closely work together to declare an end to the Korean War and sign a peace treaty with North Korea in a phone call, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Seoul’s presidential office said the two leaders discussed the outcome of the inter-Korean summit held on April 27 in a phone conversation which lasted from 5 p.m. to 5:35 p.m., a week after Moon held a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the truce village of

South Korea called on activists Friday to immediately stop their campaign to send anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, vowing to take stern actions against it.North Korean defector-activists' move to fly such leaflets is an "outright violation" of the spirit of a joint declaration adopted at last week's inter-Korean summit, according to Seoul's unification ministry. (Yonhap)"It is desirable that civic groups immediately suspend the campaign, to bring peace to the Korean Peninsul

South Korea’s presidential office on Friday rejected reports that the US may scale down its military presence in South Korea, amid controversy over a possible withdrawal of US troops. 　The New York Times reported Thursday that US President Donald Trump told the Pentagon to “prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea” just weeks before his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. US Armed Forces Korea (Yonhap)According to Cheong Wa Dae, however, Seoul’s National Security

To better understand the joint Panmunjeom Declaration signed at a historic inter-Korean summit last week, it is helpful to look into the declaration of the 2007 summit, which many say bears a striking resemblance to the latest joint statement. 　Experts are divided over whether the declaration signed on April 27 at the two Koreas’ third summit showed any progress in tackling the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. 　But many seem to agree that the Panmunjeom Declaration inherits o

The presidential office on Wednesday signaled its intention to declare an end to the Korean War with North Korea and the US, and involve China when signing a peace treaty, making clearer its roadmap to building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. “Realistically, we have a North Korean nuclear issue and it is difficult to replace an armistice with a peace treaty right away, so there could be a declaration of end to the Korean War as a middle step,” an official from the presidential office tol