Asia

North Korea tells foreigners in country to stick to COVID-19 protocols

Editorial Bureau July 29, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – In the wake of North Korean authorities announcing that they are probing the first coronavirus case, the government has warned foreigners living in Pyongyang to adhere to steps taken to tackle the spread of the virus, the Russian embassy said on Wednesday. On

Asia

Emergency declared in North Korea with first suspected COVID-19 case

Editorial Bureau July 26, 2020

SEOUL (KOREA) – An emergency and a lockdown was declared by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a border town. This has come in the wake of a person suspected of infected with the novel coronavirus. The state media said on Sunday, that the person had returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the […]

Asia

US stressed the importance of resuming talks with North Korea, says South

Editorial Bureau July 9, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – Washington has stressed the significance of resuming discussions with Pyongyang, said Seoul on Thursday. This comes as North Korea indicated that it has no intention of returning to the negotiating table. US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who held three days of discussions in Seoul, had earlier dismissed speculation that […]

Asia

Seoul, Pyongyang mark 70 years since war began, no treaty in sight

Ren Leen June 25, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – Seventy years after the outbreak of hostilities between North and South Korea, prospects for a peace treaty to officially end the conflict appear as distant as ever. The two Koreas held low-key commemorations on Thursday amid heightened tension on the peninsula. The 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an ceasefire rather than […]

Asia

Pyongyang suspends military action plans against Seoul

Ren Leen June 24, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – North Korea has decided to suspend military action plans against South Korea, the official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday. The report suggested North Korean troops were taking down loudspeakers recently reinstalled at the fortified border. Political tensions between the rival Koreas had been rising over Pyongyang’s objections to

Asia

North Korea places loudspeakers at border; satellite images show damaged liaison office

Ren Leen June 23, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – North Korea is reinstalling loudspeakers blaring propaganda at the border in its latest measure of straining the inter-Korean peace pacts, said a South Korean military source on Tuesday. North Korea’s soldiers were seen installing loudspeakers near the demilitarised zone (DMZ). They were taken down after the two Koreas signed a treaty […]

Asia

North Korea prepares anti-South leaflets amid heightened tensions

Ren Leen June 20, 2020

SEOUL (Asia) – North Korea is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border, denouncing North Korean defectors and South Korea, its state media said on Saturday, the latest retaliation for leaflets from the South as bilateral tensions rise. Enraged North Korean people across the country “are actively pushing forward with the preparations […]

Asia

Kim fomenting trouble to invite US attention, say experts

Ren Leen June 19, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – North Korea has been ramping up tensions with the South, but the campaign seems to be aimed at pushing for sanctions relief by inviting the attention of the US administration which is distracted by domestic issues. North Korea blew up a building housing the joint liaison office on its side of […]

Asia

Seoul unification minister resigns amid rising tensions with Pyongyang

Ren Leen June 19, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday accepted the resignation of the minister responsible for strengthening relations with North Korea. The resignation comes in the wake of tensions with Pyongyang rising over the activities of defectors in the South. Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees engagement with North Korea, offered to step down […]

Asia

Pyongyang rejects Seoul’s offer of envoys, vows to redeploy troops to border

Editorial Bureau June 17, 2020

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – North Korea on Wednesday rejected South Korea’s proposal to send special envoys to ease escalating tensions over the activity of defector groups and stalled reconciliation efforts and vowed to redeploy troops to border areas. The announcements made by state media agency KCNA came a day after North Korea blew up a […]