North Korea

Stories 1921 - 1940 | << Prev   Next >>

Koreas at Impasse on Fishing Zone
Koreas at Impasse on Fishing Zone

Koreas at Impasse on Fishing Zone

Day 2 of defense summit founders on maritime borders

(Newser) - The second day of talks between North and South Korean defense ministers hit a snag today, writes Reuters, as efforts to find a compromise on the disputed maritime border fell short. The two ministers had also sought to begin steps towards a formal peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean...

Koreas' Defense Chiefs Begin Peace Talks

Ministers first aim to settle sea dispute

(Newser) - South Korea's defense minister is negotiating today with his North Korean counterpart in a bid to settle the nations' disputed sea border. The first talks between defense ministers in seven years aims to deepen the agreements from last month's landmark summit calling for greater peace via economic collaboration.

US Places Diplomat in N. Korea
US Places Diplomat
in N. Korea

US Places Diplomat in N. Korea

First Pyongyang official lays groundwork for permanent presence

(Newser) - Washington has had a "permanent" diplomat stationed in Pyongyang since mid-month, a source tells the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, marking the first time a US official has been assigned full-time to North Korea. The move is seen as a precursor to possible normalization of relations between the US...

Thousands Flee N. Korea Via Covert Network

Brokers charge $2K to $10K to reach Seoul through China

(Newser) - Thousands are fleeing Kim Jong Il's regime, thanks to an expanding network of brokers who smuggle defectors to Seoul through China, the Washington Post reports. Savvy Seoul brokers charge them up to $10,000 for a luxury "planned escape," complete with fake documents, but stakes are rising as...

Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties
Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties

Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties

Leaders offer assurances on Afghanistan, North Korea

(Newser) - President Bush and new Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda today vowed to reconcile hot-button issues concerning North Korea and Afghanistan that have strained relations, Reuters reports. In his first visit to the White House, Fukuda pledged to do his "utmost" to renew a refueling mission for coalition forces in Afghanistan,...

Korea Chiefs to Launch Border-Busting Railway

Freight link to strengthen economic ties

(Newser) - In their latest step toward closer ties, the leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to establish a cross-border train system to strengthen economic connections. Beginning in December freight trains will follow a 16-mile track through the heavily patrolled border frontier to a joint industrial complex in North Korea's...

Korean PMs Get Down to Business
Korean PMs Get Down to Business

Korean PMs Get Down to Business

After summit, premiers meet in Seoul to discuss economic development

(Newser) - North Korea's prime minister  is in Seoul today for the start of a 3-day summit with his South Korean counterpart. The leaders are discussing how to implement peace agreements from last month's landmark meeting of the two Korean top leaders. But in the first visit by a northern leader to...

US Urges Japan to Return to Afghanistan

Japanese naval contribution halted by domestic politics

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Japan today to resume a naval support mission for US operations in Afghanistan, Reuters reports. Japan has conducted refueling operations in the region for the past six years at a cost of approximately $195 million. The mission was stopped earlier this month after an opposition...

North Korea Disabling Nukes
North Korea Disabling Nukes

North Korea Disabling Nukes

US experts supervising program

(Newser) - North Korea has begun disabling its nuclear installations under the supervision of a team of nine US experts, reports Agence France Presse. Work started at plutonium production facilities in the Yongbyon complex, where North Korea has already shut down a reactor. "Obviously, it is going to take some time,...

North Korea's Dancing Agitprop
North Korea's Dancing Agitprop

North Korea's Dancing Agitprop

Western visitors tell tales of propaganda-drenched state

(Newser) - The 2,000 Western tourists who managed to visit North Korea this year—four times as many as were allowed in 2002—offer a weirdly illuminating glimpse into the propaganda-saturated country closed to journalists, notes the Economist. Kim Jong-Il’s “Mass Games” performances—packed with synchronized dancing eggs and...

US Team to Disable Nuke Plant
US Team to Disable Nuke Plant

US Team to Disable Nuke Plant

Disabling North Korea's nuclear complex at Yongbyon should take several months

(Newser) - A US team arrived in Pyongyang today and is to begin disabling North Korea's nuclear complex this week—a process which experts say will zap plutonium production for at least a year, but falls short of destruction. North Korea has agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for 1...

Syria's Alleged Nuke Site Gone in Puff of Smoke

Military facility bombed by Israel is quickly razed, pics show

(Newser) - A Syrian military facility bombed in an Israeli air strike last month has been quickly—and mysteriously—razed and cleared, according to a new photograph taken by a commercial satellite. The Syrian government had been accused of building a nuclear reactor on the site capable of producing weapons, the Washington ...

Israeli Strike on Syria Hit Nuke Reactor

Partly-built facility based on North Korean model

(Newser) - Israel's air strike on Syria last month was aimed at a nuclear reactor, US and Israeli intelligence analysts say. The partly-built facility was based on a North Korean model—a link that could harm Pyonyang's new denuclearization deal if Israel can prove that Kim Jong Il helped mount the reactor....

US Task Force Targets Illegal Arms Sales

Groups will handle complex prosecutions, inter-agency teamwork

(Newser) - The Justice Department announced today that it will create special task forces charged with blocking the efforts of hostile nations to illegally export US-made parts and technology for the enrichment of their weapons systems, the Los Angeles Times reports. The National Counterproliferation Initiative will target the middlemen and front companies...

Korean Chiefs Sign Peace Pledge
Korean Chiefs Sign Peace Pledge

Korean Chiefs Sign Peace Pledge

Statement promises to work on peace accord, economic projects

(Newser) - In the culmination of the second summit ever in the history of their two nations, the leaders of South and North Korea signed a statement early today pledging to work toward a formal peace accord and join forces on economic projects. The South pledged to help develop a new highway...

Deal Struck, Kim Will Dismantle Nuke Plants

Pyongyang to detail activities; expected to get off US terror list

(Newser) - Kim Jong-Il has reportedly agreed in six-party talks to begin disabling his nuclear facilities and revealing program details. In return—though not part of the agreement—the US will fast-track North Korea's removal from its terrorism list. The terms show new flexibility from a waning Bush administration, as well as...

Korea Summit Runs Into 'Wall of Mistrust'

South rejects North's offer to extend chilly talks

(Newser) - Saying that he felt a "wall of mistrust" in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, the South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyu, has rejected Kim's invitation to extend the two leaders' summit, Reuters reports. News of the impasse comes as the US and North Korea, in separate talks, near...

South Korean Prez Meets Grim Kim in Historic Summit

Chilly Kim greets Roh in second summit ever

(Newser) - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun crossed the border to be met by cheering crowds and grim-faced North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang today for the second summit ever between the two countries. Roh hopes to make progress toward a permanent truce between the nations but won't broach the touchy...

Only Details Left in North Korea Disarmament

Delegates head home to talk 'nuts and bolts' with their governments

(Newser) - North Korea’s nuclear disarmament seems near at hand. Delegates from six-party negotiations returned home today to walk their governments through the plan's “nuts and bolts.” The talks fleshed out Korea’s February pledge to disarm for fuel aid. “Assuming we go forward with this, it lays...

US Knew About Israel's Raid on Syria in Advance

Shared intelligence on suspected nukes led to mysterious airstrike

(Newser) - Israeli intelligence provided President Bush with indications that North Korean nuclear officials had arrived in Syria before Israel stealthily bombed an alleged nuclear facility there. Although the US was reluctant to upset progress on North Korean nonproliferation, it nevertheless tacitly supported Israel's raid—and likely corroborated the facts before Israel...

Stories 1921 - 1940 | << Prev   Next >>