Étiqueté : North

There were worrying signs this week that the United States, not North Korea, is putting at risk the likelihood of denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula. Pyongyang has demonstrated for the first time in years a willingness to sit down for serious negotiations. Missing this chance would be a grave mistake. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang…

China has demanded the US reverse its decision to impose fresh sanctions on North Korea, saying the « unilateral actions » could undermine cooperation between Beijing and Washington. China’s foreign ministry said it had lodged « stern representations » with the US over the measures – which prohibit US citizens from dealing with more than 50 vessels and companies, and…

Seoul, South Korea – Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected into the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s. Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last…

On January 30, the Washington Post dropped a bombshell: Victor Cha, widely seen as the incoming US ambassador to South Korea, had been rejected by the White House for the job. Cha, a hardliner, is well known both in Washington and within the South Korean political establishment for his unwavering faith in sanctions against North…

The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to impose tough new sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s latest missile test. The sanctions, passed on Friday, include a ban on nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea.  The restrictions, proposed by the United States, are designed to prevent Pyongyang from furthering its…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has rejected the US call to cut ties with North Korea after Pyongyang launched ballistic missiles on Wednesday. « We perceived this negatively, » Lavrov told journalists in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, commenting on Washington’s statement on the need to cut ties with North Korea. US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley,…

Gyodong Island, South Korea – Soldiers toting assault rifles watch residents and visitors as they pass through a military checkpoint to get onto Gyodong Island. North Korea is just a few kilometres away – separated only by a calm stretch of water – as they approach on a long bridge that connects Gyodong to mainland…