North Korea

© Nikkei photo illustration/Source photo of Kim Jong Un by Getty Images
Asia Insight

South Korea's corporate giants tiptoe toward the North

Chaebol sound positive about entering the country but harbor private concerns

16 October 2018
This poster of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wishing for peace was displayed near the U.S. embassy in Seoul on Oct. 2.
Comment

Seoul's placatory tactic lays ground for a nuclearized Pyongyang

Priority is on statement declaring end to war, not on dismantling weapons

13 October 2018
North Korea sent a large group of cheerleaders to the Pyeongchang Olympics earlier this year in South Korea.
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea sends mixed messages on Pyongyang sanctions

Foreign minister backtracks on statement suggesting removal of bans

11 October 2018
A truck crosses the Friendship Bridge from Dandong in China to Sinuiju in North Korea. 
Datawatch

North Korea's mysterious trade deficit with China -- in charts

Pyongyang continues to finance imbalance, despite lack of foreign capital

8 October 2018
A South Korean soldier stands guard along the Demilitarized Zone.
N Korea at crossroads

Pompeo visit fails to bridge gap on denuclearization

A second Trump-Kim summit is promised, but no details emerge

8 October 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in this picture Pompeo posted on  Twitter.
N Korea at crossroads

US and North Korea agree to second summit 'as soon as possible'

Kim invites inspectors to visit dismantled nuclear test site

8 October 2018
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, front left, and North Korean counterpart No Kwang Chol, front right, signed an agreement Sept. 19 to "completely cease all hostile acts against each other."
N Korea at crossroads

Koreas aim to contain Trump threat with moves toward peace

Agreement ending military drills risks weakening South's alliance with US

6 October 2018
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, seen here on his last visit to Tokyo in February, is set to push Trump's agenda in Asia.
Politics

Pence to visit Japan in November with trade deal on agenda

US vice president's talks with Abe also likely to cover North Korea and China

4 October 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must get Pyongyang to start real dialog.
Opinion

Getting North Korea to negotiate

US must close gaps with China and other powers and push harder on denuclearization

4 October 2018
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump take part in a rally in South Korea in 2017.
International relations

South Korea gives Trump's global confidence levels a boost

New Pew poll still finds little support for US leader despite improvement in Asia

2 October 2018
North and South Korea aim to disarm the Panmunjom area of the DMZ by the end of October.
N Korea at crossroads

Koreas start removal of DMZ mines in rush to ease tensions

US-led forces hesitate to sign onto disarmament after Moon-Kim summit

2 October 2018
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly, blamed the deadlock in denuclearization on U.S. "coercive measures."
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea says it will not disarm first, blaming US sanctions

Foreign Minister Ri calls for end of war declaration in UN speech

30 September 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed officials to be vigilant against attacks on the upcoming elections.
International relations

US to go on cyber offense against state actors

Washington warns Russia, China and North Korea of consequences of attacks

29 September 2018
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, center, welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the inauguration of a smartphone plant in Noida, India in July. (courtesy of Samsung)
Business trends

Moon warms to Samsung for help on jobs and North Korea

South Korean prosecutors excuse Lee family from union sabotage indictment

28 September 2018
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, left, met for about 20 minutes with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, this week in New York. (Ri photo from Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

Japan and North Korea foreign ministers hold 1st sit-down in 3 years

Taro Kono refuses to disclose whether he laid groundwork for Abe-Kim summit

27 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left, and South Korea President Moon Jae-in raise hands at Heaven Lake in Mt. Paektu. (Pool photo)
27 September 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would be going to Pyongyang soon.
26 September 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25 in New York.
International relations

Abe tells UN he hopes to meet 'face to face' with Kim Jong Un

Japanese prime minister also stresses free trade talks with RCEP nations and US

26 September 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim 'ready' to talk with Japan, Moon tells Abe

North Korean leader open to improving relations, at an appropriate time

26 September 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in gesture after signing the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreementon during a ceremony on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24.
Trade war

South Korea gives Trump his first big trade deal

Second summit with Kim will be announced 'soon,' president says

25 September 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has offered New York, Vienna and Pyongyang as possible venues for new talks with North Korea.
N Korea at crossroads

Pompeo says work remains before next Trump-Kim meeting

Secretary of state hopes to travel to Pyongyang 'before too long'

22 September 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has invited North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho to meet in New York next week.
N Korea at crossroads

US pulls North Korea to home turf to lock in diplomatic gains

Trump and Pompeo will use UN events to narrow gaps on denuclearization

21 September 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, second from right, visited the North's Mount Paektu with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left, in a first for a South Korean leader.
N Korea at crossroads

Moon goes all-out for inter-Korean peace as approval falters

Taboo-breaking trip included Mount Paektu photo op and stadium speech

21 September 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has messages for him to pass to U.S. President Donald Trump. 
N Korea at crossroads

Moon says Kim Jong Un gave him messages to relay to Trump

South Korean leader asks US and North Korea to set denuclearization deadline

20 September 2018
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, second from right, enjoys a lunch of cold noodles with South Korean business leaders and North Korean officials at a restaurant in Pyongyang on Wednesday. (Pyongyang Press Corps.)
Business trends

Samsung heir faces high price for cold noodles in Pyongyang

South Korean leader wants conglomerate to lead investments in the North

20 September 2018