North Korea

Ri Sol Ju, left, wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Jung-sook, wife of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, visit a children's hospital in Pyongyang on Sept. 18. (Pyongyang Press Corps)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea deploys 'first lady diplomacy' during Moon's visit

Pyongyang eager to create the impression of an 'ordinary country'

20 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in make a show of unity on Mount Paektu on September 20.
N Korea at crossroads

Moon and Kim trek 'sacred' Mt. Paektu together

Korean leaders take symbolic retreat after denuclearization agreement

20 September 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, has extended an invitation to meet North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in New York next week.
N Korea at crossroads

US to restart North Korea talks, with 2021 deadline in sight

Pompeo proposes meeting with counterpart Ri Yong Ho in New York

20 September 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed an agreement on denuclearization in Pyongyang on Sept. 19.  (Pyongyang Press Corps)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea agrees to demolish nuclear site under expert supervision

Kim Jong Un to visit Seoul as Moon pushes economic ties despite sanctions

19 September 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un upon arrival in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sept. 18.  (Pyongyang Press Corps)
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un tells Moon 'Singapore summit stabilized region'

South Korean leader looks to persuade North to act in Pyongyang visit

18 September 2018
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on Sept. 17.
N Korea at crossroads

US and Russia clash over North Korea sanctions evasion

Washington accuses Moscow of 'systematic' attempt to cover up violations

18 September 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, is set to meet with North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Tuesday. Moon is to bring a business delegation with him. 
N Korea at crossroads

Moon to bring South Korean businesses to summit with Kim

Samsung subdued about projects in the North but KT and Lotte dive in

17 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the country's founding on Sept. 9. His appearances are increasingly geared toward economic endeavors over military ones.
N Korea at crossroads

On Kim Jong Un's list of worries, public opinion outranks a coup

Silent majority grows weary waiting for elusive 'glory of socialism'

17 September 2018
Kim and Trump walk to their meeting during the historic Singapore summit.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump: Each other's enabler

Denuclearization has stalled but the men remain on their eerie honeymoon

16 September 2018
Tanks -- not intercontinental ballistic missiles -- roll through Pyongyang during a parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding on Sept. 9.
China up close

Xi-Kim honeymoon exposed as a facade

Ties with Trump more important to the old allies than their own relationship

13 September 2018
North Korea held a celebratory parade on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its founding, but the country remains hemmed in by tough economic sanctions that the U.S. is not willing to loosen until concrete steps toward denuclearization are taken. 
N Korea at crossroads

Three months after Trump-Kim summit: Where five leaders stand

With denuclearization talks stalemated, the two leaders seek another meeting

12 September 2018
The Kaesong industrial complex is located in North Korea, close to the border with South Korea.
N Korea at crossroads

Two Koreas to open joint liaison office in Kaesong on Friday

Facility will offer communications channel for exchanging messages between leaders

12 September 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, who conferred in Singapore June 12, both have their reasons for wanting a second meeting soon.
N Korea at crossroads

Trump seeks Kim summit soon as US elections approach

Pyongyang aims for a declaration of the end of the Korean War

12 September 2018
North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, which is said to have a team of 6,800 hackers, is considered to be one of the globe's five cyberespionage powers, along with the U.S., Russia, China and Israel.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korean hackers' evolution on display in US case

Extensive legwork employed to gain trust before attacks unleashed

11 September 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump whispers to his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Can he adopt a quieter approach to Pyongyang?
Opinion

North Korea needs a new approach

Trump must stop grandstanding and take a more considered line at proposed second summit

11 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump meet in Singapore on June 12.
N Korea at crossroads

White House prepares for second Trump-Kim summit

North Korean leader requested meeting in 'warm' letter to US president

11 September 2018
North Korea's "mass games" on Sunday featured English-language messages with a conciliatory tone.
11 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, raises the hand of  Li Zhanshu, China's third-ranking official, during a parade on Sept. 9, marking the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding in Pyongyang.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea keeps ICBMs out of sight at 70th anniversary parade

Kim signals commitment to nuclear talks with US and close China ties at event

9 September 2018
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces search for survivors from a house damaged by a landslide in this week's Hokkaido earthquake.
Economy

Japan ministries seek record budget for defense, disaster relief

Abe seeks to prepare nation for higher welfare costs and North Korea threat

7 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to issue a declaration with the U.S. and South Korea officially ending the Korean War.
7 September 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting in May.
N Korea at crossroads

Two Koreas agree to hold summit in Pyongyang Sept. 18-20

Kim Jong Un tells South Korean envoy of his will to denuclearize

6 September 2018
A South Korean delegation is meeting North Korean leader Kim Jung Un in Pyongyang to discuss details of an upcoming summit.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets envoys from South in Pyongyang

Delegates hand letter from Moon Jae-In as state leaders plan for summit this month

5 September 2018
Kim and Moon at their second summit in Panmunjom in May.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's demands for economic aid push South into a corner

South Korea is sending envoys to Pyongyang on Wednesday ahead of Moon-Kim summit

4 September 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the Ungok Area General Stock Farm on Aug. 13 as part of a nationwide tour of factories, farms and other facilities. 
N Korea at crossroads

Kim struggles to revive North Korean economy battered by sanctions

Life in the cities better than on hardscrabble farms, but country still reeling

2 September 2018
A soldier walks at Imjingang Station near the demilitarized zone on the Gyeongui Line, which the two Koreas are trying to link. The United Nations Command denied permission to send a test train from Seoul through the border. 
N Korea at crossroads

Nuclear impasse clouds future of inter-Korean rail link

US intervention suspected in UN Command's rejection of survey plans

31 August 2018