SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — When Shin Han-yong crossed the inter-Korean border into the North Korean city of Kaesong in 2018, he thought the opening of an inter-Korean liaison office could eventually lead to the resumption of a joint factory park. The liaison office in the western border city was a follow-up on an [...]
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of North Korean defectors coming into South Korea recorded an all-time low in the second quarter this year due to the new coronavirus, the unification ministry said Wednesday. According to the ministry, 12 defectors were estimated to have entered the country from April to June this year, [...]
SEOUL, June 25 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea is preparing for a mass gymnastics performance to mark the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, state media said Thursday, despite concerns over the new coronavirus. The Pyongyang Times, an English-language weekly, carried a report introducing Pak Un-sun, a department director of Korea University [...]
SEOUL, June 24 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea’s decision to hold off on military action plans against South Korea appears aimed at “taking a breather” to avoid provocations that may further strain its economy, experts said Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the official Korean Central News Agency reported that leader Kim Jong-un presided over a [...]
SEOUL, June 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The memoir of former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is feared to worsen distrust between the United States and North Korea amid their stalled nuclear diplomacy, as it reveals that President Donald Trump’s policy was driven by what Bolton calls “reelection calculations.” In his upcoming book, “The Room [...]
SEOUL, June 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The Air Force is planning to put the advanced unmanned aircraft Global Hawk into operational deployment as early as next month, with the fourth and last unit to arrive here soon, sources said Monday. Under a 2011 deal with the United States, South Korea bought four RQ-4 Block 30 [...]
SEOUL, June 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite South Korea’s unrelenting drive for reconciliation, North Korea is pivoting to brinkmanship tactics with its venomous rhetoric, demolition of a joint liaison office and military steps in anger over propaganda leaflets sent from the South. The deepening Sino-U.S. rivalry is muddling the prospects of cooperation for regional stability, [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) – Staff members at Hyundai Asan Corp., the company that pioneered inter-Korean commercial ties, let out a long sigh when the liaison office building was destroyed by North Korean authorities on Wednesday. Hyundai Asan received 10 billion won (US$8.2 million) to renovate the inter-Korean liaison office in Sept. 2018. The [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea’s demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office appears aimed at drawing public attention away from deepening economic hardships caused by the new coronavirus and sanctions, but signals Pyongyang’s desire to maintain diplomacy with the United States, experts said Tuesday. In a body blow to President Moon Jae-in’s yearslong [...]
SEOUL, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) — After threatening military action, North Korea may open fire to shoot down giant balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets flying from South Korea, but major provocations are unlikely, such as the 2010 artillery attack on a border island, experts said Monday. South Korea has been on high alert after Kim Yo-jong, [...]