SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s military will reduce the number of troops to half a million by 2022 as part of a new round of defense reform, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday. The mandatory service period of rank-and-file soldiers will be shortened to 18 months in stages from the current [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Pyongyang will send a 140-strong orchestra to South Korea to perform in celebration of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month. The two Koreas agreed during the talks at the border village of Panmunjom on Monday that the North Korean orchestra known as Samjiyon Band will hold concerts both in [...]
GANGNEUNG, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – With North Korea expected to send a delegation of athletes and high-ranking officials to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the city of Gangneung has stepped up to offer free accommodations. Choi Myeong-hee, the mayor of Gangneung, said during a briefing on Thursday that the city is willing to provide lodging [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Before an assembly of 250 domestic and foreign media personnel, President Moon Jae-in expounded upon his vision for South Korea’s 2018 on January 10. Moon’s New Year’s address was both populist and pacifist; the president emphasized improving the quality of life for the average citizen and reaffirmed his dedication [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The Dutch government has intercepted a shipment of generators destined for North Korea in accordance with U.N. resolutions over its nuclear and missile programs, a U.S. broadcaster reported Wednesday. In a Dec. 12 report on its implementation of Resolutions 2371 and 2375 to the U.N. Security Council, the Netherlands [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – January 8, 2018 marks the North Korean Fearless Leader’s 34th birthday, but the wishing of many happy returns appears to be happening only behind closed doors as all remains quiet on the Northern front. In the pre-noon hours of the day, none of the various mouthpieces of the communist [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea has completed construction of a new ski resort in its northern region, the country’s state media reported Monday. Located on the outskirts of Kanggye, Jagang Province, near the border with China, the resort opened a day earlier in an official ceremony attended by senior party officials there, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – North Korea has reopened a cross-border communications channel with South Korea nearly two years after the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Two Koreas had their first contact via a hotline that has been suspended for 23 months on Wednesday. The surprising news came only hours after a senior North [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) –The two Koreas held their first contact via a cross-border communication channel in nearly two years on Wednesday as the North reopened the suspended hotline one day after Seoul offered high-level talks. North Korea announced earlier in the day that its leader, Kim Jong-un, ordered the reopening of the channel [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea has said it could send a delegation to the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics, giving a boost to the bi-annual sporting event. In a New Year message on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hinted at sending a delegation to South Korea during the upcoming Winter Olympics, while wishing [...]