NK denounces S. Korea’s attempt to expel pro-NK lawmakers
North Korea has condemned Korea’s ruling Saenuri Party for seeking to strip two alleged pro-North Korean lawmakers of their parliamentary seats. “The madcap smear campaign … is nothing but a ‘witch hunt’ of modern version and sordid fascist politically-motivated terrorism,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in an English-language statement carried […]
NK calls itself ‘nuclear-armed state’ in revised constitution
North Korea calls itself a “nuclear-armed state” in its recently revised constitution, according to its full text confirmed on Wednesday in the North’s “Naenara” web site. Following December’s death of leader Kim Jong-il, the North has revised its constitution to add three new sentences and one of them contains the term of a nuclear-armed state. […]
UN tells NK to release South Korean family
The United Nations has requested North Korea to release and compensate a South Korean family held in the Stalinist state for 25 years, confirming it is a case of arbitrary detention, activists said Tuesday. It was the U.N.’s most specific statement over Shin Sook-ja, a 70-year-old South Korean woman — who the North claims is […]
China’s crackdown on defectors driven by separatism fears
China’s deep-seated concerns regarding the separatist movement of ethnic minority groups is seen as the key reason behind a recent crackdown on immigrants in the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture. The northeastern city is home to the largest number of ethnic Koreans in China. “Separatist protests by Tibetans and Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the western province of the […]
Scholars prefer FTA to TPP for East Asian countries
Scholars of South Korea, Japan and China exchange talks under the theme of Nuclear Security and Regional Community in the second East Asian Community Forum held at the International Studies Hall in Korea University on May 26, 2012. The scholars of South Korea and Japan expressed opinion that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being pushed ahead by […]
President blasts pro-N. Korea groups
President Lee Myung-bak lashed out at pro-North Korean groups in the South that blindly support the Pyongyang regime, Monday, saying that “North Korean followers are “worse than North Korea.” Lee’s remarks come at a time when the public is showing tiredness about the way so-called pro-Pyongyang leftists are behaving, especially in connection with an internal […]
NK stays mum on UK refugee policy: envoy
North Korean refugees and their human rights is a touchy issue which often provokes a stormy reaction from the reclusive Stalinist state whenever South Koreans address it. Yet, according to Ambassador Scott Wightman, the North’s regime has yet to complain about the political refugee policy of the United Kingdom, a popular destination for North Korean […]
200,000 inmates held in 6 N. Korean political camps
Up to 200,000 North Koreans are being held in its sprawling political prisoner system including hundreds of former officials, human rights group Amnesty International said Thursday. In its annual report, the group said the prisoners “were held in horrific conditions in six sprawling political prison camps, including the notorious Yodok facility.” “Thousands were imprisoned in […]
US envoy calls for end to NK brinkmanship
United States Ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim urged North Korea’s new leadership Thursday to shift its policies and enhance the lives of its people. “The new leadership of North Korea can move into the 21st century by educating its people, opening up its economy and allowing the talents of the North Korean people to be […]
North Korea upgrades rocket launch pad
This April 29 satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows what appears to be the initial stages of construction of a rocket assembly building at Musudan-ri in northeastern North Korea. The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies says this building and a nearby launch pad under construction are upgrading facilities so the […]