PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA — A leaked diplomatic memo reveals that the North Korean government is lobbying its allies for assistance in dealing with an “urgent” food shortage crisis needed to stave off hunger this month. But with U.S. and international sanctions in play, delivery of humanitarian aid is risky business. A diplomatic memo obtained by…

Even armchair observers probably understood long before the Hanoi summit had even been scheduled that the gulf between the American and North Korean positions on denuclearization was probably too wide to overcome (after nearly a year of talks, the two sides are no closer to a deal). Yet, President Trump had apparently hoped that the…

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his counterpart from the South, President Moon Jae-in, made a powerful show of unity with the signing of the Pyongyang Declaration on Wednesday, underscoring their pursuit of “mutual reciprocity, common good and shared prosperity,” a cessation of tension, and an explicit call for “Korean autonomy…

On Wednesday, North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to dismantle the country’s main nuclear complex at Nyongbyon, if the United States undertake similar act, to “eliminate all the danger of war.” “We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat,” Kim…

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in marked the anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japanese colonialism with a robust call for the economic integration of North and South Korea as a means to achieve “survival and development” as well as “true liberation” for the long-divided nation. The announcement – which focused on the…

TEHRAN – Iran welcomed the Foreign Minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, as North Korea is officially known), Ri Yong-ho, to Tehran one day after the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran. The visit also came in the midst of faltering talks between Pyongyang and Washington over fulfilling the goal of denuclearizing the…

Pyongyang (GPA) – A new UN report has accused multiple countries and the DPRK of sanctions violations. According to the United States, the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is violating United Nations Security Council (UNSC) restrictions concerning their nuclear testing and missile development programs. These accusations come from a six-month report released last…

The United States last week accused the DPRK of violating refined petroleum caps imposed as a part of UN nuclear sanctions dating back to 2006, and is therefore submitting a proposal to cut all petroleum product sales to North Korea. The Trump administration is keen on not only preserving pressure on North Korea over its…

WASHINGTON — Evidence continues to mount that elements of the U.S. government are determined to sabotage the Korea peace talks, and the newest member of the Trump administration’s National Security Council is just the latest indication that such efforts are indeed underway. On Monday, Anthony Ruggiero — North Korea expert and senior fellow at the…

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – After the recent Singapore summit kick-started peace talks aimed at ending hostilities on the Korean peninsula, the tone among many Koreans, Americans and other observers was optimistic, as a peaceful resolution to the conflict seemed within reach. Yet, while peace on the Korean peninsula is something most continue to hope for,…

BEIJING – Tremendous; great, incredible and tremendous; very historic, and very, very comprehensive. Such were the terms U.S. President Donald Trump used to praise last Tuesday’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and he was far from alone in welcoming what appeared to be a major breakthrough in burying the memory of nuclear crisis…

When Richard Nixon returned to Washington after his historic 1972 trip to China, he was welcomed with strong support from Democrats. “From the initial Congressional reaction, it was apparent that the President, home from his China trip, would find broad bipartisan support for his move toward closer relations with Peking,” The New York Times reported on Feb. 29,…