N. Korea, U.N. Command to hold colonel-level talks again Fri.

North Korea and the U.S.-led United Nations Command are scheduled to hold their next colonel-level talks Friday at the truce village of Panmunjeom, the U.N. Command said in a statement Thursday. The meeting, set to begin at 10 a.m., is a continuation of colonel-level talks between the (North) Korean People\'s Army and the UNC\'s Military Armistice Commission, or UNMAC, that have been held three times since July 15.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-29 08:57:04 GMT
S. Korea on alert for possible N. Korean cyber attack

South Korea\'s presidential office is on alert against a possible cyber attack by North Korea after receiving related intelligence reports, the presidential spokeswoman said Wednesday. \'\'The National Cyber Security Center obtained intelligence on a (possible) cyber attack and (the presidential office) was placed on alert as of yesterday to actively cope with things if the hacking happens,\'\' Kim Hee Jung said in a press briefing.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-28 09:00:56 GMT
Senior Chinese diplomat in N. Korea amid high tension on peninsula

China said Wednesday a senior diplomat is currently visiting North Korea, amid heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of the sinking of a South Korean warship in March and U.S.-South Korea military exercises that began Sunday. Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue, who is in charge of Asian affairs and protocol, is leading a delegation to North Korea as a guest of that country\'s Foreign Ministry, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters, according to official media.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-28 06:55:40 GMT
N. Korea criticizes Japan for joining U.S.-S. Korea drills

North Korea on Tuesday criticized Japan for participating in four-day U.S.-South Korea military drills in the Sea of Japan through Wednesday. The United States and South Korea \'\'are translating the plan to create a \'triangular military alliance\' into reality by inviting even Japan\'s \'Self-Defense Forces\' to participate in the ongoing joint naval exercises under the cloak of \'observers\',\'\' a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Fatherland said in a statement.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-27 17:49:14 GMT
U.S. to ask Asian nations to cooperate in sanctions on N. Korea

The United States will ask China and Southeast Asian countries to cooperate as it tightens sanctions against North Korea, a Seoul daily reported Tuesday, citing a senior diplomatic source in Washington. To impose effective financial sanctions, the United States will single out agencies involved in the North\'s nuclear proliferation activities, and advise banks or organizations in third countries with which the North has dealings to help, the source told the Chosun Ilbo.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-27 03:53:05 GMT
N. Korea threatens \'nuke deterrence\' against U.S.-S. Korea drills

North Korea\'s powerful National Defense Commission threatened Saturday to use the country\'s \'\'powerful nuclear deterrence\'\' to counter U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises that start Sunday. Meanwhile, the North Korea\'s Foreign Ministry said the country is \'\'prepared for both dialogue and war\'\' and will take \'\'strong physical measures\'\' to respond to U.S. military provocations, sanctions and pressure.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-24 11:52:37 GMT
N. Korea threatens \'nuke deterrence\' against U.S.-S. Korea drill: KCNA

A spokesman for North Korea\'s National Defense Commission issued a statement on Saturday saying the country will use \'\'nuclear deterrence\'\' against U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises in the Sea of Japan starting Sunday, the North\'s state media said. The statement said \'\'the U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces are threatening this land with a nuclear war under the pretext of\'\' responding to the sinking of a South Korean warship in March and that the North will \'\'legitimately counter with powerful nuclear deterrence\'\' against the exercises, the Korean Central News Agency, said.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-24 01:52:58 GMT
URGENT: U.S. calls for \'more constructive action\' from N. Korea

The United States on Friday called on North Korea to take \'\'more constructive action\'\' as Pyongyang threatened to use \'\'nuclear deterrence\'\' against planned U.S.-South Korea naval drills in the Sea of Japan starting Sunday. \'\'What we need from North Korea is fewer provocative words and more constructive action,\'\' State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told Kyodo News. \'\'We are not interested in a war of words with North Korea,\'\' he added. ==Kyodo

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-24 01:52:58 GMT
N. Korea, U.N. Command hold 2nd day of talks, agree to continue

North Korea and the U.S.-led United Nations Command held a second round colonel-level talks Friday and tentatively agreed to meet again next Thursday, the U.N. Command said in a statement. The statement came after the talks between the North Korean People\'s Army and the UNC\'s Military Armistice Commission, or UNCMAC, convened at the truce village of Panmunjeom to discuss details of the date, agenda and protocols for proposed general-level talks.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-23 11:11:05 GMT
N. Korea raps S. Korea\'s demand for apology for ship sinking

North Korea criticized South Korea on Friday over a demand that Pyongyang apologize for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March. \'\'We cannot accept such a claim because they try to use it to shift (their) responsibility onto us,\'\' Ri Tong Il, a spokesman for the North Korean delegation to the 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum in Hanoi, told reporters.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-23 09:23:46 GMT
URGENT: N. Korea raps S. Korea\'s demand for apology for ship sinking

North Korea criticized South Korea on Friday over a demand that Pyongyang apologize for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March. ==Kyodo

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-23 09:23:46 GMT
URGENT: Many nations condemn S. Korea ship sinking at Asia security forum

Many countries attending a regional ministerial security meeting Friday in Hanoi condemned the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March, a source of rising tension in and around the Korean Peninsula. ==Kyodo

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-23 07:16:01 GMT
URGENT: N. Korea says fresh U.S. sanctions will have no effect

A senior North Korean delegation official said here Friday that fresh sanctions imposed by the United States against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program will have little effect. ==Kyodo

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-23 05:33:16 GMT
U.S. identifies 200 N. Korea-linked bank accounts: Yonhap

The United States has identified about 200 bank accounts with links to North Korea and is expected to freeze some 100 of those suspected of being used for weapons exports and other illicit purposes banned under U.N. resolutions, a diplomatic source told Yonhap News Agency on Friday. \'\'The U.S. Treasury Department and intelligence authorities have identified about 200 overseas bank accounts, including those suspected of holding funds from weapons exports and other illicit dealings in violation of the U.N. resolutions,\'\' the source was quoted as saying.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-23 04:07:30 GMT
U.S. has no interest in talks with N. Korea: official

The United States on Thursday ruled out the possibility of holding talks with North Korea, with a U.S. official reiterating that Washington will \'\'not going to talk for talking\'s sake.\'\' \'\'The real question is, what they will bring to the table,\'\' State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley told a news conference. \'\'If they\'re coming back just to talk, I don\'t think we\'re interested at this point.\'\'

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-22 22:53:17 GMT
S. Korea rejects N. Korea\'s demand for lifting U.N. sanctions

South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung Hwan on Thursday dismissed North Korea\'s demand for the lifting of U.N. sanctions as a precondition for its return to the six-party talks on its nuclear programs. \'\'We cannot agree to this,\'\' Yu was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying in Hanoi after a North Korean official said that while Pyongyang is willing to rejoin the stalled talks, sanctions on the country should be first lifted so that all members in the negotiations will be on an \'\'equal footing.\'\'

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-22 12:54:22 GMT
N. Korea, U.N. Command agree to hold 2nd round of military talks

North Korea and the U.S.-led United Nations Command agreed Thursday to hold a second round of colonel-level talks on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjeom, the U.N. Command said in a statement. The upcoming talks are \'\'a preliminary meeting, held to discuss details of the date, agenda and protocols for General Officer Talks,\'\' the statement said.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-22 07:53:33 GMT
N. Korea calls for scrapping of planned U.S.-S. Korea drills

North Korea on Thursday called for the cancellation of U.S.-South Korea joint naval drills beginning Sunday on the Sea of Japan, saying they will \'\'undermine peace and security of the region.\'\' A senior North Korean delegation official made the comments to reporters after North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Hanoi.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-22 05:53:30 GMT
URGENT: N. Korea calls for scrapping of planned U.S.-South Korea naval drills

North Korea on Thursday called for the cancellation of U.S.-South Korea joint naval drills beginning Sunday on the Sea of Japan, saying they will \'\'undermine peace and security of the region.\'\' ==Kyodo

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-22 05:53:30 GMT
N. Korea foreign minister arrives in Hanoi for Asia security forum

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday evening to take part in a regional security meeting on Friday. It will be the first time in two years that Pak has attended the ASEAN Regional Forum, which brings together foreign ministers from 27 countries including the United States, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

kyodo.co.jp - 2010-07-21 14:49:23 GMT