Tag: South Korea

US: Olympics may show North Korea what it’s missing

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Washington welcomed North Korea’s invitation to South Korea’s Winter Games on Tuesday, suggesting the outing could show Pyongyang what awaits if it agrees to give up nuclear weapons. The long-standing Korean rivals agreed that Pyongyang’s delegation could head south for next month’s Olympics a formal talks in the demilitarized zone on their border. The breakthrough, after months of diplomatic tension, could be seen as a blow for Washington’s efforts to […]

North Korea says will attend Olympics in rival South

by Hwang Sunghee Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said it was willing to send athletes and a high-level delegation to the forthcoming Winter Olympics in the South on Tuesday as the rivals held their first official talks in more than two years after high tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. Seoul urged that reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War — one of the most emotive legacies of the […]

S. Korea to stick with Japan ‘comfort women’ deal

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will not seek to renegotiate a deal with Japan on wartime sex slavery, it said Tuesday, despite new President Moon Jae-In saying on the campaign trail he “could not accept” the agreement. The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II is a hugely emotional one that has long marred ties between the South and its former colonial ruler. Ousted president Park […]

Seven decades of tensions between the two Koreas

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North and South Korea held their first talks for two years Tuesday, stirring hopes of a tentative rapprochement between the bitterly divided neighbors. Tensions soared last year as the North made rapid progress on its banned nuclear weapons programmes, while US President Donald Trump engaged in an increasingly bellicose verbal scrap with Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong-Un. Here are some key moments in the decades-long standoff between the two Koreas: War […]

N. Korea chief delegate seeks ‘precious’ results from talks

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The leader of North Korea’s delegation to the first official talks between Pyongyang and Seoul for more than two years hoped for “precious” results from the discussions, he said as the meeting began Tuesday. “Let’s present the people with a precious new year’s gift,” Ri Son-Gwon told South Korean unification minister Cho Myoung-Gyon in Panmunjom, the truce village in the Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula. © Agence France-Presse

Samsung projects $14.1 billion Q4 operating profits

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean telecom giant Samsung Electronics expects to post record operating profits of $14.1 billion in the fourth quarter, it said Tuesday. The company estimated operating profits of 15.1 trillion won ($14.1 billion) in the October to December period, an all-time high for quarterly profits and nearly double the 9.2 trillion won posted a year earlier. Samsung has had to overcome a bribery scandal that saw the company’s de-facto head […]

First official dialogue in more than 2 years: North and South Korea set for official talks today

by Hwang Sunghee Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Top officials from North and South Korea will hold their first official dialogue in more than two years on Tuesday after months of high tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons ambitions. The long-stalled talks come after the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un indicated in his New Year’s speech that Pyongyang was willing to send a delegation to the Winter Games in the South. Seoul responded with an […]

Seoul seeks to put family reunions on N. Korea talks agenda

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will seek discussions on resuming reunions of separated families at this week’s inter-Korean talks, Seoul’s top delegate said Monday, as the North trumpeted the importance of achieving reunification. The two Koreas agreed last week to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and will meet Tuesday at the truce village of Panmunjom. The talks will largely focus on the North’s participation in next month’s Winter […]

North Korea names delegates for inter-Korean talks

https://youtu.be/s6GK9-tyUio   SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has named its delegation for a rare high-level meeting with the South this week, the unification ministry in Seoul said Sunday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cautiously welcomed the talks. The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and are expected to discuss the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. The North Korean […]

Trump says he is willing to talk with North Korean leader

  by Saul Loeb Agence France Presse CAMP DAVID, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would be willing to speak directly with Kim Jong-Un, voicing hope that rare talks between North and South Korea could help deescalate the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear drive. Trump’s remarks were a further pivot from his often-bellicose rhetoric on North Korea and Kim, with whom he has engaged in a war of words that raised […]

N. Korea names delegates for inter-Korean talks

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has sent a list of its delegation for a rare high-level meeting with the South this week, the unification ministry in Seoul said Sunday. The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and are expected to discuss the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. The North Korean delegation for Tuesday’s meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom will […]

North Korea ‘likely’ to join Winter Games, says IOC official

Beijing, China (AFP) — North Korea’s Olympic representative said Saturday the reclusive nation was “likely to participate” in next month’s Winter Games in South Korea, Kyodo news agency reported, in the latest sign of a thaw in tensions on the peninsula. The comments by Chang Ung, Pyongyang’s representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), come a day after the North and South agreed to hold rare talks next week and follow Seoul and Washington’s announcement […]