ko Mon, 20 May 13 22:44:31 +0900 http://www.dailynk.com/english/img/mark.jpg http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10584 60-year old Kang Kyong Suk, one of three “re-defectors” involved in a press conference held in Pyongyang on May 17th, stated, “Returning defectors live well so I came back.” However, an inside sources has since told Daily NK that Kang was probably working in South Korea as a spy for the National Security Agency (NSA).The source from Onsung County in North Hamkyung Province, where Kang lived prior to travelling to the South, explained, “Kang, who had been a missing person, reappeared in Namyang on or around April 23rd. From..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kang Mi Jin Mon, 20 May 13 21:16:35 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10583 North Korea has attacked the South Korean government for trying to “deceive public opinion” after the Ministry of Unification called upon Pyongyang to stop trying to pass the buck for the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and enter into dialogue.A spokesperson for North Korea’s Guidance Bureau for Developing Central Special Economic Zone, which oversees the operation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, told Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA) today, “Now is the time for the South Chosun authorities to state before the..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Mon, 20 May 13 19:35:00 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10582 The South Korean Ministry of National Defense has reported a sixth short-range missile from the East Sea coast of North Korea. The launch took place between 4PM and 5PM today, May 20th.Revealing news of the launch moments ago, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said that further launches are likely, commenting, “We believe that the trend of additional North Korean short-range projectile launches has not concluded."]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Chris Green Mon, 20 May 13 18:38:21 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10581 North Korea has launched a fifth short-range missile, marking the third straight day when a launch of some kind has taken place. According to the Ministry of National Defense, today’s launch was of a single projectile at a time between 11AM and midday.An official from the Ministry of National Defense noted, “North Korea has today launched a single short-range projectile, believed to have been a KN-02. The (South Korean) military is closely observing the movements of the North Korean military in preparation for the possibil..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Mon, 20 May 13 18:19:39 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10580 North Korea launched three short-range missiles in a north-easterly direction into the sea off its East Sea coast today.According to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, “North Korea launched three guided missiles from its East Sea coastal region, two in the morning and one in the afternoon.”The Ministry clarified that it does not believe the missiles were long- or medium-range projectiles, but is continuing to review the situation. According to another military official, “The related projectiles fell into the se..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Tae Hong Sat, 18 May 13 17:15:47 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10579 The head of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, Kim Young Nam met Isao Iijima, a close advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, yesterday in Pyongyang.Chosun Central TV subsequently reported news of the meeting, announcing, “Comrade Kim Young Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, met the party of Iijima Isao, special counselor in charge of crisis management for Japan’s Abe Cabinet, at Mansudae Assembly Hall on the 16th.” No further details were revealed.With Iijima now due to return t..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Tae Hong Fri, 17 May 13 20:06:49 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10578 The U.S. Department of Defense believes that North Korea could have up to 200 mobile missile launchers, according to an annual report submitted to Congress.The number includes a maximum of 100 launchers for short-range Scud missiles, 50 for medium-range Nodong missiles, and 50 for long-range Musudan missiles. However, these are upper estimates, and totals could be much lower.This is the first time that the United States has publicly speculated about North Korean stocks of Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs). At its maximu..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Fri, 17 May 13 19:08:22 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10577 The North Korean authorities are mobilizing elementary school children to participate in seasonal agricultural labor this year. The move is in contrast with many other years; it is mostly “senior middle school” (North Korea’s combined middle and high school) and university-age students that are sent out into the fields to transplant rice seedlings, with younger children only mobilized as necessary. A source from South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on the 16th, “They are limiting the opening hours of Pyongsung Market (the ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kang Mi Jin Thu, 16 May 13 23:10:25 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10576 The South Korean government has criticized the surprise arrival in Pyongyang of a key advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, calling it a hindrance to international cooperation on North Korea.Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Cho Tae Young told a daily briefing today, “The government believes that it is important to maintain a system of close cooperation between not only South Korea, Japan and the United States, but also the international community.” He went on, “The Japanese government did not inform us of ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Thu, 16 May 13 17:41:24 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10575 South Korea has expressed regret at North Korea’s decision to refuse talks on outstanding issues related to the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Speaking with reporters today, Ministry of Unification spokesperson Kim Hyung Suk called the refusal “extremely disappointing.”"It would be better for the North to stop making demands that have nothing to do with the Kaesong Complex and start by keeping their promises to protect South Korean investments and assets,” Kim commented, adding, “They should come to the negotiating table.”Yes..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Thu, 16 May 13 17:26:38 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10571 North Korea has reopened overland tour routes for Chinese tourists. Visits to Pyongyang and Shinuiju, two of the most common destinations for tourists visiting the country from China, had been on hold since April 10th.One travel agent based in Dandong, just across the Yalu River from Shinuiju, told Daily NK on the 17th, “We recently received word from the Chosun tourism authorities that they would resume the trips, and have been advertising for tourists since the beginning of May,” while adding, “The (Chinese) authorities ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Thu, 16 May 13 05:27:21 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10574 North Korea has instructed foreign-currency earners to import fertilizer from China for use in the coming farming season, Daily NK has learned. A source from Hyesan in Yangkang Province reported today, “Trade with China has started up again, and mineral-exporters are now trading for fertilizer rather than rice in accordance with the order. Fertilizer is taking up a significant proportion of imports at this point. 50kg of fertilizer is trading for 12 Yuan, although the tariffs make it more expensive.”A second source from H..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Kwang Jin Wed, 15 May 13 21:21:42 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=10573 North Korea’s decision to accept a visit from a close advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be a reflection of increasing international pressure on Pyongyang. In other words, the Kim Jong Eun regime is likely hoping to use dialogue with Japan to change the prevailing diplomatic landscape. Chosun Central News Agency released a brief article on the Japanese arrival yesterday, reporting, “Isao Iijima, the special counselor in charge of crisis management for Japan’s Abe Cabinet, and his companion arrived in Pyongya..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Wed, 15 May 13 20:40:44 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10572 Yesterday, the South Korean government proposed working-level talks with North Korea to resolve issue pertaining to the exportation of remaining raw materials and finished goods from the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). However, today the North Korean domestic media focused instead on negative domestic South Korean media coverage of the KIC shutdown. In particular, the official publication of the ruling Chosun Workers’ Party, Rodong Sinmun reported on calls from South Korean NGOs, politicians and experts for the “normaliz..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kang Mi Jin Wed, 15 May 13 18:55:24 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=10570 North Korea may be experimenting with new economic management measures in order to avoid some of the difficulties caused by the overly rapid implementation of the July 1st, 2002 “7.1 Economic Management Improvement Measure.” However, even were some of the experiments to succeed, it is unclear how the authorities would be able to expand them nationwide.In 2002, North Korea implemented the July 1st economic changes just nine months after Kim Jong Il had outlined his position on the matter to Party economic officials in Octob..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim So Yeol Wed, 15 May 13 07:47:14 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10569 North Korean foreign-currency earning enterprises are actively seeking private Chinese investors with whom to jointly operate enterprises in China.The joint ventures involve Chinese investments of capital and North Korea supplies of labor. The North Korean Ministry of Commerce has a history of running things like restaurants and massage parlors in China; conversely, it is unheard of for individual North Korean companies to be given permission for joint ventures of this nature. A Party cadre linked to one foreign-currency e..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Kwang Jin Tue, 14 May 13 20:09:28 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10568 President Park Geun Hye has instructed the Ministry of Unification to propose a meeting with North Korea to discuss the issue of raw materials and finished goods still inside the Kaesong Industrial ComplexSpeaking with administration officials at the Blue House this morning, President Park noted, “The disappointment of invested companies is large,” before adding, “I hope the Ministry of Unification will propose a meeting with the North Korean side so as to bring the raw materials and finished goods out of the Kaesong Compl..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Tue, 14 May 13 18:41:18 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10567 One of the main North Korean propaganda websites targeting South Korea, “Uriminzokkiri” has attacked President Park Geun Hye’s suggestion of a world peace park along the DMZ, calling it an “unbearable insult for our people who are living with the pain and misfortune of national division.” In a May 13th commentary carried by the website, which is run by the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, it noted that the DMZ “is a line of division between opposing armed forces set up by the July 27..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kang Mi Jin Mon, 13 May 13 20:46:36 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=10566 ]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Mon, 13 May 13 20:08:24 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk09002&num=10565 North Korean officials have formally acknowledged that some factories, enterprises and cooperative farms in the country have been experimenting with new economic management methods since last year. The comments, published in the Chongryon publication Choson Sinbo on May 10th, appear to partially confirm the existence of the “June 28th Policy,” which Daily NK reported on exclusively in summer last year.Cabinet official Kim Ki Cheol and State Planning Commission Vice-director Ri Young Min note in the piece that some new econ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim So Yeol Mon, 13 May 13 19:27:40 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10564 The number of North Korean citizens entering South Korea is set to decline by 20% year-on-year in 2013, according to new data released by the Ministry of Unification in Seoul.Speaking with reporters today, a Ministry of Unification official explained, “So far, the number of North Korean escapees entering South Korea this year is 556; we are predicting that around 1200 people will enter in total.” By contrast, 1509 North Koreans entered South Korea in 2012, marking the eleventh straight year in which more than 1000 had arri..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Mon, 13 May 13 18:06:33 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10562 In the period after North Korean conducted its third nuclear test on February 12th this year, the customs process for goods entering the country from China became markedly more difficult, leading the volume of imported goods to decrease markedly. However, in relatively more remote border areas of North Hamkyung Province customs procedures have now been eased, sources from the region say. This means that prices for Chinese goods have also fallen.One such source from Onsung County on the remote northern tip of North Hamkyung..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Kwang Jin Fri, 10 May 13 20:05:39 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10561 The process of reshuffling power in the Kim Jong Eun era is creating friction, according to Dr. Yun Duk Min, the chancellor of Korea National Diplomatic Academy. It is a process that carries a real risk of leading to military provocations, Dr. Yun believes.Yun explained why this is the case at a debate event hosted by Korean Council on Foreign Relations earlier today, saying, “North Korea has taken on the construction of a 3rd generation succession system, and while it looks superficially well organized, internally the pro..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Park Seong Guk Fri, 10 May 13 19:05:32 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03200&num=10557 Faced with severe shortages of conventional medicines and equipment, North Korean citizens often turn to mystical superstitions to try and alleviate their hardships. This has been the situation since the 1980s, sources say, although the worse prevailing economic conditions get, the more it tends to occur.In this video, filmed recently in Hyesan, Yangkang Province, a solution to the problem of Tuberculosis is sought through a visit to a middle-aged fortune teller. As the film shows, the fortune teller’s solutions involve a ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Daily NK Fri, 10 May 13 17:29:52 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=10560 The decision by state-run Chinese banks to halt dealings with certain North Korean financial entities is set to have a significant psychological and economic impact on Pyongyang.On the 7th, Bank of China announced that it would close accounts held by Chosun Trade Bank (Foreign Trade Bank) and halt all financial transactions with it. Since then, other Chinese state banking entities including China Construction Bank have apparently ceased business dealings with North Korean financial entities as well. The banks did so in acc..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Yang Jung A Thu, 09 May 13 20:18:11 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03600&num=10553 The core of the Obama administration’s North Korea policy is denuclearization. Specifically, it is non-proliferation through denuclearization. Conversely, the North Korean strategy is to emphasize U.S.-North Korea disarmament talks and the promotion of a Korean War peace treaty. If things go against Pyongyang, they are sure to use a fourth nuclear test and further long-range missile launches to once again threaten South Korea, the U.S. and China. This is the future of the Korean Peninsula. If North Korea launches more acts..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Sohn Gwang Joo, Chief, Daily NK Unification Strategy Research Institute Thu, 09 May 13 19:35:12 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10559 A North Korean official recently requested that China employ workers withdrawn from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, according to a report carried by Asahi Sinmun in Japan today.Citing an anonymous Chinese government official, the report claims that in mid April a high-level provincial official from the North visited the main Chinese border city of Dandong to request that the Chinese economy absorb a greater number of North Korean workers.The North Korean official explained to his Chinese interlocutors that North Korea need..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Tae Hong Thu, 09 May 13 18:01:28 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10558 The North Korean authorities are taking some former Kaesong Industrial Complex laborers and their families out of the Kaesong region and sending them back to their registered areas of residence, Daily NK has learned. A source from Sariwon in North Hwanghae Province reported to Daily NK today, “With regards to the temporary closure of the Kaesong Complex, they are withdrawing those from Pyongyang and Sariwon who used to work there along with their families and sending them back. They are sending them to their areas of resid..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Kwang Jin Wed, 08 May 13 21:20:11 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10556 Kim Yang Geon, the director of the United Front Department of the Chosun Workers’ Party, was reportedly unable to meet with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a recent unofficial visit to Beijing, Daily NK has learned.A top-level inside North Korean source explained to Daily NK earlier today, “At the end of April Director Kim Yang Geon went unofficially to Beijing, China to discuss the issue of Kim Jong Eun visiting there.”However, “The official in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs who met ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Wed, 08 May 13 19:48:12 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10555 “North Korea’s unreasonable measures must be rescinded and there must be a responsible North Korean view on avoiding a repetition,” Minister of Unification Ryoo Kihl Jae commented today, reaffirming South Korea’s position on the future of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.Speaking with leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party at the National Assembly in Seoul, Ryoo went on, “The Kaesong Industrial Complex is one of the touchstones that make it possible to forecast inter-Korean relations and what kind of lasting relationship is pos..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Wed, 08 May 13 18:51:28 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03600&num=10554 The Korean Peninsula has finally paused for breath. Now, with presidents Park Geun Hye and Obama meeting in Washington, the situation in East Asia can enter a new phase. It will be a phase of South Korean, North Korean, American, Chinese + Japanese, and Russian words vs. words and diplomatic strategy vs. diplomatic strategy. But before that, we need to know what on earth drove the most recent crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Only then will we know what to focus on and what to respond to in the next phase of events.North K..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Sohn Gwang Joo, Chief, Daily NK Unification Strategy Research Institute Wed, 08 May 13 00:14:54 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10552 President Park Geun Hye is continuing to urge North Korea to pursue change through her ongoing visit to the United States.In an interview with the broadcaster CBS on Monday, President Park responded to a question about what message she wishes to send to Kim Jong Eun by saying, “I want to tell him that North Korea must change. That it is the only road to North Korean survival and development.”She went on, “The endlessly repeating vicious circle whereby North Korea threatens then provokes and then there is agreement and supp..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Park Seong Guk Tue, 07 May 13 19:22:09 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10551 An elevated state of military readiness for North Korean rocket and artillery units has been withdrawn, Daily NK has learned.A South Korean military official revealed the news on Tuesday, saying, “The No.1 Combat Alert that North Korea’s Supreme Command issued to strategic rocket and long-range artillery units on March 26th seems to have been rescinded on or around April 30th.”The South Korean military believes that the removal of the heightened combat alert status is linked to the removal of road-mobile missiles from Nort..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Tue, 07 May 13 18:01:48 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=10550 ]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Tue, 07 May 13 05:18:12 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10549 The Ministry of Unification (MOU) has acknowledged that there are now fewer threats, accusations and criticisms of South Korea coming from North Korea than was the case in March and before.The Ministry of Unification noted the change, which began in mid-April, in a new report, ‘Trends and Policies Related to the Kaesong Industrial Complex,’ which was submitted to the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Commission today.According to the report, North Korea published or broadcast an average of 40 accusations an..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Mon, 06 May 13 20:56:32 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10548 President Park Geun Hye, speaking at the start of her official visit to the United States on the 5th, said, “The South Korean government, while preparing for North Korean provocations through strong deterrence, always has the door to dialogue open.” President Park, who will meet President Obama in Washington, DC tomorrow, went on, “It is still not too late for North Korea to stop its provocations and take the right and proper path of international community acceptance. If that happens, we will open up the path of inter-Ko..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Mon, 06 May 13 20:41:10 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10547 The North Korean authorities are working to evade responsibility for issues of food insecurity in the country, describing the problem of access to food as a global threat rather than a domestic concer. Rodong Sinmun made the claim on the 6th, claiming that “The food crisis is not a problem limited to a few countries and regions; it is a global issue that threatens the survival of humanity.” In an article entitled, “Effort for Food Security,” the publication of the Chosun Workers’ Party declared, “Recently, international ec..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Mon, 06 May 13 20:07:17 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10544 The 53,000 former Kaesong Industrial Complex workers from North Korea have been dispatched to a wide range of alternative workplaces in the North Hwanghae Province region, and are currently being given lectures and study sessions to eradicate the “capitalist ideas” they picked up while working in Kaesong, Daily NK has learned.A source from Sariwon in North Hwanghae Province told Daily NK on the 3rd, “All the workers who used to be in Kaesong have been dispatched to factories, enterprises and cooperative farms in the North ..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Choi Song Min Sun, 05 May 13 17:45:31 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10545 There is said to be a growing level of disappointment at the conduct of North Korea within the Chinese leadership following North Korea’s 3rd “2.12” nuclear test. A senior South Korean government official explained to reporters on the 3rd, “China did all these exchanges with North Korea and hoped that they would make a genuine effort at economic development through reform and opening, but they just went for the missile launch and nuclear test, dashing Chinese hopes. Their disappointment was not insignificant.”Following bot..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Sat, 04 May 13 00:53:01 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10546 A seven-man team of South Koreans who stayed in the Kaesong Industrial Complex to clear up outstanding issues following the prior withdrawal of South Korean workers were due to return to South Korea across the inter-Korean border at 5:30PM (local time) today.A Ministry of Unification official revealed the news this afternoon, telling reporters, “The seven, which includes [Kaesong Industrial Complex Management Committee] Chairman Hong Yang Ho, is expected to return home following the conclusion at around 3:30PM of an agreem..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Fri, 03 May 13 20:03:38 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=10542 Kim Jong Eun’s decision to visit to the Ministry of People’s Security on yesterday’s Labor Day holiday has become a source of international interest. The visit was in considerable contrast to previous years. Last year, for example, Kim visited a glass factory in North Pyongan Province to commemorate the May 1st holiday, which is intended to celebrate the labor of working persons. In 2010, Kim Jong Il marked the day with a concert by bands including Eunhasu Orchestra, and in 2009 he watched the film ‘Flower Girl’ with worke..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Kim Yong Hun Thu, 02 May 13 19:42:41 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=10543 ]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Thu, 02 May 13 19:11:05 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10541 The last seven South Korean civilians in the Kaesong Industrial Complex were unable to return home today.“Discussions with North Korea are still ongoing,” a South Korean government official revealed earlier, adding, “Unfortunately, it has not even been decided yet whether our staff will return tomorrow or not.”Continuing disagreement with the North Korean side over outstanding issues pertaining to wages, taxes and finished goods is the cause of the delayed return of the seven. The director of the Kaesong Industrial Complex..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Thu, 02 May 13 18:49:13 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=10540 ]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Thu, 02 May 13 18:34:34 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10539 The South Korean government has agreed to provide 300 billion KRW ($272 million) in direct emergency financial support for firms left stranded by the ongoing political impasse surrounding the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC)."The money, which is to be offered in the form of preferential low-interest loans, aims to help businesses cover immediate liquidity problems caused by the suspension of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex," Seo Ho, the director of the Ministry of Unification team charged with overseeing suppo..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Thu, 02 May 13 18:20:38 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10538 North Korea has handed down a sentence of 15 years of labor reeducation to Korean-American Kenneth Bae (Korean name Bae Jun Ho), who has been in detention since November last year. Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA) revealed the news in a brief dispatch on May 2nd, saying, “The trial of American citizen Bae Jun Ho, who was arrested after entering Rasun City for tourism on November 3rd last year, was held in the Supreme Court of the Democratic People’s Republic of Chosun (Korea) on April 30th.”The Korean-language report went..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Thu, 02 May 13 18:00:08 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10537 South Korean Six-Party Talks representative Lim Sung Nam headed for China today for talks with his Chinese counterparts on North Korea issues.According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lim is to stay in Beijing for two days, where he will meet Wu Dawei, China’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, and other related officials.A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said of the visit earlier today, “While in China, Director Lim is expected to discuss the April 24th South Korea-China Foreign Min..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Wed, 01 May 13 18:48:42 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10536 “To resolve the Kaesong Industrial Complex situation, North Korea must retract its unjust actions at the earliest available opportunity and take the right and proper road of normalization,” spokesman Kim Hyung Seok told a regular Ministry of Unification briefing on the 1st.Spokesman Kim stressed, “Our government has made clear many times that the door of dialogue with North Korea is open, and said let’s solve this problem through dialogue,” adding, “The dialogue offer is always valid.” He added, “We hope that the North Ko..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Cho Jong Ik Wed, 01 May 13 18:31:14 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10535 The Kaesong Industrial Complex, held up in some quarters as a “last bastion” of inter-Korean cooperation from a bygone age, is seriously wounded and may even be facing death. With evidence emerging yesterday to suggest that Kim Jong Il planned the closure of the Complex before his own passing in 2011, NKnet researcher Kim Young Hwan today offered his thoughts on the future of the Korean Peninsula at a seminar event in Seoul.“The most important thing for those seeking to know the direction and aim of inter-Korean relations,..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Park Seong Guk Tue, 30 Apr 13 21:36:05 +0900 5 http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10534 “We believe that if the Kaesong Complex were to be normalized through the accommodation of even the most minor demand that we could not then accept later, there would be no meaning to a Kaesong Complex made that way,” Minister of Unification Ryoo Kihl Jae commented on April 30th.Minister Ryoo, who was delivering a special lecture to a meeting of the National Unification Advisory Council in a Seoul hotel, declared, “That Kaesong Complex is not the kind of economic cooperative space that we desire. We have no intention of do..]]> DailyNK - Brightening the future of Korea Lee Sang Yong Tue, 30 Apr 13 21:02:27 +0900 5