Thirty-two North Koreans, including 10 athletes, will come to South Korea via air on Thursday to prepare for and compete in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the Ministry of Unification announced Wednesday. North Korean figure skating duo Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik took bronze at the 2018 Four Continents championships in Taipei, Taiwan on Jan. 26. (AP-Yonhap)The announcement came as the two Koreas’ joint ski training kicked off, amid brewing controversy over a possible violation of sanctions on N

North Korea Jan. 31, 2018

The two Koreas’ joint ski training kicked off Wednesday, amid brewing controversy over a possible violation of sanctions on North Korea.  South Korean skiers wave on a plane bound for North Korea on Wednesday. They are to participate in a joint ski training at the North’s Masikryong Ski Resort. (Joint Press Corps.-Yonhap)A 45-member South Korean delegation embarked on a two-day trip to North Korea at 10:43 a.m. via a chartered flight from Yangyang International Airport, Gangwon Province, accordi

North Korea Jan. 31, 2018

The joint ski training agreed upon between the two Koreas is likely to be held, Seoul said Tuesday, despite North Korea’s decision Monday to cancel a cross-border cultural event at Kumgangsan in the North, ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.According to Seoul, North Korea sent a telegram at 10:10 p.m. Monday, conveying the message that the communist state was canceling the event scheduled for Feb. 4.A 12-member South Korean advance team visits North Korea’s Masikryong Ski Resort to inspect

North Korea Jan. 30, 2018

North Korea on Monday canceled a joint cultural event planned to be held at Kumgangsan in the North ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, taking issue with South Korean news reports. According to Seoul, North Korea sent a telegram at 10:10 p.m. Monday, conveying the message that the communist state was canceling the event scheduled to be held on Feb. 4. Kumgangsan (Yonhap)North Korea cited as the reason South Korean media reports’ “spread of insulting news regarding its sincere approach towa

North Korea Jan. 30, 2018

As North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics next month takes shape, skepticism over the rogue nation’s overture persists with an upcoming North Korean military parade -- and Seoul’s response, or lack thereof, toward the event.  A submarine ballistic missile is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 15, 2017. (AP)North Korea is expected to follow through with its plan to hold a military parade one day before the opening of the

North Korea Jan. 29, 2018

Key North Korean venues suggested for joint skiing training and culture events ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month have been deemed apt for use, Seoul’s Ministry of Unification said Friday.  North Koreans enjoy skiing at Masikryong Ski Resort. The two Koreas agreed to hold joint skiing practices on its slopes. (Yonhap)The announcement follows a three-day visit to North Korea by a 12-member delegation led by Lee Joo-tae, director-general for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation a

North Korea Jan. 26, 2018

North Korean hockey players and an advance team of sports officials crossed the border to South Korea early Thursday to prepare for their country’s participation in next month’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics.  Sarah Murray, head coach of the joint Korean women’s hockey team for the Winter Olympics, stands alongside her North Korean counterpart Pak Chol-ho at Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province on Thursday. The two Koreas agreed to form a unified women’s ice hockey team

North Korea Jan. 25, 2018

North Korean women’s ice hockey players and an advance team of sports officials crossed the border to South Korea early Thursday to prepare for their country’s participation in the next month’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics.   South Korea`s national head coach for the women`s ice hockey team Sarah Murray meets North Korean counterpart Park Chul-ho at Jincheon National Training Center on Jan. 25, 2018. (Yonhap)A total of 23 North Koreans arrived in the South via Gyeongui Line, or western land route

North Korea Jan. 25, 2018

The two Koreas are discussing details of their joint cultural event, which they agreed to hold at North Korea’s Kumkangsan ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday.  South Korean K-pop singer Lee Hyori (left) and North Korean celebrity Cho Myung-ae (right) star alongside in a Samsung cellphone commercial filmed in 2015. Lee was a member of the now-disbanded girl group Fin K.L that performed in Pyongyang in 2000. (Yonhap)The news comes amid a South Kor

North Korea Jan. 24, 2018

A twelve-member South Korean delegation crossed the border to enter North Korea on Monday to inspect venues where the joint cultural events and sports training will be held during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.  A twelve-member South Korean delegation talks to reporters at the Donghae Highway Transit Office at the East Sea Line before crossing the border to North Korea on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The team headed by Lee Joo-tae, director-general for the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in the Mini

North Korea Jan. 23, 2018

A 12-member South Korean delegation crossed the border to North Korea via Donghae Highway Transit Office at the East Sea Line at 10 a.m. Monday to inspect venues where joint South-North cultural events and sports training will be held during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. A South Korean delegation arrives at the Donghae Highway Transit Office at the East Sea Line to cross the border to North Korea on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The South Korean delegation led by Lee Joo-tae, director-general for the inte

North Korea Jan. 23, 2018

A 12-member South Korean delegation will head to North Korea early Tuesday to inspect venues where joint cultural and sports events will be held during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rides a ski lift at the Masikryong Ski Resort. (Yonhap)The three-day trip comes on the heels of a North Korean inspection team’s visit to South Korea to look at potential venues for its art troupe’s performances. The South’s delegation will be headed by Lee Joo-tae, director-general

North Korea Jan. 22, 2018

A North Korean delegation inspecting venues for its art performances for next month’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics visited candidate sites Monday, on what is expected to be the final leg of its two-day stay here. The trip came as the two Koreas are working out the details on North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics. The two sides agreed that a 140-member North Korean art troupe, the Samjiyon Orchestra, will perform during the Olympics in Seoul and Gangneung, Gangwon Province.Prior to th

North Korea Jan. 22, 2018

North Korea has notified South Korea that it will dispatch an advance team over the weekend to inspect details for its art troupe’s performance during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Friday. Hyun Song-wol, leader of the Moranbong Band (left) and Kwon Hyok-bong, director of the Arts and Performance Bureau in North Korea`s Culture Ministry (right). YonhapAfter Monday’s working-level talks, the two Koreas agreed that a 140-member art troupe, including an 80-strong

North Korea Jan. 19, 2018

South Korea will make efforts to hold regular inter-Korean high-level talks and offer humanitarian aid to North Koreans in need of assistance, the Unification Ministry said in a 2018 policy briefing.  South Korea`s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (R) shakes hands with North Korean chief delegate Ri Son-gwon during their meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas on Jan. 9, 2018. (Yonhap)The two Koreas held high-level talks on Jan. 9,

North Korea Jan. 19, 2018