Korea update today

S.Korean Assembly expects N.Korean human rights bill soon A North Korea human rights bill, discussed for 11 years in the South Korean National Assembly but never passed, may finally be about to become law. Moon Jae-in, chief of the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), on Wednesday said that his party’s differences with the ruling Saenuri Party over the bill are slight and could be bridged within a day. The main discordances at the time were anti-DPRK leaflet launches and the establishment of a foundation dedicated to human rights dialogue and the improvement of the North’s human rights situation. Visit NK News for more China sends greetings for N. Korea’s founding anniversary North Korea received a greeting from Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party Tuesday before the 67th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). In the message, China emphasized the traditionally strong Sino-DPRK ties since the North Korean regime’s establishment. Interestingly, North Korea put messages from Cuba and Russia, with whom it has emphasized close ties lately, on the front page on the Rodong, and the message from China on the second. Visit NK News for more Inter-Korean tensions top N. Korean leadership agenda in August In August the inter-Korean military confrontation and resulting dialogue assumed top priority on the regime leadership’s agenda, to that extent that Kim Jong Un made no appearances after August 18 which were not related to this matter. However, it also provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the regime's current pecking order. John Grisafi uses the NK Leadership Tracker to analyse the political news and appearances of the past month, to see who's up and who's down. Visit NK News for more N. Korea’s 1980s nuclear-free rhetoric, By Benjamin R. Young Though it may seem surprising now, on September 6,1986, delegates from more than 80 different countries gathered in North Korea for the three-day “Pyongyang International Conference for Denuclearization and Peace on the Korean Peninsula.”  Kim Il Sung gave a speech in which he championed nuclear disarmament around the world, despite having been actively pursuing the nuclear dream since the 1950s. Benjamin R. Young looks at what happened to make North Korea change its position so dramatically. Visit NK News for more

Top Stories Today

North Korea lashes out at Pres. Park’s claims of “unification diplomacy” (The Hankyoreh)
Five days after South Korean President Park Geun-hye made comments about “unification diplomacy,” North Korea responded with criticism. 

Park calls for int'l cooperation on logistics network across Eurasia (The Korea Herald)
President Park Geun-hye called Thursday for cooperation among the United States, China and Russia in building a logistics network across Eurasian countries.

N.Korea Snubs Greetings from China (The Chosun Ilbo)
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday to mark the 67th anniversary of its founding.

AIIB head ‘optimistic’ about Korea (JoongAng Ilbo)
Jin Liqun, president-elect of the AIIB, said he welcomes the participation of Korean companies in the newly launched multilateral financial institution’s projects.

N. Korea launched 64 provocations over past five years: defense ministry (Arirang News)
A paper submitted to parliament on Thursday by Seoul's defense ministry shows North Korea launched 64 cases provocations over the last five years.