South and North Korea News

S. Korean president's warm welcome in China doesn't signify shift: Expert  Chung Jae-hung, senior researcher at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, told NK News that while South Korea and China have been making friendly gestures in each other's direction recently, beyond the rhetoric little has changed. Both countries have still retained broadly the same policies with regard to both each other and North Korea, something which is unlikely to change any time soon. Visit NK News for more Why some N. Korean defectors’ stories fall apart, By Jiyoung Song While there is no doubt the North Korean regime has violated serious human rights, there is also a fundamental question about heavily relying on defectors’ testimonies as credible evidence. Jiyoung Song has spent many years listening to defector testimony, and here looks at some of the factors that can affect the credibility of the accounts that they provide. Visit NK News for more Until they are home: The unit that scours for Korean War remains At the end of August the South Korean Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification (MAKRI) announced that it will launch a new set of mass recovery missions at a site near Yanggu, in South Korea’s Gangwon Province. MAKRI searches for, exhumes and attempts to identify lost human remains from the Korean war. We spoke to Lee Young-suk, a 16-year veteran of the organization. Visit NK News for more

Top Stories Today

N. Koreas Choe Ryong-hae returns home empty-handed (Yonhap News)
A key aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has failed to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

SK to provide 3 billion KRW in aid for inter-Korean forestry initiative (The Daily NK)
In a show of good faith, the South Korean government is planning to provide 3 billion KRW in funding for cooperative exchange between the South and North. 

DMZ film fest to open inside civilian control line (JoongAng Ilbo)
The seventh DMZ International Documentary Film Festival will kick off its eight-day run within miles of the demilitarized zone with a documentary about the life of a North Korean pop artist.

North Korea video shows two on trial for watching American films (The Daily Telegraph)
The two accused, aged 30 and 27, are made to stand outside in front of a 100-strong crowd as the charges against them are blasted out of loudspeakers attached to a van.

NK leader possibly visited weapon factory during China's military parade (Korea Times)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a machinery factory in a northwestern border city, the North's official media said Friday.