Aug 19th, 2008 · A few days ago, Jason Turner's hopes for an Olympic medal were dashed by a fourth place finish in the 10-meter air pistol event. But when a North Korean shooter, who finished third, tested positive for a banned substance, Turner moved up to earn the bronze medal.
Jul 24th, 2008 · The Bush administration is now talking to governments it once shunned. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with the North Korean foreign minister this week. Undersecretary William Burns participated in talks with Iran's nuclear negotiator last weekend. The new, softer approach has angered critics on the right, but it doesn't extend to all "problem countries."
Apr 13th, 2008 · Nearly 30 years after North Korean prisoners came to Russia's Far East to build a massive railway, many still remain in the desolate region. Though they aren't prisoners, many North Korean laborers who log the region's forests remain isolated from the local population.
Feb 26th, 2008 · The New York Philharmonic's music director, Lorin Maazel, says he believes the concert his orchestra performed Tuesday in Pyongyang, North Korea, could help bring the peoples of the United States and North Korea a "tiny step closer." In an unusual move, North Korea's state-run television and radio broadcast the concert live. It began with the playing of both countries' national anthems. The stage included both the North Korean and American flags.
Dec 11th, 2007 · The New York Philharmonic on Tuesday disclosed the details of a February visit to North Korea. It was an announcement that brought back memories of cultural exchanges during the Cold War. The program will include songs by Gershwin and Dvorak, and the national anthems of both the United States and North Korea. The orchestra's visit comes at a time of hints of a thawing in relations between Washington and Pyongyang. But at Tuesday's news conference, both American and North Korean spokesmen kept politics at a distance.
Dec 11th, 2007 · North Korea remains an isolated country. But that hasn't stopped South Korea from investing in North Korean tourism, transportation, and industrial sites. Host Steve Inskeep talks to Morning Edition's Senior Supervising Producer Madhulika Sikka about her visit to the People's Democratic Republic of Korea.
Aug 30th, 2007 · U.S. and North Korean negotiators are to meet this weekend in Geneva Switzerland to talk about normalizing ties. Now that North Korea has shut down a key nuclear facility, the U.S. says it will keep up its end of the bargain and discuss ways to improve relations with the communist nation.
Jul 20th, 2007 · Six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue end for now, but negotiators are unable to agree on a firm deadline for N. Korea to disable nuclear facilities after the shutdown of its top reactor. Envoys reconvene in September.