SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States are reconsidering a plan to relocate the combined command of their troops to the defense ministry compound in Seoul due to concern about operational efficiency, military sources said Thursday. Combined Forces Command (CFC) chief Gen. Robert Abrams raised the need to rethink the plan, under which the CFC personnel will work in four different existing buildings in the compound. He is apparently concerned that it may lower the effectiveness of joint operations and affect the allies' overall defense posture. They have been in talks over the CFC issue in line with a broader scheme to move U.S. military bases in Seoul and north of the capital to Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. military complex in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. "(Gen. Abrams) has called on (his staff) to go back to the drawing board and explore various possibilities, including the relocation to the ministry compound," a military source tol

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(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 4-5) SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea agreed Thursday to hold a groundbreaking ceremony later this month for their project to modernize North Korean railways and roads and connect them to the South, the unification ministry said. The ceremony will be held at the North's Panmun Station, just north of the inter-Korean border, on Dec. 26, the ministry said, announcing the results of a working-level meeting between the two Koreas which took place at their liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong earlier in the day. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at their third summit in Pyongyang in September to hold a ceremony before the end of the year to break ground for the project to reconnect two sets of cross-border railways and roads. About 100 people from each side will attend the ceremony, according to the ministry. Sources said that the two sides shared an understanding on the need to ra

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(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with launch of meeting, ministry official's comments) SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea held working-level talks on Thursday to set up a groundbreaking ceremony for their project to modernize North Korean railways and roads and connect them to the South. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at their third summit in Pyongyang in September to hold a ceremony before the end of the year to break ground for the project to reconnect two sets of cross-border railways and roads. Thursday's meeting took place at the two Koreas' liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong to work out details of the envisioned ceremony, including when and where to hold it, as well as the possible participants of the event, according to the unification ministry. "We've outlined our idea and the talks are expected to proceed based on the North's take on the suggestion," a ministry official told reporte

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since he took office last year amid several negative factors including a recent bullet train accident, a poll showed Thursday. Moon's support came to 48.1 percent this week, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous week, according to the poll conducted by Realmeter of 1,508 adults across the country. The rate briefly rebounded last week after nine consecutive weeks of decline. It hit 65.3 percent in late September following his third summit with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang. Realmeter said that the drop seems attributable to a mix of negative news, including the KTX bullet train derailment and the indictment of Gyeonggi Province governor Lee Jae-myung, a member of the ruling Democratic Party. The public support rating for the party fell 0.5 percentage point on-week to 37.7 percent this week. But the rating for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party fell 1.9 p

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's official news agency on Thursday strongly blamed the United States for the impasse in their nuclear talks, saying Pyongyang is waiting for Washington to come to its senses and take corresponding steps for its denuclearization measures, instead of sticking to sanctions. "Prospects of relations between the DPRK and the U.S. depend on when the U.S. will wake up from its foolish thought," the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary. "The exit will be for the U.S. to build up stairs with measures corresponding to the steps we have taken and walk up the stairs." Nuclear negotiations between the two countries have stalled as the North wants sanctions relief in exchange for the denuclearization steps it has taken so far, such as blowing up its nuclear testing site, while the U.S. insists on keeping sanctions until the North takes further denuclearization measures. The North appears to have used KCNA commentary, not an official

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could put forward a new negotiating card in the stalled denuclearization talks with the United States when he delivers a New Year's Day address, an expert said Thursday. Kim has used his annual New Year's Day speech to outline policy priorities and goals for the new year. The upcoming address comes as nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled over the North's demand for sanctions relief and the U.S.' demand for more denuclearization measures. "North Korea must be seriously contemplating how to respond to the sanctions that have become even stronger since the Singapore summit between the North and the U.S.," Hong Min, an analyst at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, said during a discussion in Seoul. Kim could present a "slightly hard-line or conservative message toward the U.S. or a new negotiating framework," the expert said. Given Pyongyang's restraint in criticism of the U.S

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's nuclear test site may not have been completely abandoned, a U.S. website monitoring the country said Wednesday, citing satellite imagery of well-preserved buildings and roads at the site. According to 38 North, a project of the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank, the nuclear test site in Punggye-ri appears at least partly active despite the demolition of tunnel portals in May. That suggests the site could be reused should the regime in Pyongyang decide to do so, it said in an article on the website. "In addition to reclamation activities in the Main Administrative Support Area, which was previously demolished, commercial satellite imagery from late November shows that the two largest buildings at the Command Center remain intact, as do various nearby support facilities for personnel and security forces," the article said. "This suggests the site may only be mothballed, with reactivation possible." North Korea condu

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipyard by sales, said Thursday that it has bagged a 634 billion won (US$563 million) order to build two frigates. Under the deal with South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Hyundai Heavy will deliver the two 2,800-ton ships by 2013 to the country's Navy. The ship, 122 meters long and 14 meters wide, will have a maximum speed of 30 knots. The ships will carry a naval gun, various missiles and host of weapons control systems, Hyundai Heavy said. The ships will also adopt a hybrid electric drive propulsion system designed to reduce noise for more effective anti-submarine operations, the shipyard said. With the order, Hyundai Heavy has clinched deals valued at a combined $13.3 billion so far this year to build 153 ships in total, surpassing this year's shipbuilding order target of $13.2 billion. sam@yna.co.kr

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korean propaganda outlets lashed out at the United States on Thursday for pressuring the communist nation over human rights issues, calling it an "intolerable insult" and "political provocation." The U.S. has recently renewed its designation of the North as one of the worst human trafficking countries and a violator of religious freedom, and slapped sanctions on Choe Ryong-hae, a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for human rights abuses. "The U.S.'s intention lies in condemning our country as a human trafficking country, making a scratch on our republic's image and thereby creating a mood for sanctions pressure," Uriminzokkiri, one of the North's propaganda websites, said in an article. Other propaganda websites, including Meari, have been carrying similar articles since early this week. The U.S. said it will continue to urge North Korea to address its human rights abuses. These measures came amid a deadlock in nuclear

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SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea were set to hold working level talks on Thursday on a groundbreaking ceremony for their project to modernize North Korean railways and roads and connect them to the South. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at their third summit in Pyongyang in September to hold a ceremony before the end of the year to break ground for the project to reconnect two sets of cross-border railways and roads. Thursday's meeting will take place at the two Koreas' liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong to work out details of the envisioned ceremony, including when and where to hold it, as well as the possible participants of the event, according to the unification ministry. Kim Chang-su, a deputy chief of the liaison office from South Korea, and Hwang Chung-song, a senior North Korean official at the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, North Korea's state agency in charge of inter-Kore

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