[Newsmaker] Trump says different form of talks with Kim possible

Ahead of his trip to Japan and South Korea, US President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he would not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. “I’ll be meeting with a lot of other people. Not … him,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying as he departed the White House for his flight to Asia. While ruling out the possibility of a one-on-one meeting with Kim, Trump hinted that there could be an interaction. “But I may be speaking with him in a different for

June 27, 2019

NK businessman arrested in Malaysia, faces extradition to US

A North Korean businessman in his 50s has been arrested in Malaysia on charges of money laundering involving luxury goods, and faces possible extradition to the US, according to news reports.The man named Mun Chol-myong who has lived in Malaysia for about 10 years and has had business dealings in China was detained by Malaysian authorities on May 14 and was denied bail by a local magistrate Monday, Malaysian government news agency Bernama said. Washington requested Kuala Lumpur to extradite Mun

June 27, 2019

NK says US should come up with new proposal if it wants to resume nuclear talks

North Korea said Thursday the United States should come up with a new proposal if it truly wants to resume denuclearization negotiations, warning that time is not sufficient to produce results before its earlier imposed end-of-the-year deadline.Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the North Korean foreign ministry's American affairs department, made the remark in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, saying the stalled nuclear talks won't resume automatically just because

June 27, 2019

Trump says he may speak to Kim in 'different form' on Asia trip

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will not be meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his trip to Asia this week but may speak to him "in a different form."Trump made the remarks as he left the White House for Osaka, Japan, where he will attend the Group of 20 summit before traveling to South Korea on Saturday. "I'll be meeting with a lot of other people, not by him, but I may be speaking to him in a different form," Trump said. "I'll be going, as you k

June 27, 2019

Dismantling Yongbyon is irreversible advance in NK’s denuclearization: Moon

President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday it that North Korea can be considered to have entered an irreversible stage of denuclearization process when it dismantles a nuclear complex in Yongbyon. “If all the nuclear facilities in the complex, including the plutonium reprocessing facilities and the uranium enrichment facilities, are completely demolished and verified, it would be possible to say that the denuclearization of North Korea has entered an irreversible stage,” he said in a joint

June 26, 2019

[Herald Interview] When your hometown is in S. Korea, but homeland is North Korea

The idea of a “fatherland” is not much thought or talked about, as it seems so obvious. But for many ethnic Korean residents of Japan, the yearning for the “fatherland” remains, as they strive to maintain their identity as Koreans.A documentary depicting ethnic Koreans in Japan who say their hometowns are in South Korea, but believe their fatherland is North Korea, was screened in Seoul as part of a three-day event starting Friday. Park Yeong-i, director of “The Sky

June 26, 2019

US-NK summit will take place ‘at some point’: Trump

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday a fresh summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have been mentioned in letters he exchanged with Kim and they will meet “at some point” ahead of his visit to Seoul this weekend. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said his recent letter to Kim was a “nice” response to Kim’s birthday message to him. Trump turned 73 on June 14. Asked if a summit was mentioned in the exchange of letters with Kim, he said,

June 26, 2019

Moon: N. Korea-US in dialogue for 3rd summit, peace process making steady progress

President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that North Korea and the United States are in "behind-the-scenes talks" on another bilateral summit with the peace process on the Korean Peninsula making steady progress."Both sides have been engaged in dialogue in regard to a third summit," he said in a written interview with Yonhap News Agency and six other global news agencies.    What's noteworthy is, he added, that "The behind-the-scenes talks have been preceded by

June 26, 2019

N. Korea says antagonistic US officials hindering denuclearization

North Korea on Wednesday accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials of "antagonism" toward Pyongyang, claiming they are preventing improvement in relations between the two sides and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. A spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry also warned that more sanctions on the communist nation would be an "outright challenge" to the joint statement signed by their leaders in Singapore last year, the Korean Central News Agenc

June 26, 2019

N. Korea's official paper urges use of domestic goods to overcome sanctions

North Korea's official newspaper urged its citizens Wednesday to use domestically produced goods, rather than imports, to build a "self-reliant economy" in the face of global sanctions."To sort out problems arising in the process of economic development and make the sanction scheme of our enemies bear no fruit, it would be critical to boost a self-reliant economy," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said in an article. "One of important methods to

June 26, 2019

Trump says he will meet with Kim 'at some point'

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "at some point," further casting doubt on a possible summit during his trip to the peninsula this week.Trump will visit Seoul on Saturday and Sunday after attending a Group of 20 summit in Japan, prompting speculation that a Trump-Kim meeting could be arranged at the inter-Korean border.The last time they met was for their second summit in Vietnam in February. Both men walked away without a deal du

June 26, 2019

Trump says his letter to Kim was 'thank you' note

US President Donald Trump has said that his recent letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was a "thank you" note for wishing him a happy birthday.In an interview with The Hill on Monday, Trump was asked to share the details of Kim's letter to him earlier this month."Well, it was a very nice letter. It was actually a 'happy birthday' letter, if you want to know the truth," said the president, who turned 73 on June 14. "It was my birthday. He sent me a beautiful letter

June 26, 2019

NK newspaper reiterates desire for lasting peace on Korean Peninsula

A North Korean state newspaper on Tuesday reiterated Pyongyang's "firm" will for lasting peace on the peninsula and called on South Korea and the United States to thoroughly enforce joint declarations aimed at enhancing bilateral ties.The Minju Chosun, the daily of the North's Cabinet, carried an editorial titled "Let's safeguard peace and security of the Korean Peninsula," as the country marks the 69th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War."The firm conv

June 25, 2019

Washington confirms no Trump-Kim meeting on trip to Seoul

US President Donald Trump has no plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his trip to South Korea, a White House official confirmed Monday. In response to questions from the media about the possibility of Trump meeting Kim later this week, a senior White House official said “there are no plans for the meeting that you just mentioned,” adding that the purpose of the trip is for Trump to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in.  The answer from the White House echoes t

June 25, 2019

NK leader's sister appears to take leadership role: Seoul's spy agency

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, appears to have been promoted to a leadership role, South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday.The status of Kim Yong-chol, who served as a chief negotiator in nuclear talks with the United States, also seems to have fallen, following the no-deal summit between the North's leader and US President Donald Trump, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a closed-door briefing to lawmakers. Kim Yo-jong, who has assumed the No. 2 post of the r

June 25, 2019

North Korea's Kim not ready to denuclearize - US intelligence agency

The US intelligence community does not believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ready to denuclearize, US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Robert Ashley told Fox News in an interviewon Monday. A summit in February between Kim and President Donald Trump collapsed when the two leaders were unable to bridge differences between US demands for denuclearization and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.   "We still continue to assess within the IC (inte

June 25, 2019

Trump has no plans to meet Kim in Korea: US official

US President Donald Trump has no plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his trip to South Korea later this week, a senior US administration official said Monday.Trump will visit Seoul on Saturday and Sunday after attending a Group of 20 summit in Japan, prompting speculation that a Trump-Kim meeting could be arranged at the inter-Korean border."There are no plans for the meeting that you just mentioned," the official told reporters on background in a phone call."

June 25, 2019

US nuke envoy to visit Seoul on Thursday: sources

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will arrive in Seoul this Thursday for  talks with his South Korean counterpart and other officials, days before the planned visit to Seoul by US President Donald Trump, diplomatic sources said Monday.    Officials in Seoul and Washington are at the final stage of making arrangements for the nuclear envoy to visit Seoul from that day, according to the sources familiar with the matter. He last visited Seoul in May. 

June 24, 2019

Trump-Xi meeting at G-20 a pivotal factor for North Korean nuclear talks

Positive signals sent back and forth between the US and North Korea are feeding hopes for a swift resumption of nuclear negotiations that have been at a standstill since the last summit between the two countries ended without results in late February. Within the past two weeks, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un each disclosed that they had received letters from each other, with both expressing satisfaction and hinting that the letters might be a sign of positive devel

June 24, 2019

N. Korea made $120 mn a year from joint factory park: report

North Korea raked in more than $120 million a year from a symbolic cross-border industrial zone that Pyongyang and Seoul are pushing to re-open as part of nuclear negotiations, a report said Monday.The Kaesong Industrial Complex -- where around 55,000 North Korean workers churned out products ranging from watches to clothes for some 125 South Korean companies -- was one of the most visible signs of reconciliation that followed the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. But it was shuttered by the So

June 24, 2019