[US-NK Summit] Chinese plane from Pyongyang headed for Singapore: flight route tracker

BEIJING -- A Chinese private jet that discreetly landed in North Korea has departed Sunday en route to Singapore about an hour after its arrival in the communist state, a flight route-tracking website showed. The takeoff by an Air China airplane was detected at the airport in Pyongyang at 8:30 a.m., according to Flightradar24. Initially, the plane reported it was flying to Beijing but suddenly changed its flight number to CA61 from CA122 with its heading set for Singapore, the website showed. Th

June 10, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Singapore ramps up security for Trump-Kim summit

SINGAPORE -- Security further tightened in Singapore on Sunday ahead of the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the city-state.A stronger police presence, strict security checks and road blocks around the "enhanced security special event areas" underscored the Southeast Asian country's efforts to fend off any unforeseen mishaps during the summit slated to take place Tuesday.Police officers escorting the motorcade of North Korea leader Kim Jong

June 10, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Trump: N. Korea summit is one-time shot for Kim

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday that his upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be a "one-time shot" to do something good for the North Korean people.Trump and Kim are set to meet in Singapore Tuesday to try to reach a deal on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for security guarantees.Trump told reporters at the Group of Seven leaders' meeting in Charlevoix, Canada, that he expects the first-ever US-North Korea summit to go well.

June 10, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Chinese flight from Pyongyang arrives in Singapore ahead of US-NK summit

A Chinese airplane landed in Singapore on Saturday after leaving Pyongyang, days before a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a website that traces flight routes showed.The airplane for the Chinese air carrier, Air China, arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport at around 4:22 p.m. (Singapore time), after departing from the capital city of the communist country at 7:04 a.m. (Pyongyang time), according to Flightradar24.Kim photographed on his remode

June 10, 2018

N. Korean leader visits seafood restaurant ahead of historic summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a newly opened seafood restaurant in Pyongyang ahead of his historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore next week, the North's media reported Saturday.Reports of Kim's latest on-site inspection came as Pyongyang's media have kept mum on the recent U.S. visit by his right-hand man, Kim Yong-chol, for a rare meeting with Trump at the White House.Kim, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju, looked around the Pyongyang restaurant's dining hal

June 9, 2018

N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un to arrive in Singapore on June 10

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to arrive in Singapore on Sunday, two days ahead of the historic talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, a news report said Friday.Kim is expected to fly into Singapore's Changi airport, Reuters news agency said, citing an unidentified source.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang on Wednesday. (Yonhap)The two leaders are expected to discuss how to get rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons in exc

June 8, 2018

S. Korean team visits N. Korea to prepare launch of liaison office

A group of South Korean officials and civilians returned from North Korea on Friday after visiting the border town of Kaesong to prepare for the opening of a liaison office, the unification ministry said.The 14-member team headed by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung traveled to Kaesong earlier in the day and checked necessary facilities that could be used for the operation of the liaison office, according to the ministry. They stayed in Kaesong until 4:30 p.m. before returning home.The min

June 8, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Trump dangles White House invite for Kim

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he is “very well-prepared” for a historic and potentially fraught summit with Kim Jong-un in five days, while hinting at the signing of a peace treaty and even a future White House visit by the North Korean dictator.Hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington, Trump tried to quell concerns about his lack of diplomatic or foreign policy experience heading into the high-stakes talks.“I’m very well prepared. I don’t think I have

June 8, 2018

[Newsmaker] UN rights expert urges N. Korea prisoner amnesty

GENEVA  -- A top UN rights expert called Thursday for North Korea to begin freeing prisoners under a “general amnesty” ahead of next week’s historic nuclear summit.Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, called on Pyongyang to “issue a general amnesty to release hundreds of prisoners.”He hailed North Korea’s recent release of three US prisoners, and urged the country to broaden its “amnesty” to anyone being arbitrarily detained there, which he said was ba

June 8, 2018

S. Korean inspection team visits Kaesong for liaison office

An advance inspection team of South Korean officials and civilians visited North Korea’s border city of Kaesong on Friday to prepare for the opening of a joint liaison office.The 14-member team headed by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung crossed the military demarcation line at 8:34 a.m. via a western land route to check possible locations, facilities and equipment. (Yonhap)“I believe the establishment of the liaison office between South and North Korea is the first step in implementing th

June 8, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Trump says he could invite Kim to US if summit goes well

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he could invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the United States if their meeting next week goes well.The highly anticipated summit in Singapore is five days away as the two sides try to reach a deal on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for security guarantees.Trump said he is prepared to walk if the negotiations don't go well, but he also dangled the possibility of a follow-up meeting in Washington."Certa

June 8, 2018

South Korean reporter detained by NK officials in Singapore: report

A South Korean journalist of the state-run broadcaster KBS has allegedly been detained by North Korean officials in Singapore, a local online media reported Thursday. According to a local online business newspaper, a KBS reporter was detained by North Korean officials at a North Korean government facility in Singapore.  North Korean embassy in Singapore. YonhapAccording to the report, the reporter was knocking on the door of the North Korean facility at about 3:52 p.m. The reporter is said to ha

June 7, 2018

[US-NK Summit] NK silent about key events leading up to Trump-Kim summit

Unlike the US, which has been vocal about key events leading up to the planned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next week, the North has kept mum about such matters. Since announcing the June 12 summit between Trump and Kim on May 27, without mentioning that it is taking place in Singapore, North Korea’s state-run news agencies have been silent about the summit and the US-North Korea talks at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Singapore and New York, whi

June 7, 2018

[US-NK Summit] US may be considering Nunn-Lugar program for NK denuclearization

The US may be considering the possibility of applying the Nunn-Lugar program to North Korea’s denuclearization in the run up to the US-North Korea summit. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to meet in Singapore on June 12, the agenda of which is being negotiated by working-level officials.The Nunn-Lugar program refers to the Cooperative Threat Reduction program the US implemented in handling weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, of the former

June 7, 2018

[Photo News] Capella Hotel, where Kim and Trump will meet

Capella Hotel, a five-star luxury establishment on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa, has become a buzzword among those following news of the June 12 summit between the leaders of the US and North Korea.Dispelling speculation surrounding the location of the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the White House announced Wednesday that Capella Hotel has been chosen to host the meeting. Other hotels such as the Shangri-La and Marina Bay Sands had been flo

June 7, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Regional powers jockey for peninsula influence ahead of Trump-Kim summit

World powers are jostling for influence over the Korean Peninsula ahead of next week's summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which is expected to mark a shift in Northeast Asian geopolitics and security.In the lead-up to the historic summit set to be held in Singapore next Tuesday, China, Russia and Japan have been beefing up diplomacy with the reclusive state, in an indication that Pyongyang, once an incorrigible outcast, has emerged as a player of geostr

June 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] Imagery shows North Korea razes missile test stand: report

WASHINGTON -- Satellite imagery shows North Korea razed some facilities used for testing ballistic missiles last month after declaring it was suspending nuclear explosions and missile launches, a US website reported Wednesday.A stand used for missile ejection tests was demolished near Kusong in the country’s northwest, according to North Korea expert Joseph Bermudez. Ejection tests are to test the initial launch of a missile from a canister and firing up its first-stage engine rather than a full

June 7, 2018

Online searches for words unfavorable to NK leader blocked in China

BEIJING -- China has completely blocked Internet searches for words and articles that could be used to insult North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, sources here said Thursday, reflecting warming bilateral relations between the two countries.Besides the alleged online censorship, Beijing's authorities have also been prodding state-controlled Chinese media to run as many articles favorable to the North and Kim as possible, said the sources.China's alleged moves to suppress negative public opinion towar

June 7, 2018

[US-NK Summit] Opposition leader says Trump should walk away if NK rejects CVID

The chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said Thursday that the United States should pull out of next week's summit with North Korea if Pyongyang does not agree to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.Hong Joon-pyo, the party chairman, also objected to a possible declaration of an end to the 1950-53 Korean War when US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold a summit on June 12 in Singapore.Hong Joon-pyo (Yonhap)"If any moderate deal provides

June 7, 2018

South denies inter-Korean liaison office related to resumption of Kaesong industrial park

South Korea on Thursday denied that a liaison office that the two Koreas agreed to open in the North's border town of Kaesong is related to a possible resumption of the long-suspended operation of a joint economic complex there.The two Koreas agreed last week to open a liaison office in Kaesong "at an early date" in a bid to establish a key communication channel in preparation for increasing cross-border exchanges going forward.It is seen as a first step to implement promises their leaders made

June 7, 2018