Kim, Putin vow to seek closer ties at first talks

Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un met face-to-face for the first time on Thursday, vowing to seek closer ties as they look to counter US influence.The summit in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok comes with Kim locked in a nuclear stand-off with Washington and Putin keen to put Moscow forward as a player in another global flashpoint.(REUTERS)The two leaders shook hands and shared smiles as they met and gave brief statements before heading in for the talks, held at a uni

April 25, 2019

Kim, Putin begin first summit over denuclearization, economic cooperation

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began his first summit with President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok on Thursday, with a peaceful resolution of Pyongyang's nuclear quandary expected to top the agenda. The much anticipated summit is seen as a key test of Kim's diplomatic outreach aimed at breaking a logjam in a denuclearization parley with the United States, easing sanctions pressure and catalyzing his lackluster drive for economic development.Kim and Putin met at Far Eas

April 25, 2019

Pompeo 'absolutely' sees path to NK denuclearization

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he "absolutely" sees a path leading to the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.Pompeo made the remark in an interview with CBS News, saying there was more "nuance" in February's no-deal summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un than appeared in public. (Yonhap)"There was a lot more nuance to the conversation than just, hey, they had a position, we had a position, we walked away," the top US d

April 25, 2019

N. Korea replaces top official involved in negotiations with US

A senior North Korean official, who served as Pyongyang’s chief interlocutor in talks with the United States, has been replaced as head of a key espionage agency handling inter-Korean affairs, a lawmaker said Wednesday.Kim Yong-chol, chief of the United Front Department, was recently replaced by Jang Kum-chol, Rep. Lee Hye-hoon of the Bareunmirae Party, who leads the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, said, citing a source from Seoul’s spy agency.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Yonha

April 24, 2019

Stalled nuclear talks put brakes on implementation of inter-Korean agreement

About a year ago, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their historic first summit at the border village of Panmunjom, which led to a rapid thaw in inter-Korean relations.To mark the first anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration that the two Koreas signed at the April 27 inter-Korean summit, the South will hold a ceremony Saturday at the recently demilitarized Panmunjom, though Pyongyang’s lukewarm attitude toward Seoul in recent months indicates a slim chance of the N

April 24, 2019

Kim-Putin summit will not be ‘game changer,’ says former CIA analyst

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on Wednesday for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an expert on North Korea said the meeting would not be a “game changer.”Pak Jung, a senior fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies at the Brookings Institution, also said the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump was not a failure, but an opportunity for related parties to understand the limits to what each has been pursuing. Pak was a

April 24, 2019

NK leader arrives in Russia ahead of Putin summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday arrived in Vladivostok, Russia, a day ahead of his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim set out for Russia via his private train in the early hours of Wednesday and arrived in the Russian border city of Khasan at about 10:40 a.m., before moving on to Vladivostok, where he arrived some six hours later. In an interview with Russian media after a welcome ceremony in Khasan, Kim hinted at strengthening cooperation with Moscow in regiona

April 24, 2019

NK leader Kim arrives at Russia's border city of Khasan

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived by train at the Russian border city of Khasan on Wednesday en route to the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok for a much-anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian media reported.Kim's special train crossed the Russia-North Korea border at 10:40 a.m. (local time) over a bridge crossing the Tumen River and reached the Khasan station, Russian news service RIA Novosti said, citing a provincial government source.Upon arrival, he received br

April 24, 2019

NK leader departs for Russia by train for summit with Putin: state media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un departed for Russia by train Wednesday for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin, state media reported.Kim's special train left for Russia earlier in the day, the Korean Central News Agency said. It did not specify from where it departed and where it is headed.The Kremlin earlier said that the summit will be held in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok on Thursday. (Yonhap)If the train departed from Pyongyang, it will likely take at least 20 hours to get

April 24, 2019

Denuclearization talks should go in steps, says former US Deputy Secretary of State

Amid the ongoing standoff between the United States and North Korea over denuclearization, going through the right process is important, former US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said in Seoul on Tuesday.At a press conference held as part of the 2019 Asan Plenum, Steinberg said he does not think of the recent Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “failure,” stressing the complexity of the issue. Rather, the summit was part of the proces

April 23, 2019

[Feature] North Korean media show signs of change

As mysterious and closed off as is North Korea, the country is second to none when it comes to being vocal on domestic and world affairs. While it is a rare for the communist regime to deliver its stance on an issue directly, the North’s strictly controlled state media “communicate” with the outside world and propagate its ideology. They cover a wide range of topics -- from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sending birthday greetings to centenarians to the regime’s denouncing of parties with which

April 23, 2019

N. Korea unlikely to participate in summit anniversary event this week: official

North Korea is unlikely to participate in an event that South Korea is preparing to hold this week in celebration of the anniversary of last year's first summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.The government earlier said that it notified the North of the planned event through an inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong on Monday. It provided details on its date, venue and program, though it d

April 23, 2019

NK leader to visit Russia soon: NK media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will soon visit Russia for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin, state media announced Tuesday. Kim "will soon pay a visit to the Russian Federation at the invitation of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation," according to the Korean Central News Agency."They will have talks during the visit." (Yonhap)The KCNA, however, did not mention when and where they will meet. The Rodong Sinmun, the North's official newspaper, also repor

April 23, 2019

S. Korea to mark summit anniversary, with or without North

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea will this week celebrate the first anniversary of a landmark summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- but Pyongyang may not take part, Seoul said Monday.　The pair held their first meeting on April 27 last year in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula amid a rapid diplomatic thaw, paving the way for a historic summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June. (Yonhap)　But one year later, little progress has

April 22, 2019

NK leader's Russia visit may involve tours to art theater, fleet headquarters: report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could visit the world-renowned Mariinsky Ballet theater or a Russian Navy fleet headquarters during his widely expected trip to Vladivostok this week for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Monday.According to the Kremlin, Kim will visit Russia later this month for talks with Putin. Vladivostok Station (Yonhap)Though no details have been made public, widespread indications are that Kim will make a three-day visit to Vladiv

April 22, 2019

Moon has message from Trump for NK leader: CNN

President Moon Jae-in could deliver a message from US President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if a new inter-Korean summit takes place, a presidential official said Sunday.CNN reported earlier, citing unidentified sources, that Moon has a message from Trump to relay to the North's leader. Moon met with Trump at the White House earlier this month to discuss ways to get the stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang moving again.  (Yonhap)"If an inter-Korean

April 21, 2019

N. Korean diplomat Choe Son-hui condemns Bolton

North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, one of the country’s top nuclear negotiators with Washington, on Saturday condemned US National Security Adviser John Bolton for his comments in a recent interview, Pyongyang’s state media reported.In an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday (local time), Bolton said that the United States needs to see a “real indication” that North Korea is ready to give up its nuclear weapons before any third summit between their leaders. (Yonhap)He w

April 20, 2019

US arrests former Marine connected to North Korea embassy raid in Spain

WASHINGTON -- US authorities have arrested a former US Marine who is a member of a group that allegedly raided the North Korean embassy in Madrid in February and stole electronics, two sources familiar with the arrest said on Friday.Christopher Ahn was arrested on Thursday and appeared on Friday in federal court in Los Angeles, according to a law enforcement official and a source close to the group.In a related development, armed US federal agents on Thursday raided the apartment of Adrian Hong,

April 20, 2019

Pompeo says he will continue to lead nuclear talks with N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that he will continue to lead nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, dismissing the regime’s call for his replacement.Pompeo’s remark comes after a North Korean official accused the top US diplomat of failing to understand Pyongyang’s position and called for his replacement with a “more careful and mature” negotiator.“Nothing’s changed,” Pompeo said in a press conference after meeting with his Japanese counterpart and the two count

April 20, 2019

N. Korea hosts 1st int’l blockchain conference

North Korea is holding its first international conference on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in Pyongyang, a US-based radio broadcast said Saturday.The Korean International Blockchain Conference was launched Thursday for an eight-day run in the North Korean capital city, according to the report by Radio Free Asia. (Yonhap)The event, postponed from last September, has brought some 100 experts in the cutting-edge field from around the world, the report said.The main summit will take pla

April 20, 2019