Summit venue raises chance for N. Korean leader‘s state visit to Vietnam

The pick of Vietnam’s capital city as the venue for a second North Korea-US summit has raised the possibility that Kim Jong-un will make a state visit to Vietnam late this month, observers said Saturday.If Kim does so, he will become the first North Korean leader to land in Vietnam in 54 years. Kim Il-sung, North Korea‘s founding leader and his grandfather, held summits with then-Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh in November 1958 and October 1964. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)US Presid

Feb. 9, 2019

US nuclear envoy calls summit prep talks with NK 'productive'

The US envoy for North Korea on Saturday cast this week's working-level talks with North Korea to prepare for the two countries' second summit late this month as "productive" but said "some hard work" still remains.US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun flew back to Seoul on Friday evening following a three-day visit to Pyongyang aimed at fine-tuning details for the Feb. 27-28 summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam.South K

Feb. 9, 2019

Trump says 2nd US-NK summit to be held in Hanoi

US President Donald Trump announced that his second meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un will take place in Vietnam's capital city.He made public the summit venue in a Twitter message on Saturday (Seoul time) after Stephen Biegun, the US envoy for North Korea, returned to South Korea following a trip to Pyongyang.Trump earlier said he will meet Kim in the Southeast Asian nation from Feb. 27-28. Traffic ride past a Communist party poster in Hanoi, Vietnam. (AP-Yonhap)"My representatives

Feb. 9, 2019

US nuclear envoy to brief allies on results of Pyongyang visit

The US envoy for North Korea will meet his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on Saturday for a briefing on the results of his visit to the communist state for preparations for a second summit between Washington and Pyongyang slated for late this month.US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun plans to hold talks with Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's top nuclear envoy, in the morning after paying a brief courtesy call on Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. US Special Representative for North Kore

Feb. 9, 2019

US, N. Korean envoys agree to meet again before summit

US and North Korean negotiators concluded their talks in Pyongyang, agreeing to meet again before the second bilateral summit slated for later this month, the State Department said Friday.US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was in the North Korean capital from Wednesday through Friday for pre-summit talks with his counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol. US and North Korean flags are on display for sale at a flag shop in Hanoi, Vietnam. With the next meeting between US President Donald T

Feb. 9, 2019

US looks forward to 'very good' summit with N. Korea

The United States looks forward to having a "very good" second summit with North Korea at the end of this month, the State Department said Thursday while sparing details.US President Donald Trump announced this week that his next summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be in Vietnam Feb. 27-28.(AP)The two sides have been trying to agree on the next steps for fulfilling the commitments made at their first summit in Singapore in June, which included complete denuclearization and the build

Feb. 8, 2019

Seoul waits for Pyongyang’s response on Tamiflu aid: Unification Ministry

While Seoul’s plan to deliver Tamiflu to Pyongyang continues to be delayed for unclear reasons for now over a month, the Unification Ministry said Thursday it is awaiting response from North Korea.The Unification Ministry had announced in early January that it would send 200,000 doses of the antiviral drug to North Korea via a land route as humanitarian aid, initially setting the delivery date for Jan. 11. The plan was delayed, however, with speculations that international sanctions against the

Feb. 7, 2019

US, N.Korea hold second day of working-level talks

The US envoy for North Korea held the second day of talks in Pyongyang on Thursday to finalize details of a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, scheduled to take place in three weeks.  US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun continued working-level negotiations with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol, after arriving in the North Korean capital on Wednesday morning via plane from the US air base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. US Spe

Feb. 7, 2019

Pompeo sees 'every opportunity' for NK denuclearization

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that there is "every opportunity" that North Korea will dismantle its nuclear weapons program as promised.In an interview with Fox News, Pompeo said the US is going into a second summit with North Korea late this month with hope that the regime will fulfill its denuclearization pledge."We are very hopeful that Chairman Kim will fulfill his commitment, the one that he made back in June in Singapore, to denuclearize his country," the top US diplomat

Feb. 7, 2019

Speculation rises on Kaesong complex reopening ahead of US-N. Korea summit

Speculation is rising over whether the shuttered industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong may resume operations following a second summit between the United States and North Korea that is expected to be held later this month in Vietnam.On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place in Vietnam from Feb. 27-28, with the talks to center on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.It's been nearl

Feb. 6, 2019

Two Koreas to hold talks on traditional wrestling exchanges

South and North Korea plan to hold talks on ways to boost exchanges in "ssireum," traditional Korean wrestling, at the North's Mount Kumgang next week, a sporting body here said Wednesday.Park Pal-yong, the chief of Seoul's Korea Ssireum Association plans to embark on a two-day cross-border trip next Tuesday to meet with North Korean officials in charge of the sport, according to the KSA."One of the items to be on the table is the co-hosting of the ssireum festival slated for June," association

Feb. 6, 2019

S. Korea's Moon to focus on mediator role ahead of US-NK summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to focus on his role as a mediator between North Korea and the United States ahead of any potential breakthrough in the Korean Peninsula peace process that may be achieved at the upcoming summit. US President Donald Trump announced in his State of the Union address in Washington on Tuesday (local time) that he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam for their second summit talks. This composite image shows South Korean P

Feb. 6, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae welcomes 2nd summit between US, N. Korea

South Korea's presidential office on Wednesday welcomed the announcement by Washington confirming the second summit between the United States and North Korea. Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said South Korea hopes the US and North Korea can make substantial and concrete steps forward in Vietnam. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced in his State of the Union address that he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam for their second summit talks. Cheong Wa

Feb. 6, 2019

US-NK summit to be held Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam: Trump

US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and confirmed the second summit between Pyongyang and Washington will take place in Vietnam on Feb. 27 and 28 during his State of the Union address Wednesday. “As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said during the speech, which focused on the country’s foreign policy and economic status. US President Donald Trump makes a comment during hi

Feb. 6, 2019

Why Vietnam for the second Trump-Kim summit?

HANOI (AFP) - Communist-run but with capitalist leanings, and a friend to both the United States and North Korea, Vietnam will host the next summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un from February 27-28.Like North Korea, Vietnam was once locked in a bloody and bitter war with the US.But unlike Pyongyang, Hanoi now counts Washington among its closest allies, emerging from the ravages of war to become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia -- and one of the most diplomatically savvy.Here a

Feb. 6, 2019

Trump to meet North Korean leader Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will hold a two-day summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam to continue his efforts to persuade Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.    Trump has said his outreach to Kim and their first meeting last June in Singapore opened a path to peace. But there is not yet a concrete plan for how denuclearization could be implemented.    Denuclearizing North Korea is something that has eluded the US for more than two decades, since it was

Feb. 6, 2019

US-N. Korea summit to be held in Vietnam Feb. 27-28: report

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un plan to hold their second summit in Vietnam Feb. 27-28, a news report said Tuesday.Trump revealed the dates to a group of reporters hours before his State of the Union address, Politico reported.More details are expected to be announced during the speech at the House chamber later in the day, it added. (Yonhap)Trump said earlier that the date and venue of the highly anticipated summit were set, and that he planned to announce them dur

Feb. 6, 2019

US envoy for N. Korea arrives in Pyongyang for talks

The US envoy for North Korea arrived in Pyongyang Wednesday for talks with his North Korean counterpart on the upcoming bilateral summit. Special Representative Stephen Biegun left Seoul earlier in the day to fly to the North Korean capital where he will meet his counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol. The meeting comes as the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is being planned to take place in Vietnam from Feb 27 to 28. Biegun took a plane to Pyongyang from

Feb. 6, 2019

US envoy to meet NK counterpart in Pyongyang on Wednesday

The US envoy for North Korea will travel to Pyongyang on Wednesday for talks with his North Korean counterpart on this month's planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the State Department said.Special Representative Stephen Biegun will visit the North Korean capital from Seoul to meet with his newly appointed counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol, and prepare for the US president's second meeting with the North Korean leader, the department said Monday.The two men will also "advance further pr

Feb. 5, 2019

NK ramps up crackdown on illegal use of mobile phones near China border: Amnesty International

North Korea stepped up restrictions on the use of Chinese mobile networks near the border last year in an apparent effort to control the flow of outside information, human rights organization Amnesty International has said.In a recent report on North Korea’s human rights situation, the group said the reclusive regime has strengthened efforts to trace the activities of smuggled mobile phones using Chinese networks and block the signals in the border areas over the past few years. “Individuals int

Feb. 4, 2019