Trump’s strike on Syria may distract from NK summit preparations

With the United States and its allies conducting airstrikes on Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians, speculation has emerged over how the surprise attack may impact the outcome of the historic summit between North Korea and the US. 　Some suggest that the attack on Syria could give more leverage to US President Donald Trump by sending a strong message to Pyongyang, while others predict that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may use it as an excuse to justify the country’s pos

April 16, 2018

Press center, online platform to be launched ahead of inter-Korean summit

South Korea will open a press center next week to accommodate the massive number of journalists likely to come from home and abroad to cover the upcoming historic inter-Korean summit, the preparation committee and government officials said Monday.The press center will open at the KINTEX exhibition hall north of Seoul on April 26, according to the officials. Its launch will come a day before South and North Korean leaders will hold what will be the third inter-Korean summit talks in history at th

April 16, 2018

Koreas set to hold high-level talks this week to set agenda for summit

South and North Korea are set to hold high-level talks this week to arrange key agenda items for next week's summit amid keen attention over whether the historic meeting could set the stage for the North's denuclearization.Officials from the two sides will discuss themes for the April 27 summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.If held, it will be the third inter-Korean summit, following meetings in 2000 and 2007. Kim is also set to become the first North Korean l

April 16, 2018

Koreas hold talks on telephone hotline between leaders

Working-level officials from the two Koreas discussed establishing a telephone hotline between the two countries' leaders on Saturday ahead of their historic summit set for later this month, according to Seoul's presidential office.The talks were held on the North Korean side of the truce village at the border, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. (Yonhap)Once the line is open, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un plan to have a phone conversation before the April 27 summ

April 15, 2018

S. Korea promotes New North policy in China

The head of South Korea's presidential committee for economic cooperation with northern countries returned home Sunday from his three-day visit to China, where he promoted Seoul's vision of expanding ties with neighbors in the region.Song Young-gil, who heads the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation, met officials from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Charhar Institute, the committee said. The presidential body aims at expanding ties with northern countries, such

April 15, 2018

NK calmly marks late founder's birthday without mention of nukes, provocations

North Korea appears to be marking the birthday of its late founder on Sunday without provocations ahead of its planned summit talks with South Korea and the United States. Kim Il-sung's birthday, which falls on April 15, is North Korea's biggest national holiday, called the Day of the Sun. The North has held a festival every two years since 1982 to mark the birthday of the late founder. This year's event kicked off last Wednesday and will last until Tuesday.  (AFP-Yonhap)The North held cultural

April 15, 2018

'Peace, a new start' chosen as slogan for upcoming inter-Korean summit

South Korea has chosen "Peace, a new start" as a slogan for the upcoming inter-Korean summit, which will be held in late April, the presidential office said Sunday. The slogan signifies the journey that the two Koreas will have to take to achieve global peace by holding their first summit in 11 years, and that the summit will also serve as a guide for summit talks between North Korea and the United States, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters.  (KCNA)South and North Korean leader

April 15, 2018

Trump-Kim mixture could spell disaster in talks

US President Donald Trump’s personality traits show signs of instability that pose a grave danger to the world and should be kept apart from negotiations with North Korea, warns Bandy Lee.Lee, the editor of the best-selling book “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” a collection of writings by mental health professionals, warns that Trump displays numerous signs of complex psychological issues. Lee says that the tendencies Trump displays raise risks for the upcoming US-North Korea summit, which

April 15, 2018

NK leader meets senior Chinese official ahead of key summits

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met senior Chinese diplomat Song Tao and discussed “matters of mutual concern,” the North’s state media said Sunday, indicating closer ties between Pyongyang and Beijing ahead of Kim’s planned summits with South Korea and the United States.Kim met Song, head of the international liaison department of at the Central Committee of the Communist Party, on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. A Chinese art troupe, led by Song, arrived in Pyongyang on

April 15, 2018

North Korean leader meets senior Chinese official

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met with a Chinese official leading an art troupe to Pyongyang and exchanged views on "important matters of mutual concern," the North's state-run media reported on Sunday. Kim met Song Tao, head of the international liaison department of at the Central Committee of the Communist Party, on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The art troupe, led by Song, arrived in Pyongyang on Friday in a sign of improving relations between the two countries

April 15, 2018

NK leader's sister meets with Chinese art troupe visiting Pyongyang

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with members of a Chinese art troupe visiting Pyongyang for cultural performances and promised to do her best to make sure their stay is as comfortable as possible, the North's state media said Saturday.The art troupe, led by Song Tao, head of the international department at the Central Committee of the Communist Party, arrived in Pyongyang on Friday in a sign of improving relations between the two countries since leader Kim's visit to China last

April 14, 2018

Tightly held planning under way for Trump-Kim meeting: US official

Preparations for a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are tightly held but have been under way for weeks, a senior US government official said Friday.When and where the two leaders will meet has been a growing question since Trump accepted Kim's invitation to a summit last month.The US president said earlier this week the meeting will be in May or early June.President Donald Trump in New York City, Sept. 21, 2017, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Sep

April 14, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] ‘No difference’ with US in achieving denuclearization of Peninsula: S. Korea security chief

　South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong returned home Friday after wrapping up his first meeting with US counterpart John Bolton, describing it as “conducive” amid preparations for separate US and South Korean summits with North Korea. 　During a meeting with reporters at Incheon Airport, Chung said he and Bolton reaffirmed that there is “no difference” between Seoul and Washington in achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and making the upcoming summits a success. 　“I

April 13, 2018

Trump says meeting with Kim will be 'terrific'

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday he thinks his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be "terrific."Trump and Kim are expected to meet in May or June to talk about the denuclearization of the regime.At a meeting with governors and lawmakers at the White House, Trump acknowledged the preparations were under way."Meetings are being set up right now between myself and Kim Jong-un," he said. "I think it will be terrific. I think we'll go in with a lot of respect and w

April 13, 2018

Pompeo plays down hopes for comprehensive deal at NK summit

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's pick to be America's top diplomat is playing down expectations for a breakthrough deal on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program at a planned summit with the North's leader.Mike Pompeo, the current CIA director, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations considering his nomination Thursday that "no one is under any illusions that we will reach a comprehensive agreement through the president's meeting" with Kim Jong Un in May or early June.The summit

April 13, 2018

Top security advisers of S. Korea, US meet ahead of NK summits

WASHINGTON -- The top national security advisers of South Korea and the United States met in Washington Thursday as both sides prepare for summits with North Korea.Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office, made a surprise visit to the US capital Wednesday to meet with US National Security Adviser John Bolton.South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27, while US President Donald Trump has said his meeting will be in M

April 13, 2018

Kim Jong-un is practical, likely to give up nukes: expert

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is practical and likely to give up nuclear weapons programs, unlike his father, to break out of isolation and revive the country’s economy, North Korea experts said Thursday. Kim has been depicted as a vicious, immature leader, but he is also practical and decisive, which offers a real opportunity to have North Korea abandon its nuclear arsenal for the right price, they say. “He is a practical leader. He could take bold steps. Just look at his visit to China. He i

April 12, 2018

N. Korea’s rubber stamp parliament convenes in leader‘s absence

North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly convened Wednesday, the country’s state media reported Thursday, with leader Kim Jong-un apparently absent from the proceedings. The parliamentary meeting comes head of an inter-Korean summit scheduled for April 27 and a planned meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump in late May or early June.  North Korea`s parliament holds a key session on Wednesday, without its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance. (KCNA-Yonhap)The SPA, a rubber-stamp parliament,

April 12, 2018

Multiple summits in the works ahead of US-NK meeting

Speculations of a possible Seoul-Washington summit are rising following Cheong Wa Dae’s confirmation of a trilateral South Korea-China-Japan summit next month. After President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Wednesday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said that the trilateral summit would be held early next month in Japan. President Moon Jae-in (second from right) speaks at the meeting of inter-Korean summit preparation committee on Wednesday. YonhapThe mee

April 12, 2018

Moon says success of upcoming summit with N. Korea requires all-out efforts

President Moon Jae-in sought to rally public support for his upcoming dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Thursday, saying it would require all-out efforts on all sides to ensure success in the rare opportunity to ease tension between the two Koreas."Now the South-North summit will be held in about half a month. A North-US summit is also scheduled to be held thereafter. They will be once-in-a-life time chance to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, establish permanent peace an

April 12, 2018