Pyongyang summit deal should be fulfilled, Moon says in anniversary message President Moon Jae-in / YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in said Saturday that his Pyongyang summit agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should be implemented despite restraints at home and abroad, as he marked the second anniversary of its signing.He stressed that Seoul's commitment to peace remains firm, while the agreement has not been fulfilled speedily due to "internal and external restraints."In a message posted on Facebook, the President recalled his historic speech in front of 150,000 Pyongyang citizens at the May Day Stadium in the North's capital two years ago."Together with Chairman Kim Jong-un, I declared [the need for] denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula," he wrote.A "concrete and practical" agreement was reached in the military field, which has led to the demilitarization of Panmunjom, a truce village and the excavation of the remains of soldiers killed on Arrowhead Hill, a key battlefield during the 1950-53 Korean War, he added."There has since been not a single armed clash between the South and North," Moon noted. "It's very valuable progress, which wSep 19, 2020
Singaporean admits supplying luxury goods to North Korea GettyimagesbankA Singapore man has admitted to supplying luxury perfume, cosmetics and watches worth tens of thousands of dollars to North Korea in violation of United Nations sanctions.Chong Hock Yen, the 60-year-old director of three Singapore-based companies, pleaded guilty Thursday to engaging in a conspiracy to supply luxury goods worth almost $200,000 to the isolated country. Over nearly six years, the companies supplied items including perfume, cosmetics, watches and musical instruments to firms in North Korea under Chong's orders, according to court documents. One of his accomplices, Li Hyon, a North Korean who helped his father source products in Singapore for his chain of department stores in North Korea, was jailed for four weeks earlier this year for his role. The United Nations Security Council has put punishing sanctions on North Korea in response to its ballistic missile and nuclear tests.Singapore suspended trade ties with the North in 2017, although there have been several cases in recent years of companies and individuals from the city-state being charged for supplySep 19, 2020
Missile launch or storm repairs? Flurry of activity fuels speculation of North Korea test In this undated photo provided Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a construction site in Taechong-ri, North Korea, in a recovery effort from recent flood and typhoon damage. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via APAnalysts and security officials say they are watching for signs that North Korea may use an upcoming holiday to unveil new weapons or test fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), after a flurry of activity was detected at a key base. Formations of troops have been seen practicing for what is expected to be a major military parade Oct. 10, the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Some observers say North Korea may showcase its largest missiles for the first time since 2018. Meanwhile, imagery analysts and security officials caution that so far there is no conclusive evidence of an impending launch. But after several typhoons lashed North Korea in early September, satellite photos have shown a flurry of activity at the Sinpo South Shipyard, including in a secure basin where a barge used in previous undSep 19, 2020
Seoul eyes second anniversary of Pyongyang Declaration A sculpture entitled "We are one" is displayed at a park in Paju City, Sept. 18, ahead of the second anniversary of the Pyongyang Declaration. YonhapBy Do Je-hae Two years ago on Sept. 19, the leaders of the two Koreas signed the Pyongyang Joint Declaration that included measures to reduce military tension on the Korean Peninsula and boost cooperation in various areas.The declaration was the outcome of the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during an eventful year in inter-Korean relations, starting with a visit to South Korea by a high-level delegation led by Kim's sister Yo-jong during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games earlier in the year.The second year anniversary of the declaration comes amid a deadlock in both inter-Korean relations and the denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea. Although Pyongyang has made no mention of the anniversary, Seoul is eyeing it as an occasion to renew momentum for inter-Korean cooperation. In this regard, speculation has been rising for weeks that President Moon could make some proSep 18, 2020By Do Je-hae
Ex-chief of staff says there'll be 'deal of some sort' with North Korea if Trump wins reelection In this Dec. 21, 2016, file photo, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, accompanied by chief of staff Reince Priebus, right, and retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a senior adviser to Trump, stand together at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. APA former chief of staff to U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that there will be a "deal of some sort" with North Korea that includes its "incremental concession" should Trump win reelection in November.Reince Priebus, who served in the White House post in 2017, made the remarks during a local forum, in response to an expert's view that Trump will seek to reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should he get another term."I don't know what it will be, but there will be a deal of some sort with North Korea and some incremental concession that means something positive to the region," Priebus said during a session of the World Knowledge Forum hosted by the Maekyung Media Group."Now what that is and how you will analyze it, that is going to be a different story," he added.The former White House aide did not elaborate on what that deal will sSep 17, 2020
North Korea may conduct underwater-launched missile test In this April 15, 2017, file photo, navy personnel sit in front of a submarine-launched "Pukguksong" ballistic missile as it is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea could soon conduct its first underwater-launched ballistic missile test in about a year, South Korea's military said Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, amid long-stalled nuclear talks between the North and the United States. APNorth Korea may soon conduct its first underwater-launched ballistic missile test in about a year, a top South Korean military official said Wednesday, amid long-stalled nuclear talks between the North and the United States. In written remarks to lawmakers ahead of a confirmation hearing, Won In-choul, the nominee for chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said North Korea has been repairing recent typhoon damage at its northeastern Sinpo shipyard, a place where it builds submarines. Shortly after the repairs are complete, there is a chance it will carry out a submarine-launched ballistic missile test, Won said. He said South Korea's military is keeping a close Sep 17, 2020
Unification minister calls on North to fulfill inter-Korean agreements Unification Minister Lee In-young waves his hand toward North Korean soldiers observing his visit to the truce village of Panmunjeom, Wednesday. / Joint press corpsBy Kang Seung-woo, Joint press corps Unification Minister Lee In-young urged North Korea to put inter-Korean agreements into action, Wednesday, and return to negotiations amid a deadlock in bilateral relations.He also called for an early restoration of consultation channels between the South and North, including a liaison office that was demolished by Pyongyang in June. Lee's pleas came during his first visit to the truce village of Panmunjeom since his inauguration in July, and days ahead of the second anniversary of a summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, Sept. 19, 2018, during which they signed agreements to reduce military tensions and bolster cooperation.“Agreement must be kept and they can be completed by implementation,” Lee said. “In order to complete the determination of the two leaders and restart the timeline for the South and North, joint effortSep 16, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Trump says, without him, US would have been in nuclear war with North Korea U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington. APU.S. President Donald Trump insisted his country could have been in a nuclear war with North Korea if he had not been elected four years ago."Everybody said because of my personality, they said he'll be in a war immediately," Trump said of his election four years ago in a town hall event hosted by U.S. television network ABC. "Look at North Korea, how that's worked."Trump has often argued his engagement and good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is what prevented what many believed to be an imminent war with the communist North."If President Obama were president, if Hillary Clinton ever got in, there would be a war. We would have a war, probably a nuclear war with North Korea," Trump said.In his new book, "Rage," Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward quoted Trump as saying that the U.S. had been much closer to a war with the North in 2017 than anyone had imagined.The Watergate reporter also quoted the North KoreaSep 16, 2020
Trump's North Korea diplomacy deserves credit for preventing war: Woodward This file photo taken on Feb. 27, 2019, shows U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un before a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi. AFPU.S. President Donald Trump's engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un prevented a war with the communist state, Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward said Tuesday.He said it was unprecedented diplomacy. The remark came hours after his new book on Trump and his administration, "Rage," hit the bookstands."It's an interesting original experiment, diplomacy because you know the normal playbook is that you send people to meet from both sides and you work out summit meeting between the two leaders," Woodward said in an online session hosted by his affiliated newspaper. The Watergate reporter currently serves as an associate editor of Washington Post."Trump felt very much that it worked. We didn't have war and you know as I point out (in the book), you have to give him credit," Woodward said. "At this point, there's been no war."Such an assessment marks a clear praise considering that it coSep 16, 2020
Kim put 'conditions' on denuclearization three months after US summit: Woodward In this June 30, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the North Korean side of the border at the village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone. Journalist Bob Woodward's book, "Rage," includes new details about Trump's comments on Kim. APNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un began putting conditions on denuclearization three months after his first-ever summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018, a soon-to-be-published book showed.In his upcoming book, "Rage," Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward also noted that correspondence between Kim and Trump "increased in both frequency and affection" following their first summit held in June 2018."I just have arrived back in America, and the media for North Korea and you has been fantastic," Trump wrote to Kim on June 15, three days after the two met in Singapore in one of 27 letters exchanged between the two leaders disclosed in the Wooodward book.In response, Kim wrote back on July 6, saying, "The significant first meeting with Your Excellency and the joint statement that we signedSep 14, 2020
