North Korea named worst human trafficking nation for 17th year North Korean and Chinese national flags are hoisted on a street in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 20. The sign on the building reads "The great Comrades Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are forever with us." APThe United States on Thursday designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 17th consecutive year.The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report placed North Korea among the lowest Tier 3 countries, along with China, Iran and Russia, among others.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out the regime for its use of forced labor."In North Korea, the government subjects its own citizens to forced labor both at home and abroad and then uses proceeds to fund nefarious activities," he said at the report's launch ceremony.The report details abuses by the North Korean government, including its forced mobilization of adults and school children to work in factories and other sectors, and its "egregious human rights violations" that "can fuel trafficking in neighboring China."The designation was given because North Korea does not fully meet the minJun 21, 2019
North Korea's Kim meets China's Xi, says awaiting US actions Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands at the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 20. YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un, meeting in Pyongyang with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Thursday that his country is waiting for a desired response in stalled nuclear talks with the United States.``North Korea would like to remain patient, but it hopes the relevant party will meet halfway with North Korea to explore resolution plans that accommodate each other's reasonable concerns,'' he said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Xi's trip to North Korea, the first by a Chinese president in 14 years, raises the possibility that China could help break a monthslong impasse in talks between the U.S. and North Korea over the North's nuclear weapons. Describing the issue as ``highly complex and sensitive,'' Xi said his government is willing to play a constructive role in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. ``The international community expects the U.S. and North Korea to continue to talk and achieve results,Jun 21, 2019
PHOTOS North Korea greets Xi with lavish ceremony In this image taken from a video footage run by China's CCTV, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, front right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, front left, walk together on Xi's arrival at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, June 20, 2019. The leaders of China and North Korea met in the North's capital on Thursday, their fifth meeting in 15 months, with stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington expected to be on the agenda. (CCTV via AP)People welcome General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the square of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), June 20, 2019. Xi arrived here Thursday for a state visit to the DPRK. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)People welcome General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the square of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), June 20, 2019. Xi arrived here Thursday for a state visit to Jun 20, 2019
Kim, Xi hold summit talks in Pyongyang A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Dalian, China, 08 May 2018. EPAChinese President Xi Jinping held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported, after arriving in Pyongyang on a landmark visit expected to reaffirm their alliance amid trade and nuclear tensions with the United States.Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived at Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport earlier in the day and were greeted by the North's leader and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, the People's Daily reported. Close to 10,000 North Koreans waved flowers and chanted welcoming slogans at the airport, it said.Xi and Kim reviewed an honor guard and rode in a roofless limousine to leave for the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum commemorating the North's former leaders, the paper reported.The two leaders later held talks, Xinhua reported without providing details.North Korean media has yet Jun 20, 2019
China's Xi arrives in North Korea for talks with Kim Jong-un The Chinese presidential flight carrying President Xi Jinping is seen in Beijing Capital International Airport, Thursday. YonhapChinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday for a two-day state visit to North Korea, where he's expected to talk with leader Kim Jong Un about the stalled negotiations with Washington over North Korea's nuclear weapons.China's official Xinhua news agency reported that Xi was accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, and several Communist Party officials. He is the first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years.The summit comes as both Xi and Kim are locked in separate disputes with the United States ― Xi over trade and Kim over his nuclear weapons. A Xinhua commentary said China could play a unique and constructive role in breaking the cycle of mistrust between North Korea and the U.S. so they can work out a roadmap to achieve denuclearization.The U.S. is demanding that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons development before international sanctions are lifted. North Korea is seeking a step-by-step approach in which a step toward iJun 20, 2019
Reporter's Notebook North Korea should respond to joint excavation project Officials from the Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA (killed in action) Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) conduct excavation work at Arrowhead Ridge in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Courtesy of MAKRIBy Jung Da-minIt has been over two-and-a-half months since South Korea independently kicked off what was supposed to be a joint excavation of war remains on the untouched highland of Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which was agreed upon by the two Koreas as part of their Comprehensive Military Agreement made last Sept. 19.Since the work began April, 435 bones believed to be from over 50 soldiers and 29,813 items of war have been found in the DMZ area as of June 9, according to the Inter-Korean Joint Recovery Project taskforce under the Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA (killed in action) Recovery and Identification (MAKRI).Although the excavation by South Korea has accomplished much, the achievements will be only half, or even less than half of what the project could have made with the participation of North Korea.The North's participation would Jun 20, 2019
Xi to visit North Korea today. How will it affect China-US trade war, inter-Korean ties? Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a historic trip to Pyongyang on Thursday, rebooting a troubled alliance as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un face their own challenges with US President Donald Trump.Xi will be the first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years after relations between the Cold War era allies deteriorated over Pyongyang's nuclear provocations and Beijing's subsequent backing of UN sanctions.Xi and Kim have been working to repair ties, with the young North Korean leader visiting his older comrade four times in China in the past year and Beijing calling for sanctions to be relaxed.But the Chinese leader waited to reciprocate the visit, biding his time to see how nuclear talks between Kim and Trump would play out before deciding to travel to Pyongyang, according to analysts.Xi's two-day visit is a chance for China to showcase its influence in the region."For North Korea, the coming meeting will serve to show the US that China has its back and to send a message to Washington it should stop its maximum pressure posture," said Lim Eul-chul, professor of NortJun 20, 2019
Seoul to send 50,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul announces about the government's latest food aid to the North at the Government Complex Seoul in the city's Jongno District, Wednesday. YonhapSouth Korea said Wednesday it will send 50,000 tons of rice in aid to North Korea via a U.N. agency as part of efforts to help the impoverished state cope with its worsening food shortages.The aid will be transported by the World Food Programme (WFP), which will also be in charge of its distribution and necessary monitoring in North Korea, according to the unification ministry.It marks the first time for South Korea to provide rice to North Korea since 2010, when it sent 5,000 tons to support its efforts to recover from flood damage. It will also be the first time Seoul has sent locally harvested rice to the North through an international agency."In close cooperation with the WFP, the government decided to provide 50,000 tons of domestically grown rice to the North Korean people in need," Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told reporters during a press briefing. "We expect the food assistance to bJun 19, 2019
Defense chief calls for tightened discipline after North Korean boat's border crossing Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, second from left, speaks during the 2019 first-half military commanders' meeting at the ministry's office in Seoul's Yongsan District, Wednesday. YonhapDefense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo vowed Wednesday to look thoroughly into what went wrong with the maritime border surveillance and hold whoever is responsible to account following revelations that a North Korean fishing boat crossed deep into South Korea waters and reached the shore undetected.Concerns and criticism have mounted over possible loopholes in the military's maritime surveillance capabilities after the wooden boat carrying four North Koreans arrived at the port in the east coast city of Samcheok, Gangwon Province, on Saturday morning.The site was around 130 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas.Calling the case "a very grave situation," Jeong demanded that the military tighten operational and work discipline, and proactively push for measures to prevent recurrences of such incidents, according to the defense ministry."We haJun 19, 2019
Minister calls for 3rd US-NK summit Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul. Korea Times fileUnification Minister Kim Yeon-chul called Wednesday for a third summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, stressing the importance of working-level talks to ensure a new meeting will lead to substantial denuclearization steps."Now is the time for all-out efforts to make sure that a third summit between North Korea and the United States will lead to a practical denuclearization and peace process," the minister said in a keynote speech at a security form hosted by his ministry.Referring to a series of summits between regional players scheduled to kick off later this week, the minister said, "The most important goal of all of these summits is to create an environment for a successful North Korea-U.S. summit." Chinese President Xi Jinping is planned to visit North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Japan's Osaka next week. Trump will also visit Seoul at the end of the month for talks with President Moon Jae-in. In this file phoJun 19, 2019
