Ambassador sees hope for resumption of US-North Korean talks South Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Yoon-je, left, shakes hands with the South Korean President Moon Jae-in who, with first lady Kim Jung-sook, second from right, are departing an airport in Dallas, the United States, April 11, 2019. Korea Times fileSouth Korea's top envoy to the United States said Tuesday he is hopeful a recent series of diplomatic events will lead to the resumption of U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks.Speaking at a briefing with reporters, Amb. Cho Yoon-je cited last week's letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as Kim's condolence message delivered by his sister on the occasion of the death of former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho."I think these are positive trends in that they were the first direct communication with the U.S. and the South by the North Korean leader since the Hanoi summit," he said, referring to Trump and Kim's no-deal meeting in February."South Korea and the U.S. are of the position that we will do our best to use this opportunity to bring about a resumption of talks between the North anJun 19, 2019
Xi writes op-ed for Pyongyang paper, vows to cooperate resolving Korean Peninsula issues Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 15. Xinhua-YonhapChinese President Xi Jinping vowed close cooperation with North Korea on Wednesday to help make progress in negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington on the eve of his first visit to the North as leader.Xi made the pledge in an op-ed piece to the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's official newspaper, in a rare move seen as part of efforts to emphasize their friendly and close bilateral relations, a day before he pays a state visit to the communist neighbor. "We will actively try to contribute to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity by strengthening communication and coordination with North Korea and other relevant parties to make progress in talks and negotiations on Korean Peninsula issues," Xi said."The Chinese side expresses its support for North Korea holding a right approach of politically resolving Korean Peninsula issues and trying to address matters of its reasonable concerns throJun 19, 2019
White House on Xi's NK visit: Focus is on denuclearization U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint news conference with Poland's President Andrzej Duda in at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 12. ReutersThe world is focused on achieving North Korea's denuclearization, the White House said Monday in response to news of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Pyongyang.Xi is to make a state visit to North Korea on Thursday and Friday, his first as China's president."Our goal is to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK as agreed to by Chairman Kim," a White House official told Yonhap on background, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and its leader, Kim Jong-un."The world is focused on Chairman Kim's commitment to denuclearization," he said.The trip comes shortly before Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump travel to Osaka, Japan, for a Group of 20 summit, leading analysts to believe the Chinese leader is seeking to use his leverage on the North Korean nuclear issue as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with the U.S.Adding weight to the tJun 18, 2019
North Korea's state media say Chinese President Xi to visit Pyongyang In this June 19 file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, poses with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a photo during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. APChinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, state media announced Monday, as U.S. talks with North Korea on its nuclear program are at an apparent standstill. Xi will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the visit on Thursday and Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said. It said the trip will be the first by a Chinese president in 14 years. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency also announced the visit, but provided no further details. The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea, CCTV said. The broadcaster added the leaders will exchange views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The visit comes as negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea appear to have reached an impasse. A summit in Vietnam in February betweeJun 18, 2019
Chinese President Xi to visit N. Korea this week: KCNA Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, the North's state media reported Monday, marking his first trip to Pyongyang since becoming president.Xi is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to North Korea from Thursday at the invitation of its leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It will be the first visit by a Chinese leader to its communist neighbor in 14 years. Though Xi visited North Korea in 2008, he was China's vice president at that time."The envisioned summit between Xi and Kim bears significance in the bilateral relations as the two neighbors marked the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations," an official said. Further details were not available.The two leaders last met in January this year when Kim visited China ahead of his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. As North Korea's last remaining major ally and a key provider of economic support, China has sought a role in negotiations on the North's nuclear programs.Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since February as the Jun 17, 2019
Trump brushes off North Korea's sanctions violations U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event about expanding health coverage options for small businesses and workers in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, June 14. AFP-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump appeared to downplay North Korea's violation of sanctions, Friday, saying "everybody" tries to skirt them. Trump has seemed eager to keep diplomacy with North Korea alive despite the failure of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February and the North's launching of short-range missiles last month.On Tuesday he revealed that he had received another "beautiful" letter from Kim and expressed optimism about the future of U.S. dealings with the regime."Everybody tries to break sanctions, but the sanctions are hurting them badly," Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News when asked about North Korea's alleged violation of sanctions through ship-to-ship transfers at sea."We never took the sanctions off," he said.Trump continued to note that the U.S. has a "good relationship" with North Korea unlike before, when the regime was testing nuclJun 15, 2019
North Korean media call for reconciliation ahead of June 15 Joint Declaration anniversary From left are former President Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009), North Korea’s former leader Kim Jong-il and former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho (1922-2019) at the Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, two days before the June 15 Joint Inter-Korean Declaration, in this June 13, 2000 photo. After Lee passed away on Monday, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un sent a letter of condolences delivered by his sister Kim Yo-jong to the South’s National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong at the inter-Korean border, Wednesday. Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri published an article Friday calling for reconciliation and confidence-building between the Koreas, a day ahead of the 19th anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration signed between then-President Kim Dae-jung and then-leader of the North, Kim Jong-il.The article urged South Korea to stop conducting its joint military exercises with the United States, calling them continuous covert hostile activities against the North's regime.It said the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises hinJun 14, 2019
Moon hopes to meet Kim Jong-un before Trump visits Seoul in late June President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Korea Times fileSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in voiced hope Wednesday that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the peninsula at the end of this month.Moon's offer came amid renewed expectations for a possible breakthrough in efforts to restart nuclear talks following the news of Kim's new personal letter to Trump. Kim also sent a condolence message on the passing of Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, which includes a positive message on inter-Korean relations."I think it's desirable (for me) to meet Chairman Kim Jong-un, if possible," before Trump's trip to South Korea, Moon said after delivering a keynote speech on his "Peace for the People" vision at the Oslo Forum.Trump is scheduled to attend the two-day G-20 summit to open in Osaka, Japan, on June 28. He plans to travel to South Korea as well during the upcoming Northeast Asia tour. No exact schedule has been announced yet, while observers expect him to visit Seoul on his wJun 13, 2019
US and 25 nations accuse North Korea of violating sanctions A handout photo taken on June 4, and released by Koryo Tours shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un created by performers during a "Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance," or mass games, at the May Day stadium in Pyongyang. AFPThe United States and 25 other countries are accusing North Korea of violating U.N. sanctions by importing far more than the annual limit of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products. A complaint seen Wednesday by The Associated Press asks the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea to rule that Pyongyang breached the cap and demand an immediate halt to deliveries. It said most of the excess petroleum products were obtained from dozens of illegal ship-to-ship transfers. Last July, Russia and China blocked a similar request from the U.S. to get the U.N. sanctions committee to publicly accuse North Korea of violating the annual quota. The Russians and Chinese are key suppliers of petroleum products to North Korea. The Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test explosion iJun 13, 2019
Pyongyang to deliver condolence message, flowers for late first lady's funeral North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong holds a bouquet of flowers during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, March 1, 2019, in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP-YonhapThe sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will deliver a condolence message and flowers to South Korea at the border village of Panmunjom on Wednesday over the death of former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho, the unification ministry said.The North informed the South through their joint liaison office in the North's border city of Kaesong that the leader's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, will deliver the message and flowers at the North Korean side of Panmunjom at 5 p.m., the ministry said.Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office, Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho and Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition Party of Democracy and Peace will travel to Panmunjom to accept the message and flowers, the ministry said.On Monday, Lee Hee-ho died at the age of 96 after battling liver cancer. She is known for the lifelong support for her husband's efforts to bring democracy to South KoreJun 12, 2019
