N. Korea could test-fire one or two more missiles before resuming denuke talks: ex-CIA agent Andrew Kim speaks to Korean reporters at Stanford University on Feb. 22. YonhapBy Park Si-soo Andrew Kim, former head of the CIA's Korea Mission Center, said North Korea would test-fire “one or two more missiles” at times selected by its leader Kim Jong-un and then return to the negotiation table with the United States to discuss denuclearization. Kim made the remark during a panel discussion on the sidelines of an annual intelligence meeting at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday, hosted by the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), a think tank under the National Intelligence Service of Korea. The Korean-American negotiated the agenda and other details with the North in the lead-up to the historic June 12 summit between Kim and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Singapore. He stepped down ahead of the two leaders' second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. Kim said the North's future test-firings, if any, would be to satisfy “internal needs,” not for the widely speculative reason of “shaking up the negotiation framework” with the U.S.&ldquMay 29, 2019
Trump deflects criticism after supporting North Korea's insult of Biden U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk across the South Lawn as they return to the White House in Washington, DC on May 28. AFP-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday deflected criticism that he insulted a fellow American over a dictator when he agreed with North Korea's harsh assessment of Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.Trump has come under fire since he made remarks on Twitter and during a press conference in Tokyo over the weekend that supported North Korea's statement last week on the former vice president.In a commentary published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Pyongyang slammed Biden as a "a fool of low IQ," apparently in response to the presidential candidate's labeling of Kim Jong-un as a tyrant and dictator.U.S. Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden runs up the steps onto the stage to begin the kickoff rally of his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidental nomination in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 18. Reuters-Yonhap"I was actually sticking up for Sleepy Joe Biden while on foreiMay 29, 2019
'US, North Korea should not walk away from talks' From left are Amb. Joseph DeTrani, former U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks with North Korea, Dr. Morton Halperin, former director of the policy planning staff at the U.S. Department of State and Prof. Moon Chung-in of Yonsei University who is also special adviser to President Moon Jae-in participating at a seminar titled "Making a Breakthrough for the North Korean Stalemate in the Post-Hanoi Era," held at the Four Seaons Hotel Seoul in central Seoul, Tuesday. The Seoul-based think tank East Asia Foundation organized the seminar. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-minBy Jung Da-minThe United States and North Korea should resume their denuclearization negotiations soon if they want to make a breakthrough that would save February's Hanoi summit from being another failure in the 25 years of negotiation history between the two countries, long-time North Korea watchers based in Washington said at a seminar held in Seoul, Tuesday.“I don't think the Hanoi summit was a failure but it gave us the very clarity on the ongoing issues that have to be pursued,” said Amb. JosepMay 28, 2019
UN report urges North Korea to stop crackdowns on market activities Visitors listen to staff of the Pusong Corp. at its booth during the 22nd Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair at the Three Revolution Exhibition House in Pyongyang, May 20. APA new U.N. human rights report called on North Korea to stop crackdowns on market activities to ensure an adequate standard of living, saying that 75 percent of North Koreans are estimated to depend on such commercial transactions for survival.The Seoul office of the U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) released the report, titled "The price is rights: The violation of the right to an adequate standard of living in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," on Tuesday, stressing that engaging in market activities has become an "essential means for survival" for North Koreans in the face of the collapse of a state distribution system."However, when people try to engage in rudimentary market activity, they face arrest and detention, including for travelling within the country, for which a permit is required," the OHCHR said in a statement. "This situation invariably leads to a series ofMay 28, 2019
Trump and Abe at odds over North Korea missile tests U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Akasaka Palace, Japanese state guest house, in Tokyo, May 27. ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he is not ``personally'' bothered by recent short-range North Korean missile tests and doesn't believe they violated U.N. Security Council resolutions, breaking with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is hosting the president on a four-day state visit full of pageantry and pomp. Trump also continued his attacks against former Vice President and 2020 Democratic hopeful Joe Biden, siding with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, who recently criticized Biden as having a low IQ. The visit was designed to highlight the U.S.-Japan alliance and showcase the warm relations between the leaders. Trump said he and Abe deliberated over economic issues, including trade and Iran, during hours of talks at the Akasaka Palace. But North Korea's recent firing of short-range missiles emerged as an area of disagreement at a press conference Monday. Asked if he was bothered by the missile tests, Trump said: ``No, I'm not. I aMay 28, 2019
White House: Trump feels good about ties with Kim, denuke commitment North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump talk in the garden of the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Feb. 28. ReutersThe White House has said that U.S. President Donald Trump feels "good" about his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Kim's denuclearization commitment despite Pyongyang's recent missile launches.Presidential press secretary Sarah Sanders made the remarks on Sunday after Trump tweeted that Pyongyang's launch of two short-range missiles on May 9, the second such military move in less than a week, involved only "small weapons," and expressed his "confidence" in Kim."Look, the president's focus in all of this process is on continuing the very good relationship that he has with Chairman Kim. And he feels good that the chairman will stay firm with the commitment that he made to the president and move towards denuclearization," Sanders said in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press."That's our focus. That's going to continue to be our focus. Some of the activity that's taken place, as you can see fromMay 27, 2019
Trump says still confident of N. Korean leader's promise to denuke U.S. President Donald Trump shouts an answer to a reporter's question on the tarmac after arriving aboard Air Force One during a refueling stop on his way to Japan at Joint Base Elmendorf, Alaska, U.S. May 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is not disturbed by the latest missile launches by North Korea and still has confidence that the country's leader Kim Jong-un will keep his denuclearization promise. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump tweeted while on a state visit to Japan. "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me," he said.North Korea carried out two firings into the East Sea over a less than one-week period early this month, including two short-range missiles, in an apparent show of frustration over the stalled denuclearization talks with the U.S. There have been inconsistent assessments from Seoul and Washington over how to classify the missile firings. While the South Korean military has yet to officially define the missile types, PenMay 26, 2019
US reiterates that doors remain open for N. Korea to resume talks The United States remains open to holding talks with North Korea and is very clear about that position, its State Department has said, after North Korea urged for "a new method" to break the impasse in the stalled denuclearization negotiations. The State Department's comment came in response to a query by Yonhap News Agency regarding a remark by North Korea's foreign ministry on Friday. Pyongyang said the talks won't resume unless Washington comes up with a "new method of calculation," blaming the U.S. for the no-deal Hanoi summit in February. Reaffirming the U.S. stance, the State Department said the Trump administration sticks to the Singapore agreement signed by the two countries' leaders, to commit to the complete denuclearization of the North and to building a lasting peace.It also said the U.S. is ready to have a constructive discussion with the North to advance the process "simultaneously and in parallel."Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have made little headway since the Hanoi summit of Kim and U.S.U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a deal. They failed toMay 25, 2019
N. Korea says talks won't resume unless US comes up with 'new calculation' U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam in this Feb. 28 file photo. North Korea says nuclear negotiations with the United States will never resume unless Washington changes its negotiating tactics. APNorth Korea said Friday that nuclear negotiations with the United States will never resume unless President Donald Trump's administration moves away from what it described as unilateral demands for disarmament. The statement by an unnamed North Korean foreign ministry spokesman published in state media was the country's latest expression of displeasure over the stalled nuclear negotiations as it continues to press Washington to soften its stance on enforcing sanctions against Pyongyang's crippled economy. It came as President Trump prepares to travel to Japan this weekend for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in which the North Korean nuclear issue will likely be high on the agenda.In the statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, thMay 25, 2019
Bolton says N. Korea missile tests violated UN resolutions U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is surrounded by reporters at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo in this May 24, 2019 file photo. Bolton said a series of short-range missiles launched by North Korea last month were violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, stressing the need to keep sanctions on the reclusive regime in place. The national security adviser reiterated that the U.S. position on the North's denuclearization was consistent and that a repeated pattern of failures should be stopped. (Yohei Kanasashi/Kyodo News via AP) U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said a series of short-range missile tests by North Korea last month were violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and added that sanctions on the reclusive regime must be kept in place. Bolton, in Tokyo for U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Japan, said Saturday that the U.S. position on denuclearization of the North was consistent and that May 25, 2019
