Bolton says 6-party forum is not preferred approach on N. Korea U.S. national security adviser John Bolton / ReutersU.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday that reviving six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization is not Washington's preferred approach.In an interview with Fox News, Bolton was asked if President Donald Trump would go along with Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent suggestion that the six-party talks, which collapsed in 2009, be restored to break the impasse in denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang."I think it's not just what our preference is," Bolton said. "I think (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un, at least up until now, has wanted the one-on-one contact with the United States, which is what he has gotten."Putin and Kim held their first summit in Russia's Vladivostok last week.The meeting was widely regarded as part of North Korea's push to secure sanctions relief from other major powers following the collapse of February's second summit between Kim and Trump. Bolton noted that the six-party talks, which involved the two Koreas, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia, failed toApr 29, 2019
South holds low-key ceremony for summit anniversary American cellist Lynn Harrell plays a tune at the southern side of Panmunjeom, during a ceremony, Saturday, for the first anniversary of the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. / YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe government celebrated the first anniversary of the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Kim Jong-un in a low key manner, Saturday.According to experts the following day, the celebration apparently showed Moon’s woes over the stalled denuclearization talks between the North and the U.S., which poses a challenge to his mediation role.Moon did not come to the celebration co-hosted by the Ministry of Unification, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gyeonggi Province Government on the southern side of Panmunejom, where the summit took place April 27, 2018.Instead it featured a 3-minute, 16 seconds-long video message from Moon, who said, “We often need to catch our breath and find a way together when we run into hurdles.”The remainder of the ceremony mainly consisted of cultural performances.“The President was Apr 28, 2019By Yi Whan-woo
N. Korean media calls for self-reliance amid nuke talks in limbo North Korea's media outlets on Sunday redoubled calls for "self-reliance" as its nuclear negotiations with the United States remain in limbo, with little progress in its efforts to ease international sanctions.In recent weeks, Pyongyang has been hammering away at the self-reliance campaign, apparently to strengthen national unity amid Washington's hard-line stance in the nuclear negotiations and a lack of substantive headway in key inter-Korean cooperation projects.In an editorial, the Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, called on North Koreans to follow the party leadership to construct a "self-sustaining economy" at a time of continued sanctions pressure."Thoroughly establishing the party leadership system is a significant demand to hold up highly the banner of independence and self-reliance and press ahead with the construction of socialist economy," the newspaper said."Especially, the trend of today's political situation ― where hostile forces' instigation of sanctions has become more explicit ― calls for raising the banner of independence and self-reliApr 28, 2019
Moon says Koreas remain on peace path despite temporary difficulty President Moon Jae-in / YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in expressed optimism Saturday that the two Koreas will achieve "irreversible peace" and co-prosperity on the basis of his summit deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a year earlier.Celebrating the first anniversary of the signing of a set of summit agreements at the truce village of Panmunjom, Moon called it a "dramatic day.""(The agreements in) the Panmunjom Declaration are being implemented one by one," he said in a video message for an official ceremony held on the southern side of Panmunjom.He pointed out that South and North Korea have pulled guard posts out of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and that the excavation of war remains is under way there.Tensions have eased in fishing zones near the Yellow Sea border and a joint liaison office is in operation in Kaesong, a North Korean border town, he added."Preparations have been finished as well to connect (inter-Korean) railways and roads," Moon said.His remarks came amid growing concern about stalled nuclear talks and slower-than-expected progress in inter-Korean economic cooperApr 27, 2019
Trump says no money was paid for release of NK detainee U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association in Indianapolis, April 26. APU.S. President Donald Trump denied Friday a news report claiming his administration promised to pay North Korea US$2 million for the release of an American prisoner in 2017. The Washington Post reported Thursday that Pyongyang had asked a U.S. envoy to sign a pledge agreeing to the payment before it released American college student Otto WarmbierWarmbier had been hospitalized in the North for more than a year after falling into a coma. He died shortly after he was flown back to the U.S. in June 2017.The North demanded the money to cover medical costs, according to The Post.“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist [sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!”The U.S. president has previously touted his administration's succeApr 27, 2019
Kim returns home after trip to Russia for summit North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has returned home from a trip to Russia after his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. APNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has returned home from his trip to Russia following his first summit with President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Saturday. Kim's special train returned earlier in the day, and was greeted by people in the country's northeastern province of North Hamkyeong, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not specify exactly when and where the train arrivedThe North Korean leader departed Vladivostok, Friday afternoon, a day after the summit with Putin at which they discussed the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and bilateral ties.Kim's visit to Vladivostok marked his first overseas trip since the breakdown of his February summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, which ended without a deal after they failed to find common ground over the scope of Pyongyang's denuclearization steps and Washington's sanctions relief.The KCNA earlier reported that Kim emphasized peace and security on the peniApr 27, 2019
South Korea to mark 1st anniversary of Panmunjeom inter-Korean declaration A poster for a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the April 27 Panmunjeom inter-Korean declaration scheduled to be held on Saturday night. The theme for the ceremony is "the long road" toward peace. Courtesy of Ministry of UnificationBy Jung Da-minSouth Korea will hold a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the April 27 Panmunjeom inter-Korean declaration on Saturday night, but North Korean officials are unlikely to attend.The Ministry of Unification earlier this week revealed its plans to hold the ceremony at the border village of Panmunjeom, but said it only notified the North, without inviting North Korean officials.Considering that North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un was in Vladivostok from Thursday to Friday for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, there was little chance that high-level officials from the North would attend, North Korea watchers said.An evening performance with the theme of “the long road” toward peace will host about 500 South Korean officials and citizens.Artists from South Korea, the United States, Japan and China willApr 26, 2019
NK presses US for concessions North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gets out of his car for a ceremony upon his departure from Russia, outside the railway station in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok, April 26. AFP-YonhapKim Jong-un departs Vladivostok Friday afternoon By Kim Yoo-chulNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un is pressing the United States, again, asking Washington to provide Pyongyang with such incentives as security guarantees and sanctions relief as prerequisites in advancing nuclear dialogue, political analysts in Seoul said, Friday.At his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un accused Washington of acting in “bad faith” at their recent talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, the North's state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.“Peace and security will entirely depend on Washington's future attitude. The situation on the peninsula and region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point,” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.The remarks are interpreted as the North's apparent pressure on the United States to flexibly accept its demands for economic sanctApr 26, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
NK leader Kim leaves Vladivostok North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a ceremony upon his departure from Russia, at the railway station in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 26. AFPNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday wrapped up a three-day visit to Russia, apparently with lukewarm support from President Vladimir Putin for his push to break a logjam in nuclear talks with the United States.Kim's first summit with Putin in Vladivostok on Thursday appeared to have fallen short of his expectations as Moscow remained cautious about publicly backing Pyongyang at the risk of aggravating tensions with Washington, analysts said.Putin called for a peaceful resolution of the North's nuclear quandary, but he made no public mention in support of Pyongyang's demands that Washington ease economic sanctions and show flexibility in hitherto unfruitful nuclear negotiations.Putin also voiced support for endeavors to "normalize" the Washington-Pyongyang relationship and refrained from outwardly advocating for the phased, incremental denuclearization approach that the North favors."I think Kim might have felt fApr 26, 2019
Kim says Korean Peninsula peace entirely depends on Washington's future attitude A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk during a grand banquet after Russian-North Korean talks at the Far Eastern Federal University campus on the Russky Island in Vladivostok, Russia, April 25. EPANorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un said peace and security on the Korean Peninsula will entirely depend on Washington's future attitude during his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media said Friday.In the summit held in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok on Thursday, Kim blamed Washington's "unilateral" attitude for the breakdown of his February meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and the current stalemate in denuclearization negotiations, according to the Korean Central News Agency."The situation on the Korean peninsula and the region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point where it may return to its original state as the U.S. took a unilateral attitude in bad faith at the recent second DPRK-U.S. summit talks," Kim was quoted as saApr 26, 2019
