'Seoul, Washington aligned on end goal on North Korea': Foreign Minister South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo smile after their meeting in Washington D.C., March 29, the first minister-level bilateral diplomatic discussions since the second U.S.-North Korean summit held in Hanoi in February. Yonhap South Korea and the United States are completely aligned on their end goal when it comes to diplomatic efforts with North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Friday after talks with her American counterpart.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Washington earlier in the day for her first meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since the failed summit last month between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.At a press conference after the talks, Kang said the two sides discussed the current situation with North Korea and pending matters between the allies, including the issue of cost-sharing for U.S. troops in South Korea and Seoul's request to extend a waiver fMar 30, 2019
Presidential official departs for US ahead of summit Kim Hyun-chong, the new No. 2 deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, heads to Terminal No.2 at Incheon International Airport before departing for Washington, Saturday. Yonhap A senior South Korean presidential official departed for Washington, Saturday, to meet with U.S. officials to prepare for the summit between the two countries' leaders slated for next month. Kim Hyun-chong, the new No. 2 deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, headed to the U.S. for meetings with White House National Security Council and congressional officials.President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, will hold a summit April 11 in Washington D.C., Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, amid a stalemate in nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea."The trip is aimed at discussing the agenda for the imminent visit to the U.S. by the president," Kim said before his departure from Incheon International Airport. When asked about the possibilities oMar 30, 2019
Trump says new sanctions on North Korea 'unnecessary' U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after shaking hands before their second summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam Feb. 27. Reuters-Yonhap U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he decided not to put additional sanctions on North Korea because he didn't think they were necessary at this time. Speaking at a press conference in Florida, Trump seemed to clear up confusion about which measures he was referring to after announcing last week that he had ordered the withdrawal of additional sanctions.Initially, it was thought that he was reversing the Treasury Department's sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies accused of helping the North evade the international restrictions.But later news reports quoted U.S. officials as saying the president had meant future sanctions that were being planned for the coming days.Trump was asked by a reporter Friday whether he was upset over the sanctions put in place by the Treasury DeMar 30, 2019
South Korea to begin basic DMZ excavation work The DMZ (demilitarized zone) viewed from the Cheolwon Peace Observatory in Cheolwon, Gangwon Province. GETTYIMAGESBANKSouth Korea will independently begin spadework to excavate Korean War remains in the Demilitarized Zone next week in the absence of a North Korean response to its call to conduct what is meant to be a joint project, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.Under last year's bilateral military accord aimed at reducing tensions and building trust, Seoul and Pyongyang are set to carry out the project in the Arrowhead Ridge, a notorious battle site during the 1950-53 conflict, from April through October.But the North has remained silent about Seoul's request to start the excavation as planned. It has appeared lukewarm about the enforcement of the military accord since the no-deal summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and its leader, Kim Jong-un, in Hanoi last month."(South Korea) plans to start conducting additional demining operations and basic excavation work (in the ridge) south of the Military Demarcation Line on April 1," the ministry said in a press release."(The iMar 29, 2019
Pompeo voices hope for 3rd US-NK summit before long U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the State Department's budget request for 2020 in Washington D.C., U.S., March 27. ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that he hopes the leaders of the United States and North Korea will be able to meet again "before too long" following their no-deal summit in Vietnam last month.U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit in Hanoi in late February to try to advance a broad denuclearization agreement they reached at their first summit in June last year.The Hanoi summit ended without a deal due to disagreements over the scope of North Korea's denuclearization and sanctions relief from the U.S."I hope there will be a next time before too long," Pompeo said at an event hosted by the National Review Institute."Chairman Kim has made these promises. ... Ultimately, the proof will be whether we can convince him that it's the right strategic direction for him and his country," he said, referring to the North Korean leader's stated coMar 29, 2019
North Korean embassy raid's suspect long-time human rights activist By Jung Da-minAdrian Hong. Korea Times fileAdrian Hong Chang, the key suspect in a recent raid on the North Korean Embassy in Spain, is a U.S. based human rights activist long involved in helping North Korean defectors.Spain's National High Court has found that Adrian Hong led the assailant group of ten members also including a U.S. national Sam Ryu and a South Korean citizen Woo Ran Lee.Hong was a co-founder of the California-based Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), an international non-governmental organization founded at Yale University in 2004 to rescue North Korean refugees.He once wrote a column titled "Peace for Our Time" for The Korea Times as a contributing writer in 2007. In the column, he shared his critical views about the then South Korean liberal government's indifference to the human rights situation in the North.In December 2006, he was arrested and deported from China together with two LiNK employees and six North Korean refugees for assisting defectors.But the LiNK has distanced itself from Hong, saying he hasn't been engaged in LiNK activities for more than 10 years, tMar 28, 2019
Peace will offer growing market for foreigners: Moon President Moon Jae-in speaks at the start of his meeting with foreign businesspeople at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulA permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula will provide big business opportunities for foreign firms, President Moon Jae-in said Thursday.“I want you to focus more on the positive economic aspects of peace on the peninsula as I believe a peace-driven economy will help the Koreas become the world's most lucrative business market,” Moon said during a meeting with foreign businesspeople at Cheong Wa Dae.The inter-Korean summits held last year significantly helped South Korea see reduced geopolitical risks, the President added. “Standard and Poor's (S&P), one of the world's top three credit ratings agencies, has maintained South Korea's sovereign rating at a record high, even higher than China and Japan.”Moon said South Korea's credit default swap (CDS) premium has remained at a record low since October 2007. The CDS premium is seen as a key criterion for calculating foreign currency funding, which positively impacts domestic comMar 28, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
Skepticism prevails in US about NK commitment U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies before the House Appropriations Committee on a budget request for the Department of State in Washington, Thursday (KST). EPA-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSenior U.S. diplomats and military officials are voicing skepticism toward North Korea's commitment to denuclearization.This indicates worsening sentiment toward the Kim Jong-un regime among U.S. officials following the Hanoi summit between President Donald Trump and Kim.Speaking at a House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the regime has yet to make the “big move” toward scrapping its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.“We have not yet seen them make the big move that we were frankly hoping that they would do in Hanoi. Our diplomatic efforts toward the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea are the most successful that have ever been undertaken,” he said in a written statement to the House Appropriations Committee before testifying on the State Department's 2020 budget reMar 28, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
IOC approves Korean proposal for unified teams, joint march at Tokyo 2020 International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach speaks after the second day of the IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 27. APThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved a proposal by South and North Korea to form unified teams and have a joint march at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.IOC President Thomas Bach said the IOC's Executive Board approved these projects during a press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Wednesday (local time).Back on Feb. 15, Bach met with representatives from South Korea and North Korea, and the two Koreas agreed to field joint teams in four sports for the qualification phase for Tokyo 2020. The four sports are: women's basketball, women's field hockey, rowing and judo.Tokyo 2020 will be the first Summer Olympics in which the Koreas will have unified teams, should any of the teams qualify for the competition. At last year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, the two Koreas had a joint team in women's ice hockey."We have decided that we will continue our effort and talks, regardless of any politicalMar 28, 2019
North Korea embassy raider is regime change advocate An outside view of the Embassy of North Korea building in Madrid, Spain, March 27. The Cheollima Civil Defense organization committed to overthrowing North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has claimed it was behind a raid at Pyongyang's embassy in Spain back on Feb. 22. EPAAdrian Hong, who allegedly led an attack on North Korea's embassy in Madrid, is a longtime US-based advocate of regime change in Pyongyang whose sources of financial support are murky.Spain's National Court identified the leader of the group which invaded the embassy and stole records and computers on February 22 as 35-year-old Mexican national Adrian Hong Chang.According to the court, he went by the name "Matthew Chao" while in Madrid, booked his Uber under the name "Oswaldo Trump", and led the group of 10 who stormed the embassy wielding knives and fake guns.After the raid he allegedly flew to New York and has not been heard from since.In the United States, he goes by the name Adrian Hong.Well-spoken, with detailed knowledge of North Korea's politics and economy, Hong in 2005 co-founded the California-based Liberty in Mar 28, 2019
