US envoy calls for full declaration of NK's nuclear weapons program Stephen Biegun / APThe U.S. envoy for North Korea called on the regime Thursday to provide a full declaration of its nuclear and missile programs as a second bilateral summit appeared only weeks away.Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is in charge of day-to-day negotiations with the North, said the declaration will be required to acknowledge complete denuclearization of the regime."Before the process of denuclearization can be final, we must also have a complete understanding of the full extent of the North Korean weapons of mass destruction missile programs. We will get that at some point through a comprehensive declaration," Biegun said during a speech at Stanford University.He said the U.S. has "contingencies" prepared in case negotiations fail, but did not give details. North Korea has balked at such a demand, claiming an inventory will give the U.S. a list of targets to destroy.Biegun made clear the U.S. also intends to verify denuclearization."We must reach agreement on expert access and monitoring mechanisms of key sites to international standards, and ultimately Feb 1, 2019
Trump to announce 2nd North Korean summit plan Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump meets with American manufacturers and signs an Executive Order to 'strengthen the Trump Administration's 'Buy American' policy' in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Jan. 31. Trump used the opportunity to speak to the media about his upcoming summit with North Korea, as well as his admonishment of his intelligence chiefs. EPAPresident Donald Trump said Thursday he will likely announce the site and date of a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the State of the Union address on Tuesday. ``They very much want the meeting,'' Trump told reporters, saying his administration has made ``tremendous progress'' toward reining in the North's nuclear ambitions. The summit is expected to take place around the end of February. The president said that before he took office in January 2017, ``it looked like we were going to war with North Korea. Now, there's no missile testing. There's no rocket testing, there's no nuclear testing. We got back our prisoners, our hostages. We're getting back our remains.'' Trump has loFeb 1, 2019
North Korean media highlight friendship in art troupe's Beijing performance North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping feature on a big screen during the North Korean art troupe's performance at the Chinese National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The troupe performed from Jan. 26-28. KCNA-Yonhap North Korea's state media reported in detail on a North Korean art troupe's recent performance in Beijing on Thursday, highlighting the two countries' friendship before Pyongyang's planned summit with the United States late next month.The artists performed in Beijing from Saturday to Monday and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended Sunday's show. The delegation led by Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the ruling party's Central Committee, headed home Wednesday after a week-long stay."The art delegation achieved a rich success under the special care of the supreme leaders of the two parties and the two countries of the DPRK and China," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. DPRK stands for the North's official name,Jan 31, 2019
Koreas in talks over cross-border road connection North and South Korean officials try to connect a railroad during a groundbreaking ceremony for a project for road and railway links, in this December 2018 photo. Korea Times file Officials of South and North Korea met Thursday to discuss cooperation in modernizing and connecting roads across their border, a unification ministry official said.The meeting at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Gaeseong was attended by senior transportation officials of the two Koreas, according to the official."They are exchanging views on issues of mutual concern, including road-related technologies," he told reporters.The leaders of the two Koreas agreed in April to modernize and link the railways and roads along the eastern and western regions of the Korean Peninsula for balanced development and co-prosperity.In a related move, they conducted joint surveys of a North Korean section of the road along the western region last August. For the road in the eastern parJan 31, 2019
Pompeo says Trump-Kim summit to be held somewhere in Asia A TV screen at Seoul Station shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump during their first summit in Singapore in June 2018. Korea Times fileU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he was sending a team to make preparations for the next summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to be held somewhere in Asia in late February.In an interview with Fox News Channel, Pompeo said the North Koreans had agreed that the second summit between the two leaders would be held at the end of February."We'll do it someplace in Asia," he said. "I am dispatching a team there. They're headed that way now to lay the foundations for what I hope will be a substantial additional step towards the path for not only denuclearization of the peninsula but a brighter future for the North Korean people." Pompeo did not name the summit venue. Vietnam said last week it had not been informed about any time or venue for a possible Trump-Kim summit, but that it was confident of its ability to host such a meeting.Officials and diplomats said two weeJan 31, 2019
North Korea replaces US-sanctioned labor minister North Korea has replaced its U.S.-blacklisted labor minister, a state media report showed.Jong Yong-su's replacement was confirmed in a Korean Central News Agency report about a meeting in Pyongyang on Wednesday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The report referred to Yun Kang-ho, one of the participants in the meeting, as labor minister.It was unclear when the replacement happened. Jong was last mentioned in state media reports as labor minister in October 2017, before the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted him for involvement in human rights violations.Little is known about the new minister. (Yonhap)Jan 31, 2019
Seoul, UNC discuss Tamiflu delivery to Pyongyang South Korean cars transport 400,000 doses of Tamiflu and Relenza Rotadisk for about 100,000 people to North Korea near Dorasan Inter-Korea Transit Office in Paju, Gyeonggi Province in Dec. 18, 2009. Korea Times fileSouth Korea is in talks with the United Nations Command to discuss details on its long-delayed cross-border delivery of antiviral medication to North Korea, the unification ministry said Wednesday, raising expectations that the assistance could be handed over to the North soon."There have been delays with regard to the influenza treatment medication delivery to the North due to technical and practical preparatory issues, but now those things have almost been completed," Baik Tae-hyun, the ministry's spokesman, said at a regular press briefing."We are now in discussions with the UNC (on the medication provision)," he added. "We are also in talks with North Korea to fix a date for the delivery."The UNC monitors the cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula and oversees such cross-border deliveries. The UNC should be informed 48 hours in advance of any plans to transport materials aJan 30, 2019
PHOTOS Photos at North Korean mission highlight close China ties This photo featuring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and China's President Xi Jinping during their fourth summit is on display Tuesday at North Korea's Beijing embassy, after the embassy removed photos of the September inter-Korean summit featuring South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim together. North Korea and China are boasting closer ties before the second U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled for late February. YonhapPhotos promoting close ties between North Korea and China hang at the North Korean embassy in Beijing, Tuesday. YonhapChinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan watch a North Korean art troupe's performance at the Chinese National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Sunday. Also featured are Samjiyon Band leader Hyon Song-wol, second from left, and Ri Su-yong, next to Hyon, a member of the Political Bureau and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. CCTV-YonhapChinese President Xi Jinping meets the North Korean art delegation before the Sunday performance. CCTV-YonhapChinese President Xi Jinping and first ladJan 30, 2019
About 50% of Americans very concerned by NK threat: poll About half of Americans are very concerned about the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons. YonhapAround half of Americans are very concerned about the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons, a new poll showed Monday as the two nations gear up for another summit aimed at removing that danger.According to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 52 percent of those surveyed said they are "very" or "extremely" concerned that North Korea's nuclear program poses a direct threat to the United States.Another 32 percent said they are "moderately" concerned, while 15 percent said they are not very concerned or not concerned at all.The survey was conducted on 1,062 adults from Jan. 16-20 as a senior North Korean official was in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the countries' next summit.The White House said after the meetings that Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a second summit near the end of February at a location to be announced in the future.At their first suJan 29, 2019
Japanese PM pushes for summit with North Korean leader to break 'mutual distrust' Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a policy speech at the start of the extraordinary Diet session in Tokyo on January 28, 2019. AFPJapan's prime minister vowed Monday to "break the shell of mutual distrust" with North Korea by meeting leader Kim Jong Un face-to-face and restoring diplomatic relations between the two historic foes.In a major policy speech to mark the opening of parliament, Shinzo Abe also vowed to push Sino-Japan ties "to a new stage" and pledged a record budget to improve crumbling infrastructure in the world's third-biggest economy."I will act resolutely, never failing to seize every opportunity to break the shell of mutual distrust, and I myself will directly face Chairman Kim Jong Un next to resolve North Korea's nuclear and missile issues, as well as the abductions issue," Abe said.Abe gave no timeframe for a potential meeting with the North Korean leader but the comments came as Kim has ordered preparation for a second summit with US President Donald Trump, likely towards the end of next month."I will aim at diplomatic normalisation by settling the unforJan 28, 2019
