Rodong Sinmun hits US for demanding Korea pay bigger share in USFK costs A photograph provided by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs show Chang Won-sam, South Korean envoy to the ROK-U.S. cost-sharing talks, right, shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Timothy Betts before the seventh meeting held at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., last Sept. 19. Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea is using a tug-of-war between the U.S. and South Korea over sharing costs for the presence of the 28,500 personnel of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as leverage to strengthen its argument that the South should unite with the North to fight against foreign powers.North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday published an editorial titled "the intention behind the demand to increase defense costs," where it said the U.S. is not treating the South as its ally. It said the U.S. is only pursuing its own interests while hampering the progress of peace talks between the two Koreas."That the U.S. is demanding the increase of South Korea's share of defense costs runs counter to the current tension-easing atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula," thJan 23, 2019
'Seoul's participation in Stockholm talks is big progress' Moon Chung-in, right, a special adviser on foreign affairs and national security to President Moon Jae-in, speaks during a meeting with Korean reporters at the South Korean embassy in Cairo on Jan. 17 (KST). YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korea's participation in talks with North Korea and the United States, recently held in Stockholm, was “big progress” for the South's diplomacy, according to presidential security adviser Moon Chung-in.“North Korea allowed South Korea to join talks concerning developments on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said at a forum in Paris, Tuesday. “This has never happened in the past as South Korea had been excluded from nuclear disarmament discussions. This is big progress.“I have no idea about the outcome of the latest talks in Stockholm. But one thing is certain, both U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have a firm commitment to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem through open dialogue.”Mentioning the old Winston Churchill phrase, “to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war,&rdquoJan 23, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
Pompeo upbeat about talks with North Korea By Lee Min-hyungU.S. Secretary of State Mike PompeoU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the recent working-level denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, raising hopes for “another good marker” to come shortly, Pompeo said on the sidelines of an annual economic forum in Switzerland, Tuesday (local time).“There remains an awful lot of work to do, but good things have happened already,” he said during the World Economic Forum in Davos.The remarks came a day after the U.S. and North Korea finished a working-level dialogue in Sweden where delegations from both sides and South Korea had three days of discussions to narrow their differences on the detailed agenda for the upcoming Washington-Pyongyang summit slated for later next month.The positive response from Pompeo adds to the ongoing optimistic signals for rapid and smooth progress in the stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea.Even though the working-level talks took place behind closed doors, there have been a serieJan 23, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Seoul denies report US blocking provision of Tamiflu to North Korea The South Korean government has dismissed a media report that the United States put the brakes on its planned provision of Tamiflu antiviral medication to North Korea. Korea Times fileSouth Korea's unification ministry dismissed a media report Wednesday that the United States has put the brakes on its planned provision of Tamiflu antiviral medication to North Korea.A local daily newspaper reported that the U.S. expressed reservations about Seoul's move to send 200,000 doses of Tamiflu to North Korea during their recent working group session on the North."That is not true," Baik Tae-hyun, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "(Sending) the influenza treatment drugs is a humanitarian issue and the U.S. has voiced its positive stance on that."In December, the government announced the plan to send the antiviral drugs and medical detection kits to North Korea via a land route over their western border, but delivery, which had initially been scheduled for Jan. 11, has been repeatedly put off for unclear reasons. Seoul says that logistical issues involving preparJan 23, 2019
Pompeo expects 'good marker' with North Korea next month In this file photo taken on Jan. 18, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomes North Korean Vice-Chairman Kim Yong-chol prior to a meeting in Washington, DC. Pompeo held talks on North Korea with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts ahead of a summit between Pyongyang's leader and the U.S. president. AFPU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that he expects to see a "good marker" on the path to achieving North Korea's denuclearization at the end of next month.The two sides are planning to hold a second summit late next month to discuss the next steps in implementing the accord reached by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last year.At the first summit in Singapore in June, Kim committed to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees for his regime."I believe that at the end of February we'll have another good marker along the way," Pompeo said in video remarks to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Last week's visit to Washington by Kim's close aide, Kim Yong-chol, yJan 23, 2019
South Korea seeking sanctions waiver for road survey in North Korea North Korea's "peace village" of Kijong-dong seen from an observation post in Panmunjom in the South's side on Dec. 26, 2018. Korea Times fileSouth Korea is seeking a sanctions waiver for its plan to survey the condition of a North Korean highway along the east coast as part of efforts to connect it across the border to the South, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.A sanctions exemption is required for the envisioned joint survey with the North of the Donghae Line highway because it involves bringing into the country equipment banned under U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions. Last month, similar surveys were conducted for two railways and one highway in the North after the U.N. Security Council granted sanctions exemptions for them."A sanctions exemption procedure is under way for the joint road survey," a ministry official said.The South has filed for a waiver with the Security Council after discussing the issue with the United States at a recent meeting of their joint working group on North Korea, sources said. Once a waiver is granted, the South plans to discuss Jan 22, 2019
INTERVIEW 'North Korea has advanced dispute resolution system' Michael Hay, a foreign legal counsel qualified in New York, talks about his 12-year judicial experience in North Korea in an interview with The Korea Times at his office at HMP Law in central Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kim Hyun-binNorth Korea has an advanced arbitration system even compared to developed countries, and foreign companies face an even playing field in dispute resolution, according to Michael Hay, the founder of North Korea's only foreign law firm Hay, Kalb & Associates. “From start to finish, (an arbitration case) could be done in six months… which is much faster than most other countries I have worked in,” Hay said in an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Monday. He has been a foreign legal counsel at HMP Law since December, after 12 years of operating his law firm in the North.Hay emphasized that the North Korean regime has no choice but to maintain an advanced dispute resolution system in order to continue reeling in foreign investment and companies.“One thing North Koreans are very consciouJan 22, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin
Report reveals an undeclared N. Korean missile base headquarters Intercontinental ballistic missiles are seen at a grand military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, in this file photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Feb. 9, 2018. KCNA via ReutersOne of 20 undeclared ballistic missile operating bases in North Korea serves as a missile headquarters, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published on Monday."The Sino-ri missile operating base and the Nodong missiles deployed at this location fit into North Korea's presumed nuclear military strategy by providing an operational-level nuclear or conventional first strike capability," the report said.The discovery of an undeclared missile headquarters comes three days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he "looks forward" to another summit to discuss denuclearization with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February.CSIS, which last reported on the 20 undeclared bases in November, said the Sino-ri base has never been declaredJan 22, 2019
Pompeo talks North Korea with Tokyo and Seoul U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, seen here with North Korean Vice-Chairman Kim Yong Chol in Washington, D.C. on Friday, has since conferred by phone with his counterparts in South Korea and Japan. AFPSecretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks on North Korea with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts ahead of a summit between Pyongyang's leader and the US president, the State Department said Monday.The phone calls, which took place on January 20, come after President Donald Trump announced that a location for his summit with Kim Jong Un ― which is to take place near the end of February ― has been decided.Pompeo discussed the "next steps" on North Korean engagement with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, while he and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha "updated each other" on engagements with Pyongyang, the State Department said.Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol, a right-hand man to the North Korean strongman, met Trump at the White House on Friday for an unusually long 90 minutes as the countries seek a denuclearization accord that could ease decades of hostility.On SaturdJan 22, 2019
Sweden hosts 'constructive' North Korea talks ahead of Trump-Kim summit Senior North Korean Diplomat Choe Son Hui leaves the Ritz-Carlton hotel following a meeting in Singapore June 11, 2018 Reuters fileTalks held near the Swedish capital Stockholm that ended Monday and included representatives from North and South Korea and the United States were constructive, Sweden's foreign ministry said.They were seen helping pave the way towards a second summit planned for next month between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un."Constructive talks have been held covering issues concerning developments on the Korean peninsula, including confidence building, economic development and long-term engagement," a ministry spokesman said.Trump is due to meet Kim in late February but will maintain economic sanctions on Pyongyang, a White House spokeswoman said on Friday.That announcement coincided with the visit to Washington of former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol and hinted at movement in a denuclearisation effort that has stalled since a landmark first meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader last year.A diplomatic source said thJan 22, 2019
