Trump, North Korean leader to hold 2nd summit next month U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, and U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, right, stand with North Korean envoy Kim Yong-chol prior to a meeting in Washington, DC, Jan. 18. AFPPresident Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to broker a deal to coax the North to give up its nuclear weapons, the White House announced Friday. News of a second meeting with the reclusive North Korean leader came after Trump's 90-minute meeting in the Oval Office with a North Korean envoy, Kim Yong Chol, who traveled to Washington to discuss denuclearization talks. Trump and Kim Jong Un are to meet near the end of February at a place to be announced later, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. ``The United States is going to continue to keep pressure and sanctions on North Korea until we see fully and verified denuclearization,'' Sanders said ``We've had very good steps and good faith from the North Koreans in releasing the hostages and other moves. And so we're going to continue those conversations Jan 19, 2019
'Kim Jong-un hopes breakthrough in denuke talks' U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about American missile defense doctrine, Friday, Jan. 18 (KST), at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. AP-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un is wishing for a breakthrough in advancing talks aimed at disbanding his regime's nuclear program as he hopes to avoid more confrontation, a Cheong Wa Dae official told The Korea Times, Friday.“Kim Yong-chol, Pyongyang's lead negotiator in denuclearization with the United States, plans to deliver a handwritten letter from Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump during his few hours in the United States,” the official said by telephone asking not to be identified. Details of the letter have yet to be known. But the soon-to-be-delivered letter included “more detailed plans” by North Korea toward dismantling its nuclear arsenal and reaffirmation by its leader to move forward with Pyongyang's roadmap on how to gradually retire its hypersonic and cruise missiles, according to the official.The North's negotiator arrived in Washington early Friday (KST) for expected talks withJan 18, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
S. Korean scholars move to publish inter-Korean medical dictionary South Korean scholars said Friday that they will push forward with a plan to publish a dictionary for medical terminology used by the Koreas in an effort to bridge differences in language usage.Members of the Inter-Korean Foundation for Health and Medical Education and the Research Institute of Korean Studies under Korea University held a forum Thursday to discuss the issue.Participants agreed on the need to organize terms being used by those in the medical profession that are now considerably different. The difference is the result of the Korean Peninsula being divided for some 70 years, with little exchanges taking place between the two sides.South and North Korea are still technically in a state of war since the Korean conflict (1950-53) ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.Working to determine the differences and find common ground going forward is, moreover, in line with the incumbent governments' ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation in the health and medical sector.Observers said the South and the North greatly differ in various medical terms, ranging from the wordsJan 18, 2019
N. Korean leader plans state visit to Vietnam: report In this Jan. 9 photo provided on Jan. 10 by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center left, bids farewell to Chinese Communist Party's International Department head Song Tao, center right, at a station in the Chinese border town of Dandong. Vietnam is reportedly preparing to greet Kim. Korea News Service via APVietnam is preparing to greet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Reuters reported Friday amid talk of a possible summit between him and President Donald Trump there in the coming weeks or months.Quoting a source familiar with the matter, the news outlet said Kim will travel to Vietnam for a state visit "after the Feb. 4-8 lunar new year" holiday. Another source confirmed Kim's trip but did not give any dates.The sources stopped short of clarifying if Kim's trip would be related to his much-anticipated summit with Trump. Vietnam's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.Recent media reports have said that both Hanoi and the central Vietnamese city of Danang could be possible summit locations. The Thai capital of Bangkok haJan 18, 2019
N. Korea remains one of world's worst human rights violators In this July 26, 2015, file photo, North Koreans look at paintings on display in Pyongyang, North Korea. Human Rights Watch's recent report showed that North Korea remains one of the world's most repressive states. APNorth Korea remains one of the world's most repressive states, an international rights group said Friday, urging countries like the United States, South Korea and China to increase pressure on Pyongyang to improve the situation."In his seventh year in power, Kim Jong-un -- who serves as chairman of the States Affairs Commission and head of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea -- continues to exercise almost total political control," Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2019 on North Korea.North Korea has long been labeled one of the world's worst human rights violators. The communist regime does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and tightly controls the flow of outside information.Despite such dire situations, the U.S. and other key countries are failing to address the issue, it said.U.S. President Donald TrumJan 18, 2019
Top North Korean official in DC for talks with Pompeo North Korean official Kim Yong-chol, right, prepares to leave the Beijing International Airport in Beijing on Jan. 17. Kim reportedly arrived in Washington for talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Kyodo News via APA senior North Korean official arrived in Washington on Thursday apparently for negotiations with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on a second summit between the two sides.A plane from Beijing carrying Kim Yong-chol, known as one of the closest aides to leader Kim Jong-un, and his entourage touched down at Dulles International Airport.It's the first time that a North Korean government official has flown directly into the U.S. capital without any stopover in another U.S. city. He left the airport through a side door, accompanied by what appeared to be U.S. and North Korean officials, including Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea.Biegun was seen inside the airport earlier but refused to answer reporters' questions.Kim, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, is expected to have talks with Pompeo on Friday in a bid to Jan 18, 2019
S. Korea to send Tamiflu drugs to NK early next week 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 this Dec. 18, 2009. / Korea Times fileBy Park Ji-wonSouth Korea will send flu medication to North Korea early next week aiming to speed humanitarian aid to the North with the U.S. An official of the Ministry of Unification said Thursday that South Korean and U.S. officials have agreed via a video call to sending 200,000 doses of Tamiflu and 50,000 packages of medical test kits to North Korea for humanitarian assistance.“The two agreed on sending Tamiflu to the North,” a unification ministry official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.“We expect that the authorities will finish discussions on delivery schedules within the week and push to send the goods by early next week.”Seoul earlier promised to send the medication by Jan. 11 via a land route over their western border. However, the delivery was abruptly postponed as the government asked for more time. Insiders say theJan 17, 2019By Park Ji-won
Speculation of Kim Jong-un's March 1 Seoul visit rages despite denial By Park Si-soo Is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting Seoul on March 1? Reports of this began circulating Wednesday, citing unidentified government sources. Some had plausible details: for the leaders of the two Koreas to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement Day ― on the date and at the same location. The uprising on March 1, 1919 ― celebrated by both Koreas ― is recorded as one of the marquee grassroots independence movements during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday denied reports that Kim would visit Seoul on the historically symbolic day. Nevertheless, the speculation continues.“Nothing is fixed,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said. “Discussion over Kim's Seoul visit will be able to begin after things related to the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are confirmed.” Despite the denial, North Korea experts here are sticking to the scenario of Kim visiting Seoul soon, for two reasons: South Korean PresideJan 17, 2019
2nd US-North Korea summit likely in Danang in March or April: report North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald J. Trump react during their first one-on-one meeting, part of the historic summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, Singapore, in June last year. The second U.S.-North Korea summit is expected to take place in March or April in a Vietnamese city. Yonhap fileA second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to take place in March or April in the Vietnamese resort city of Danang, a news report said Thursday.The Washington Post reported that Trump could make an announcement on the venue and date of the envisioned meeting with Kim as early as Friday, after a meeting with Kim Yong-chol, a top North Korean official expected to arrive in Washington on Thursday.The report said Trump is expected to meet the North Korean official on Friday."If announced soon, the summit would likely take place in March or April, with Danang, Vietnam, appearing the most likely venue," the report said.Vietnam has been talked about as a potential venue for the summit, along with Thailand. The VietnamesJan 17, 2019
Top N. Korean official en route to Washington U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, rear right, and Kim Yong-chol, center, a senior North Korean ruling party official and former intelligence chief, arrive for a meeting at the Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this July 2018 photo. Kim arrived in Beijing on Thursday, apparently on his way to Washington, D.C. for talks. AP fileA senior North Korean official arrived in Beijing on Thursday, apparently on his way to Washington, D.C. for talks.Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, is expected to leave for the U.S. capital later in the day for a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Yonhap)Jan 17, 2019
