NK condemns Australia for planes 'monitoring sanctions' The P-8A Poseidon. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunNorth Korea denounced Australia, Saturday, for its decision to deploy an additional maritime patrol plane to Japan to monitor the North's possible violation of sanctions. “It is pouring cold water on the atmosphere of peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region,” the Korean Central News Agency stated, adding the move was a “blind following of the U.S.”According to reports Nov. 30 the Australian government decided to send a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane to Okinawa, to monitor North Korea.It deployed a P-8A Poseidon in April and two AP-3C Orion planes in September. The Royal Australian Navy has also sent a frigate to patrol waters off the Korean Peninsula.“This is part of Australia's commitment to deter and disrupt illicit trade and sanctions evasion activities by North Korea and its associated networks,” Australian Defense Minister Christopher Pyne said in a statement.“Australia continues to work with partners to maintain pressure on North Korea until it takes concrete, verifiable andDec 16, 2018By Kim Bo-eun
Top officials of US, Canada discuss North Korean sanctions evasion U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (second from left in the background and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis (right) walk away from a press conference with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Canadian Minister of Defense Harjit Sajjan after the U.S.-Canada 2+2 Ministerial at the State Department, Dec. 14, held in Washington, DC. AFP-YonhapTop officials of the United States and Canada discussed the issue of North Korea's sanctions evasion Friday amid the ongoing efforts to denuclearize the regime.The matter was brought up in the 2+2 talks involving U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan."We took the opportunity to reiterate our support for the United States efforts towards a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and our efforts in the area of sanctions evasion," Freeland told a press conference at the State Department after the talks."In an ever-changing global landscape, it's important that countries are able to nimbly respond to flagranDec 15, 2018
Trump says 'in no hurry' to negotiate with N. Korea U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un walk together before their working lunch during their summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore, June 12. REUTERS-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. is "in no hurry" to negotiate with North Korea, as progress on dismantling the country's nuclear weapons program has stalled."Many people have asked how we are doing in our negotiations with North Korea," Trump tweeted. "I always reply by saying we are in no hurry."He added, "There is wonderful potential for great economic success for that country" and that (North Korean leader) "Kim Jong Un sees it better than anyone and will fully take advantage of it for his people.""We are doing just fine!" he claimed.The U.S. and North Korea have had no formal negotiations since Trump and Kim met in Singapore in June and agreed to "work toward" complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to hold talks with a senior North Korean official in New York, but the meeting was callDec 15, 2018
Vietnam wants to host 2nd Trump-Kim summit: CNN Vietnam has reportedly expressed an interest in hosting the envisioned second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. gettyimagesbankVietnam has expressed an interest in hosting the envisioned second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, CNN reported Thursday.High-ranking Vietnamese officials delivered that intent to the South Korean government, according to a South Korean government source quoted by the news channel. Vietnam has been cited in the media as a potential site for the next summit, along with Mongolia and Indonesia.North Korea, which is largely isolated from the international community, has embassies in all three countries.Trump said early this month that he expects the second summit to happen in January or February, in one of three locations he didn't name.He had earlier ruled out Singapore, the venue of the first summit in June.Mark Lambert, the acting U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, recently visited Vietnam, a diplomatic source in WasDec 14, 2018
Pentagon: North Korea slow to negotiate over US war remains In this Aug. 1 file photo, Vice President Mike Pence, left, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Phil Davidson, center, and Rear Adm. Jon Kreitz, deputy director of the POW/MIA Accounting Agency, attend at a ceremony marking the arrival of the remains believed to be of American service members who fell in the Korean War at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Aug. 1. North Korea handed over the remains. Pentagon officials say they have been unable so far to draw North Korea into negotiations on returning additional remains of Americans killed in North Korea. APMonths after the White House raised hopes for bringing home thousands of U.S. battlefield remains from North Korea, the returns have stalled. Detailed negotiations on future recovery arrangements have not even begun. The slower pace appears linked to the more talked-about stalemate over North Korea's nuclear weapons. At a June meeting with President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un committed to ``work toward'' the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to cooperate in recovering UDec 14, 2018
NK up in arms over toughening US sanctions U.S. President Donald Trump, right, gestures as he meets with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un before their historic North-U.S. summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentos island in Singapore on June 12. / AFP-YonhapBy Park Ji-wonNorth Korea continued to condemn new sanctions recently imposed by the U.S. against the country and it being designated as a violator of religious freedom, Thursday, signaling a bumpy road to denuclearization talks between the two. North Korean propaganda outlets criticized the United States, calling it an “intolerable insult” and a “political provocation” against the regime.“The U.S.'s intention lies in denouncing us as a human trafficking country, staining the image of our republic to create a mood for sanctions pressure,” Uriminzokkiri, one of the North's state-run websites, said in an article Thursday.Calling the U.S. a “wasteland of human rights” and a “living hell for human beings,” the North's media said that “thousands of unemployed people are roaming on the streets as the right to work, whDec 13, 2018By Park Ji-won
INTERVIEW NGOs 'better at solving some of North Korea's intractable problems' Dr. Stephen Linton, the founder and chief of the Eugene Bell Foundation, tells tuberculosis (TB) patients how to collect sputum samples, during the organization's three-week visit to North Korea from Oct. 16 to Nov. 6. Courtesy of the Eugene Bell FoundationBy Jung Da-minIt is time for the two Koreas to permit private sector exchanges so personal relationships can be developed, the leader of a major NGO says.“When government officials monopolize and control private level exchanges, it is difficult for people from the South and North to effect real reconciliation,” said Dr. Stephen Linton, who has long led humanitarian efforts focused on North Korea.Dr. Stephen Linton. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-min"If the government permits access, private citizens can develop relationships with North Korea. But if it then suddenly restricts them, real relationships cannot develop. This also happens when governments fund private exchanges and then, suddenly, when policy changes, withdraw support." Linton is the founder and chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation. He made the comments duriDec 13, 2018
North Korea denounces US over human trafficking blacklisting People on the streets in the city of Pyongyang in this photo from Sept. 11, 2018. YonhapNorth Korean propaganda outlets lashed out at the United States on Thursday for pressuring the communist nation over human rights issues, calling it an "intolerable insult" and "political provocation." The U.S. has recently renewed its designation of the North as one of the worst human trafficking countries and a violator of religious freedom, and slapped sanctions on Choe Ryong-hae, a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for human rights abuses."The U.S.'s intention lies in condemning our country as a human trafficking country, making a scratch on our republic's image and thereby creating a mood for sanctions pressure," Uriminzokkiri, one of the North's propaganda websites, said in an article. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, welcomes North Korea's special envoy Choe Ryong Hae during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. YonhapOther propaganda websites, including Meari, have been carrying similar articles since early this week. The U.S. said it will conDec 13, 2018
Six South Korean citizens still detained in North Korea The detainees include, from left, Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie, Choi Chun-kil and Ko Hyon-chol. Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-minSix South Koreans remain in North Korean detention despite government efforts to negotiate their release. A new campaign is under way to free them. Three of the detainees are Christian missionaries ― Kim Jung-wook, who was arrested in October 2013, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-kil, who have been held since 2014. The other three are North Korean defectors who had South Korean citizenship.While the plight of the six has received little public attention, a petition for their release is again on the Cheong Wa Dae website."The last petition has been dismissed as too few people joined," Yoo Ki-sung, pastor of the Good Shepherd Church in Korea, said recently. "Family members (of the detainees) are praying in tears, so join our Cheong Wa Dae petition."Kim Jung-wook had been running up to three shelters in Dandong, China, since 2007 for defectors and North Koreans visiting China. Kim Kook-kie ran a shelter in Dandong for defectors, Korean-Chinese and Kotjebi (begging chilDec 12, 2018
NK founder's second wife may have died Kim Song-aeThe second wife of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung has died, a source said Wednesday.The source confirmed Kim Song-ae's death, but when and how she died were not immediately known.The unification ministry also said there have been "related signs," when asked about a media report on Kim's death."We will share more information when it is confirmed in detail," Baik Tae-hyun, a ministry spokesperson, told reporters during a regular briefing.Born in 1924, Kim married the North Korean founder and grandfather of the regime's current leader, Kim Jong-un, after his first wife, Kim Jong-suk, died in 1949. The first wife gave birth to Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader.Kim Song-ae is the mother of Kim Pyong-il, the North's top envoy to the Czech Republic. (Yonhap)Dec 12, 2018
