Trump says summit with North Korea to happen early next year US President Donald J. Trump speaks at a press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 07 November 2018. EPA-YonhapNorth Korea's leader Kim Jong Un looks at U.S. President Donald Trump before their bilateral meeting at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore June 12, 2018. YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "sometime early next year."Trump's remarks came hours after the U.S. announced the postponement of Thursday's scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials in New York."We're very happy how it's going with North Korea," Trump said at a White House press conference on Tuesday's midterm elections, adding that the meeting will be rescheduled.He attributed the sudden cancellation to "trips that are being made," but did not elaborate."We think it's going fine," Trump said. "We're in no rush. We're in no hurry. The sanctions are still on."Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, a close aide to the North Korean leader, were expected to continue talks on diNov 8, 2018
Pompeo delays talks set this week with senior North Koreans A meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials set for Thursday in New York has been postponed and will be rescheduled "when our respective schedules permit," the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.In a statement, it added, "Ongoing conversations continue to take place," but did not elaborate."The United States remains focused on fulfilling the commitments agreed to by President Trump and Chairman Kim at the Singapore summit in June," it said.The exact reason for the postponement was unclear.Pompeo had been due to hold talks with senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, which were hoped to have opened the way for a second summit of the two countries' leaders and make progress on denuclearization.The meeting agenda had been to "discuss making progress on all four pillars of the Singapore Summit joint statement, including achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea, the State Department had said this week.The June meeting of President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore was the first summit meeting of an incumbentNov 7, 2018
Moon formally appoints Goldman Sachs economist as chief of presidential committee President Moon Jae-in and Kwon Goo-hoon, new chief of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation, walk together at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Yonhap President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday formally appointed Kwon Goo-hoon, a senior economist at the global investment firm Goldman Sachs, to head the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation.Kwon, 56, replaced Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party as chairman of the committee that was formed to reinforce economic and other forms of cooperation with the northern region, including Eurasia.A graduate of Seoul National University, Kwon earned his Ph.D from Harvard University. He worked at the London office of ABN AMRO Bank and as deputy chief of the Moscow office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).He joined Goldman Sachs in 2007 after working as a senior IMF economist.Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said at a briefing that Moon personally picked Kwon as he was impressed by a lecture Kwon gave on TV. Moon also read a book about his lecture during the summer vacation, the spokesmNov 7, 2018
North Korea promotes inter-Korean summit symbols to attract tourists North Korea anxious to jack up its tourism revenue appears to be aggressively promoting the symbols of inter-Korean summit talks, such as Pyongyang cold noodles, the border peace village of Panmunjom and Mount Paekdu, to potential foreign tourists.JS Tours, a Japanese booking agent of the North's Korean International Travel Co., has launched North Korean tour packages featuring places jointly visited by the leaders of South and North Korea, American broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Wednesday.On its website, the Japanese agent advertises a three-night, four-day Pyongyang tour package that includes stops in the well-known Okryugwan and Chongryugwan restaurants, saying the restaurants offer original Pyongyang cold noodles, or "naengmyeon" in Korean. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, their wives and attendants ate naengmyeon at Okryugwan after an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in September.JS Tours has also offered a new five-night, six-day tour package bound for Mount Paekdu, saying Moon and Kim had a commemorative photo together at thNov 7, 2018
Two Koreas discuss expanding cooperation on health issues South and North Korea held talks Wednesday to discuss ways to jointly fight contagious diseases and expand cooperation on health-related matters.South Korea's Vice Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol met with his North Korean counterpart, Park Myong-su, with other ranking officials at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong. The meeting started at around 10 a.m. the government said.This was the first inter-Korean talks related to health issues in 11 years. The two Koreas previously held similar talks on December 2007.The two sides were to discuss topics, such as how to work together to prevent contagious diseases from coming into the peninsula."We will faithfully participate in the meeting in order to achieve results in areas like improving health for people, as well as devise ways to halt an inflow of diseases," Kwon told reporters in Seoul before leaving for the talks.In recent months, Seoul and Pyongyang have been holding a series of meetings on various cooperative projects on railway connections, forestry and other areas, all of which they believe will help easNov 7, 2018
Korea-Japan standoffs deepen over WWII forced labor A diplomatic spat between South Korea and Japan has intensified this week amid Tokyo's strong protest against a recent Seoul court ruling on the wartime forced labor issue.The two sides traded accusations against each other publicly. Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono opened fire again on Monday with a media interview in which he urged the South Korean government to resolve the problem."It's obvious: they are responsible for taking care of all the claims from the Korean people. So that's what they have to do," he told Bloomberg News. "That's what's in the 1965 agreement."He was referring to the pact between the two countries on "the settlement of problems related to property, claims and economic cooperation" over Japan's brutal colonization of Korea from 1910-45. Nearly 14 years ago, four South Koreans filed a damage suit against a Japanese steelmaker for their forced labor during World War II.The Supreme Court acknowledged their individual rights to compensation for the wartime crime against humanity.It ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., a Japanese steelmaker, to Nov 7, 2018
VIDEO North Korean leader sees off Cuban president after 3-day visit North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sees off Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez at Pyongyang International Airport, Tuesday. Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has seen off Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez after his three-day visit to Pyongyang, the communist state's state media reported Wednesday.The Cuban leader left Pyongyang by his personal plane Tuesday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, were at the airport to see off the president and his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza."After Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez and his wife got off a car, the supreme leader and his wife exchanged greetings and their inmost feelings, holding hands together," the KCNA said in an English-language article."Kim Jong-un said that he would look forward to meeting him again and wished him good health and happiness and continued success in his work," it added.During his stay in the North, the Cuban leader held talks with Kim over bilateral cooperation and exchanges in various fields.The Cuban president tNov 7, 2018
PHOTOS North Korea's protocols for visiting dignitaries By Jung Da-minNorth Korea has a set of protocols for visiting heads of state, shown during President Moon Jae-in's visit to the capital Pyongyang and repeated for Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who visited this week for the first summit between the countries in 32 years. 1. Welcoming ceremonies at Pyongyang International AirportThis Sunday clip from North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) shows portraits of the North's leader Kim Jong-un and Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel at Pyongyang International Airport. Yonhap-KCTVNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel review the honor guard of the Korean People's Army (KPA), followed by North Korea's first lady Ri Sol-ju and her Cuban counterpart Lis Cuesta Peraza, Sunday at Pyongyang International Airport. Yonhap-KCNA2. Car parade through Pyongyang's showcase Ryomyong StreetKim Jong-un and Miguel Diaz-Canel, hand in hand, during a motorcade on Sunday. Yonhap-Rodong Sinmun3. Talks at the Paekhwawon State Guest HouseKim Jong-un and Miguel Diaz-Canel discuss ties between the two countries atNov 6, 2018
Warmbiers' suit against North Korea begins next month Otto Warmbier, pictured in Pyongyang, died after being released from North Korea in a coma in June 2017. Korea Times fileBy Lee Min-youngThe parents of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. college student who died after he was reportedly mistreated in a North Korean labor camp, will be in court next month as the trial of their lawsuit against the North Korean regime begins. According to a Voice of America (VOA) report on Tuesday, the U.S. federal court notified the Warmbiers that the first hearing will be held on Dec. 19. The Warmbiers filed the suit in April, accusing the North of violating international law by killing their son. The Warmbiers, Lee Sung-yoon, assistant professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and David Hawk, a member of the National Committee on North Korea, will testify at the trial. North Korea has denied accusations that torture caused Otto Warmbier's death. The VOA said North Korea is yet to take official steps in response to the lawsuit. Warmbier, 22, a Virginia University student from Ohio, was detained in North Korea on subversion charges aNov 6, 2018By Lee Min-young
6 million mobile phones in use in North Korea; each priced at $100-200 The number of mobile phones in use in North Korea is estimated at around 6 million, with each device selling for $100 to $200, South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon said Monday.Cho made the remark during a session of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, when Rep. Yoon Hu-duk of the ruling Democratic Party asked him to confirm whether an estimate of 6 million cell phone subscribers in the North was right or wrong.The current population of North Korea is slightly over 25 million.When Yoon asked if North Korean student subscribers can watch the videos of South Korean boy band BTS on YouTube, Cho responded, "The Internet is not open (to North Koreans). Their mobile phones have restrictions and operate like a local network. But we have heard that videos of (South Korean singers) are circulating among the North's youth."The minister went on to say that mobile phones now in use in North Korea are considered below 3G and sell for $100 to $200 a unit. (Yonhap)Nov 5, 2018
