Rodong slams US on first day of Pyongyang summit Residents wave Korean unification flags and North Korean flags at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. Joint Press CorpsBy Jung Da-minOn the first day of three-day inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun slammed the U.S. for not implementing promises made in the June 13 North Korea-U.S. joint statement.The day before on Monday during a U.N. Security Council meeting called by the U.S., American Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Russia of pressuring U.N. experts to alter a report on implementing sanctions against North Korea.In an editorial titled "Who hampers the progress of talks" Rodong said the U.S. unilateral request for North Korea's denuclearization without declaring the end of war was the main cause of the stalled negotiations between the countries."Responsibility for the DPRK-U.S. negotiations not progressing lies entirely with the United States," it said. "In particular, it is because the United States is not showing willingness to build trust by implementing what it has promised, including the declaration of the end of the warSep 18, 2018
'We don't welcome the summit' While South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in Pyongyang for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, people opposed to the summit are staging a sit-in in front of the Main Press Center set up at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, for the three-day event. Protesters, including South Koreans ― mostly elderly ― and North Korean defectors, hold signs reading “No to SK-NK summit that benefits Kim Jong-un” while holding South Korean and American flags. The protesters, about 100 in number, are also demanding a “guarantee of freedom and human rights” from Pyongyang. Korea Times photos by Choi Won-sukSep 18, 2018By Ko Dong-hwan
First couples' fashion statements Moon Jae-in and Kim Jung-sook on their way to Pyongyang on Tuesday. Joint Press Corps.By Dong Sun-hwaFashion styles of the leaders and first ladies during the summit often deliver crucial statements. The Pyongyang summit on Sept.18-20 is no exception. On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in wore a red striped tie and a black suit as he headed for Pyongyang. He is believed to have chosen red, the color that represents North Korea, to show respect. For the previous summit on April 27 at Panmunjeom truce village, Moon wore a blue tie and a dark blue suit. Many believed he selected blue, a peace symbol, to represent his hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and first lady Ri Sol-ju at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang Tuesday. YonhapSouth Korea's first lady wore a white two-piece dress on Tuesday. It seems she chose white to underscore that the South and the North belong to the same people ― the “white-clad people.”In April, Kim wore a one-piece dress with a big brooch. The first lady also seemed to have wanted to deliver a message of pSep 18, 2018By Dong Sun-hwa
Group pushes for match between two Koreas' football league champs South Korean K-LEAGUE clubs Suwon Samsung and FC Seoul play ball at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Apr. 8, 2018. Korea Times fileThe chief of a Seoul-based inter-Korean sports exchange promotion group said Tuesday he is trying to stage a match between football league champions from South and North Korea. Kim Kyung-sung, who leads the South-North Inter-Korean Sports Association, said his organization is working to link South Korea's K League and North Korea's football league."We are trying to help economic development and exchanges between the Koreas through sports," Kim said. "Our youth football tournament has completely landed. The next stage is to help exchanges between K League and North Korea's football league and launching a match between the champions of the two leagues." For next year, Kim said there will be a youth football competition in Wonsan, a North Korean coastal city in Kangwon Province. "North Korea is building a 20,000-seat football stadium that is expected to be completed by March 2019," he said. "At this stadium, we agreed to hold the Ari Sports Cup youth football tourSep 18, 2018
Will magician turn North Korean currency into US dollar? President Moon Jae-in helps magician Choi Hyun-woo at a daycare center in Seoul in January. Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-minSouth Korean magician Choi Hyun-woo is expected to perform in front of the leaders of the two Koreas, with Cheong Wa-dae announcing on Monday that Choi was in the South's delegation.“I am not sure about the specifics (where and when I am going to present my show), as the news came as surprise,” Choi told CBS radio, Tuesday morning just before leaving for Pyongyang.He said he planned to engage North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his show.“I cannot reveal which magic performances I'm going to present at the show, but I'm planning to create scenes that I hope show the 'miracle of inter-Korean unity,'” he said.He was not sure whether he would do a similar trick to one performed by a North Korean magician ― turning North Korean currency into a U.S. dollar.During the April 27 inter-Korean summit, a North Korean magician performed in front of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.In particular, he magically changed Sep 18, 2018
Chaebol leaders travel light to Pyongyang LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, right, and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won are among President Moon Jae-in's entourage in Pyongyang. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin Top business leaders accompanying President Moon Jae-in on his three-day summit trip to North Korea Tuesday, were traveling light. They boarded the presidential flight at Seoul Airport in eastern Seoul. A dozen business leaders are included in the presidential entourage, but three stood out: Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong, SK's Chey Tae-won and LG's Koo Kwang-mo. Lee's trip is controversial because he is being tried for allegedly buying influence from former President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and is standing trial. Lee was carrying a leather brief case. Chey carried a hard briefcase, while Koo, who became LG leader after his father's recent death, had a soft briefcase. Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, second from right, waits to board the presidential flight for Pyongyang. YonhapBecause of their three-day stay, they had already checked in their larger luggage, but the number of pieces was restricted due to space constraints on the presiSep 18, 2018
Historic handshakes between leaders of two Koreas President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, after Kim crossed Military Demarcation Line (MDL) for the April 27 inter-Korean summit on the South Korean side of the Panunjeom truce village. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin, Jung Da-minSimple handshakes tell a tale of hope and disappointment. The first was between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in June 2000. It was supposed to be a new start between the two antagonistic brother nations. In hindsight, it came too early to come to fruition. It took nearly 10 years to have the second ― between Kim and President Roh Moo-hyun in October 2007. It was too late in Roh's presidency, only two months before the presidential election in which the conservative Lee Myung-bak was elected. The third one took another 10 years ― between President Moon Jae-in, chief of staff of the late former President Roh, and Kim Jong-un, son of the late Kim, in April 2018. But it took only a short time before the two met again the following month.Now the third Moon-Kim summit is taking place. Three summits in five Sep 18, 2018By Oh Young-jin
Two former singers hit right note in Pyongyang South Korea's first lady Kim Jung-sook , second from right, and Ri Sol-ju, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's wife, talk as they arrive at the Kim Won-gyun University of Music on Tuesday. Joint Press CorpsBy Jung Da-minThe first ladies of the two Koreas met again in Pyongyang, Tuesday, on the first day of the three-day summit from Tuesday to Thursday. The two shared greetings when President Moon and his entourage arrived in the North Korean capital and were welcomed by the first couple of the North. According to the South's presidential office, first lady Kim Jung-sook visited Okryu Children's Hospital and Kim Won Gyun University of Music later in the day. Her North Korean counterpart Ri Sol-ju accompanied her. On Wednesday, Kim and Ri will visit Mangyongdae Children's Palace together. In particular, the visit to the music university could bring them closer, because Kim majored in voice at university and Ri was a singer. Kim graduated Kyung Hee University's department of voice and was a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Choir, while Ri was a soloist with the North Korean UnhSep 18, 2018
Pyongyang media dubs Moon-Kim summit 'good opportunity' to improve ties North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency's No. 261 issue on Tuesday reports about South Korean President Moon Jae-in's visit to Pyongyang on the day. YonhapNorth Korea's state media reported Tuesday on this week's inter-Korean summit, calling it a "good opportunity" to improve ties between the two Koreas.South Korean President Moon Jae-in is to embark early in the day on a three-day trip to Pyongyang for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It follows his first summit in April and another in May, all of them held at the truce village of Panmunjom. "The Pyongyang summit aimed at implementing the Panmunjom declaration for peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula will offer an important opportunity in further accelerating the development of inter-Korean relations that is making a new history," the Korean Central News Agency said. Moon will stay in the North through Thursday during which he is to hold talks with Kim, which are expected to be dominated by discussion on denuclearization and inter-Korean relations. After the April summit, in pSep 18, 2018
Moon vows to persuade Pyongyang amid standoff President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Moon will fly to Pyongyang today for a three-day trip, which will include multiple meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulPresident Moon Jae-in said Monday he will try to persuade Pyongyang to advance peace and denuclearization processes during his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.“Achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula isn't an issue for South Korea to handle alone. The top priority at the upcoming summit will be what specific steps should be taken to find common ground between the North and the U.S. We have to reconcile the North's demand to end hostile relations with the United States and how the latter can offer a security guarantee as a condition for denuclearization,” Moon said in a weekly meeting with his top secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae.“I plan to have a thorough and open discussion with Kim Jong-un. I will try to persuade Kim to advance the nuclear disarmament talks with the United States Sep 17, 2018By Kim Yoo-chul
