Xi's N. Korea visit could make US uneasy By Yi Whan-wooChinese President Xi Jinping's planned visit to North Korea next month, which was reported Sunday, is expected to provide a watershed moment in negotiations over denuclearizing the North, according to analysts.Xi's visit could make a breakthrough in the stalled denuclearization talks, but at the same time could make Washington uneasy because it believes Xi is exerting influence on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Anyway, Xi's Pyongyang trip may put pressure on the U.S. that has insisted on denuclearization first before complying with the North's call to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.The analysts pointed out that the Kim's regime may play hardball against the U.S. again as witnessed in the aftermath of the past summits between Kim and Xi.“And this is why Xi's September visit could be an extreme burden for the U.S.” said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies. “You don't want denuclearization dialogue to lose momentum, and in that regard, Xi certainly holds the key.”Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of NAug 19, 2018
PHOTOS Dream or reality: Separated Koreans to meet after decades apart In this Aug. 17, 2018, photo, Lee Soo-nam, 76, shows photos of his brother Ri Jong Song in North Korea during an interview at his home in Seoul, South Korea. Lee is among about 200 war-separated South Koreans and their family members who are crossing into North Korea for heart-wrenching meetings with relatives they haven't seen for decades. The week-long event beginning Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, at North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort come as the rival Koreas boost reconciliation efforts amid a diplomatic push to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. APLee Soo-nam was 8 the last time he saw his older brother. Sixty-eight years ago this month the boy watched, bewildered, as his 19-year-old brother left their home in Seoul to escape invading North Korean soldiers who were conscripting young men just weeks after invading South Korea to start the Korean War. An hour later his brother, Ri Jong Song, was snatched up by North Korean soldiers near a bridge across Seoul's Han River. Lee always assumed Ri died during the three-year war that killed and injured millions before a cease-fire in 1Aug 19, 2018
VIDEO For many separated Korean families, reunion event comes too late For Chung Hak-soon, it feels just like yesterday when she recalls the days she was together with her brother before they were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.It must have been a lifetime dream for the 81-year-old woman to meet her brother in North Korea again. But it is too late to realize it as the sibling she loved already passed away years ago.One consolation is that she is to meet the family of her late brother for the first time in the upcoming family reunion event to be held this week."I really wished to see even the face of my brother, but the reunion has come too late," Chung lamented.Chung is one of 89 South Koreans chosen to take part in the family reunion event to be held from Monday to next Sunday at a Mount Kumgang resort on the North's east coast.The reunion is a rare occasion for those who had sought in vain for decades to see their families in the North.This week's event is the first of its kind since October 2015. The two Koreas have held just 20 rounds of face-to-face family reunions since the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000.The 89 people fortunately chosAug 19, 2018
Chinese leader Xi to visit North Korea next month: report By Park Si-sooChinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Pyongyang early next month at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to attend the celebrations of the reclusive state’s 70th founding anniversary, Singapore's Straits Times reported on Saturday, citing unidentified sources. If it happens, it will be the Chinese leader's first visit to the North Korean capital since he took power in 2012. Kim is also set to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang in September, although the exact date has not been decided yet.The newspaper didn’t specify where it obtained the information and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.North Korea's founding celebrations are set to take place on Sept. 9. The Straits Times reported that Xi's visit could still be subject to change.China is the North’s most important trading partner and Kim has visited China three times so far this year during which he has engaged in talks with Xi on improving cooperation between the two countries Aug 18, 2018
Separated family reunions to focus on participants The photo shows recreational facilities at Mount Geumgang in the North. Separated family members of the South and North will meet at Mount Geumgang for reunions next week. Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunSeparated family reunions that will take place in North Korea next week will focus on providing participants personal time with family members and eliminating physical inconveniences, considering they are elderly, according to the unification ministry, Friday.This will be done through enabling them to have lunch separately instead of dining in a group and simplifying security checks when South Korean participants head to the North.From August 20 through August 22, selected South Koreans will meet with long-sought relatives in the North at Mount Geumgang. From August 24 through August 26, North Koreans will meet long-sought relatives in the South at the same venue.The considerations were made to have the reunion focus on participants' needs.On the second day of each session, participants will be able to separately have lunch with long-lost relatives.“The program will increase the tAug 17, 2018
'US-North Korea seeing progress in relations' Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom responds to questions in a media briefing, Friday. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulA Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday that South Korea expects the ongoing dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang on the North's denuclearization will bring about improvements in their decades-long hostile relationship.“South Korea is hoping to see a big step in relations between the United States and North Korea in the near future,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters when asked what Seoul thought of remarks by United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.“It seems apparent that something is happening in the relationship between Washington and Pyongyang. Momentum is continuing as South Korea is seeing progress in the improved relationship between the former foes,” Kim said in a media briefing.The response from the presidential office came a few hours after Pompeo said that he hopes that talks with North Korea on denuclearization would lead to a “big step before too long.”“So, we are now many months with no additionAug 17, 2018
Kim Jong-un wants to boost tourism Kim Jong-un inspects Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist district in Gangwon Province (top) and hot spring resorts at Yangdok County in South Pyongan Province (below). KCNA via YonhapBy Jung Da-minNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently visited major tourist facilities and encouraged officials, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.With his wife Ri Sol-ju, Kim inspected the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist district in Gangwon Province under construction and encouraged workers there, saying it would be “a very nice gift” for the people of North Korea once completed.He stressed that the project should be finished by Oct. 10 2019 ― the foundation anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).The fact that Kim visited the site only three months ago shows how much he cares about the project, observers say.During his visit, Kim also said such projects were part of North Korea's "do-or-die struggle" against “hostile forces trying to stifle the Korean people through brigandish sanctions and blockade.”Kim and Lee were accompanied by top-ranking partyAug 17, 2018
KTV to broadcast cross-border family reunions Separated family members say goodbye on the last day of the first round of 20th family reunions in this 2015 Korea Times file photo. Joint Press Corp.By Jung Da-minSouth Korea's state-run broadcaster KTV will provide live broadcasts of inter-Korean family reunions next week.KTV will televise the historic event from Monday to Sunday (Aug. 20-26). The broadcasts will be shown at 8:20 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday; 1 p.m. on Wednesday; 8:20 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday; 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.Viewers will also be able to watch the broadcasts on KTV's social media ― Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Naver TV.The last inter-Korean family reunions were held in October 2015 under the Park Geun-hye administration. After the Korean War (1950-53) separated millions of families, South and North Korea held the first reunions in September 1985. In the first round of the event (Aug. 20-22), 93 people from South Korea will meet family members at a resort on Mount Geumgang in North Korea. In the next round (Aug. 24-26), 88 people from North Korea will meet family members from the South on MouAug 17, 2018
Former N. Korean defense chief dies at 82 Kim Yong-chunFormer North Korean defense chief Kim Yong-chun died Thursday, Pyongyang's state media reported. He was 83.Kim, marshal of the Korean People's Army, died of acute myocardial infarction, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un leads the state funeral committee, with the bier of the deceased currently at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang and his hearse set to leave next Monday, according to the KCNA."Although he passed away, his exploits before the party, the revolution, the country and the people will shine long in the history of the revolution of the WPK (Workers' Party of Korea) and the history of building the revolutionary armed forces," the KCNA said in an English article.Kim Yong-chun was one of the most influential military leaders during the era of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.From 2007-2014, he served as vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission. In 2009, he was the minister of the People's Armed Forces. After the death of Kim Jong-il in 2011, he worked as department director of tAug 17, 2018
Seoul eyes removing half of inter-Korean barbed wire fences A sparrow rests on a barbed wire on the south side of inter-Korean demilitarized zone at Imjingak in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times fileSouth Korea's defense ministry plans to gradually remove more than half of all coastal and riverside barbed wire fences across the country to help ease residents' inconveniences, officials said Thursday.The move, which is part of the Defense Reform 2.0 initiative aimed at creating a smaller yet stronger military, came amid Seoul's push for inter-Korean cooperation and rapprochement.The ministry plans to inspect all fences across the nation, which measure about 300 kilometers in total, to determine which can be eliminated in a way that does not hurt the country's coastal defense. "At this point in time, we think that some 57 percent of the fences can possibly be removed," a ministry official said, declining to be named. "We will take action this year as to the sections that the military can eliminate on its own, while we plan to take care of other fences in stages."Residents near the military fences have been calling for their removal as they reAug 16, 2018
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