US warns Russia, others on enforcing North Korea sanctions U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia, China and other countries on Saturday against any violation of international sanctions on North Korea that could reduce pressure on the North to abandon its nuclear weapons. Pompeo's comments came on the heels of a new United Nations report that found North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and is violating U.N. sanctions, including through illicit ship-to-ship transfers of oil.North Korea quickly shot back at Washington, with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho saying that recent moves by the U.S. are ``alarming.'' Ri and Pompeo both made their comments at an Asian security forum in Singapore.Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Pompeo told reporters that the U.S. has new, credible reports that Russia is violating U.N. sanctions by allowing joint ventures with North Korean companies and issuing new permits for North Korean guest workers. He said Washington would take ``very seriously'' any violations, and called for them to be roundly condemned and reversed.``If these reports prove accurate, and we have every reason Aug 4, 2018
Lack of fertilizers adds to North Korea agriculture crisis North Korean state-run KCNA TV shows corn stalks, shriveled in the heat. YonhapBy Jung Da-minNorth Korea expects a reduced harvest this year, not just because of a drought but because of fertilizers, which are made from petroleum, which is under international sanctions, an expert says.Nam Sung-wook.“With the record heat, food production in North Korea is expected to be reduced by 5-10 percent this year, said Nam Sung-wook, professor at Korea University's Department of Korean Unification, Diplomacy and Security. “In particular, a fall in July precipitation will have a negative impact on rice farming,” said Nam, whose study focuses on North Korean agriculture and economy.However, he said that there was a more fundamental reason ― a lack of fertilizer, agricultural machinery and agricultural chemicals. “North Korea's repeated failure year after year to achieve its crop production goal shows that the country does not have the economic conditions to maximize productions,” Nam said. “For example, North Korea cannot produce (enough amount of) chemical ferAug 4, 2018
Trump reply to Kim letter delivered to North Korea FM U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, chats with North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, right, as Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (behind) looks on, as they arrive for a group photo at the ASEAN Regional Forum Retreat during the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Singapore, Saturday. AFP The U.S. State Department says President Donald Trump's reply to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's latest letter has been hand-delivered to the North's top diplomat.Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Trump's written response was given to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho at an Asian security forum in Singapore on Saturday. Ri and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were both attending the forum and briefly shook hands and exchanged pleasantries at the start of the meeting.Nauert said Trump's reply to Kim was given to Ri by Sung Kim, the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines who has been leading logistical negotiations with the North on its pledge to denuclearize. Nauert would not address the content of Trump's letter Aug 4, 2018
Hyundai hopes to resume NK business Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun answers reporters' questions at an immigration office in the border town of Goseong, Friday, after visiting the memorial event for his late husband and Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Mong-hun near Mount Geumgang on North Korea's eastern coast. Hyun said the group and the North hope to resume the tour program of Mount Geumgang within this year. Hyun and a 15-member delegation visited the North to participate in the event for Chung, who initiated the now-dormant tour program to the North Korean mountain. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonReturning from a visit to North Korea, Friday, Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun said that she and officials she talked to there hope the suspended tour program to Mount Geumgang could resume within this year. Hyun went to the North's Mount Geumgang to commemorate the 15th anniversary of her late husband Chung Mong-hun's death. Chung, the former Hyundai Group chairman, spearheaded the tour program to the North Korean mountain. “We hope that the tour program to Mount Geumgang will resume within this year, so does thAug 3, 2018
Denuke talks may gain impetus with Kim-Trump communication By Kim Bo-eunDenuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. that appeared to have been stalled may gain impetus, with leaders of the countries engaging in communication.U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Thursday, after receiving a “nice letter” from him. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the correspondence was “aimed at following up on the meeting in Singapore” and “advancing the commitments made” in the leaders' joint statement, where North Korea pledged complete denuclearization.The North Korean leader's letter arrived as 55 sets of remains of U.S. soldiers handed over by North Korea arrived at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.This is not the first correspondence. Before the historic June 12 summit in Singapore, the North Korean leader sent his first letter to Trump, in a large white envelope. The U.S. president received a second letter after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Pyongyang for follow-up denuclearization talks.The letters are seen as a sign that trust between tAug 3, 2018
INTERVIEW 'North Korean women have no one to turn to in domestic violence' By Jung Da-minLim Soon-heeIn a photo North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun published on Monday, the 72nd anniversary of the country's gender equality act, men are buying flowers for their wives, mothers and women teachers.In July, Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea outlet in Tokyo, reported on the North's non-smoking movement, saying many want to quit smoking “for their wives.”It indicates North Korean men treat their women well, but that does not reflect the reality of North Korean women, many experts and defectors say.“The term, 'domestic violence,' does not exist in North Korea,” said Lim Soon-hee, a researcher at the Institute of Peace-Sharing, a Catholic think tank that focuses on the reconciliation of the two Koreas. “For them, it is so natural that women 'serve' men.”According to Lim, who also worked as a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification, even young North Korean women think it natural that they could be “beaten” to serve their husbands better.“For example, from what I heard from defector Aug 3, 2018
Remains from North Korea 'consistent with being Americans' The remains handed over by North Korea last week in 55 boxes are ``consistent with being Americans,'' based on an initial examination, although none has been positively identified, a U.S. scientist who has seen the remains said Thursday.Although President Donald Trump has publicly thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for fulfilling the promise he made at their June 12 Singapore summit to return American war remains, U.S. officials had cautioned that little was known about the remains and that they could not be quickly identified.John E. Byrd, director of the Defense Department laboratory in Hawaii where the 55 cases arrived on Wednesday, cited several reasons for saying that at least some of the remains appear to be those of Americans missing from the Korean War.Byrd was present when North Korean officials turned over the 55 boxes at Wonsan airport in North Korea last Friday, and he was among the U.S. government specialists who made a further preliminary examination of the contents after the boxes were flown to Osan air base in South Korea the same day.A cursory examination at WonAug 3, 2018
Harris urges NK to make 'demonstrable' moves toward denuclearization U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris speaks to reporters at his residence in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapNew U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris on Thursday called on North Korea to make "demonstrable moves" toward denuclearization before the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.The retired admiral made the call amid reports that the communist state has been demanding the political declaration as part of efforts to ensure the security of its regime, with the U.S. pressuring it to first take tangible steps toward nuclear disarmament."One of the things that hasn't happened is the demonstrable moves toward denuclearization before we can entertain something like the end-of-war declaration," the ambassador said during an interview with local media."I think for the denuclearization to happen, we need to see the move and I haven't seen that yet," he added.Concerns have been rising about a lack of progress toward realizing the June U.S.-North Korea summit agreement goal of the "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula, with a flurry of reports saying Pyongyang appears Aug 3, 2018
Trump receives letter from North Korean leader: White House White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday. APU.S. President Donald Trump received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week, the White House said Thursday, in the latest sign of top-level diplomacy on Pyongyang's denuclearization."A letter to President Trump from Chairman Kim was received on August 1," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the US-DPRK joint statement."Sanders did not provide details on the content of the message.Trump mentioned the letter in a tweet earlier Thursday as he thanked Kim for returning the remains of presumed American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.Fifty-five cases of remains were airlifted from North Korea to South Korea last week and honored in a solemn ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii Wednesday.The repatriation was part of an agreement Trump and KAug 3, 2018
Trump, Kim to meet again soon? Captured from Trump's TwitterBy Park Si-soo U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday for returning the remains of dozens of presumed U.S. soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. He also expressed his hope of meeting Kim again soon. In a Twitter message, Trump wrote: “Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen!” “I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter - l look forward to seeing you soon!”It was unclear what letter he was referring to or when he might meet Kim. But after June's Singapore summit, North Korean media said Kim had accepted an invitation from Trump to visit the US, while Trump said Kim would "absolutely" be invited to the White House at some point.Trump's tweet came hours after the remains of U.S. war dead arrived in Hawaii for analysis and identification. North Korea handed over the remains last week, fulfilling one of the promises made betweeAug 2, 2018
