'North Korea's denuclearization becomes less likely' By Kim Jae-kyoungThe prospects for North Korea denuclearization negotiations have become pessimistic as the United States is turning more lenient toward the reclusive regime.James Bindenagel, an international security expert based in Germany, is one of the pessimists who expect that the nuclear talks are unlikely to succeed.His skepticism is based on North Korea's history of breaking promises over the past decades by delaying negotiations for key processes, such as the declaration of nuclear sites and verification agreements.James Bindenagel“After that quick historical reference, I expect North Korea will keep its nuclear weapons,” Bindenagel said in a recent interview.Bindenagel is currently the Henry Kissinger Professor for Governance and International Security at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn, Germany.“We saw no progress from North Korea from Pompeo's empty handed return from Pyongyang, without a meeting with Kim,” he added. “Kim won recognition and gave up nothing. Denuclearization of the North is less likely.”The pessimisticJul 19, 2018
North Korea hasn't met its promise to return US war remains More than a month after North Korea pledged to immediately return some American war dead, the promise is unfulfilled.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who traveled to Pyongyang this month to press the North Koreans further, said Wednesday the return could begin ``in the next couple of weeks.'' But it could take months or years to positively identify the bones as those of specific American servicemen.In a joint statement at their Singapore summit, President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un committed to recovering the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action decades after the Korean War _ ``including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.''That was more than a month ago, on June 12. Although Trump said eight days later that the repatriation had happened, it had not. It still has not. So, it was not ``immediate,'' though the Stars and Stripes newspaper reported from South Korea on Tuesday that the North has agreed to transfer as many as 55 sets of remains next week. The Pentagon and the State Department declined to comment on any specifics pJul 19, 2018
Pompeo says North Korea deal 'may take some time' President Donald Trump, right, talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday. (AP)Reaching a denuclearization deal with North Korea "may take some time," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, reiterating that sanctions would continue to be enforced in the meantime, even as Russia's envoy to Pyongyang proposed discussions on easing them.Speaking at a cabinet meeting chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump, Pompeo, who held inconclusive talks in North Korea earlier this month, said progress had been made on some issues."There's a lot of work to do. It may take some time to get where we need to go. But all of this will be taking place against the backdrop of continued enforcement of existing sanctions," he said.Pompeo said North Korea had reaffirmed its commitment to give up its nuclear weapons and that progress had been made on arranging the return of remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War."I think in the next couple weeks we'll have the first remains returned.Jul 19, 2018
What's on Kim Jong-un's mind? Hardliners may press Kim to slow denuclearizationBy Kim Jae-kyoungMore than one month has passed since the historic Singapore summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The two leaders signed a landmark agreement on complete denuclearization of North Korea but so far little progress has been made.One month is too short a period to see meaningful progress but Pyongyang's lukewarm attitude has raised questions about Kim's seriousness about denuclearization.U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang in early July indicated the North's subtle change of attitude. Unlike previous visits, Kim did not treat Pompeo to a discussion of the details regarding denuclearization agreed upon at the June 12 summit.Analysts said there are two key reasons why Pyongyang remains cold and unenthusiastic about follow-up talks for prompt denuclearization _ internal opposition and buying time.First, Kim might be facing a strong backlash from the North Korean elite about complete dismantlement of its nuclear weapons and missile programs. They may press Kim to keep part Jul 18, 2018
Unified Korean team to face South Koreans at int'l ping pong event South Korea's Yoo Eun-chong, right, returns the ball as her partner North Korea's Choe Il looks on during their preliminary round match against Spain's Alvaro Robles and Galia Dvorak at the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korea Open in Daejeon on July 17, 2018. AFP-YonhapA unified Korean mixed doubles team will take on a South Korean tandem at an international table tennis competition here this week.Choe Il (North Korea) and Yoo Eun-chong (South Korea) will play the third-seeded South Korean duo of Lee Sang-su and Jeon Ji-hee in Thursday's round of 16 match at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korea Open in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.Choe and Yoo defeated Alvaro Robles and Galia Dvorak of Spain 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11) in a qualification match Tuesday. But they will face an uphill battle against Lee-Jeon, considered the top South Korean pair that has a chance to contend for gold at the Asian Games in August.North Korea's Choe Il, right, and his partner South Korea's Yoo Eun-chong celebrate their victoJul 18, 2018
Trump 'No time limit on NK denuclearization' In this July 16, 2018, photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, tosses a soccer ball to his wife first lady Melania Trump after Russian President Vladimir Putin presented it to him during a news conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. AP-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there is "no time limit" on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program, appearing to take a step back from earlier demands for immediate denuclearization.Trump's remarks came a month after his historic summit with Kim Jong-un, during which the North Korean leader committed to work toward the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from the United States."We have no time limit. We have no speed limit. We're just going through the process," Trump told reporters at a meeting with members of Congress at the White House.The president struck a markedly different tone from early this year when he accused past administrations of engaging in step-by-step negotiations with North Korea that ultimately collapsed and Jul 18, 2018
South Korean leftist party to begin exchanges with North Korean party By Park Ji-wonA small South Korean leftist party will meet with a North Korean “political party” in China this week to discuss political exchanges in accord with the Panmunjeom Declaration signed at the inter-Korean summit.The Minjung Party said it will meet with the North's Korean Social Democratic Party from Friday to Saturday in Shenyang, China, close to the border with the North, to discuss boosting exchanges. “The party-to-party exchange with the Korean Social Democratic Party will be of importance in developing cooperation in the spirit of the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration,” Kim Chang-han, co-leader of the Minjung Party, said during a press conference. “This meeting is the restoration of party-to-party exchanges, after 10 years of no progress during the presidencies of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.”Kim said the North Korean party sent a letter to the Minjung Party, Jan. 1, expressing support and solidarity for its activities with the aim of achieving national independence, unification and the protection of peace along with a new year's gJul 17, 2018
North Korean leader rebukes officials' complacency against economic drive North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talks with officials at a dam construction site in Orangchon, North Hamgyong Province, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim RahnNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has chided ranking officials in charge of the economy for being “incompetent” during his on-site inspections, saying he was “speechless” at their idleness and unnecessary red-tape, according to the North's state media, Tuesday. His remarks were the latest in a series of reprimands against ranking officials at the Cabinet and the ruling Workers' Party following inspections at factories and infrastructure construction sites, amid his shifting of focus from developing nuclear weapons to building the economy.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim recently inspected eight locations in North Hamgyong Province, including construction sites of Yombunjin Hotel and a hydroelectric power plant in Orangchon, a resort in Onpo and a bag factory in Chongjin. Kim was furious at the delayed construction of the dam in Orangchon,Jul 17, 2018
Trade war may hamper denuclearization Confrontations will give more leverage to China on NK issueBy Kim Jae-kyoungAmid the tit-for-tat trade dispute between the United States and China, there are brewing concerns that the duel could turn into a long-lasting, full-blown war negatively affecting the denuclearization of North Korea.There have yet to be any signs that China is trying to link the two issues but analysts expect that if the confrontation spins out of control, Beijing will likely use the nuclear issue as leverage to tip the balance in its favor. The North's economy is now in a dire situation as a result of the economic sanctions imposed on it under U.S. President Donald Trump's maximum pressure strategy.Given Pyongyang is running out of hard currency, any sanctions relief from China can give a new lifeline to the cash-strapped Kim Jong-un regime thwarting Trump's denuclearization attempts.“This trade war will negatively affect the prospects for North Korea's denuclearization,” Liang Tuang Nah, a research fellow of the Military Studies Program at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Jul 17, 2018
Two Koreas fully restore western military communication line South and North Korea fully restored their military communication line on the western part of the peninsula Tuesday, Seoul's defense ministry said, a step to build confidence and reduce cross-border tensions.The complete restoration was part of an agreement from last month's inter-Korean general-grade military talks, the first such meeting in more than a decade.The western line was suspended in 2016 following Seoul's shutdown of the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, but its telephone link was restored in January ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, where the North participated. The two Koreas are also set to restore the eastern line. It was blocked in 2011 amid military tensions and then completely severed due to a wildfire in 2013. (Yonhap)Jul 17, 2018
