N. Korea pushes to maintain friendship with Cuba By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea is apparently trying to maintain friendship with Cuba after Miguel Diaz-Canel was selected as the new president of the Caribbean island nation in April.Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on July 10 that Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un had his verbal message delivered to Diaz-Canel through Ri Su-yong.Ri, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers' Party, visited Cuba from July 3 to 9.Ri, also the North's former foreign minister, was the highest ranking official to visit after Diaz-Canel was selected as president to succeed Raul Castro.The Cuban leader expressed deep thanks and asked Ri to convey his “most heartfelt greetings" to Kim, according to the KCNA.Ri and Diaz-Canel discussed “further developing the traditional ties between the two parties and two countries” in a friendly atmosphere.Ri also briefed Diaz-Canel on “economic and social objectives” adopted at the third Plenary Meeting of the seventh Central Committee of the Worker's Party in April.The two countries became allies during thJul 15, 2018
N. Korea campaigns against anti-socialism after Singapore summit By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea is cracking down on “anti-socialist culture,” on the border with China, forcing karaoke rooms and other establishments featuring foreign content to shut down, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.The measure comes after the historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore, June 12, following Kim's two separate summits with President Moon Jae-in.The summits fueled speculation that the impoverished Kim regime's diplomacy could lead to a more open society.“All state-run karaoke rooms have been shut down recently while authorities were strongly cracking down on private karaoke rooms,” a source told Radio Free Asia.It said the crackdown led secret karaoke rooms to operate underground.Another source said people are perplexed by the sudden control over karaoke culture as well as foreign music and dance.“North Korean residents have been expecting a big change since the North-South and North-U.S. summits,” it said. “Residents are disappointed by the tightened controlJul 15, 2018
Ethnic Chinese ordered to mourn for Kim Il-sung By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea has ordered ethnic Chinese citizens of the country to join a memorial service for its founding leader Kim Il-sung to mark the 24th anniversary of his death on July 8, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.The sources said last week the mourning period lasts throughout July and that provincial authorities are competing to hold a better ceremony than other provinces.“There has been a directive order for ethnic Chinese in North Korea to participate,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Radio Free Asia. “The ethnic Chinese committee in the province asked its members to join the memorial service after informing them about it in June.” A source in Pyongyang said the region's respective committee members are asked to visit a Kim Il-sung statue in the city and lay flowers.They are required to pay for their own transportation and offerings.“The ethnic Chinese committee is burdening the ethnic Chinese in North Korea with requests for money for flowers to lay at the statue and for the ceremony preparations,” the source saJul 15, 2018
'US preparing for next round of talks with North Korea' In this file photo taken on June 12, 2018, US President Donald Trump, right, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un shake hands following a signing ceremony during their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore. AFP-YonhapThe United States is stepping up preparations for another round of negotiations with North Korea on dismantling the regime's nuclear weapons program, a South Korean official said Friday. Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, provided the update to reporters in Washington after holding a series of meetings with U.S. officials handling the negotiations. "The U.S. side is accelerating its internal preparations for follow-up negotiations with the North," he said. "The U.S. is forming a negotiating team made up mostly of State Department officials, and they are actively coordinating their stance on denuclearization and other practical issues." Negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea have reportedly moved slowly since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un struck a denuclearization deal at tJul 14, 2018
Trump hints N. Korea negotiations will be long process President Donald Trump walks with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the conclusion of their joint news conference at Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, England, Friday, July 13, 2018. AP-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump hinted Friday that negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program could take longer than hoped for.Trump was speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Buckinghamshire, England, during which he touched on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile problem."We're doing very well. You saw the letter yesterday, and we're doing very well," he said, referring to a letter he received from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."Look, we haven't had nuclear testing. We haven't had missile launches. We haven't had rocket launches. Some sites were blown up. And we got back our hostages, our prisoners, even before I left. So a lot of good things are happening. There's some good feeling there," he added, listing North Korean actions that he often cites as signs of progress.But Trump also indicated that North Korea was not bending tJul 14, 2018
NK, US in course of building mutual trust for nuclear bargain By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea and the United States are apparently building up mutual trust as they proceed with follow-up dialogue to a denuclearization agreement reached between their leaders in Singapore last month.Doubts remain strong about the North's commitment to complete denuclearization. There also have been news reports about a possible rift in ongoing negotiations since the two sides failed to make a breakthrough during U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang from July 5 to 7.The North recently accused the U.S. of making a “gangster-like demand,” but this was largely viewed as a tactic to secure more concessions as both sides are engaging in a tug-of-war over concrete denuclearization steps.Pyongyang never mentioned a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula although it was included on the joint statement issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore. The North wants a security guarantee from the U.S. in return for complete denuclearization.Against this backdrop, Trump on Thursday tweeted a letter to him from KimJul 13, 2018
North Korean table tennis players to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for int'l tournament North Korean table tennis players will arrive in South Korea on Sunday for an international table tennis tournament, Seoul's sports officials said Friday, with the two sides looking to compete as a unified team in several events. North Korea's 16 table tennis players and nine officials will land at South Korea's Incheon International Airport on Sunday via Beijing for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korean Open, which will be staged in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, from next Tuesday to July 22. North Koreans will leave South Korea on July 23. The Korean Open will feature men's and the women's singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles. North Korea will be led by Kim Song-i, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in the women's singles.The North Korean squad also include women's players Cha Hyo-sim, Choe Hyon-hwa and Kim Nam-hae, who joined forces with South Koreans to form a unified team during the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden, in May. Excluding Kim Song-i, most of the North Korean players are below the 100 spot Jul 13, 2018
PHOTOS Trump reveals Kim Jong-un's letter in tweet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that expressed hope for further progress in bilateral ties.In a Twitter message, Trump wrote, "A very nice note from Chairman Kim of North Korea. Great progress being made!"Attached were two images of the letter -- one in Korean and the other an English translation. Dated July 6, the note was likely the one given to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to Pyongyang last week."I deeply appreciate the energetic and extraordinary efforts made by Your Excellency Mr. President for the improvement of relations between the two countries and the faithful implementation of the joint statement," the letter read, referring to an agreement the two leaders signed at their summit in Singapore last month."I firmly believe that the strong will, sincere efforts and unique approach of myself and Your Excellency Mr. President aimed at opening up a new future between the DPRK and the U.S. will surely come to fruition," it added, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic Jul 13, 2018
Denuclearization talks on right track: Moon President Moon Jae-in and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shake hands during a joint press conference at the Singaporean presidential palace of Istana after their summit, Thursday. / Yonhap By Kim RahnThe denuclearization negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea have just got onto the right track, President Moon Jae-in said during bilateral talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thursday. Moon said that through U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang, they confirmed the concept of denuclearization as defined by the North and that by the South and the U.S. are the same, according to a senior presidential secretary.His remarks came just a month after the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader in Singapore, June 12. Since then, negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled as they have not made progress on a detailed denuclearization process and timeline in follow-up talks.Moon haJul 12, 2018
NK refuses to show up at war remains talks By Kim Bo-eunNorth Korean negotiators failed to show up for scheduled talks with the U.S. at Panmunjeom, Thursday, on repatriating the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, indicating a possible rift between the two countries in ongoing denuclearization talks.The two sides were supposed to meet at 9 a.m. in the border village, but the North Koreans did not show up, according to officials from the government and the United States Forces Korea (USFK).The North, instead, reportedly proposed holding general-level military talks with the United Nations Command (UNC) to discuss returning the war remains to the U.S. It is unknown whether the North Korean side gave any prior notification to the USFK about this.After U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with North Korean officials in Pyongyang last week, he stated the U.S. and North Korea would hold working-level talks on repatriating the remains, July 12.U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) director Kelly McKeague stated in an interview with Reuters that the agency is “hopeful these discussions onJul 12, 2018
