US seeks 'clarity' in denuclearization talks with North Korea U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior North Korean official admitted Saturday that they have things to "clarify," opening a second day of talks in Pyongyang.Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, met with each other for nearly three hours Friday apparently on details of what the two countries should do in order to implement the Singapore summit deal last month.Kim told the secretary, "We did have very serious discussion on very important matters yesterday. So, thinking about those discussions you might have not slept well last night," according to news reports based on pool notes.Several reporters are accompanying Pompeo on his third trip to Pyongyang in as many months aimed at fleshing out the June 12 Singapore accord between President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong-un, during which Kim agreed to the "complete" denuclearization of Korea in return for security guarantees.Pompeo said he "slept just fine."The North's official also said, "There are things that I have to clarify," and Pompeo responded, "ThJul 7, 2018
Officials of South Korean broadcaster JTBC to visit North Korea to discuss 'Pyongyang bureau' By Park Si-sooEight officials of South Korean TV station JTBC will visit North Korea's capital Pyongyang next week to discuss inter-Korean exchange in the field of media and the opening of the broadcaster's bureau there.It will become the first case of inter-Korean cooperation in media since inter-Korean military tension subsided early this year. Seoul's unification ministry approved their visit to the North late Friday. The ministry's approval is a must for South Korean citizens to visit the North since the two Koreas are technically still at war with each other because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.The ministry said the JTBC delegation, headed by its newsroom managing director Kwon Suk-chun, will visit the North from July 9 to 12, during which time they will meet with North Korean broadcasters and officials from the National Reconciliation Council, which invited the delegation to the North.The purpose of the visit is to discuss “inter-Korean exchange in the field of media and JTBC's opening of a Pyongyang bureau,” said the ministry in a mesJul 7, 2018
North Korea, US launch 'working groups' on denuclearization North Korea and the United States have established working groups to talk about details of a denuclearization plan, a U.S. official was quoted as saying Saturday, as Washington's top diplomat is set for a second day of negotiations in Pyongyang.The two sides set up the consultation channel to deal with "nitty gritty stuff," including those related to efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the North, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, according to Reuters, which cited a pool report.They are accompanying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his first trip to the communist nation since the June 12 Singapore summit deal between President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong-un.On his first day in Pyongyang, Pompeo had a nearly three-hour meeting with Kim Yong-chol, a top aide to the North's leader.Nauert said they also discussed the repatriation of the remains of some American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.If realized, it's another goodwill gesture by the North to follow up on the Singapore accord.What's drawing keen attention is whether the twoJul 7, 2018
Trump sends Kim 'Rocket Man' CD Rocket Man to little rocket man. WikipediaBy Oh Young-jin U.S. President Donald Trump has sent through his envoy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the 1972 Elton John song, "Rocket Man," to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reports said Friday.Trump asked Kim during their June 12 summit in Singapore if he knew of John's song and Kim said no, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources in Washington.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pomepo is in Japan on his way to Pyongyang. APTrump derided Kim as “little rocket man” in his tweets after North Korea launched a series of missiles last year at the height of tension between the two countries. Kim then called Trump a dotard. Pompeo was also reported to be carrying a personal letter from trump to Kim. It would be Pompeo' third visit to the North and the first since the Singapore summit, with the mission of putting the North's denuclearization pledge on a more concrete footing.Meanwhile, the song's lyrics are about an astronaut on a mission to Mars, describing Earth and his wife as two things he would most miss. It sounds quiteJul 6, 2018
S. Koreans see Kim Jong-un more likable than Xi Jinping, Abe By Lee Min-hyungSouth Koreans perceive North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as more likeable than Chinese President Xi Jinping or Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, research showed Thursday.Their favorable sentiment toward North Korea has hit an all-time high, following the rapprochement along with the inter-Korean and the Washington-Pyongyang summits. According to a study by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, the level of favorable impressions of Kim reached 4.06 on a scale of zero to 10. It was a drastic hike as his score used to be around 1 beginning 2013 when the institute started the survey, and remained below 1 throughout 2017.Kim's impression level was higher than Xi's 3.89 and Abe's 2.04. The score for U.S. President Donald Trump was 5.16, also a large increase as it was less than 4 until the end of 2017.The level of favorable impressions of North Korea as a country also hit a record high of 4.71. That of China, Japan and the U.S. was 4.16, 3.55 and 5.97, respectively.The institute explained the historic Trump-Kim summit last month helped improve the image of the North KoreanJul 6, 2018
Pompeo tasked with detailed plan for denuclearization U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from right, greets Kim Yong-chol, second from left, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, as they arrive for a meeting at the Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday. AP US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (centre L) arrives at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang on Friday. AFP By Kim Bo-eunU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began talks with North Korean officials on North Korea's denuclearization, Friday, after arriving in Pyongyang earlier in the day. The follow-up talks come more than three weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the matter in Singapore, June 12. The agreement reached at the summit was only made in broad terms without specific measures and a timeline for the denuclearization process.Pompeo has been tasked with making a detailed plan with the North Koreans for these; if he returns home empty-handed or makes a deal for only a minor part of the entire process, skepticism will grow among U.Jul 6, 2018By Kim Bo-eun
NK criticizes Japan over human rights violations of ethnic Koreans Members of civic groups denounce the Japanese government for confiscating souvenirs of ethnic Korean students in Japan after their school trip to North Korea, during a protest near the Embassy of Japan in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of MongdangBy Park Ji-wonNorth Korean media criticized Japan, Thursday, for confiscating personal belongings of Korean students in Japan after they came back from a trip to North Korea, saying it was a violation of human rights. An editorial in the Rodong Simun titled “We will not forgive inhumane behavior” said that Japan was violating the human rights of ethnic Koreans in the country.The customs office at Kansai Airport searched bags of the students of a pro-North Korean school in Kobe, June 28, when they returned from a school trip to North Korea, according to a July 3 report by the Choson Sinbo, a newspaper published by the General Association of Korean Residents, or Chongryon, a pro-North Korean organization in Japan. After the search which lasted over an hour, customs officers confiscated some of their personal belongings such as presentsJul 5, 2018
High-level inter-Korean meeting Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon, right, who led a South Korean delegation to the North for inter-Korean basketball matches, talks with Kim Yong-chol, left, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, at Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang, Thursday. Kim visited Cho on behalf of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was unable to watch the inter-Korean goodwill basketball matches in person as he was making an on-site inspection on the other side of the country. / Pyongyang Joint Press CorpsJul 5, 2018
Vatican archbishop visits inter-Korean border Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher from the Vatican, right, visits the Roman Catholic JSA Church of Military Ordinariate of Korea construction site at the inter-Korean border village Panmunjeom, Thursday. YonhapThe Vatican's top diplomat on Thursday voiced optimism for ongoing diplomacy to foster a lasting peace on the peninsula, saying "many good things" will be achieved despite challenges down the road. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states, delivered a message of hope for Koreans, as he toured the Joint Security Area (JSA) close to the heavily fortified inter-Korean border. "Of course, it is a very historic period, a period of hope and the Holy Father is supporting that movement," Gallagher said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency during the rare tour. Archbishop Gallagher listens to a South Korean military officer before watching a video clip at JSA Visitor Center in Panmunjeom, Thursday. Yonhap"We don't have any doubt that there will be many challenges and many difficulties ahead, but the determination that the Korean pJul 5, 2018
Koreas to cooperate on North's reforestation Ryu Kwang-su, right, South Korea's vice minister of the Korea Forest Service, and his North Korean counterpart Kim Song-jun, a senior official at the ministry for environmental protection, walk into a meeting room at the southern side of Panmunjeom, Wednesday, to discuss forestry cooperation, mainly measures for reforestation of the North. / Courtesy of Ministry of Unification By Park Ji-wonSeoul and Pyongyang agreed Wednesday to cooperate on reforestation and forest conservation in North Korea and near the inter-Korean border, they said in a joint statement.The two Koreas will jointly conduct inspections of selected areas in mid-July to assess measures against harmful insects; and also discuss exchanging related technology.They agreed to push for the modernization of seedling farms in the North and the prevention of forest fires. The South's three-member working-level delegation led by Korea Forest Service Vice Minister Ryu Kwang-su held talks with the North's teamJul 4, 2018
