How to invigorate Trump's North Korea initiative U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks before the Senate Wednesday. Pompeo, President Donald Trump’s point man on North Korea, said Pyongyang knows well the U.S. stance on the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of the North’s nuclear weapons program. AP Joseph Yoon, left, former U.S. point man on North Korea, speaks during a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, the fraternity of senior journalists, at the Korea Press Center, Friday. At right is Park Seung-hee, Kwanhun president. YonhapBy Oh Young-jinJoseph Yoon, U.S. point man on North Korea until early this year, has publicly explained why President Donald Trump's effort to denuclearize Pyongyang will likely fail. But the chance is that the career diplomat, or most of the audience, didn't even know he said it. “The North has not shown a concrete sign or evidence to denuclearize,” he told a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, the fraternity of journalists, Friday. “If the North is serious, it should make a declaration of its nuclear weapons, sites and materials as the first step.Jun 29, 2018
North Korea named worst human trafficking nation for 16th year ReutersThe United States on Thursday designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 16th consecutive year, citing its use of forced labor.The State Department's annual "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report" put North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 of its classification of countries, together with China, Russia and Iran."The Government of (North Korea) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so," the report said.The North Korean government continued to use forced labor in prison camps and labor training centers, facilitated forced labor of students and exported forced labor to foreign companies, it said."It used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government functions as well as other illicit activity," the report added. "It did not screen for or protect potential trafficking victims when they were forcibly repatriated from China or other countries."U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue as he introduced the report."We see the tragic examples of forced Jun 29, 2018
China has reasons to worry about nuclear-armed North Korea Today's friend could be tomorrow's nuclear-armed enemy. ReutersBy Jung Min-hoSandip Kumar MishraAaron M. HoffmanDavid GraffVishnu PrakashAfter the historic summit between the United States and North Korea earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that China wouldn't be “happy with someone having nuclear weapons so close.”Many experts agree. They reckon, with a nuclear arsenal in hand, North Korea is now a bigger diplomatic concern and potential threat to China, which did not want the regime to develop the weapons in the first place.China, which exerted great influence over North Korea with its economic power and nuclear umbrella, wants to maintain its clout. But a nuclear-armed North Korea will not be the same, according to Sandip Kumar Mishra, a professor of international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.“Nuclear capability has given North Korea more power over not just the U.S. but also China,” Mishra told The Korea Times. “China would like North Korea to surrender its nuclear arsenal and be dependent on China'Jun 29, 2018
Koreas to conduct joint study on linking motorways South Korean delegates, led by Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol, center, are greeted by North Korean officials as they cross the border line at Panmunjeom for talks on reconnecting roads, Thursday. / Courtesy of Unification MinistryBy Park Ji-won, Joint Press CorpsThe two Koreas agreed Thursday to form a joint research team to study reconnecting roads across their border and modernizing the highways in the North.In working-level talks at Tongilgak, the northern side of Panmunjeom, delegates from the two Koreas agreed to check on the conditions of the North's highway between Gaeseong and Pyongyang on the western side of the Korean Peninsula in early August, and the roads between Goseong and Wonsan on the east coast afterward.Goseong is a North Korean city north of the border, with South Korea having a city with the same name south of the border.Connecting and modernizing roads was part of the Panmunjeom Declaration reached at the April 27 inter-Korean summit,.The two agreed to jointly conduct the design and repair work for the roads and hold a groundbreaking ceremony as soon asJun 28, 2018
South Korea seeks environmental cooperation with North Korea Environmental cooperation should precede economic cooperation By Lee Suh-yoonEnvironmental cooperation can come first in expanding ties with North Korea, government officials and experts said Wednesday.“Environmental cooperation is less constrained than political or economic cooperation. It also brings a more a bottom-up approach to building inter-Korean ties,” Cho Myung-rae, president of the state-funded Korea Environment Institute (KEI) said at a forum at the National Assembly. “Also, due to U.N. sanctions, environmental cooperation is a more practical measure at this point than economic cooperation.”Vice Minister of Unification Chun Hae-Sung also called for inter-Korean environmental cooperation.“There are no boundaries set for inter-Korean environmental cooperation, it's a common problem of the Korean people,” Chun said. “North Korea, too, has shown active interest in environmental issues recently, joining international treaties on migratory birds and wetlands.“Panelists said North Korea should implement strict environmental standarJun 27, 2018
Koreas prep for family reunions Kim Byung-dae, the ministry's humanitarian cooperation bureau director, and other officials head to the North from the Inter-Korean Transit Office, Wednesday. Through Friday they will inspect facilities at Mount Geumgang, where separated family reunions will take place in August. / YonhapBy Kim Bo-eunSouth Korean officials arrived at Mount Geumgang in the North Wednesday, to check facilities there for upcoming reunions of separated family members.A total of 20 officials of the unification ministry, Red Cross as well as Hyundai Asan and its subcontractor will stay there through Friday, to check the conditions of the hall for reunions as well as accommodations at hotels and tourist and power generating facilities.“We will carefully inspect the facilities so that the reunion of separated family members can take place successfully,” Kim Byung-dae, the ministry's humanitarian cooperation bureau director, said at the Inter-Korean Transit Office before heading to the North.After the officials return, South Korea will start sending workers to begin repairing the facilities in theJun 27, 2018
Japanese government to launch North Korea bureau Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide points to a journalist for a question during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan in this Aug. 27, 2017, file photo. / Korea Times fileBy Park Ji-wonJapan's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday it will set up a new division to exclusively deal with North Korean affairs. The ministry's Northeast Asia Division currently deals with both North and South Korea issues, but it will now be divided, and more staff will be hired to implement the plan.Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said the plan reflects the changing regional security environment.“As the workload has increased regarding the Korean Peninsula, (the ministry) will reorganize the divisions as Tokyo aims to cope with several issues such as improving bilateral ties with South Korea, handling the issue of the North's nuclear and missile development and taking stronger action against North Korea, regarding Japanese abductees issues,” Suga said during a press briefing in Tokyo.Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro earlier emphaJun 27, 2018
USFK chief vows to stop drills that may provoke North Korea Gen. Vincent Brooks, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), delivers a keynote speech during a South Korea-U.S. alliance forum at the Army Hall in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonU.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks said Wednesday the U.S. will suspend “unnecessary” joint military exercises with South Korea that might provoke North Korea.During a security forum in Seoul, Brooks said the recent decision by Seoul and Washington to suspend their combined military exercises is to help build trust with the North through dialogue.“I don't anticipate that this is an end to all exercises and training as we know it, but rather these visible exercises that are right up front that may cause unnecessary irritation at a time when the need for trust building is so important,” Brooks said.“I will eliminate the doubt and concerns about all military training going away. I don't have any such instruction coming my way. I don't feel that is the spirit of our leaders but rather to create room for them to be able to navigate the way forward ... Jun 27, 2018
Moon, Kim may meet in Indonesia during Asian Games By Kim RahnThe leaders of two Koreas may have their third meeting in Indonesia as they have been invited to the country for the Asian Games slated for August. Seoul officials are discussing the possibility, while Pyongyang's response is unknown, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday.Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the Indonesian government expressed its intention to invite both President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the country on the occasion of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games that will be held from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2. If Moon and Kim accept the invitations, it will be the first time for leaders of the two Koreas to meet outside the Korean Peninsula. Former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun met former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, respectively; and Moon met Kim Jong-un twice at the truce village of Panmunjeom, first on the southern side, April 27, and then on the northern side, May 26.“It was the Indonesian government's intention (to invite), but it has not given an official invitation,” the spokesJun 27, 2018
Exhibition captures DMZ through eyes of foreign artists Six artists for the DMZ exhibition at the Summerset Palace Hotel in Seoul. From left are Trine Bumiler, George Rivera, Jane Mchan, Sammy lee, Sandy Lane and Woo Ju-yeon. Korea Times photo by Kang Aa-youngBy Kang Aa-youngU.S.-based artists have opened an exhibition featuring the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the border that separates the two Koreas, at DMZ Museum in Goseong, Gangwon Province. Their theme is “Liminal Space” or space between two thresholds, no doubt South and North Korea. Six of the artists, including two Korean-Americans, are visiting. The exhibition hosts 117 pieces of art by 45 members of “Artnauts,” an artists' group in the U.S., each symbolizing the conflict between the two Koreas. "The Korean War (1950-53) is known as 'the Forgotten War.' Although Americans fought and died in this war, most Americans today know little to nothing about it," George Rivera, professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told The Korea Times on Monday, the 68th anniversary of the Korean War. Rivera started the Artnauts in 1996 to visit places of international coJun 27, 2018
