Trump: North Korea blows up 4 missile engine test sites U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, June 21, 2018, in Washington. / APU.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that North Korea has already destroyed four of its big test sites on the road to "total denuclearization."Trump was speaking at a Cabinet meeting following his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last week.The two leaders agreed then that Kim would commit to "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, while Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the regime."They've stopped the sending of missiles, including ballistic missiles. They're destroying their engine site. They're blowing it up," Trump said. "They've already blown up one of their big test sites. In fact, it was actually four of their big test sites. And the big thing is, it will be a total denuclearization, which has already started taking place."It was unclear which test sites the president was referring to. In May North Korea demolished its only known nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, which included four testingJun 22, 2018
Old North Korean money fraud alarms spy agency North Korean banknotes at a stamp and money collection market in Beijing. Great enthusiasm in old North Korean won notes rouse among the collectors after Pyongyang announced redenomination of its old currency in 2009. Korea Times fileSouth Korea's spy agency on Thursday alerted the public to overseas fraud schemes selling defunct North Korean money, taking advantage of the country's recent move to reach out to the international community.The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said crime rings in China and Southeast Asia have secured massive amounts of old North Korean bills and attempted to sell them on the premise that their value will jump once North Korea denuclearizes and its economy develops. Most of the bills were issued before the North's currency reforms in 2009 and are no longer is use, according to the NIS.They are also offering the money 30 to 40 percent cheaper than the current prices, the NIS said.A crime organization was caught selling 5 million won worth of such bills in Thailand, it said. A South Korean businessman in Thailand received an offer from a local person toJun 21, 2018
Trump: 200 US soldiers remains returned from Pyongyang U.S. President Donald Trump departs at the end of a rally with supporters in Duluth, Minnesota, June 20. REUTERS-YonhapU.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korea has sent back the remains of 200 American soldiers who were killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.The repatriation is part of an agreement Trump signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their historic summit in Singapore last week."Our great fallen heroes, the remains, in fact today already 200 have been sent back," Trump said at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, noting that he had "great chemistry" and "got along really well" with Kim."They stopped shooting missiles over Japan. They stopped all nuclear testing. They stopped nuclear research. They stopped rocketry. They stopped everything that you'd want them to stop. And they blew up sites where they test and do the testing," he said, appearing to take credit for the actions North Korea has taken since it offered to discuss the dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program.Trump has expressed frustration over criticism that he legitimized the communist regime aJun 21, 2018
Kim, Xi discuss strengthening tie: Pyongyang Chinese President Xi Jinping, center right, and his wife Peng Liyuan, right, meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center left, and his wife Ri Sol-ju, left, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Wednesday. AP-YonhapNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed ways to further strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation in their latest talks, North Korean state media reported Thursday.Kim wrapped up his two-day visit to Beijing on Wednesday, during which the leaders held two rounds of talks. It was his third visit in about three months."The top leaders of the DPRK and China exchanged serious views on the present situation and urgent international issues and discussed issues to further strengthen the strategic and tactical cooperation between the two parties and the two countries under a new situation," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.DPRK is the abbreviation for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim's visit came a week after his historic meeting with Trump in Singapore on June 12 in which hJun 21, 2018
Altering 'Korea Armistice' offers loophole for North Korea By Kim Jae-kyoungU.S. President Donald Trump's move to alter the 1953 Korean armistice agreement could provide a loophole for North Korea to dodge sanctions, according to Tara O, an adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum.She also believes the U.S. and South Korea's decision to halt its annual military exercises is “premature” because there are no signs the North will stop its own annual drills.The New York-based American expert on North Korea said the talk of "ending the Armistice" is related to the talk of a “lasting and stable peace regime” mentioned in the Singapore agreement signed by the two leaders on June 12.Tara O“This will have the effect of dismantling the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC), which supervises the Armistice Agreement, and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC),” O said in an interview following the historic Trump-Kim summit.The NNSC conducts investigations of violations of the Armistice. “When vehicles, people and goods move through the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the UNCMAC must be notified.?If theJun 21, 2018
Moon seeks three-way economic cooperation with NK, Russia By Kim RahnPresident Moon Jae-inOnce a peace regime is established, inter-Korean economic cooperation will need to include Russia for peace and co-prosperity in Eurasia, President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday.He also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also agrees on the three-party economic cooperation, during an interview with Russian media, including Tass Russian News Agency.The interview was held at Cheong Wa Dae a day before his state visit to Russia.Saying he and Russian President Vladimir Putin share a vision of peace and co-prosperity of the Eurasian continent, Moon said his New Northern Policy, which seeks more economic cooperation with countries north of South Korea, has a lot in common with Putin's New Eastern Policy to develop the Russian Far East. “When a peace regime is established on the Korean Peninsula, inter-Korean economic cooperation will become active, and it should involve cooperation with Russia,” Moon said.“After the peace regime is set up between the two Koreas, it needs to be developed into a multinational peace and security regime for all NJun 20, 2018
North Korean defector sings songs of hope for daughter By Jung Da-minSinger Han Ok-joung / Courtesy of DR EntertainmentHan Ok-joung, a North Korean defector and a singer, recently revealed her story as the mother of a 20-year-old daughter who was born in China. Han was 21 years old when she left North Korea in 1998.Han said she never imagined fleeing the North as she had already made her debut as a singer there. “I was deceived by a broker who sold my sister first,” Han said. She was also sold to a Chinese farm in Heilongjiang Province in northern China.Before she came to South Korea in 2003, Han spent five years there and had a daughter with her Chinese husband. Her daughter followed her a year after. “I ran back to China again a day after I acquired a South Korean passport and brought my daughter here,” she said.Han said she and her daughter have not really talked about their past in China. “It is painful even to think about it but I decided to share my story, hoping to encourage defector families who are in the same situation as me and my daughter,” she said.Han's daughter turned 20 this year and stJun 20, 2018
China's influence on North Korea grows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toasts together with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People during his visit to Beijing, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim RahnNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un's latest visit to China suggests Beijing's growing influence on the denuclearization talks, analysts said Wednesday.Kim made a two-day visit to China from Tuesday to Wednesday and met Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was his third trip to the longtime ally in three months; while the Chinese president has not yet visited Pyongyang.Kim's two earlier visits were made before his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as if he and Xi had strategic get-togethers about the denuclearization deal with the U.S. This visit, too, was made when Pyongyang and Washington were planning follow-up talks on details of denuclearization after Kim's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore, June 12.According to North Korean and Chinese media, Wednesday, Kim and Xi reaffirmed their close cooperation in the denuclearization process. “Cooperation between North Korea and China cleaJun 20, 2018
North Korea to return war dead remains to US 'very soon' The American military command in South Korea is preparing for the North Koreans to turn over the remains of an unknown number of U.S. or allied service members who have been missing since the Korean War, U.S. officials said Tuesday.Officials say the timing of a ceremony is uncertain, but could be very soon. The officials weren't authorized to discuss the preparations before an official announcement so spoke on condition of anonymity.The remains are believed to be some or all of the more than 200 that the North Koreans have had for some time. But the precise number and the identities -- including whether they are U.S. or allied service members -- won't be known until the remains are tested.President Donald Trump raised the likelihood of the repatriation of remains last week after his summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At the time Trump said, ``We're getting the remains, and nobody thought that was possible.''The Defense Department, State Department and White House declined to discuss the latest development. The Pentagon would only say that an interagency effort Jun 20, 2018
Film depicts children of North Korean defectors born abroad Kim Ye-lim (left) and Cho Yu-na (second from left), who are featured in a documentary film on North Korean defectors living around the world, titled “Children on the Border,” are on stage after a screening held in a meeting room at the National Assembly, together with an expert panel. Korea Times photo By Jung Da-minBy Jung Da-minA documentary film on children of North Korean defectors born outside their homeland, titled “Children on the Border,” was screened at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Save North and New Korea (Save NK), a nonprofit corporation that has been helping North Korean refugees since 1999 with headquarters based in Seoul, produced the film and hosted the screening. Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the main opposition Liberty Party of Korea arranged the event. “People don't really know much about the difficulties and troubles of children born in third countries yet,” Shim said in a speech, calling for more attention to the dire situation of human rights in North Korea and those who have fled the country.The children Jun 19, 2018
