Who will pick up the bill for Kim Jong-un's Singapore trip? North Korean leader Kim Jong-unWhen North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump hold their summit at an exclusive venue in Singapore, one of the priciest destinations in Asia, they will no doubt run up quite a bill. And if past precedent is any indication, expect Pyongyang to pay as little of it as possible. Speculation over how North Korea will handle the costs for Kim's June 12 meeting with Trump has taken off after a Washington Post report cited two anonymous U.S. officials suggesting the Trump administration has been ``seeking a discreet way'' to help pay Kim's hotel bill.The report suggested host nation Singapore might take care of it.But what exactly needs to be paid for isn't yet clear.Sure there are the costs of summit venue and the hotels, with one reported option, the Fullerton, coming with a $6,000-a-night price tag for its presidential suite. But that would hardly break the North Korean bank.While Kim could decide to stay the night, or maybe even two, he might also be in a hurry to get back home, in which case the North wouldn't need a room so much as Jun 5, 2018
What do North Korea's neighbors want from Trump-Kim summit? When U.S. President Donald Trump announced in March that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the news set off a flurry of diplomacy -- not only between Washington and Pyongyang, but also throughout Asia.China, South Korea, Japan and Russia -- neighbors with a vested interest in the outcome of any Trump-Kim talks -- have been jockeying for influence, meeting with senior North Korean leaders and among themselves to promote their own hopes for what happens in Singapore.SOUTH KOREASouth Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Kim at a historic summit in April in Panmunjom, located in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that has divided North and South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement.Moon has long advocated dialogue as the best option for resolving the tense stand-off over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. During their summit, Seoul and Pyongyang declared their commitment to "a new era of national reconciliation, peace and prosperity" and "the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."Jun 5, 2018
VIDEO Trump, Kim to meet 10 a.m. June 12 in Singapore Preparations for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are going well, and the two are tentatively scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Singapore time on June 12 (10 a.m. Korea time), the White House said on Monday.The announcement of the timing for the first meeting between the two leaders came just three days after Trump hosted a senior North Korean delegation at the White House bearing a letter from Kim.Trump, who had previously canceled the summit, abruptly announced the meeting was back on. Asked about the contents of Kim's letter, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declined to "get into the specifics of the letter" but added "we feel like things are continuing to move forward and good progress has been made." "I can tell you the president has been receiving daily briefings on North Korea from his national security team," she added. "And I can also tell you the schedule tentatively for that first meeting will be on June 12 at 9 a.m. Singapore time (June 11 at 9 p.m. EDT)."Asked whether the U.S. maximum-pressure campaign against North KorJun 5, 2018
Melania to skip North Korea summit In this file photo taken on April 5, 2017, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump talks with students during a visit with Jordan's queen to the Excel Academy Public Charter School in Washington, DC. She will not accompany her husband to the Group of Seven summit in Canada, nor to planned North Korea nuclear talks in Singapore. / AFPU.S. First lady Melania Trump isn't joining her husband at the G7 summit in Quebec this week or planning to accompany him to the expected meeting with North Korea's leader in Singapore the week after, spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said Sunday.Mrs. Trump's decision not to go to Quebec is a departure from last year, when she made an international summit debut at the G7 meeting in Italy and followed up at the forum of G20 industrialized and developing nations in Germany. Spouses typically get together at events of their own during the meetings of world leaders.The first lady stayed behind Friday when President Donald Trump, his daughters, eldest son and son-in-law went to the Camp David retreat for the weekend. She hasn't made a public appearance since before herJun 5, 2018
Putin invites Kim Jong-un to visit Russia in September Russian President Vladimir Putin invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to travel to Russia in September, RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing Ivan Melnikov, a deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who visited Pyongyang last week, passed the North Korean leader an invitation from Putin to visit Russia during its Eastern Economic Forum, which is held in Vladivostok every year, Melnikov said. (Reuters) Jun 4, 2018
INTERVIEW 'North Korea should show sincerity toward denuclearization' Kyungnam University President and former Unification Minister Park Jae Kyu / Courtesy of Kyungnam UniversityIf convinced of regime security, Pyongyang needs to take dramatic steps at early stageBy Kim Bo-eunAmid a positive mood over the upcoming summit between leaders of North Korea and the U.S., a North Korea expert said Pyongyang should exhibit its sincerity over giving up its nuclear program at the historic June 12 meeting in Singapore.“The U.S. wants a resolute decision coming from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. If North Korea is convinced the U.S. will guarantee security of its regime, it should take some dramatic steps toward denuclearization early on as required by the U.S.,” Park Jae Kyu, Kyungnam University president and former unification minister, told The Korea Times.The former minister said the summit would likely be productive, seeing that the two states boosted mutual understanding and trust in meetings between top North Korean official Kim Yong-chol and U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, D.C., and New York last Jun 4, 2018
North Korea 'military reshuffle' raises eyebrows in Seoul Seoul is monitoring developments in the North's military, it said Monday after reports Pyongyang replaced three of its top military officials ahead of a summit with the United States.President Donald Trump is due to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore with Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal high on the agenda and reports said that the reshuffle could be aimed at taming the military.Late last month the North's state media revealed that Kim Su Gil had been appointed as director of the military's powerful General Political Bureau (GPB), replacing Kim Jong Gak.According to Yonhap news agency, which cited intelligence sources, the chief of the general staff Ri Myong Su has also been replaced by his deputy, Ri Yong Gil.And defence minister Pak Yong Sik has been succeeded by No Kwang Chol, previously first vice minister, it added.The wholesale reshuffle would be unusual if confirmed, Seoul's unification ministry said."We will monitor related developments," ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters.Pyongyang's military, known as the Korean People's Army, is immenJun 4, 2018
Why Kim Jong-un shakes up top military brass ahead of Trump meeting? North Korea's top three military officials have been removed from their posts, a senior U.S. official said, a move analysts said on Monday could support efforts by the North's young leader to jump-start economic development and engage with the world.Kim Jong-un is preparing for a high-stakes summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, the first such meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting U.S. president. The U.S. official, who spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity, was commenting on a report by South Korea's Yonhap news agency that all three of the North's top military officials were believed to have been replaced.Kim's motivation remains unclear but analysts said the shake-up allows him and the ruling party to tighten control over the Korean People's Army (KPA) at a critical time of international engagement and domestic development."If Kim Jong-un is set on making peace with the U.S. and South Korea and dealing away at least part of the nuclear program, he will have to put the KPA’s influence in a box and keep it there," said Ken Gause, dirJun 4, 2018
Singapore may pay accommodation for Kim Jong-un's visit for summit By Lee Min-hyungThe Singaporean government is likely to pay accommodation costs for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's much-anticipated visit to the city-state next week for a summit with United States President Donald Trump. The Fullerton Hotel, where a North Korean advance team has been staying, may be where Kim will stay. A presidential suite room at the five-star luxury hotel costs more than $6,000 (6.43 million won) a day.The summit is slated for June 12, but Trump indicated the meeting could be extended, so the leaders may stay in Singapore for a couple of days more.Following the reports, attention is running as to whether the North can cover the cost of accommodation, as the sanctions-hit regime is allegedly running out of hard currency.The Singaporean government has expressed its willingness to cover the cost for Kim and his delegation's visit to the country if it can help the historic summit produce a good outcome. “It is a cost that we are willing to bear to play a small part in this historic meeting,” Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen told reporters SaturdJun 4, 2018
VIDEO Syria's Assad to meet Kim Jong-un: KCNA People walk near a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hanging in a street in the Syrian capital Damascus on May 31. / AFP-YonhapSyrian President Bashar al-Assad said he plans to visit North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday, potentially becoming the first head of state to meet Kim inside the isolated country. I am going to visit the DPRK and meet... Kim Jong-un," Assad said, the North's state-run KCNA news agency reported, using the abbreviated version of the country's official name. The announcement came as anticipation mounts for a historic nuclear summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, following a whirlwind round of diplomacy. "The world welcomes the remarkable events in the Korean peninsula brought about recently by the outstanding political calibre and wise leadership of...Kim Jong-un," KCNA cited Assad as saying during a meeting with North Korean Ambassador Mun Jong-nam on Wednesday. The Syrian president's office refused to comment on the report when contacted by AFP. Pyongyang and Damascus have mainJun 4, 2018
