Two North Koreans defect to South at sensitive time Two North Koreans crossed the tense western sea border into South Korea on a small boat earlier Saturday, officials have said, the latest in a string of defections by North Koreans in recent years.Previously, the government said the pair was comprised of one soldier and one civilian, but corrected the statement in the afternoon, saying that both were civilian men in their 40s. There had been misunderstanding of one defector's identity, the government said.A South Korean Navy vessel spotted a small wooden boat carrying the two men in the waters north of South Korea's Baengnyeong Island near the western inter-Korean sea border, a Defense Ministry official said.The pair told the South Korean military that they were willing to defect to South Korea.The South Korean Coast Guard said its boat picked the two up after being notified by the military. The Coast Guard later handed the North Koreans over to South Korean intelligence officials in Incheon, a port city just west of Seoul, for questioning, a Coast Guard official said, without elaborating.Repeated calls to the National Intelligence SMay 19, 2018
North Korea refuses Punggyeri-bound reporters' roster North Korea has not responded to the Seoul government's list of journalists chosen to attend the ceremony for the dismantlement of its nuclear test site, the unification ministry said Friday."The government tried to notify (North Korea of the names of) our journalists who will cover the event for the nuclear test site dismantlement in Punggye-ri through the communication channel at Panmunjeom, but the North has not accepted this," a ministry official said. The North earlier invited four reporters each from a wire news agency or broadcasting company for the event to be held from Wednesday to Friday to shut down the Punggye-ri site, where the North carried out all six of its nuclear denotation tests.This comes after the North abruptly canceled high-level inter-Korean talks scheduled for Wednesday, taking issue with an ongoing joint air military drill between South Korea and the United States. It also threatened to call off a summit with the U.S. scheduled for June 12.Seoul expressed regret over the unilateral decision, urging the North to come out for talks as soon as possible to May 18, 2018
Trump's fresh approach for North Korea denuke: 'South Korean model' US president reaffirms security guarantee for N. Korea By Yi Whan-wooU.S. President Donald Trump said he pursues a “South Korean model,” not a “Libyan model,” for the denuclearization of North Korea.Speaking at the White House, Thursday, Trump also said North Korea will be “tremendously industrious” under the “South Korean model” and that Kim Jong-un will receive “very adequate protection” in return for his nation's possible denuclearization. His remark is seen as a bid to reassure the Kim regime's survival, ahead of their planned June 12 summit in Singapore.It also came as both the U.S. and North Korea are playing hardball with each other in a possible attempt to take the initiative before the summit.Pyongyang was apparently infuriated early this week over White House National Security Adviser John Bolton's suggestion of the “Libyan model” for U.S. policy on North Korea. Calling the suggestion an “awfully sinister move,” North Korea said it would even “reconsider” the summit with the U.SMay 18, 2018
Who sits where? what to eat?...Trump-Kim summit to-do list taking shape People pass by a TV screen showing file footage of U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 18, 2018. South Korea said Friday it believes North Korea remains committed to improving relations despite strongly criticizing Seoul over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills and insisting it will not return to inter-Korean talks unless its grievances are resolved. / AP U.S. President Donald Trump and his team have a daunting to-do list to work through as they prepare for next month's expected summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Trump's plan to meet with Kim may have come as a surprise decision, but his team hopes to leave nothing to chance when they come together in Singapore. They're gaming out policy plans, negotiating tactics, even menu items.With two unpredictable leaders, it's hard to anticipate every possibility. But White House aides are expecting hard-ball negotiating tactics _ already in evidence this week as the North Koreans cast fresh doubt on the May 18, 2018
Kim-Trump summit to be 'huge success or complete failure,' says behavior analyst North Korean leader Kim Jong-un grabs Chinese leader Xi Jinping's right hand with two hands ― one in the palm and the other at the wrist ― while shaking hands in this photo taken in Beijing on March 28. Such a handshake reflects Kim's personality trait of being macho, active, goal-oriented and ambitious, says behavior analyst Lim Moon-su. / YonhapBy Park Si-sooLim Moon-suAll eyes are on the June 12 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore.What will be on the agenda? How will the talks unfold? What will be the outcome and how will it change the world?These are questions political pundits and analysts around the globe are tantalizingly storming their brains to find the answers.North Korea recently added a complexity to the conundrum by threatening to call off the meeting. And the unexpected threat has spawned another set of queries: What is the North's true intention behind the threat? Is this a tactic to ramp up negotiation leverage in the lead-up to the meeting? Has Kim determined to turn everything back to square one?As the summit dMay 18, 2018
Defectors juggle mixed sentiments on Korean detente Members of different defector communities in Korea protest forced repatriation of defectors in front of the Chinese embassy in downtown Seoul in this 2017 file photo. / Korea TimesBy Jung Da-min, Kim Ji-sooThe rapid pace toward peace is raising a mixed bag of questions for different groups of Koreans, long accustomed to division and tension on the peninsula following the 1950-53 Korean War.For some 30,000 North Korean defectors who have settled in the South, however, the questions and apprehensions are about security and stability.“I heard some North Korean defectors wept, in relief and joy, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un mentioned North Korean defectors,” said Ahn Chan-il, a defector who now heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies. Ahn Chan-il / Korea Times fileIn his talks with President Moon Jae-in at the April 27 Korea summit held at Panmunjeom, Kim said the “people whose hometowns are in North Korea, and defectors and the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who were worried about a possible attack are now watching with (anticipation) our meeting.&rdMay 18, 2018
Seoul exploring ways to resume talks with North Korea South Korea continues to search for ways to resume dialogue with North Korea ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, apparently suggesting the North's recent suspension of inter-Korean dialogue may not be meant to be anything permanent.On Wednesday, the North said it was indefinitely suspending high-level inter-Korean talks that were set to be held the same day, citing the recently launched Max Thunder joint military exercise of South Korean and the United States.On Thursday, Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, which is in charge of inter-Korean affairs, said it will "never be easy to sit face to face again with the present regime of South Korea" unless the South changes its behavior.Cheong Wa Dae officials insisted the suspension may be temporary."There has been no mention of completely calling off the dialogue. Ri's remarks too said it will not be easy, not that they will not hold talks," an official said while speaking on the condition of anonymity.The ofMay 18, 2018
Trump says no 'Libya model' for N. Korea's denuclearization US President Donald Trump on Thursday tried to put his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un back on track, saying he would not seek to implement a so-called "Libya model" for denuclearization that would force Pyongyang to give up its arms and see Kim ousted.Pyongyang on Tuesday threatened to cancel the summit set for June 12 in Singapore, blaming US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment."That was a reference to comments made by Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton, who referred to the "Libya model from 2003, 2004" as a blueprint for the denuclearization promised by North Korea.In late 2003, then Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi agreed to the elimination of his country's nuclear program and chemical weapons arsenal to gain sanctions relief.The reference was seen in Pyongyang as unfortunate at best: after giving up his atomic program, Kadhafi was killed in 2011 in an uprising backed by NATO bombing.Kim "will get protections that will be very strong," Trump told reporters."He'd be in his country and running his country." (AFP) May 18, 2018
If North Korea wants to meet, 'we'll be there': White House The United States said Thursday it was ready to proceed with next month's summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, putting the ball back in Pyongyang's court after it threatened to scrap the meeting."If the North Koreans want to meet, we'll be there," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told journalists, adding that the White House schedule had not changed."The president is prepared and will be ready to meet, and we're continuing to move forward with the preparations at this point."After weeks of warm words and diplomatic backslapping, Pyongyang on Tuesday abruptly threatened to pull out of the planned June 12 summit, blaming US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment."In an angrily worded statement, the North warned "if the US is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue."Sanders, however, said North Korea was "not in the driver's seat. Nothing could be further from the truth.""They're the ones that extended the invitation. If they're happy to meet, we're May 18, 2018
Trump: Kim Jong-un can stay in power after abandoning nukes U.S. President Donald Trump tried to put his summit with Kim Jong Un back on track Thursday, offering the North Korean leader guarantees of staying in power if he abandons nuclear weapons.As prospects for a historic summit next month between the two leaders dimmed, Trump told reporters that if the meeting were to go ahead successfully, Kim "will get protections that will be very strong." "He'd be in his country and running his country. His country would be very rich."But the pledge came barbed with a warning that if diplomacy fails, Kim could suffer the same fate as Libya's Moamer Kadhafi, who was overthrown and killed by rebels.Trump's comments came as Pyongyang appeared to cool to the idea of the sit-down in Singapore on June 12, denouncing US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment."Trump suggested Kim's apparent about-face may have been at the behest of Chinese leader Xi Jinping."It could very well be that he's influencing Kim Jong Un," Trump said, citing a recent meeting between the pair, their second in a month's time. "We'll see what happens."For decades, Washington has waMay 18, 2018
