Moon to Kim: 'Japan wants to normalize ties with North Korea' By Park Si-sooSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in relayed Japan’s hopes of normalizing ties with North Korea during his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Cheong Wa Dae said on Sunday.Kim’s reaction was unknown.On top of this, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his gratitude to President Moon for addressing at last week’s inter-Korean summit the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North, the presidential office said.Moon and Abe had telephone talks earlier in the day to discuss the result of Friday’s summit."President Moon talked about North Korea's abduction of Japanese people and the relations between Japan and North Korea during his summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un," Abe told reporters after the phone conversation. "I thank President Moon for his sincere effort." He did not give details of what was discussed between the Korean leaders. Abe said he would try to ensure the coming U.S.-North Korea summit makes progress in resolving the issue.Abe also said he and Moon agreed that the two countries will work together to have North Apr 29, 2018
Kim Jong-un promises to 'dismantle nuclear test site in May in full view of experts, journalists' By Park Si-sooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has promised to dismantle a “northern” nuclear test site in May in full view of experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Cheong Wa Dae said on Sunday. Kim made the promise during talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday, the president’s top press secretary Yoon Young-chan said. Kim said the site is still “usable” and “there are two more shafts that are bigger than the one (to be dismantled) which are sturdy,” according to Yoon.Kim did not specify the location of the site to be dismantled, but given the North’s past announcement, it is believed to be in Gilju, North Hamgyong Province. On April 21, Kim declared the shutdown of the Gilju site, along with a freeze on missile and nuclear tests.Many experts have claimed that the Gilju site collapsed under the stress of nuclear explosions. But Kim denied this.“Some say that we are terminating facilities that are not functioning, but you will see that they are in good condition,” Yoon quoted Kim as sApr 29, 2018
No formal request about Trump-Kim summit: Singapore PM Singapore has not received any "formal" request to host an eagerly awaited meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the city-state's prime minister said Saturday.Trump said Friday that the list of potential sites for the meeting had been narrowed to two, without saying where. Some reports have said that Singapore, a stable and prosperous financial hub in Southeast Asia, is one of the potential locations.The meeting, expected in the coming weeks, follows a dizzying detente in recent months between the nuclear-armed North and its neighbor, which resulted in Friday's historic summit between Kim and the South's President Moon Jae-in.The leaders agreed to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearization of their divided peninsula.Speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong dampened speculation about the city-state potentially hosting the Trump-Kim talks."As for the venue, we've also read the same reports as you in the newspapers about the possible places where a US-North Korea meeting cApr 29, 2018
Trump-Kim summit to take place in 'three or four weeks' U.S. President Donald Trump has told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that it was good news for the world that the leaders of the two Koreas reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearization during their summit on Friday, Moon's office said on Sunday.During a phone call late Saturday, Moon and Trump agreed on the need for an early summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which Trump said would take place over the next three to four weeks.Moon and Trump also exchanged views on two to three possible locations for the Kim-Trump summit, Moon's office said. (REUTERS)Apr 29, 2018
North Korea 'prepared' to make roadmap for denuclearization: Pompeo New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had a "good conversation" with North Korea's Kim Jong Un during his visit to Pyongyang, adding Kim was "prepared to... lay out a map that would help us achieve" denuclearization.Pompeo made the remarks in an exclusive interview with ABC News, extracts of which were released Saturday ahead of its broadcast on Sunday.Pompeo, who is currently in the Middle East on his first trip as Washington's chief diplomat, described Kim as "very well prepared" during their secret meeting, which took place over Easter weekend to set the groundwork for a historic summit meeting with US President Donald Trump."We had an extensive conversation on the hardest issues that face our two countries," he said. "I had a clear mission statement from President Trump. When I left Kim Jong Un understood the mission exactly as I described it today."Trump, meanwhile, addressed the topic of the planned summit at a campaign-style rally in the town of Washington, Michigan."If we would have said where we are today from three or four months -- months ago, do you remember what Apr 29, 2018
Trump on North Korea: 'Things are going very well' South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoU.S. President Donald Trump said "things are going very well" with resolving North Korea issues Saturday after having a phone conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in."Just had a long and very good talk with President Moon of South Korea. Things are going very well, time and location of meeting with North Korea is being set," he wrote on Twitter after speaking with Moon who just had the historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un the previous day.In a joint declaration, Moon and Kim affirmed the common goals of making the Korean Peninsula "nuclear free" and seeking a formal end to the Korean War (1950-53).Trump supported their decision, saying "KOREAN WAR TO END!" on Twitter.Trump and Kim are expected to meet in late May.Apr 29, 2018
Young North Korean defectors struggle to adapt to South Korean schools The number of North Korean defectors attending South Korea's elementary and secondary schools stood at 2,538 as of April 2017, marking a 270 percent increase from 687 in 2007, figures from the education ministry showed Saturday.Of the total, 1,027 defector students, or 40.5 percent, were attending elementary schools, while 785 students, or 30.9 percent, were enrolled in middle schools and 726 students, or 28.6 percent, in high schools, the figures showed. The remaining 226 students were enrolled in alternative educational facilities.Despite the growth in numbers, however, Ministry of Education officials say many defector students have difficulties at South Korean schools due to disparities in language and culture.For instance, the drop-out rate for North Korean defector students fell to 2 percent last year from 10.8 percent in 2007 but still remained higher than the national average of less than 1 percent, they noted.The drop-out rate for defector students attending high schools was the highest at 4.3 percent, followed by 1.8 percent at middle schools and 1 percent at elementary schoApr 28, 2018
Pompeo says Kim is serious about denuclearization talks New U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday he senses North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "serious" about the upcoming talks with the United States over its denuclearization.He met with Kim in his secret visit to Pyongyang from March 30-April 1 to prepare for a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in May or early June."I did get a sense that he was serious," he was quoted as saying in a news conference in Brussels, when asked if he thinks Kim is serious about denuclearization.He made the remarks hours after the leaders of the two Koreas agreed in a summit to seek "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula and work toward a formal end of the Korean War within this year.Pompeo praised it as a "historic meeting" and credited Trump's maximum pressure for Pyongyang coming to talks."Let there be no doubt, we would not be where we are today without President Trump's maximum pressure campaign and the work that has been done all around the world to apply pressure to North Korea," Pompeo said.He reaffirmed the U.S. stance that it would seek a complete removal of tApr 28, 2018
North Korean media reports on 'complete denuclearization' Rodong Sinmun on Saturday / YonhapNorth Korea's state media reported Saturday that the inter-Korean summit declaration included "complete denuclearization," a rare public mention of the phrase that raised hopes of joint efforts toward the hitherto elusive goal."North and South Korea affirmed the common goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported."Sharing the understanding that the measures led and taken by the North and South are very meaningful, significant ones for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, (the two sides) agreed to fulfill their respective responsibilities and roles going forward," it added.South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a historic summit south of the Military Demarcation Line at the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday after years of heightened military tensions.Codifying the denuclearization phrase in the so-called Panmunjom Declaration was hailed as a key achievement from the third cross-border summit, but skeptics poiApr 28, 2018
Trump says meeting with Kim narrowed down to 2 sites U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been narrowed to two sites.Trump spoke in the wake of South Korean President Moon Jae-in's meeting with Kim earlier in the day, during which the two sides committed to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."We're down to two countries as to a site, and we'll let you know what that site is," he said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House.Trump has said he will meet Kim in May or early June to discuss the denuclearization of the regime. On Thursday he said there were five locations ― and three or four dates ― under consideration. By Friday morning, he said it was broken down to "two or three" sites.Among the commonly cited possible venues are Switzerland ― where Kim went to school ― Mongolia, Sweden, Singapore and Guam.Trump said he thinks he has a responsibility to resolve the nuclear issue with the North and believes it is "something I can do for the world."Asked earlier if he thinks Kim is "playing" the U.S.Apr 28, 2018
