Will North Korea give up the bomb? The answer may start becoming clear when South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday.While North Korea declared this past weekend it would stop nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site, it did not indicate it will give up its nuclear arsenal or halt its production of missiles. Moon and later President Donald Trump are still likely to find it very difficult to persuade Kim to dismantle his entire arsenal, which includes purported thermonuclear weapons and developmental ICBMs.But other countries that developed or tried to develop nuclear weapons have agreed to abandon them in exchange for sanctions relief and compensation. None of these cases are directly applicable to North Korea, which advanced further and with greater zeal than any of the others.A look at the past cases as Washington and its allies map out a denuclearization strategy for Pyongyang and the challenges North Korea poses:LibyaShortly before he became Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton told Radio Free Asia that nuclear negoApr 23, 2018
Military halts anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts By Lee Min-hyungSouth Korea has stopped anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts at the border town of Panmunjeom in a move to ease inter-Korean military tension ahead of a historic summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the defense ministry said Monday. “As of Monday, Seoul has halted loudspeaker broadcasts near the military demarcation line to boost the ongoing inter-Korean peace momentum and alleviate military tension before the summit on Friday,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.The ministry declined to comment on whether it will resume operating the broadcasts after the summit.“We expect our latest decision to pave the way for peace and a new beginning in inter-Korean relations,” the ministry said.This comes more than two years after the South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in January 2016 after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test.The suspension of the propaganda broadcasts is an apparent peace gesture to the North, with Seoul seeking to extend the momentum for a longer period. The anti-NApr 23, 2018
World watching for signs of North Korea nuke deal at 2 summits In this April 13, 2017 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Choe Ryong-hae, vice-chairman of the central committee of the Workers' Party, arrive for the official opening of the Ryomyong residential area, in Pyongyang, North Korea. While North Korea declared this past weekend it would stop nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site, it did not indicate it will give up its nuclear arsenal or halt its production of missiles. Moon and later President Donald Trump are still likely to find it very difficult to persuade Kim to dismantle his entire arsenal, which includes purported thermonuclear weapons and developmental ICBMs. / APWhen North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meets South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday the world will have a single overriding interest: How will they address North Korea's decades-long pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles?Success, even a small one, on the nuclear front could mean a prolonged detente and smooth the path for a planned summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in May or June. OptimisApr 23, 2018
2 Koreas to work on summit rehearsals The Peace House, a building in the southern side of Panmunjeom, is seen at the truce village, Sunday. The house underwent renovation for the third inter-Korean summit to be held Friday. / YonhapMobile coverage of summit to be available By Kim RahnThe two Koreas are gearing up preparations for the inter-Korean summit, with only four days to go before the historic bilateral talks over denuclearization slated for Friday.Officials of the South and the North will have rehearsals of the meeting between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over many times this week, sometimes separately and sometimes jointly.While discussions are still underway for some of the issues concerning protocol, security and media coverage, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed on many other parts of the meeting, such as live coverage of the two leaders' first encounter, their signing a visitors' book, and their conversation at the beginning of the meeting.People will also be able to get real-time coverage of the scenes through mobile devices.Two weeks of renovation work on Peace House, a building on the Apr 22, 2018
NK tries to dub itself nuclear state Kim Jong-un seeks to gain more leverage in future negotiations By Kim Bo-eunNorth Korea is seeking to gain more leverage in future negotiations with the United States by dubbing itself a nuclear power state, according to sources. The reclusive nation is seeking to highlight its nuclear status to secure more economic incentives and guarantees of regime safety, they said.North Korea announced Saturday the regime had completed developing nuclear weapons and readied them for use. The announcement came a day after a meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.A resolution passed at the meeting stated it would suspend its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.Victor Cha, senior adviser and Korea chair for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made clear the declaration “is not a denuclearization statement.”This is because it only pledged not to make further provocations and did not state it would give up the nucleaApr 22, 2018
No rush to 'settle things' at inter-Korea summit Seoul should not be dazzled by NK's missile test suspension This is the first in a series of interviews with international experts on the Korean Peninsula to discuss key issues at the upcoming inter-Korean summit slated for April 27. ― ED.By Kim Jae-kyoungStephan HaggardSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in should not rush to settle things at the upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to an international expert on the Korean Peninsula, Sunday.He stressed Moon and his administration should consider the summit as the first step of a long process to achieve denuclearization and ensure peace on the peninsula.“We have to remember this is a process, and some initial steps toward dialogue are probably the most important outcome,” Stephan Haggard, distinguished professor of political science at the University of California (UC) San Diego, said in an interview.Haggard is the director of the Korea-Pacific Program at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy.“Things will not be settled at the summit itself; they will gradually be settled Apr 22, 2018
Families of fallen, missing US soldiers in Korean War to visit Seoul Dozens of family members of American soldiers who either died or went missing while serving in the 1950-53 Korean War will come to South Korea this week to attend a memorial service program offered by the Seoul government, Seoul's ministry of veterans affairs said Sunday.The families of eight fallen and 16 still unaccounted-for soldiers will arrive in Seoul on Monday for a six-day trip hosted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the ministry said.They plan to visit various places, including the national cemetery and key heritage sites, such as ancient royal palaces, as part of their tour, it added.On Wednesday, they will attend a memorial service for American soldiers in Gyeonggi Province just outside of the capital. Stephanie Sims, granddaughter of missing Sergeant First Class John McCall will recite a letter she wrote to him.Also on the trip will be a relative of Army Major Hugh Boyd Casey, who died during the war, the ministry said. One of the U.S. military camps in South Korea is named after him.The U.S. and 15 other countries dispatched troops to help the South fighApr 22, 2018
North Korea refugees find new pressures in South When elite North Korean soldier Joo Seung-hyeon made his way through the Demilitarized Zone, avoiding minefields and watchtowers to defect to the South, he thought he was going to a prosperous new life.The reality was more complicated than that.Ostracised by Southerners who he says see their Northern cousins as "poor, uncivilised barbarians", he was dismissed at countless interviews for menial jobs as soon as he revealed his thick accent. One restaurant paid him half the wages of Southerners.But he persevered, eliminating his original tones by repeating radio broadcasts, earning a degree in his spare time, and following up with a PhD in unification studies -- the first such doctorate ever earned by a North Korean defector.Now he has written a book detailing the challenges faced by Northern defectors in what has become a radically different society.The peninsula has been divided since a 1950-53 war, with little official contact between the two sides. A summit in the DMZ at which North Korea's Kim Jong Un will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in this week will only be the third sucApr 22, 2018
Road to North Korean denuclearization is littered with failure Bill Clinton offered oil and reactors. George W. Bush mixed threats and aid. Barack Obama stopped trying after a rocket launch.While Seoul and Washington welcomed Pyongyang's declaration on Saturday to suspend further intercontinental ballistic missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site, the past is littered with failure.A decades-long cycle of crises, stalemates and broken promises gave North Korea the room to build up a legitimate arsenal that now includes purported thermonuclear warheads and developmental ICBMs. The North's latest announcement stopped well short of suggesting it has any intention of giving that up.South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday to kick off a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang. The inter-Korean summit could set up more substantial discussions between Kim and President Donald Trump, who said he plans to meet the despot he previously called "Little Rocket Man" in May or June.A look at previous negotiations with North Korea and how the currently planned talks between Seoul, PyoApr 22, 2018
South Korea, US to kick off annual military drills as scheduled South Korea and United States will hold their annual Key Resolve training exercise starting this week as scheduled, a military official said Sunday.The simulation-based, command-post drill between the two allies is set to begin Monday and run for the next two weeks, the official said. The two countries started their four-week Foal Eagle field training at the beginning of this month.But it's unclear whether the training will take place this Friday, when leaders of South Korea and North Korea are set to meet for a historical summit, the official said.Seoul and Washington have maintained a low-key stance in carrying out their annual joint military drills since Pyongyang extended a series of reconciliatory gestures from early this year. The country participated in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in the South in February.Some observers raised concern over continuing the drills on the day of the inter-Korean summit, given the primary purpose of the military exercises, which is to train against a North Korean attack.North Korea has long denounced such military exercises as a rehearsal Apr 22, 2018
