China releases 30 North Korean defectors: report China has released 30 North Korean defectors who some feared would be forcibly sent back to the reclusive state, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday, citing a defector who has taken asylum in South Korea.The defector told the U.S.-funded broadcaster the previous day that the Chinese government freed them as it is concerned about criticism in the international community that Beijing deports North Korean defectors back to their home country, where they face severe punishment.He alleged that Chinese authorities last month caught many defectors who had long stayed in China but did not have an identification card when strengthening security and inspection around a March 25-28 visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Radio Free Asia earlier said the defector's wife was arrested along with his son in Shenyang, northeastern China, in November before being sent back to the North, but they were later released, a rare measure given that North Korean defectors, if sent back, usually face the prospects of punishment meted out in prison camps, correctional centers or labor training camps. (YApr 17, 2018
Inter-Korean summit to set tone for Trump-Kim Jong-un meeting The summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place on April 27 at the Panmunjeom truce village, to be followed a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in May or June. / Graphics by Cho Sang-won By Yi Whan-wooThe inter-Korean summit on April 27 is likely to set the tone of another summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, according to analysts.They said Pyongyang's nuclear program appeared to be at the top of agenda during the April 27 talks and that it would be ideal for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to declare denuclearization when he meets President Moon Jae-in.The experts also said Kim, at his meeting with Trump, should discuss follow-up measures in dismantling the North's nuclear program.Such a two-step scenario would help North Korea fulfill its goal of signing a peace treaty with the U.S. and securing the Pyongyang regime's survival.But failure would push the Korean Peninsula back to the unstable situation it was in late last year when North Korea carried out a series of nuclear Apr 16, 2018
Summit preparation in full swing By Kim RahnCheong Wa Dae is going all out for the inter-Korean summit as there are only 10 days left before the bilateral talks take place.President Moon Jae-in and his aides at the presidential office as well as related ministries are setting up strategies and preparing for a seamless summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slated for April 27.Calling the current reconciliatory mood toward the summit “a glass bowl,” the Moon administration is taking a careful attitude, hoping to make the bilateral talks successful so it can lead to another success at the following summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump over denuclearization of the North.The slogan of the summit is, “Peace, a new start.”A taskforce under the summit preparation committee, comprised of working-level officials from Cheong Wa Dae and foreign affairs, unification and defense ministries, have been monitoring the progress of preparation every day. During the weekend, the two Koreas had their second working-level meeting to discuss communication channels including how to set up a hotliApr 16, 2018
PHOTOS Rare photos of Kim Jong-un's mother Captured from The Mainichi/ Captured from The MainichiBy Park Si-soo Rare photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's mother, Ko Yong-hui, have been revealed. They were reportedly taken in Japan in 1973 when Ko was in her early 20s, according to Japanese newspaper The Mainichi, which published the photos on Saturday. The paper said the photos were taken when Ko visited Japan from July to September 1973 as a dancer with Pyongyang-based Mansudae Art Troupe. Ko died of cancer in 2004.The newspaper said the photos were “valuable materials” because photos of her taken in Japan were “extremely rare.” According to Mainichi, Ko was a North Korean resident of Japan, born in Osaka's Tsuruhashi district in 1952. She is believed to have moved to North Korea in 1962.She joined the Mansudae Art Troupe as a dancer in 1971. She is known to have started living with Kim Jong-il, predecessor and father of incumbent North Korean leader, from 1976 and later gave birth to Kim Jong-un, the current leader; Yo-jong, Jong-un's younger sister who is a senior member of the Workers' PartyApr 16, 2018
Roundtable Kim Jong-un's point of view on cross-border summit The Korea Times hosted a roundtable discussion about the April 27 inter-Korean summit. The participants _ columnists Michael Breen and Jacco Zwetsloot together with the Times digital managing editor Oh Young-jin and embassy correspondent Yi Whan-woo _ talked about a wide range of issues, from the North's possible ulterior motives, feasibility of denuclearization and the South's priority regarding previous nuclear accords. The consensus was that the summit, to be followed by the one between the North's Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, is a hopeful sign but it is not prudent to get overly excited as if the meeting could solve the decades of animosity peaking with the North's pursuit of nuclear-armed intercontinental missiles that can reach all the continental United States. ― ED.By Oh Young-jinFirst, most of us felt that it couldn't be real. Then, that sense of incredulity gave in to a hint of hope, “maybe.”Now, it is moving to “this time, it could be different.” This has been the emotional sequence over the past couple of months since the PyeongChanApr 15, 2018
Seoul to launch website on inter-Korean summit on April 17 By Yi Whan-wooSouth Korea’s preparation committee for the inter-Korean summit will open a website, Tuesday, to live stream President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27.Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday the committee, led by Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok, will also keep the visitors to the website (www.koreasummit.kr) updated with breaking news and other relevant information before the summit.It will have separate special archives for visitors to learn about the two previous summits in 2000 and 2007.The site will be available in both PC and smartphone versions.“The website will open at noon on Tuesday,” said Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s press secretary and also a committee member. A reconciliatory mood is blooming on the Korean Peninsula ahead of the inter-Korean and the North Korea-U.S. summits. And every moment before and during the cross-border summit will be open to the public through the website.”He added the purpose of launching the website is to share the preparation for the third cross-border summit “iApr 15, 2018
PHOTOS North Korea commemorates birth of its founder Visitors pose for photos before a display featuring an image of late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung at the 20th 'Kimilsungia' festival flower show in Pyongyang on April 13, 2018. / AFPVisitors arrive at the 20th 'Kimilsungia' festival flower show in Pyongyang on April 13, 2018. / AFPThousands of North Korean devotees laid flowers before statues of the country's founder Kim Il Sung Sunday on the anniversary of his birth.A constant stream of soldiers in brown uniforms, work unit personnel in suits, schoolchildren and families made their way to Mansu hill in the centre of Pyongyang, where giant statues of Kim and his son and successor look out over the capital."The great comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il will always be with us," read a banner made of greenery.In turn each group approached the bronze edifices, most people with single blooms, some carrying golden baskets of flowers ― making their offerings before assembling in formation."Let us bow before the statues," intoned an announcer half-hidden by horticulture, prompting deep bows from civilians and salutes from military detachApr 15, 2018
Roundtable Solid steps needed on denuclearization By Yi Whan-wooDenuclearization has been at the top of the priority list when it came to inter-Korean talks.But it is not sufficient to explain why reaching an agreement, or if not, at least laying the groundwork for denuclearization, will be will be critical when President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet on April 27.Failure will not only dampen the recent reconciliatory mood between the two Koreas, but also worsen security on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea carried out a series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests and U.S. President Trump threatened to attack the Kim regime.The April 27 talks will be followed by Kim's summit with Trump, whose hawkish aides remain skeptical that Kim is “just buying time” to continue building nuclear missiles.For Moon, failure would also mean losing Trump's trust that Moon can smooth the way for the North Korea-U.S. summit. Moon may jeopardize his “driver's seat” over security issues as well.For Kim, failure would mean meeting Trump in extremely unfavorable circumstances.It will not be helpful at alApr 15, 2018
What does US strike on Syria mean for North Korea? Pyongyang unlikely to accept Libyan model for denuclearizationBy Yi Whan-wooThe U.S.-led air strike on Syria, Saturday, may put pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of his planned summit with President Donald Trump in May or June.In a joint operation with the U.K. and France, the three countries air forces' launched 105 cruise missiles at Syrian chemical weapons facilities after Trump mulled military options in response to an alleged poison gas attack.The measure came as Trump's new team of hawkish security advisers, who engineered the Syria strike, remain skeptical about Kim's true intentions behind the summit, and insist they will use military options against North Korea if necessary.CIA Director and Secretary of State Nominee Mike Pomeo warned that he could not rule out a military strike or even a ground invasion against North Korea, while National Security Adviser John Bolton said North Korea was “just buying time” to build nuclear-tipped missiles.In this climate, Pyongyang is believed to be watching the Syrian crisis closely, according to analysts, SundaApr 15, 2018
Kim Jong-un meets Chinese official, fetes Chinese art troupe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese senior diplomat Song Tao, and feted a Chinese art troupe led by Song, North Korean state media said on Sunday, indicating closer ties with China following Kim's surprise visit to Beijing last month.The North Korean leader on Saturday "warmly" greeted Song Tao and the Chinese delegation visiting Pyongyang to perform and also expressed his greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping after Song conveyed Xi's greetings to Kim, the North's official Korea Central News Agency said."He said with deep emotion that the Chinese comrades accorded cordial hospitality to him with utmost sincerity in token of warm comradely friendship during his recent unforgettable visit to China," the KCNA said. In late March, Kim made a rare visit to Beijing and met Xi, Kim's first known journey abroad since he took power in 2011.The Chinese art troupe, led by Song, the head of the Communist Party's International Department, left for North Korea on Friday for an April Spring Friendship Art Festival. The art troupe performed on Saturday at the Mansudae Art Theatre, and thApr 15, 2018
