Trump to demand North Korea's denuclearization by year end: report By Park Si-sooThe United States and North Korea are in “last-minute” negotiations on the agenda for historic talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the Chosun Ilbo daily reported on Thursday, citing sources in Washington.The exact date and venue for the summit could be announced next week, the Seoul-based newspaper said. Earlier, Trump said the summit would take place “in May or early June.”Chosun reported Trump would demand Kim denuclearize the North over six months or a year after their meeting, citing an unnamed source in Washington. The paper said Trump did not support the idea of a “phased and synchronized” implementation of a denuclearization deal, an option Pyongyang favors. North Korea fears that any deal it signs with Washington could end after a change in American administrations. So rather than surrender its nuclear facilities up front, it wants incremental steps, matched with corresponding incentives from the United States.Trump does not trust Kim either. So he has pushed forward the idea of “complete, verifiable and irreversApr 12, 2018
US-NK summit will be historic event: Moon By Kim RahnThe planned Washington-Pyongyang summit will have historic meaning just by taking place and a good outcome for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula is expected, as the two sides show strong will for it, President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday. He called for thorough preparations for the inter-Korean summit, to be held before the Washington-Pyongyang summit, so the former one can lead to the success of the latter.Moon made the remark in a meeting with the preparation committee for the inter-Korean summit, which is set for April 27. It also came while the U.S. and North Korea have confirmed their commitment to the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un which is slated for May or early June.“The inter-Korean summit will lead in to the first ever U.S.-North Korea summit,” Moon said, adding the two sides are reportedly discussing the time, venue and theme of the bilateral talks.“Holding the Washington-Pyongyang summit itself will be significant in world history. As the two nations are preparing for it with strong will, I expeApr 11, 2018
Kim Jong-un opens important political meeting... any cabinet reshuffle ahead of summit? North Korea's parliament is scheduled to convene amid a series of diplomatic moves by leader Kim Jong-un that could have a major impact on the direction the country takes in the months and possibly years ahead.Meetings of the full Supreme People's Assembly are usually brief, once-a-year affairs intended to approve budgets, formalize personnel changes and rubberstamp Kim's policy priorities.But this year's session, scheduled to start on Wednesday, is being watched more closely because it was to begin just two weeks before Kim is to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and as Pyongyang and Washington are working out the details of a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in late May or early June. (AP)Apr 11, 2018
NK holds political bureau meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, holds a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, Monday. U.S. President Trump said the U.S. has been in touch with North Korea and he will meet with Kim in late May or early June, according to the White House website, Tuesday. / YonhapApr 10, 2018
North Korea falling into financial crisis... hidden reason for peace overture? North Korea running out of hard currencyBy Kim Jae-kyoungNorth Korea is suffering a cash crunch due to international sanctions and could soon face a currency crisis, experts on the North said Tuesday.They said leader Kim Jong-un's recent visit to Beijing was aimed at seeking sanctions relief and easing cash drainage in the reclusive regime.“I think the February Chinese data shows Pyongyang is running short of cash, hence they have cut back sharply on their essential imports from China,” William Brown, adjunct professor at Georgetown School of Foreign Service, told The Korea Times.“Kim's ship is full of holes and a few patches won't help much. I'm pretty sure that's why Kim felt he suddenly had to go to Beijing.”According to data from Global Trade Atlas, China's imports from North Korea stood at $9 million in February, down 95 percent from a year ago. Its exports to the North fell by 32 percent to $103 million during the same period.Brown, who previously worked for the CIA and the National Intelligence Council, believes Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping mustApr 10, 2018
Trump says meeting with Kim Jong-in 'in May or early June' U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month or in early June to "hopefully" reach a deal on denuclearizing the regime.Trump made the remarks at a cabinet meeting where he also acknowledged the two sides were in talks to prepare for the meeting."North Korea, by the way, as you've probably seen -- and we've been in touch with North Korea -- we'll be meeting with them sometime in May or early June," he said. "And I think there'll be great respect paid by both parties and hopefully we'll be able to make a deal on the de-nuking of North Korea. They've said so; we've said so. Hopefully, it will be a relationship that's much different than it's been for many, many years."The White House had previously said the president would meet with Kim before the end of May. The unprecedented meeting was arranged through a group of South Korean envoys who met with Kim in Pyongyang last month. The envoys said Kim had expressed a commitment to denuclearization and promised to halt nuclear and ballistic missile tests.On Sunday, the White House coApr 10, 2018
820 North Korean defectors win EU citizenship in 2007-2016 A total of 820 people from North Korea acquired citizenship of member countries of the European Union in the 2007-2016 period, with nearly 90 percent of them living in Germany and Britain, the EU's statistics office has shown in a report.Most of them are believed to have defected to and settled in Europe after escaping from North Korea, given that the acquisition of a European citizenship is made through naturalization, marriage or asylum.The number of people, who came from North Korea and obtained citizenship in the European countries, including the 28 member countries of the EU, totaled 66 in 2016, down from the 128 recorded in the previous year, according to the Eurostat data released Monday.Out of the 66 people, Britain granted citizenship to 43, followed by Germany with 13, France, the Netherlands and Estonia with two each, and Austria with one.During the reported 10-year period, the number of new European citizens hailing from North Korea decreased to 58 in 2008 and 53 in 2009 from 71 in 2007 before increasing to 97 in 2010. In 2010, it shrunk to 77 before jumping to 123 in 201Apr 10, 2018
North Korea's foreign minister arrives in Moscow North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho has arrived in Moscow on a visit.The North Korean foreign minister arrived at a Moscow airport by a scheduled flight from Ashgabat where he had been on a visit before.The Russian Foreign Ministry reported earlier that negotiations between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho would be held on April 10 in the Russian capital.The ministers will discuss development of bilateral cooperation and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.The Embassy of North Korea in Moscow did not specify the foreign minister’s program of the visit, which is expected to last from April 9 to 11. (TASS)Apr 9, 2018
North Korea puts nukes on table By Kim RahnNorth Korea has apparently assured the United States of its willingness to talk about removing its nuclear weapons during direct contacts between officials of the two countries, according to sources here and American media reports. A Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday that Pyongyang and Washington have been in contact with each other regarding the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, which is likely to be held in late May or June“As far as we know, the contacts and talks are going smoothly,” the official said on condition of anonymity.To grasp the situation in more detail, National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong may soon contact John Bolton, the incoming U.S. national security adviser. “He has not contacted Bolton as the latter had not been officially appointed; but as he took office today, Chung will contact him soon,” the official said.Citing officials of the Trump administration, multiple U.S. media also reported North Korea directly delivered its willingness to discuss denuclearization to WashingtApr 9, 2018
Moon's aide told Kim Jong-un to stop smoking, got away North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a heavy smoker. But in a country where making a suggestion to the young dictator of anything against his will is considered a blasphemy that deserves heavy punishment, nobody would put one’s life at risk to ask him to quit smoking. This Dec. 12, 2012 file photo shows Kim puffing a cigarette at the satellite control center in Pyongyang. / Korea Times file By Oh Young-jin Top presidential aide Chung Eui-yong advised North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to stop smoking during a dinner Kim hosted for Chung visiting Pyongyang as President Moon Jae-in's top envoy early last month. Chung's advice made the atmosphere at the head table in the banquet tense at least for a moment when the face of Kim Yong-chul, the North's top intelligence officer, hardened in displeasure by Chung's uncalled-for action. It was Ri Sol-ju, the North's first lady, who cheerfully clapped her hands and said, “He doesn't listen when I ask him to quit smoking.” That defused the tension. The young leader himself did not mind Chung's behavior. Japan's Asahi ShimApr 9, 2018
