Denuclearization

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that his regime remains open to negotiations with the United States, even as President Donald Trump has threatened to take action against the regime for killing protesters.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un says he has “good personal memories” of talks with President Trump, but will not discuss denuclearization.

President Donald Trump said he wants to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un again during his second term.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published a report on Monday that warned China has the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world and its inventory of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) could reach parity with the United States and Russia by 2030 – although Beijing would still lag behind in deliverable nuclear warheads.

Ukraine would need a million-man army and a nuclear deterrent to prevent future Russian aggression if it doesn’t join NATO, Zelensky said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told an Italian newspaper last weekend that it was “absolutely stupid, illogical, and very irresponsible” for the leaders of his country to give up their nuclear weapons in the 1990s.

President Donald Trump referred to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un — and, by extension, his country — as a “nuclear power” in remarks to reporters from the Oval Office on Monday.

The Korea Times on Tuesday reported some consternation in Seoul over the mysterious disappearance of “denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula” from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) platform.

Former North Korean diplomat Ri Il-kyu, whose defection to South Korea was made public last month, said on Thursday that the regime in Pyongyang will be interested in resuming nuclear talks if Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election.

North Korea on Monday lashed out at South Korea, Japan, and even Pyongyang’s patron China for supporting the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at a summit in Seoul.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog group, confirmed on Wednesday that its inspectors had discovered the disappearance of ten drums of “natural uranium,” totaling about 2.5 tons, from lawless Libya.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio joined other free nations at the 77th U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday in condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an outrage that “tramples on the vision and principles of the U.N. Charter.”

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful and confrontational sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, on Friday scoffed at South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s offer of economic assistance in exchange for denuclearization as “foolish” and told Yoon to “shut his mouth.”

“Israel believes that going back to the old agreement will pave Iran’s path to a nuclear arsenal,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office read.

Author Bob Woodward’s new book Rage, an examination of President Donald Trump’s first term due to be released on September 15, reportedly includes excerpts from the letters Trump exchanged with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. One of the letters from Kim is said to include an explicit account of the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek in 2013.

An exceptionally odd North Korean propaganda video uncovered by South Korean media on Wednesday shows a group of female soldiers singing and dancing to entertain dictator Kim Jong-un. The clip is apparently part of a very long “documentary” chronicling Kim’s eventful year in 2019.

North Korea conducted another provocative missile test on Wednesday. South Korean military intelligence believes the weapon was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

South Korean President Moon Jae-in optimistically praised the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday for helping to solve many of the world’s problems and said its “efforts toward peace are coming to fruition,” notably including on the Korean Peninsula. Moon’s assessment of the peace process was extremely positive, culminating in a proposal to transform the DMZ separating the two Koreas into a U.N. World Heritage Site.

The North Korean government on Friday declared it is ready for either “dialogue or stand-off” with the United States on denuclearization, warned Washington not to impose any further sanctions against the regime, and demanded “diehard toxin” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be taken out of the loop for any further negotiations.

China expert and Daily Beast columnist Gordon Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China, told SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Monday’s edition of Breitbart News Daily that President Donald Trump is making some bold moves to get nuclear talks with North Korea moving again while appearing to ease pressure on China to secure a trade deal.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was discussing Iran and North Korea with reporters on Sunday when he inadvertently said “80-plus percent of the North Korean economy is sanctioned” instead of referring to Iran as he intended.

Hardliners in communist North Korea have denounced dictator Kim Jong-un’s softball approach to negotiations with the United States, the 38 North website, a component of the Stimson Center think tank, reported Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang to meet with dictator Kim Jong-un on Thursday, the first Chinese leader to visit North Korea in 14 years. Xi expressed strong support for Kim and said he wanted denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. to “move forward and bear fruit.”

A document from the Workers’ Party of North Korea obtained by Voice of America News and published on Monday indicated dictator Kim Jong-un hoped the United States would formally recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state at the second summit meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Chinese and North Korean state media announced on Monday that Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping will visit North Korea this week to meet with dictator Kim Jong-un. It will be Xi’s first visit to North Korea and the first time China’s leader has made such a trip since Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao visited Pyongyang in 2005.

North Korea accused the United States this week of showing bad faith in ongoing denuclearization negotiations by allegedly carrying out nuclear and missile tests as part of an “evil ambition” to conquer dictator Kim Jong-un’s rogue regime by force.

ABC News reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources, that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un formally demanded that the United States provide “famous basketball players” to entertain Kim in Pyongyang as part of ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the rogue communist regime’s illegal nuclear program.

North Korea launched at least one “projectile” from the vicinity of a missile base on Thursday, apparently a drill or test launch that ended with the weapon crashing into the Sea of Japan.

North Korean state media on Saturday confirmed it test-fired “multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons” into the sea on orders from dictator Kim Jong-un, who was said to have personally supervised the launches.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report on Tuesday that said satellite photos have uncovered possible uranium reprocessing at North Korea’s Yongbyon reactor. If such activity is indeed underway, it would suggest North Korea is preparing to create more nuclear warheads.

It was not exactly a surprise to see Kim Jong-un “re-elected” as chairman of the North Korean State Affairs Commission – i.e. absolute dictator – on Friday, but quite a few other government posts were shaken up, suggesting Kim is determined to tighten his grip on power.

The United States deployed a reconnaissance aircraft that specializes in monitoring missile launches to Japan over the weekend, possibly to make it ready for monitoring North Korea’s recently refurbished ballistic missile test sites.

General Robert Abrams, the top American commander in South Korea, testified before Congress on Wednesday that North Korea’s recent actions are “inconsistent” with dictator Kim Jong-un’s pledge to dismantle his nuclear missile program.

National Security Advisor John Bolton on Thursday called on China to exert pressure on North Korea, as the road ahead for denuclearization talks remains unclear.

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told his parliament on Monday there is no sign of an imminent missile launch from North Korea, despite some provocative activity spotted by satellite at the rocket launch facility in Tongchang-ri.

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui on Friday issued the most direct threat to cut off negotiations with the United States since the Hanoi summit, accusing the U.S. of “gangster-like” behavior and insisting her government will not yield on the demands it made during the second meeting between dictator Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.