Denuclearization - Page 2

North Korean media remain almost completely silent about the second summit between dictator Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, even though the meeting is less than three weeks away.

North Korea has reportedly dispatched Han Song-ryol, vice foreign minister and one of that country’s most experienced negotiators, to a labor camp along with five other top officials for the crime of “breaching doctrine” by suggesting innovative tactics for breaking the diplomatic stalemate with the United States.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Thursday expressed “great satisfaction” with the “good personal letter” he received from President Donald Trump, praised Trump’s “unusual determination and will” to achieve denuclearization, and ordered preparations to begin for a second U.S.-North Korea summit.

A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and its Beyond Parallel project asserted on Monday that North Korea has “approximately 20 undeclared missile operating bases,” one of which is described in detail by the authors.

The White House announced on Friday afternoon that President Donald Trump met for an hour and a half with North Korean envoy Kim Yong-chol to “discuss denuclearization and a second summit, which will take place near the end of February.”

Lee Hae-chan, chairman of South Korea’s governing Democratic Party (DP), said on Friday that he expects Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping to visit both North and South Korea this spring.

South Korean leader Moon Jae-in announced on Thursday that he would ask the United States to lift sanctions on North Korea, in part to allow Seoul more contact with Pyongyang.

President Trump issued a warm tweet to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of an anticipated second meeting early this year.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un delivered his much-anticipated New Year’s address in the early hours of Tuesday morning Eastern time. As expected, the speech was largely focused on North Korea’s economy but included some mixed messages about denuclearization.

It is a safe bet that 2019 will be a crucial year for North Korea. Dictator Kim Jong-un closed out the year by sending South Korean President Moon Jae-in a letter with a “positive” message, an invitation to hold further summit meetings, and a vague commitment from Kim to make his long-promised historic visit to Seoul.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared on Monday that it is prepared to send nuclear weapons inspectors to North Korea, when and if the North Korea regime agrees to accept them. North Korea ejected IAEA inspectors from the country in 2009.

North Korea declared on Monday it will not agree to any denuclearization agreement with the United States if Washington continues to pursue “vicious [and] hostile actions” against Kim Jong-un’s communist regime. 

The prospects of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un visiting Seoul in the last few days left in this year are bleak, the Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, citing South Korea’s presidential office.

Outgoing U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley told NBC’s Today show on Wednesday that she took advantage of President Donald Trump’s stormy rhetoric and “unpredictable” nature to get things done at the United Nations.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyon expressed hope on Tuesday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un will follow through on his promise to visit Seoul and make the trip a “stepping stone” to his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency reported on Friday that dictator Kim Jong-un inspected a “newly-developed ultramodern” tactical weapon system at an undisclosed location. North Korean media clearly intended the report to be provocative, but South Korean analysts shrugged it off as testing for a battlefield rocket launcher that would have little impact on arms control negotiations.

Vice President Mike Pence said from the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on Thursday that President Donald Trump will hold a second meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un next year. Pence said Kim will be expected to submit a firm denuclearization plan at the meeting.

A study that the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published on Monday found that North Korea is maintaining at least 13 ballistic missile bases, seemingly contradicting the spirit of denuclearization even as Pyongyang demands sanctions relief as a reward for the steps it has taken so far.

North Korean state media accused the United States and South Korea on Monday of violating their provisional peace agreements designed to reduce tensions across the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has failed to dismantle its key missile site further since August, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing a U.S. website that monitors dictator Kim Jong-un’s regime.

The State Department announced on Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had postponed a scheduled New York meeting with North Korean official Kim Yong-chol and other high-level visitors from Pyongyang.

The United States and South Korea are expected to restart small-scale military exercises on Monday, a few days ahead of a meeting this week between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korea’s second-in-command to discuss denuclearization.

A North Korean delegation arrived in Beijing on Monday to participate in an international military forum amid ongoing Pyongyang-Washington negotiations over the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, state-funded South Korean media reports

When South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said on Wednesday her government was thinking about lifting some sanctions on North Korea, there were fears even a purely symbolic gesture along those lines could weaken the international coalition allied against North Korea’s nuclear missile program. Right on cue, Chinese state media jumped in and encouraged Seoul to lift unilateral sanctions as quickly as possible in a gesture of fellowship with Pyongyang and defiance toward Washington.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Thursday contradicted controversial statements made by the foreign minister to parliament the previous day and said there are no plans to lift sanctions against North Korea imposed after the sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan in 2010.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers on Wednesday the administration of President Moon Jae-in is considering proposals to lift sanctions against North Korea as a reward for improved relations on the peninsula.

South Korean and Russian media on Monday teased a visit to Moscow by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

North Korea’s state-run KCNA news service declared on Tuesday that a peace treaty to formally conclude the Korean War “can never be a bargaining chip” for ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and suggested the United States must decide if it truly wants a treaty.

Russia and China spent this week’s U.N. General Assembly working to undermine international sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear program, to the exasperation of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who seeks to rally the world community and show firm resolve to North Korea at a crucial moment in the denuclearization drama.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, expressing thanks to the United States, United Nations, and various international organizations for helping to create an opportunity for lasting peace between North and South Korea.

The State Department announced on Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea in October to meet with senior officials and set up a second summit meeting between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in New York on Sunday to attend the U.N. General Assembly and hold a bilateral summit meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Moon is eager to set up a second meeting between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. President Trump indicated on Monday such a meeting could occur “quite soon.”

As the third summit meeting between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in drew to a close, officials from the Trump administration signaled the United States is ready to resume discussions about eliminating North Korea’s nuclear program.

The Chinese government and its carefully controlled media professed extreme pleasure with the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un Wednesday, lavishing praise on the North Korean leader and gushing over the glimpse of North Korea’s “modern” and upscale capital city of Pyongyang.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s third summit meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, held in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, produced an offer on Wednesday for Kim to visit South Korea “in the near future.”

The United States called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday to discuss “efforts by some member states to undermine and obstruct North Korea sanctions violations.”