by Andrew Beatty, with Jung Hawon in Seoul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump Tuesday welcomed North Korea’s breakthrough offer of denuclearization talks as positive — and apparently sincere — saying the standoff over Pyongyang’s weapons drive would not be allowed to “fester.” Seoul earlier announced the two Koreas would hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone next month — and that the North’s leader Kim Jong Un […]
Asia
Trump welcomes North and South Korea summit plans, N. Korea’s readiness to denuclearize
by Jung Hawon with Andrew Beatty in Washington Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea – North and South Korea will hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone next month after Pyongyang expressed willingness to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, South Korea’s national security adviser said Tuesday. The North is open to “frank” talks with the United States on denuclearization and would suspend missile and nuclear tests while dialogue was under way, Chung […]
Watch: N. Korea’s Kim Jong-Un meets with Seoul envoys for possible inter-Korean summit
https://youtu.be/FmVfNmJKEMA SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed a possible summit with envoys from the South’s President Moon Jae-in, both sides said Tuesday, in the latest step of an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula. The delegation from Seoul is the most senior to travel North for more than a decade, and comes as Moon tries to broker talks between nuclear-armed Pyongyang and Washington after months of high tensions. The […]
Two Koreas to hold summit, Pyongyang offers nuke deal: Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit at their heavily armed border next month, with Pyongyang saying it would consider abandoning nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, Seoul said Tuesday. If confirmed by Pyongyang, the offer would mark the first time under the current leadership the North had declared itself willing to discuss conditions under which it might consider giving up its nuclear arsenal -– […]
S. Korean presidential hopeful quits after rape accusation
by Jung Hawon Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A former South Korean presidential contender stepped down as a provincial governor and announced his retirement from politics Tuesday in a stunning political fall after a female aide accused him of multiple rapes. Ahn Hee-jung — who came second to current President Moon Jae-in in the contest for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination last year — is the most prominent figure to face abuse allegations […]
Former Trump campaign aide rejects Russia probe subpoena
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A former aide to President Donald Trump’s election campaign said Monday he is rejecting a subpoena to provide information to the investigation into Russian meddling. Sam Nunberg, who worked on the campaign during 2015, said collecting emails and other communications he had with other key Trump advisers, particularly Steve Bannon and Roger Stone, was too much trouble and he would not do it. “They want me over at the grand […]
N.Korea’s Kim, Seoul envoys discuss easing tensions: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed ways to ease tensions on the peninsula with visiting South Korean envoys, the state KCNA news agency reported Tuesday. Kim “warmly welcomed” the South Korean officials, who handed over a letter from President Moon Jae-in. “Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement,” the Korean […]
South Korean envoys in historic trip to North, meet Kim
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The most senior South Koreans to travel to North Korea for more than a decade met leader Kim Jong Un Monday, a Seoul official said, the latest step in an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula. The delegation, representing the South’s President Moon Jae-in, is pushing for talks between the nuclear-armed regime and the United States, after Kim sent his sister Kim Yo […]
South Korean delegation in historic trip to Pyongyang
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The most senior South Koreans to travel North for more than a decade headed for Pyongyang Monday on a mission to push for talks between the nuclear-armed regime and the United States. An intense rapprochement saw athletes from both sides of the divided peninsula march together at the South’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last month, with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un sending his sister as a special envoy to […]
Xi power play in focus as China parliament opens
by Joanna Chiu and Laurent Thomet Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s rubber-stamp parliament kicked off its most significant meeting in a generation on Monday, preparing to offer Xi Jinping a lifetime mandate to mold the Asian giant into a global superpower. Thousands of Chinese legislators gathered in the imposing Great Hall of the People in a session that will make Xi the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, concentrating the growing might […]
China to raise defense budget by 8.1% in 2018
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China announced on Monday an 8.1 percent defense budget increase for 2018, giving the world’s largest armed forces a boost after spending slowed in the previous two years. Beijing will spend 1.11 trillion yuan ($175 billion) on its military, according to a budget report presented before the opening session of the annual National People’s Congress, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The outlay compares with a seven percent increase last […]
Human limbs found inside the belly of Indonesian croc: police
BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia (AFP) — A human leg and arm have been found inside the belly of a huge crocodile suspected of mauling a man to death in Borneo, Indonesian police said Friday. Authorities shot and killed the six-meter (20-foot) long crocodile close to a riverbank where a local palm oil plantation worker had gone missing two days earlier, with only his motorbike and sandals found at the site, they said. The search ended Thursday when […]





