Tag: Kim Jong Un

S. Korea halts border broadcasts ahead of Kim summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s military on Monday switched off giant loudspeakers blasting messages towards the North’s soldiers at the border, in a conciliatory gesture ahead of Friday’s historic inter-Korea summit. The South has long broadcast a mix of news, music and propaganda messages urging the North’s soldiers to defect through huge speakers along the heavily-fortified border, with operations varying depending on the swings of volatile inter-Korea ties. The North plays propaganda of […]

Trump: US has conceded ‘nothing’ to N.Korea

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump asserted Sunday that North Korea has agreed to “denuclearization” and a halt to testing while the United States had so far conceded “nothing” in return. North Korea pledged this week to halt nuclear and missile tests as the two countries prepare for a summit between Kim Jong Un and Trump but have not committed to giving up its nuclear weapons — which Pyongyang views as a shield […]

N. Korea’s Kim promises no more nuclear or missile tests

    SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would halt nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, in a Saturday announcement welcomed by US President Donald Trump ahead of a much-anticipated summit between the two men. Pyongyang’s declaration, long sought by Washington, will be seen as a crucial step in the fast diplomatic dance on and around the Korean peninsula. It comes less than a week before the North Korean […]

‘Treasured sword’: What Kim said about N. Korea’s nukes

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Kim Jong Un has halted North Korea’s nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches, as diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula gather pace. Here are the key quotes from the North Korean leader’s announcement, made at a meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, as reported by the official KCNA news agency. ‘Brilliant victory’  Kim described building North Korea’s nuclear force as a “miraculous […]

S. Korea’s Moon: a peace treaty ‘must be pursued’

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A peace treaty to formally end the Korean War “must be pursued,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday, ahead of a summit next week with Kim Jong Un, leader of the nuclear-armed North. “The armistice that has dragged on for 65 years must come to an end,” Moon told media company representatives at the presidential Blue House, adding: “The signing of a peace treaty must be pursued after an […]

Trump says hopeful for Kim summit, but not afraid to walk away

by Jerome Cartillier and Andrew Beatty in Washington Agence France Presse PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he hoped his improbable summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would go ahead — but warned he was not afraid to walk away if the meeting appears unlikely to be “fruitful.” The odds of the Trump-Kim talks taking place were boosted by the shock news of secret weekend talks between CIA […]

US-N. Korea talks ‘at highest levels’ but not Trump-Kim: WH

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has had contacts at the highest levels with North Korea but Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have not spoken directly, the White House said late Tuesday. The Washington Post reported that CIA chief Mike Pompeo made a secret visit to Pyongyang over the first weekend of April and met with Kim. The meeting was part of an effort to prepare for a historic meeting in the […]

N.Korea, China ‘discussing Xi visit to Pyongyang’

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — China and North Korea have been holding talks about a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang, a Japanese newspaper reported Monday as regional leaders step up diplomatic dialogue. The North is using its Beijing embassy to arrange Xi’s itinerary with the international department of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, quoting Chinese and North Korean sources. Plans under discussion include a visit to Pyongyang in […]

N. Korea parliament meets but Kim absent ahead of summits

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s parliament has met to rubber-stamp Kim Jong Un’s policies, but the leader himself was conspicuously absent as he prepares for two key summits with South Korea and the US. Kim had been present at six out of eight previous Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) sessions held since he officially became party head six years ago, according to the South’s Unification Ministry. But he appeared to skip Wednesday’s meeting, with […]

Kim Jong Un discusses future US talks at party meeting: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un discussed future talks with the US at a party meeting, state media reported Tuesday, in his first official mention of dialogue with Washington ahead of a planned summit with US President Donald Trump. At the meeting of party officials Monday, Kim delivered a report “on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula”, including the separate summit with South Korea to be held […]

N. Korea ready to discuss denuclearization with US: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — North Korean officials have told their US counterparts that Kim Jong Un is ready to discuss denuclearization, an assurance that could pave the way for a meeting with President Donald Trump, reports said Sunday. It is the first time the offer was made directly to Washington after it was previously conveyed through South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong. “The US has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to […]

Two Koreas meet to plan landmark summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Officials from North and South Korea discussed protocol headaches and other logistics of a rare summit later this month, which will see Kim Jong Un become the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the end of the Korean War. Kim and the South’s president Moon Jae-in are due to meet on April 27 at the South’s side of the demilitarized zone for the landmark inter-Korean […]