SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for better relations with the North so leader Kim Jong Un can visit Seoul, despite Pyongyang’s abandonment of its nuclear and missile test moratoriums. Moon’s appeal came after Kim threatened a demonstration of a “new strategic weapon” at a four-day ruling party meeting last week, where he never mentioned South Korea. Since the breakdown of Kim’s summit with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi […]
Tag: Kim Jong Un
N. Korea’s Kim holds top party meeting ahead of US deadline
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has convened a key meeting of top ruling party officials, state media said Sunday, ahead of a year-end deadline for Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks. The plenary session, which opened on Saturday, follows widespread speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile — as a threatened “Christmas gift” for Washington. Kim presided over the meeting which discussed a […]
US envoy: N. Korea comments ‘hostile and unnecessary’
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The top US representative in talks with North Korea on Monday slammed Pyongyang’s demands as hostile and unnecessary as its end-of-year deadline approaches, but held open the door for fresh negotiations. The North has insisted that Washington offer it new concessions by the end of 2019 with the process largely deadlocked since the collapse of a summit in Hanoi in February. Pyongyang has […]
Trump warns Kim has ‘everything’ to lose through hostility
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump warned Sunday that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un had “everything” to lose through hostility towards the United States, after Pyongyang said it had carried out a major new weapons test. “Kim Jong Un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way,” Trump tweeted in response to the unspecified test at the Sohae space launch center. The […]
N. Korea’s Kim supervised ‘new weapon’ test again: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un once again supervised a “new weapon” launch, state media said Saturday, complicating efforts at denuclearisation ahead of next week’s visit to Seoul by the US envoy to Pyongyang. Friday’s launch was the North’s sixth test in recent weeks as it protests the annual US-South Korea military exercises which Pyongyang considers rehearsals for invasion. Defense officials in Seoul said Pyongyang fired what appeared to be […]
North Korea: New missile a ‘solemn warning’ to South
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said two missiles fired under his supervision were newly designed tactical weapons that sent a “solemn warning” to the South over plans to hold military drills with the United States. Thursday’s missile tests were the first since Kim and US President Donald Trump agreed to resume nuclear talks during an impromptu meeting last month in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. […]
NKorea missiles launched under guidance of leader Kim: state media
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of “a new-type of tactical guided weapon” as a “solemn warning to South Korean military warmongers,” state news wire KCNA said Friday. Kim “personally organized and guided” the firing of the “state-of-the-art weaponry system” on Thursday, KCNA said, a reference to the two short-range missiles fired into the sea. It was Pyongyang’s first missile test since an impromptu June meeting between […]
US hopes N.Korea talks go ahead despite Pyongyang threat
by Kang Jin-kyu WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Tuesday it hoped to hold denuclearization talks with North Korea, despite a warning from Pyongyang that US-South Korean military exercises could affect their planned resumption. The North had earlier Tuesday hinted that it could even reconsider its moratorium on nuclear testing over next month’s drills, which have been held for years but were scaled down to facilitate dialogue with Pyongyang. It […]
North Korean leader receives ‘excellent’ letter from Trump: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a personal letter of “excellent content” from US President Donald Trump, the country’s state media said Sunday, amid a nuclear deadlock between Pyongyang and Washington. Talks have been stalled since the collapse of a second summit between the two leaders in February after they failed to agree on what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. The […]
N.Korea’s Kim ordered ‘long-range strike’ drill: state media
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a “long-range strike” drill, the state news agency reported Friday, a day after South Korea said the weapons fired were short-range missiles. “At the command post, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un learned about a plan of the strike drill of various long-range strike means and gave an order of start of the drill,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Thursday’s launch was […]
Abe ready to meet N. Korea’s Kim ‘unconditionally’: media
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “unconditionally” in a bid to restore diplomatic ties between the two historic foes, a daily said Thursday. Abe, seen as a foreign policy hawk, has recently softened his rhetoric towards Pyongyang, calling for a summit with Kim to resolve an emotional row over past kidnappings of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang agents. In an interview with the […]
N.Korea’s Kim says US acted in ‘bad faith’ at Hanoi talks: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States acted in “bad faith” when he met with President Donald Trump in Hanoi, and that the situation on the peninsula has reached a “critical point,” state media said Friday. Kim made the comments during his first summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Vladivostok, the Korean Central News Agency reported, describing their talks as “unreserved and friendly.” The North […]





