Tag: North Korea

Trump postpones Putin visit as Pompeo defends US stance on Russia

  by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday delayed a second summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, while his top diplomat insisted there was no let up against Moscow following the two leaders’ controversial meeting in Helsinki. Facing mounting calls to release the details of Trump’s closed-door talks with Putin, the US administration stepped up its damage control operation, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo going […]

Trump praises rapport with Kim, hails dismantling of N.Korea site

  by with Thomas Watkins in Washington Agence France Presse KANSAS CITY, United States (AFP) — Praising his “good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday welcomed reports that Pyongyang has started dismantling a facility seen as a testing ground for intercontinental ballistic missiles. New satellite imagery shows “that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site, and we appreciate that,” Trump said at […]

Sanctions-hit North Korea economy shrank sharply in 2017: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea saw its economy contract 3.5 percent last year – its worst showing in two decades – as it was hit by sanctions over its weapons programs, the South’s central bank said Friday. It was a sharp reversal from 3.9 percent growth in 2016, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The UN Security Council last year banned the North’s main exports — coal and other mineral resources, fisheries […]

N. Korea’s Kim lambasts officials during ‘field guidance’ visits

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un berated officials during inspections of a factory, power station and holiday camp, state media reported Tuesday, with analysts saying the reports show nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s desire to focus on economic development. “Field guidance” visits by the leader are the mainstay of the North’s state media output, with Kim regularly shown giving “on-the-spot guidance” to attentive officials, their notebooks in hand. After his latest tour to […]

PDP-Laban magpapadala ng mga kinatawan sa bansang North Korea

(Eagle News) — Magpapadala ang ruling party na Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-LABAN) ng kinatawan sa North Korea ngayong linggo. Ayon kay Raul Lambino, PDP-Laban vice president for international affairs, ito ang kauna-unahang pagkakataon na magkakaroon ng party to party contact sa pagitan ng Manila at Pyongyang. “This is strictly party-to-party diplomacy. The invitation was extended to us months ago, and we feel that this visit could not have come at a better time,” […]

Indonesia invites Korean leaders Moon, Kim to Asian Games

  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — The leaders of the two Koreas have been invited to next month’s Asian Games in Indonesia, Jakarta said Monday, after the neighbours agreed to field several joint teams at the event. Indonesian president Joko Widodo sent a formal invitation Friday to South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Widodo’s spokesman said, but it was not immediately clear if either has responded. “The invitation letters have been […]

S. Korea’s Moon optimistic on US-N. Korea diplomatic thaw

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — South Korean president Moon Jae-in said Friday he is confident a diplomatic thaw between Washington and Pyongyang will continue, despite “bumps and bruises” on the path to denuclearising the Korean peninsula. Moon was speaking during a state visit in Singapore, where last month US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met during an unprecedented leaders’ summit. Kim committed to a nuclear-free North Korea at the end of […]

Pompeo preaches prosperity to North Korea, via Vietnam

by Dave Clark Agence France Presse HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Washington’s top diplomat Mike Pompeo was addressing Vietnamese business leaders but his real audience was not in the Hanoi dining room. The US Secretary of State was sending a message from the thriving commercial heart of this once war-torn city all the way to North Korea. Vietnam fought a brutal war to expel American invaders, but now the former foes enjoy burgeoning trade ties and […]

Pompeo in North Korea to seek ‘details’ on denuclearization

  PYONGYANG, North Korea (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang Friday to press Kim Jong Un for a more detailed commitment to denuclearization following the North Korean leader’s historic summit with President Donald Trump. Pompeo was greeted in the North Korean capital by Kim’s right hand man Kim Yong Chol and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. Since meeting Kim in Singapore last month Trump has been bullish about hopes for […]

Basketball diplomacy: S. Korea teams head for Pyongyang

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A high-level South Korean delegation left for Pyongyang Tuesday with dozens of basketball players, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s favourite sport becomes the latest effort at athletic diplomacy between the neighbours. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead the delegation of 50 male and female players, in the first visit to Pyongyang by an official from the South since Kim and US President Donald Trump’s landmark summit in Singapore last […]

Pentagon chief seeks to reassure S. Korea, Japan on North

  by Paul Handley © Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US Defense Secretary James Mattis told South Korea Thursday that their alliance remained “ironclad”, as he sought to reassure key East Asian allies following Donald Trump’s unilateral suspension of military exercises with Seoul. Concern has mounted in the region over the stance of the US president, who has lauded North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “talented guy” as he seeks to persuade […]

North Korea still building at nuclear site: monitor

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is carrying out rapid improvements to its nuclear research facility, a monitor said on Wednesday, despite declaring a commitment to denuclearisation of the peninsula at the Singapore summit. The nuclear-armed North’s leader Kim Jong Un promised to “work toward” the goal at a landmark summit in the city-state earlier this month with US President Donald Trump. But the Singapore meeting failed to clearly define denuclearisation or produce […]