Tag: North Korea

ASEAN foreign ministers “reiterate grave concern” over N. Korea’s nuclear missile tests; seek complete denuclearization of region

  MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) – The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations “reiterated” their “grave concerns over the escalation of tensions in the Korean Peninsula” including the most recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests of North Korea on July 4 and 28, and two other nuclear tests last year. The “ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Developments in the Korean Peninsula” issued on Saturday, August 5, during the opening of the […]

UN to vote on tougher North Korea sanctions

  by Carole LANDRY Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council will vote Saturday on a US-drafted resolution toughening sanctions on North Korea, diplomats said Friday, a proposed ban on certain exports that could deprive Pyongyang of $1 billion in annual revenue. After a month of negotiations, the United States reached a deal with China, North Korea’s main trading partner and ally, on the measures aimed at ratcheting up […]

N. Korea says door remains ‘open’ for US tourists

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s doors are still open to United States tourists, Pyongyang said Friday, despite Washington banning its citizens from travelling there following the death of a US student who had been jailed in the country. The US prohibition, which comes into effect September 1, was introduced after officials said the “serious risk” of arrest by Pyongyang authorities during tourist travel presented an “imminent danger to the physical safety” of its […]

China unmoved as Trump rails over North Korea

by Yanan Wang Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Finger-pointing over North Korea’s flourishing weapons program has pushed the world’s two biggest economies toward a high-stakes impasse, but observers warn that Trump-style outbursts are no way to get China to bend to the United States’ will. Washington and Beijing have long traded blame over the failure to rein in the North, but a breakthrough in missile technology has raised the specter of a strike […]

North Korea worried ASEAN forum in Manila will issue strongly-worded statement vs missile tests

  North Korea’s vice foreign minister, Han Song-ryol, has met with his Philippine counterpart on July 25 ahead of ASEAN Regional Forum set in Manila this week, after Pyongyang sent diplomats early this year in Manila to appeal to the ASEAN chairman not to embarrass North Korea during the regional meeting, according to a Reuters report. Two diplomats from the Philippines foreign ministry said the North Koreans were worried ASEAN may issue a strongly-worded statement […]

US’ Tillerson won’t meet North Korea envoy at ASEAN talks in PHL

United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not meet his North Korean counterpart at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Manila and will instead push to deepen Pyongyang’s diplomatic isolation, a senior US official said Wednesday. North Korea’s push to build a nuclear-armed missile capable of threatening US cities has brought the region to the brink of crisis, and Washington is using every diplomatic lever to shut the program down. But, in […]

President Duterte lashes out at N. Korean leader Kim; calls him “a crazy man” playing with “dangerous toys”

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte only had harsh words for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Wednesday, ahead of a regional summit in Manila to be attended by the regime’s foreign minister. In a speech during the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s 113th founding anniversary celebration, President Duterte said Kim was a “crazy man” who could destroy Asia by triggering a nuclear war. “Baka nga si Kim, yung taran****. He is playing with dangerous toys and […]

N.Korea’s ICBM fires up fears in South for US alliance

by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s latest missile test has extended the range of its weapons to much of mainland United States and raised a new fear in the South: would Washington protect Seoul when that could put American cities in danger? The US is security guarantor for the democratic and capitalist South, where 28,500 US troops are stationed to defend it from Pyongyang after the 1950-53 Korean […]

China tells Trump not to link trade to N. Korea

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Monday the United States should not link trade to discussions about North Korea’s nuclear program, after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of failing to restrain Pyongyang despite profiting from business with America. “We believe that the North Korea nuclear issue and China-US trade are two issues that are in two completely different domains,” Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming told a press briefing, adding the issues “are not related, […]

N. Korea ICBM still facing technical hurdles: US expert

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — North Korea could field a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile able to strike America by next year, but Pyongyang must first overcome important technological hurdles, a United States expert warned Monday. North Korea has alarmed the international community by the pace and progress of its missile development program, and this month leader Kim Jong-Un conducted two tests of an ICBM. The first of these trials, which Kim described as a gift […]

South Korea’s Foreign Minister to discuss North Korea at ASEAN Regional Forum

SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-Wha, held an emergency executive meeting on Saturday (July 29) after having phone calls with her United States and Japanese counterparts on North Korea’s latest missile launch. Kang said she will discuss measures against North Korea’s provocations during the meetings at Association of Southeast Asian Nation Regional Forum next week and expressed the concerns over the North’s advanced missile technology. Ministerial meeting between Kang and her […]

US responds to N.Korea missile test with show of force

by Olivia HAMPTON / with Park Chan-Kyong in Seoul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — North Korea said Sunday its latest ICBM launch was a “warning” over efforts to slap sanctions on the hermit state, as the US carried out a successful test of its missile defense system in a pointed show of force. A bilateral mission led by US strategic bombers on Saturday flew over the Korean Peninsula in a direct response […]