US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb 27, 2019. (Photo: AFP) Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled briefly in front of a row of their countries' flags at the Metropole hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, while he was “not walking back on denuclearisation". Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, Trump said: “We’ll see.” U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down before their one-on-one chat during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis Kim said they had overcome obstacles to hold the summit in Vietnam and had needed patience since their first meeting in Singapore last year. He said he hoped these talks would be successful. "I am certain that a … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump meet for second US North Korea summit
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North Korea officials en-route to Vietnam ahead of Trump-Kim summit
The North Koreans, including Kim Jong Un's de-facto chief of staff, had arrived in Beijing and were expected to board a plane bound for the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, with the high-stakes meeting now less than two weeks away. "A group of 12 North Koreans, including Kim Chang Son, were on the boarding list," Yonhap said, citing a source in the capital. Kim Chang Son was part of the team overseeing protocol in the run up to the first Trump-Kim summit and Yonhap said the delegation was expected to have discussions with U.S. officials on the logistical preparations for the Hanoi meeting. The identities of the 11 other officials were not reported. Pyongyang has yet to provide any official confirmation of the Feb 27-28 summit, which will be the second time the two leaders come together following their June 12 Singapore meeting. That produced a vaguely-worded document in which Kim pledged to work towards denuclearisation -- with no hard timeline … [Read more...] about North Korea officials en-route to Vietnam ahead of Trump-Kim summit
Kim Jong Un warns North Korea could consider change of tack
North Korea could consider a change of approach if the US maintains its sanctions on the nuclear-armed country, leader Kim Jong Un warned in his New Year speech on Tuesday (Jan 1) after 12 months of diplomatic rapprochement. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has said he is ready to meet with US President Donald Trump again at any time AFP/SAUL LOEB "If the US does not keep its promise made in front of the whole world ... and insists on sanctions and pressures on our republic," Kim said, "we may be left with no choice but to consider a new way to safeguard our sovereignty and interests". Kim was referring to his summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June, when he said he had "fruitful talks" and "exchanged constructive ideas". At the time the two leaders signed a vaguely-worded pledge on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, but progress has since stalled with Pyongyang and Washington arguing over what that means. The North is subject to multiple sets of … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Un warns North Korea could consider change of tack
Kim Jong Who? South Korea revamps the way students study North Korea
A year of warming relations between North and South Korea has raised the prospects of closer ties, if not some form of unification for the still-warring neighbors far in the future. But it might not be obvious in a typical South Korean classroom. "I really don’t know anything," 17-year-old student Roh Ha-na said. "It’s like only twice a year that the school teaches about unification and national security, and about North Korean life... but I just let most of it go in one ear and out the other." This year’s inter-Korean détente has highlighted what many observers see as a lack of knowledge among South Koreans about their northern neighbor, prompting government efforts to revamp the way South Koreans learn about North Korea and unification. Baek Jun-kee, the head of South Korea’s Institute for Unification Education says current education methods have failed to show young South Koreans the importance of a nuanced understanding of North Korea, its people and … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Who? South Korea revamps the way students study North Korea
North Korea hiding missile bases, US researchers say
WASHINGTON — North Korea is operating at least 13 undeclared bases to hide mobile, nuclear-capable missiles, a new study released on Monday has found, raising fresh doubts over US President Donald Trump’s signature foreign policy initiative. Trump has hailed his June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as having opened the way to denuclearisation of the divided peninsula, defusing tensions that less than a year ago brought the two countries to the brink of conflict. Since the summit in Singapore, North Korea has forgone nuclear and missile tests, dismantled a missile test site and promised to also break up the country’s main nuclear complex. But researchers at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said they have located 13 missile operating bases that have not been declared by the government, and that there may be as many as 20. "It’s not like these bases have been frozen," Victor Cha, who leads CSIS’s North … [Read more...] about North Korea hiding missile bases, US researchers say