US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged a few letters since their Jun 12 summit in Singapore. (Photos: AFP/Nicholas Kamm, Saul Loeb) Discussions have grown prickly after a historic summit in June between President Donald Trump and Pyongyang strongman Kim Jong Un, where the leaders embraced and pledged to work toward the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." But despite the bonhomie of the occasion, Pyongyang has taken few concrete steps toward that stated goal and signs of frustration abound. Last week, Trump nixed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned trip to North Korea, reportedly because he received what US officials deemed to be a "belligerent" letter from Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling party. And on Tuesday, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the Pentagon is not planning to suspend any more military drills on the Korean peninsula. "We took the step to suspend several of the largest military exercises … [Read more...] about US toughens stance as North Korea talks stumble
North korea
Trump called off Pompeo’s North Korea visit after belligerent letter
Trump called off Pompeo's North Korea visit after belligerent letter - reportThe Saigon Times Daily U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - U.S. President Donald Trump called off a visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after the latter received a belligerent letter from a senior North Korean official just hours after the trip was announced last week, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The Post quoted two unnamed senior U.S. administration officials as saying the letter came on Friday from Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, who led previous rounds of talks with Pompeo. The newspaper said the exact contents of the message were unclear, but it was sufficiently belligerent that Trump and Pompeo decided to call off the journey. The … [Read more...] about Trump called off Pompeo’s North Korea visit after belligerent letter
North Korea to release Japanese detainee: KCNA
SEOUL — A Japanese tourist detained in North Korea will be released "on the principle of humanitarianism", Pyongyang’s state media reported as Tokyo seeks a summit with the North amid a diplomatic thaw on the peninsula. "Tomoyuki Sugimoto, who visited the DPRK as a Japanese tourist recently, was kept under control by a relevant institution to be inquired into his crime against the law of the DPRK," the KCNA news agency said. Little is known about Sugimoto but Japanese media reports have said he was a videographer visiting the North on a tour arranged by a foreign travel agency. He may have been suspected of shooting video of a military facility in the western port city of Nampo, reports cited Japanese government sources as saying. It was not clear if Sugimoto had been charged with any crime and the KCNA report late Sunday did not provide details on when he would be released. "The relevant institution of the DPRK decided to leniently condone him and expel him from the … [Read more...] about North Korea to release Japanese detainee: KCNA
North Korea newspaper blasts ‘double-dealing’ U.S. after Pompeo’s trip cancelled
North Korea newspaper blasts 'double-dealing' U.S. after Pompeo's trip cancelledThe Saigon Times Daily U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pauses while speaking to members of the media following two days of meetings with Kim Yong Chol, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, before boarding his plane at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 7, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL (REUTERS) - North Korea’s state-controlled newspaper on Sunday accused the United States of “double-dealing” and “hatching a criminal plot” against Pyongyang, after Washington abruptly cancelled a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Negotiations have been all but deadlocked since U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. Pompeo has pressed for tangible steps toward North Korea’s abandonment of its nuclear arsenal while Pyongyang is demanding that … [Read more...] about North Korea newspaper blasts ‘double-dealing’ U.S. after Pompeo’s trip cancelled
Trump cancels Pompeo’s trip to North Korea over stalled nuclear diplomacy
Trump cancels Pompeo's trip to North Korea over stalled nuclear diplomacy The Saigon Times Daily U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waves to the media before his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the State Department in Washington, U.S., August 8, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled his top diplomat’s planned trip to North Korea on Friday, publicly acknowledging for the first time that his effort to get Pyongyang to denuclearize had stalled since his summit with the North’s leader. Trump partly blamed China for the lack of progress with North Korea and suggested that talks with Pyongyang, led so far by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, could be on hold until after Washington resolved its bitter trade dispute with Beijing. It was a dramatic shift of tone for Trump, who had previously hailed his June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a success and said the North Korean … [Read more...] about Trump cancels Pompeo’s trip to North Korea over stalled nuclear diplomacy