Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he saw no reason to stick to his commitment to suspend long-range nuclear and missile tests and that soon Pyongyang will showcase a “new strategic weapon”.

State media reported yesterday that Kim also argued that talks with the United States are stalled because of Washington’s political interests.  Despite the latest threats, U.S. President Donald J. Trump believes that the North Korean leader will respect the denuclearization agreements.  While Trump has remained silent, United Nations (UN) secretary-general Antonio Guterres says he is “deeply concerned” by Kim’s statements.

The latter, however, seems to leave room for negotiations, since during the last meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party it argued that how much the North will strengthen its “nuclear deterrent” will depend on the future attitude of the United States.  The leader explained that suspending tests on nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) was part of his efforts to build confidence with Washington, which however responded with joint military exercises with South Korea and other sanctions against Pyongyang.

According to Kim, “the real intent of the US is to pursue its political and diplomatic interests while wasting time under the banner of dialogue and negotiations;  at the same time, keep sanctions ”to weaken North Korea.  The dictator also accused the United States of taking a “brigand attitude” in the negotiations, through demands that damage “the fundamental interests of our state”.  Although the lifting of sanctions is necessary for economic development, the North “will never be able to sell its dignity,” said Kim.

The North Korean leader Kim concluded that “there will never be denuclearization on the Korean peninsula” and that the North will continue to develop strategic weapons “until the United States resumes its hostile policy towards North Korea and a mechanism is built.  for the maintenance of lasting peace “.

Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Kim-breaks-agreements-with-the-US-and-announces-a-%27new-strategic-weapon%27-48927.html

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SEOUL (REUTERS) – North Korea warned the United States that agreements made between the two countries’ leaders in Singapore last year could be at risk, blaming the United States for undue pressure to denuclearise, state news agency KCNA said on Tuesday (June 4).

The statement comes as media reports indicated North Korea punished some members of its team that steered negotiations with the United States before a failed summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February.

Nearly a year after Mr Trump and Mr Kim first met in Singapore and signed a four-point joint statement pledging to work towards a new relationship, that agreement could be at risk if the United States does not drop its policy of “only insisting on our unilateral surrender of nuclear weapons”, an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman said in the statement.

North Korea warned that if the United States does not come up with something new “before it is too late”, the joint statement would just turn out to be a “mere blank sheet of paper”.

“The US would be well-advised to change its current method of calculation and respond to our request as soon as possible,” the official said in the statement.

“There is a limit to our patience.”

The summit in Hanoi fell apart when Mr Trump said Mr Kim had failed to offer enough nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles in exchange for lifting international sanctions.

However, North Korea said it was willing to continue to abide by the joint statement as long as the United States finds a constructive approach.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/dont-try-our-patience-north-korea-tells-us-a-year-after-accord

The post Don’t try our patience, North Korea tells US a year after accord signed at Trump-Kim summit in S’pore first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

“The Korean Peninsula peace process has entered the phase of building on the North-US Hanoi summit to prepare for practical results for the next stage,” Moon said at a weekly meeting with senior aides.

President Moon Jae-in presides over the meeting with senior aides at the presidential office on Monday. (Yonhap)

“Now is the time to prepare and push for an inter-Korean summit,” Moon said, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has shown his “will to continue dialogue,” referring to Kim’s policy speech Friday.

Seoul’s presidential office revealed plans to arrange a fourth inter-Korean summit after Moon’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday. Moon and North Korean leader Kim met on three occasions — twice at the border village of Panmunjom and once in Pyongyang — last year.

Moon said his meeting with Trump served to reaffirm cooperation between the allies and to discuss strategies for carrying out the Korean Peninsula peace process.

He added that he had met with top US officials and was able to reaffirm that the allies share the goal of achieving denuclearization and establishing peace on the peninsula through diplomatic means. During the trip, Moon met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton and Vice President Mike Pence.

“President Trump expressed agreement and anticipation for an inter-Korean summit, and expressed that a trilateral summit would be possible if Chairman Kim Jong-un makes a decision,” Moon said. He went on to say that Seoul and Washington will cooperate to establish an environment for a “virtuous circle of inter-Korean and North Korea-US dialogue.”

“As soon as the North is ready, (I) hope that the South and the North can sit together to hold practical and detailed talks on ways to obtain results that go beyond the two North Korea-US summits,” Moon said.

As for the North Korean leader, Kim said he is open to meeting Trump for the third time during his policy speech Friday.

Kim, however, warned that the matter would become harder to resolve if the US does not take a different approach.

“On condition that the US takes the right position, and seeks a method that can be shared with us and offers a third summit, (I) am open to try one more time,” Kim said. He added that if conditions acceptable to both sides are suggested, he would sign the agreement without hesitation.

Trump responded to the statement in a Twitter message, saying that a third summit would be “good” and that his relationship with Kim was “excellent.”

The North Korean leader, however, set the deadline as the end of the year, and stressed that he no longer feels a need to “obsess over a summit with the US.”

In the speech, Kim also hinted at dissatisfaction with Seoul, calling on the South to stop playing the role of facilitator or mediator in the matter but to “become a directly involved party that defends the good of the people.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190415000692

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Screenshot – YouTube

North Korea on Friday promised further negotiations with the United States despite both countries failing to reach a deal at the Hanoi summit in Vietnam the previous day, AFP reported.

Talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam abruptly ended following a disagreement over sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. The two leaders did not issue a joint statement either.

Despite the stalemate, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported that the two leaders had a “constructive and candid exchange”, according to AFP. The agency said that despite “inevitable hardships and difficulties” in forging a new relationship, the Hanoi summit was “successful” and said Kim had promised Trump another meeting.

Trump, during a press meet, said he would “rather do it right than do it fast”. “Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times,” the US president had said.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday reiterated he will work with the United States and North Korea to ensure both countries reach an agreement on denuclearisation, Reuters reported.

“My administration will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea so as to help their talks reach a complete settlement by any means,” Moon said in a speech in Seoul.

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Source: https://scroll.in/latest/915057/us-north-korea-summit-south-korea-says-it-will-work-to-ensure-an-agreement-on-denuclearisation

The post North Korea promises talks with US after both countries fail to reach deal at Hanoi summit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post US Pres. Trump speaks after no deal forged in Hanoi meet with N. Korea’s Kim first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended earlier than expected without an agreement due to North Korean demands to lift U.S.-led sanctions.

Earlier, both Trump and Kim had expressed hope for progress on improving relations and on the key issue of denuclearization, in their talks in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.

“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, but we couldn’t do that … we had to walk away from it,” Trump told reporters after summit talks were cut short.

Both leaders left the venue of their talks without attending a planned lunch together.

The United Nations and the United States ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea when the reclusive state undertook a series of nuclear and missile tests in 2017, cutting off a cash supply.

Failure to reach an agreement marks a setback for Trump, a self-styled deal-maker under pressure at home over his ties to Russia and testimony from Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer, accusing him of breaking the law while in office.

Trump said Cohen “lied a lot” during Congressional testimony in Washington on Wednesday.

While Trump had said he was in “no rush” to strike a deal with North Korea, and wanted to do the right deal with Kim.

The White House had been confident enough to schedule a now canceled “joint agreement signing ceremony” at the conclusion of talks.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/trump-kim-summit-ends-abruptly-with-no-deal-id-rather-do-it-right-than-do-it-fast

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Denuclearization is the key word as President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met face-to-face Wednesday for the second summit in Vietnam.

Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass told FOX Business’ Liz Claman Opens a New Window.that there is “zero chance, not .001, but zero chance that Kim will bend to denuclearize.”

According to Haass, North Korea will not denuclearize because such weapons guarantees the Hermit Kingdom’s security and it’s their calling card.

He also added that the president should work towards dismantling a few facilities by demanding a full accounting of what the North Koreans have in its weaponry production facilities. Haass noted that it is vital to create a time schedule where North Korea would gradually get rid of their weapons in exchange for the United States relaxing sanctions.

Talks between Trump and Kim Jong-Un are scheduled to continue until Thursday.

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/zero-chance-kim-jong-un-will-denuclearize-cfrs-richard-haass

The post Zero chance Kim Jong Un will denuclearize: CFR’s Richard Haass first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

HANOI, Vietnam — President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will get a second chance to make a deal when they meet for the second time Wednesday in the Vietnamese capital.

But the two-day summit will take place against a backdrop of warnings from intelligence officials and experts that the North is unwilling to relinquish its nuclear weapons, which it sees as key to regime survival.

That leaves little chance for a breakthrough. Even the Trump administration has sought to manage expectations, with the president saying he won’t lift sanctions and is in no rush to reach a deal.

China’s Foreign Ministry urged the two sides to “meet each other halfway.”

The third-generation North Korean leader rode into Hanoi on Tuesday in an armored limousine surrounded by motorcycle police as crowds lined up behind barricades and cheered.

He transferred to the limo after a nearly three-day, 2,500-mile train journey from Pyongyang through China to the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from a car after arriving by train in Dong Dang in Vietnamese border town Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, ahead of his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.  MINH HOANG/AP

His entourage included North Korean lead nuclear negotiator Kim Yong Chol, his powerful sister Kim Yo Jong and other high-ranking officials, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Trump was to arrive by plane later Tuesday. The summit was expected to begin Wednesday evening with a private dinner, followed by a series of official meetings on Thursday.

The pomp surrounding the summit also provides Trump an escape from Washington as his former attorney and confidant Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify at a closed-door hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday in Washington.

Cohen will answer questions about his involvement in plans to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow as well as whether the president directed him to lie to Congress.

In Hanoi, Trump faces pressure to wrest concrete commitments from Kim after their first summit on June 12 ended with a vaguely worded agreement to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Here’s a look at what may be on the table:

Nuclear facilities

North Korea argues that it already has taken steps by suspending nuclear and missile tests and blowing up its main nuclear-testing facility. Kim also offered to dismantle the nuclear material production facility of Yongbyon if the United States takes “corresponding measures.”

The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, said earlier this month that Pyongyang pledged to destroy all its plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities in exchange for reciprocal moves. Biegun also said that Pyongyang must provide a complete list of its nuclear assets before any deal can be reached. Any such deal would raise questions about verification. Past talks have collapsed over the issue of inspections.

End-of-war declaration

The 1950-53 Korean War, which pitted the U.S. and South Korea against the Chinese-backed North, ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty. The North wants an end-of-war declaration, which would be the first step toward a formal peace treaty. The actual treaty would have to be signed by China, the U.S.-led United Nations Command and North Korea. But Washington has long said it wouldn’t begin the process until final, irreversible denuclearization is achieved. The U.S. concern is that a move toward a peace agreement would undercut the justification for maintaining some 28,500 American troops on the divided peninsula.

International sanctions

The United States and the U.N. Security Council have imposed punishing economic sanctions against the North for banned nuclear weapons development. Nobody expects Trump to agree to lift the measures, but experts say the U.S. could allow more exemptions for humanitarian needs and inter-Korean economic projects. The Trump administration, however, has insisted it will maintain its “maximum pressure campaign” until denuclearization is achieved.

Military exercises

Trump surprised the international community and many of his aides when he announced he was suspending joint military exercises with South Korea, which have long been a lynchpin of the alliance. The next major drills are reportedly expected to begin Monday on a smaller scale, but officials have declined to confirm that until after the summit. North Korea hates the drills, which it considers rehearsals for an invasion. Experts say Kim may also push for Washington to agree to ease up on the deployment of so-called strategic assets such as aircraft carriers and supersonic bombers to the divided peninsula.

gamel.kim@stripes.com
Twitter: @kimgamel

Source: https://www.stripes.com/news/trump-kim-get-second-chance-to-make-deal-but-expectations-low-amid-doubts-n-korea-will-surrender-nukes-1.570437

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Nine months after they first met in Singapore, Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, the US president, will come together again this week for a high-stakes summit.

They hope to overcome an impasse on how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. But what is really driving the two leaders to a level of rapprochement unthinkable just two years ago?

Trump staking political capital on a win

Donald Trump’s trip to Vietnam reflects a growing reality in the last two years of his first term that foreign policy, not domestic legislation, offers him the best chance of ‘wins’ he can sell at the 2020 election.

The US president delivered on a string of campaign promises at home in his first two years – a $1.5 trillion tax cut, tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, two Supreme Court judges and surge in military spending.

But the early weeks of a newly divided Congress, with the Democrats holding the House of Representatives, have seen his demand for border wall cash fall on deaf ears and underlined the new political reality on Capitol Hill.

Mr Trump’s national emergency may be stuck in the courts for months and there is little sign his call for bipartisan legislation to reduce drug prices or approve new infrastructure spending will be taken up any time soon.

Easing sanctions without hard commitments towards denuclearisation would likely be seen as a win for North Korea back home. Declaring peace could undermine the position of US troops stationed in South Korea.

Much of the debate boils down to this: which is most driving Mr Trump’s behaviour? The desire to secure long-lasting peace on the Korean peninsula? Or the wish to produce tangible ‘wins’ that can be touted on the re-election campaign trail?

Critics say the latter is too prominent in the president’s mind and this colours his decision-making during the summit. Mr Trump insists he is in no rush to see North Korea denuclearise and still holds all the cards.

Hanoi will provide clues as to which side is winning.

Kim playing to a domestic audience

On the streets of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, government posters extolling the virtues of a strong economy are a constant reminder that Kim Jong-un’s priority has firmly shifted towards economic development after declaring last year that his nuclear weapons programme is complete. 

His frustration with ongoing US-led sanctions that are dampening his regime’s economic progress caused talks with Washington to stall last year, and Kim has already cautioned that America’s refusal to make any concessions would be a deal-breaker.

In a New Year’s speech that focused largely on the domestic economy and technological advancement, he issued a blunt warning that Pyongyang would simply choose a “new path” if Washington tried to corner North Korea into unilateral nuclear disarmament without taking “corresponding” measures.

A shift in the US position would allow talks to proceed at “an excellent and fast pace” he promised. The messaging from Pyongyang, putting the onus on Washington to act, has remained consistent since the Singapore summit last June.

Kim not only wants to be treated by Mr Trump as an equal on the global stage, but he knows that the stakes are high domestically if he fails to modernize his impoverished pariah regime.

In North Korea the Kim family are treated like deities CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND/THE TELEGRAPH

In a Telegraph interview last November, Ri Gi Song, one of the country’s leading economists candidly admitted that without harsh sanctions “our development pace would be much faster than now”.

Reports last week of the recent purging of 50-70 of the Pyongyang elite, through assets seizure, exile, imprisonment or execution, reveal the regime’s ongoing capacity for cruelty to keep its citizens in check.

In his isolated nation, Kim and his forefathers are still revered as deities, but the young leader cannot hold back the reach of the global internet and modernization indefinitely.

He must also win the loyalty of his subjects through improving their standard of living. Basic food shortages that are expected to lead to ration cuts this year are adding to the pressure. 

Kim’s ambitious plans to develop a massive tourism complex in the eastern city of Wonsan, a long-term urban development plan in Simuijin, a city on the border with China, or to enter joint business ventures with the South at the Kaesong industrial park, are all contingent on the removal of sanctions.

Mr Trump may have already raised Kim’s expectations of easing the economic squeeze on his regime, suggesting on Wednesday that sanctions could be scaled back if Pyongyang does “something meaningful” in return.

The president’s declaration that he now has “no pressing time schedule” for North Korea to relinquish its nuclear arsenal is a remarkable shift in tone from White House demands pre-Singapore for a rapid commitment to “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation”.

It may also be an indication that Kim’s gamble to develop his nuclear weapons programme as leverage to secure his regime has paid off, and that his nukes are here to stay.

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Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/26/analysis-inside-heads-kim-jong-un-donald-trump-hanoi-summit/

[Disclaimer]

The post Analysis: Inside the heads of Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump at the Hanoi summit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

“We broke the Iran nuclear agreement, which was putting Iran on a pathway to nuclear weapons, and we destroyed the (ISIS) caliphate and we have the Taliban at the table in Afghanistan,” the South Carolina Republican told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”  “We have been strong in the face of adversity. Donald Trump has been the opposite of Barack Obama.”

Now, it’s time to close the deal, said Graham, and Trump is right to want North Korea to denuclearize, as other countries in the region do not have nuclear weapons.

“My hope is that we will set a plan out where you can denuclearize and get the benefit of security and peace and stability in North Korea,” said Graham. “We won’t have a nuclear threat.”

Meanwhile, there is a push underway under Trump’s emergency declaration on border security, but Graham said he is 100 percent with Trump.

“Trump sent troops to the border,” said Graham. “Obama sent troops to the border. Bush sent troops. What’s the difference of sending troops or having them build a barrier when they are there?  He has all the power under the statute and as commander in chief to send troops to erect barriers. We are safer with a secure border.”

Source: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/lindsey-graham-denuclearization-kim-jong-un/2019/02/22/id/903927/

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