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North, South Korea agree to reconnect roads, rail amid US concern over easing sanctions

Reuters via CNBC — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 07:23:52 +0000

North and South Korea have agreed to reconnect road and rail links.
The two countries said in a statement that they will carry out joint transport surveys later this month.
U.S. concern exists over any easing of sanctions while the DPRK continues to progress its nuclear program.

Korea Summit Press | Getty Images

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) walk after the official welcome ceremony for the Inter-Korean Summit on April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea.

North and South Korea agreed on Monday to begin reconnecting rail and road links, another step in an improving relationship that has raised U.S. concern about the possible undermining of its bid to press the North to give up its nuclear program.

The agreement on transport links came during talks in the border village of Panmunjom aimed at following up on the third summit this year between South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, last month.

“The South and North reached the agreement after sincerely discussing action plans to develop inter-Korean relations to a new, higher stage,” said a joint statement released by the South’s Unification Ministry.

They agreed to hold ceremonies in late November or early December to inaugurate work on reconnecting the railways and roads that have been cut since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two sides will carry out joint field studies on the transport plans from late this month, according to the statement.

They also agreed to discuss late this month a plan to pursue a bid to co-host the 2032 Olympic Games, and to explore in November ways to restart webcam reunions and video exchanges for families separated by the Korean War.

Military officials from both sides are to meet “in the near future” to craft follow-on steps to a military pact struck at last month’s summit. The accord includes the reinstatement of a joint military commission, the halting of military exercises, a no-fly zone near their border and the gradual removal of landmines and guard posts within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Meetings will also be held on reforestation on Oct. 22, and on health and disease prevention in late October at a joint liaison office opened last month in the North’s border city of Kaesong.

The talks were led by the South’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the North’s committee for peaceful reunification that handles cross-border affairs.

“We are at a very critical moment for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the advancement of inter-Korean relations, and there’s also a second North Korea-U.S. summit coming up,” Cho told reporters before leaving for Panmunjom.

In June, Kim met U.S. President Donald Trump in an unprecedented summit in Singapore and the two sides are arranging a second meeting, which Trump said was likely after U.S. congressional elections on Nov. 6.

Despite the meeting between Kim and Trump, Washington is still pursuing a policy of “maximum pressure” to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapon and ballistic missiles that Pyongyang says can hit the continental United States.

US concerns

The thaw in ties between the neighbors has sparked U.S. concerns that it may be outpacing negotiations to dismantle the North’s nuclear and missile programs.

In August, a joint inspection plan for the rail project was scrapped after the United Nations Command (UNC), which overlaps with U.S. forces in the South and oversees affairs in the DMZ, refused passage for a test train, military sources said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed “discontent” over the inter-Korean military agreement, South Korea’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said last week.

Kang’s remarks amounted to a rare confirmation of discord between Seoul and Washington, though the allies have said they remain in lockstep on North Korea.

Saul Loeb | Getty

US President Donald Trump (2nd R) and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (2nd L) sign documents as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and the North Korean leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong (L) look on at a signing ceremony during their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

In final remarks on Monday, the North struck a sour note, with Ri blaming Seoul for hurdles in implementing their pacts.

“If we look back at the projects we have been carrying out so far, there are problems that should be fixed, and the South side knows better,” Ri said, without elaborating.

Asked later about the remarks, Cho said there was no “special background” but attributed delays in the rail and road initiative and other cultural exchanges to “each other’s circumstances”.

The rail and road initiative and the joint Olympics bid were agreed by Moon and Kim at their latest summit, in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Moon also said the North would permanently abolish key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts.

Trump said on Wednesday South Korea would not lift sanctions on North Korea without U.S. approval.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/15/north-south-korea-agree-to-reconnect-roads-rail-us-concern-rises.html

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N. Korea denuclearization plan vague, but talks with US likely to proceed

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 20:39:00 +0000

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, attend their summit as South Korea’s National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, second from left, and North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, Kim Yong Chol, second from right, sit at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. (Pyongyang Press Corps Pool via AP)

SEOUL — While North Korean leader Kim Jong Un emphasized his eagerness to denuclearize at a joint press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang on Sept. 19, details of exactly what steps would be taken were limited and no clear measures to rebuild trust with Washington were mentioned.

Kim told the press that he will make efforts to turn the Korean Peninsula into “a land of peace without nuclear weapons or nuclear threats.” As roaring applause rose from the audience, Kim looked around and joined in the clapping with apparent satisfaction.

Earlier in April when he met with Moon in Panmunjom, on the border between the North and South, Kim did not mention denuclearization directly at the press conference. Although the Panmunjom Declaration referred to “complete denuclearization,” its omission from Kim’s speech at the news conference led some observers to believe the North Korean leader was not serious about getting rid of his nuclear weapons and facilities.

This time, he uttered the key word in front of TV cameras broadcasting his image and speech worldwide. Kim succeeded in presenting his position of promoting denuclearization, and is expected to receive positive responses from the international community.

However, denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula had already been agreed upon — not only between Pyongyang and Seoul, but between Pyongyang and Washington. The focus of attention this time, therefore, was how far Kim would go in proposing new detailed steps toward this goal. Another key point of the North-South summit was whether Kim would list the country’s nuclear weapons and facilities, which was of particular interest to the United States.

The joint declaration from the latest summit states that North Korea agrees to permanently dismantle its missile engine test facility and missile launch tower in Dongchangri, in the northwestern part of the country, in the presence of experts from countries concerned. This step, however, is considered almost identical to a revelation made after Kim’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June, in which the North Korean leader pledged that he would dismantle a missile engine test site.

Moreover, it is not clear if “experts from countries concerned” would actually be invited to witness the demolition work, if precedents serve as any guide. When North Korea blew up shafts leading to its underground nuclear test sites in Punggyeri in the northeast in May, the country did not invite American and South Korean experts as promised. Only a limited number of international reporters were allowed to witness the scene.

The joint declaration this time also says that North Korea intends to take more steps to dismantle its nuclear program, including permanently dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear facility. However, this promise is on the condition that the U.S. takes “corresponding measures.”

The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, stated in its Sept. 18 edition that the United States is “wholly responsible” for the bogged down state of denuclearization negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington. The government mouthpiece also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the United States for demanding that North Korea denuclearize first.

Judging from what Kim told the joint press conference on Sept. 19, it is clear that North Korea wants to continue its dialogue policy, which began with the North-South summit in April and the U.S.-North Korea summit in June. This is because Pyongyang has judged it vital to have a stable international environment, along with active economic exchange with China and South Korea, if it is to focuses on building its economy.

However, the latest summit did not reveal how far North Korea is willing to go toward denuclearization. There was no mention of naming the nuclear weapons and facilities in the country, a vital first step for any meaningful process to get rid of a nuclear program.

Professor Kim Guen-sik of Kyungnam University, a South Korean specialist on North Korea, pointed out that Kim Jong Un “just repeated his existing position when it comes to the nuclear issue.”

But even then, the U.S. appeared to be positive about the outcome of the North-South summit.

“Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations,” Trump tweeted after the announcement of the joint declaration on Sept. 19. “Also, North and South Korea will file a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympics. Very exciting!”

Since the joint declaration did not mention North Korea accepting “nuclear inspections,” the basis of President Trump’s tweet is unclear. The American leader apparently wants to play up this diplomatic achievement before the November U.S. Congressional midterm elections.

After the June summit between Trump and Kim, American administration officials became skeptical of Pyongyang’s commitment to denuclearization, resulting in negotiations hitting a wall. But Trump’s positive response to the latest development suggests that talks may now restart.

“What the United States needs to be looking for right now are genuine steps from the North Koreans that indicate a willingness to move the process forward,” Michael Fuchs, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told CNN. “If North Korea is genuinely willing to close down Yongbyon and to allow in inspectors … those are just partial steps, but those are genuine steps forward.”

At the joint press conference on Sept. 19, President Moon emphasized the historic importance of South and North Korea agreeing on measures for denuclearization for the first time. “Complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is not far away,” he said. Meanwhile, Moon’s chief presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan explained that the denuclearization process “has entered the implementation phase,” as North Korea indicated its intention to shutter the Yongbyon facility.

Both Washington and Seoul appear positive about the outcome of the latest summit. The denuclearization measures incorporated in the joint declaration, however, were fairly limited. The declaration focused on preventing the production of “future nukes” by getting rid of means to develop new nuclear weapons, but did not say what will be done with existing weapons — a point the United States is demanding North Korea clarify.

Yoon told reporters that the issue of existing weapons is something Washington and Pyongyang need to discuss. He added that President Moon will report to President Trump in their Sept. 24 meeting “information that has not been revealed so far,” suggesting that Kim Jong Un also indicated other new measures concerning nuclear weapons.

According to South Korea, the two Koreas hope that inviting international observers to the demolition of the missile engine test facility in Dongchangri will spur negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.

The Pyongyang Press Corps, which covered the summit, reported that Chung Eui-yong, director of the South Korean national security office who accompanied Moon to Pyongyang, told reporters that North Korea agreed to the “observation” of the demolition process by the international community, including the United States.

The definition of “observation” for North Korea could possibly be less intensive than the inspections or verifications considered necessary by the international community. Still, Chung pointed out that such a step “would help ease the international community’s distrust of North Korea for only seeming to take steps toward denuclearization for show.”

(Japanese original by Chiharu Shibue and Akiko Horiyama, Seoul Bureau; and Atsushi Iwasa, Foreign News Department)

Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180920/p2a/00m/0na/024000c

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