US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun prepares to leave South Korean via Incheon International Airport on Feb. 10. (Yonhap News)

Preparations are moving ahead for the second North Korea-US summit. Following an announcement that the summit will be held on Feb. 27-28, Hanoi, Vietnam, has been confirmed as the location of the summit. After a round of working-level negotiations held in Pyongyang from Feb. 6-8, the two sides agreed to meet again in Hanoi shortly before the summit to make final tweaks to the denuclearization program and corresponding measures. The Blue House indicated that it hopes North Korea and the US will reach a bold agreement, with an official remarking that Seoul doesn’t want the summit to result in a “small deal.”

Shortly after US President Donald Trump tweeted on Feb. 9 that the second summit would be held in Hanoi on Feb. 27-28, US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met with South Korean government officials and politicians to share the results of three days of meetings in Pyongyang with North Korean officials such as Kim Hyok-chol, the State Affairs Commission’s Special Representative for US Affairs. Biegun met in turn with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha; Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs; Chung Eui-yong, director of the Blue House National Security Office; and lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties.

Biegun also attended a luncheon for senior envoys on the North Korean nuclear issue from South Korea, the US and Japan along with Lee Do-hoon and Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.

Biegun says he had a “candid, complete and very concrete” discussion in Pyongyang

During his meeting with Kang, Biegun said that his discussion with North Korea had been “productive.” During a meeting with Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Na Kyung-won, Biegun reportedly said that North Korea had engaged more proactively than in the past. Blue House Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum said on Feb. 10 that Chung Eui-yong had concluded from Biegun’s summary of his visit to North Korea that “overall, the North Korea-US talks are going well.”Biegun was quoted as saying that he hadn’t gone to North Korea to negotiate. “Rather than negotiations in which things are exchanged, Biegun said the two sides had had a beneficial chance for a candid, complete and very concrete discussion about what they’re able to exchange,” Kim Eui-kyum said. The implication is that the meetings offered the two sides a chance to sound each other out in regard to their core areas of disagreement.

The success of the Hanoi joint statement, therefore, will depend on how much of a meaningful agreement can be reached during the two sides’ working-level negotiations during the approximately two weeks that remain before the summit. “They decided that [Biegun and Kim Hyok-chol’s] next round of negotiations will be held in another Asian country during the week beginning on Feb. 17,” Kim Eui-kyum said. The final working-level negotiations are likely to be held in Hanoi, shortly before the summit.

“We have some hard work to do with the DPRK between now and [the summit]. I’m confident that if both sides stay committed we can make real progress here,” Biegun said.

The US is reportedly asking for a roadmap for North Korea’s total denuclearization and the dismantlement of its nuclear and missile programs, including the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, while North Korea is asking for sanctions to be relaxed. The corresponding measures currently being reviewed by the US, sources say, are an end-of-war declaration, the establishment of a North Korea-US liaison office, and the expansion of humanitarian aid, along with preparations for relaxing sanctions and making a large-scale economic investment once denuclearization is complete.

The Vietnam National Convention Center, where the second North Korea-US summit is most likely to be held

Trump promises bright economic future for North Korea

While Trump announced that the summit would be held in Hanoi, he once again promised a bright future for North Korea: “North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, will become a great Economic Powerhouse. [. . .] He may surprise some but he won’t surprise me, because I have gotten to know him & fully understand how capable he is. North Korea will become a different kind of Rocket – an Economic one!”

In connection with this, a key official at the Blue House said that Seoul doesn’t want the second North Korea-US summit to result in a “small deal.” Rather than a minor swap, the official underlined, the summit should produce an agreement about North Korea’s complete denuclearization and the normalization of relations between the two sides. Kim Eui-kyum announced that the leaders of South Korea and the US would soon be discussing the second summit. The Blue House is preparing for a phone call between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are also reportedly scheduled to have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an upcoming multilateral event.

After spending a week, beginning on Feb. 3, shuttling back and forth between Seoul and Pyongyang, Biegun departed from the Korean Peninsula via Incheon International Airport on Feb. 10. After returning to Washington, DC, Biegun plans to brief Pompeo on the results of his visit to North Korea and to prepare for the next working-level negotiations.By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, and Seong Yeon-cheol and Lee Kyung-mi, staff reporters

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

Source: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/881668.html

The post 2nd North Korea-US summit to be held in Hanoi first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Ambassador Shin Bongkil with Senior Editor Shubhajit Roy in The Indian Express newsroom. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)

On June 12, American President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un met in Singapore, in the first summit-level meeting between the leaders of the two nations. While North Korea agreed to complete denuclearisation, Trump returned the favour by stalling all military exercises with South Korea. A career diplomat and an expert on North Korea, South Korean Ambassador Shin Bongkil is optimistic about the developments in the Korean Peninsula. He has also served as a diplomat in China (twice for a total duration of seven years), a country which is playing a pivotal role in shaping North Korea’s relationship with the world

SHUBHAJIT ROY: The meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un was historic. Why do you think North Korea has come to the negotiating table now?

There are a couple of different elements here, one of which is the sincere and genuine effort of South Korean President Moon Jae-in. North Korea knows President Moon’s background and beliefs. So they believed in the sincerity of my President and the new government in Seoul. The second element is that this time the North Korean Leader realized that his country cannot go on in this manner. With such severe sanctions from around the world, particularly with the participation of China, they realized that it was not possible to escape. Also the young Leader, who has experienced the outside world — he spent a couple of years in Switzerland — personally believes that North Korea cannot survive as it is. They need economic development, and that they need to bring prosperity to their own people. The third element is that North Korea has achieved a certain level of nuclear deterrence. Until now, they didn’t have such a deterrence and did not want to come to the table. This time, however, they themselves declared that they have achieved nuclear capability and so they have certain leverage in the game. I’m cautiously optimistic. This time they directly wanted to talk to the US. After the Singapore Summit meeting, in front of the entire world media, they promised denuclearisation.

SHUBHAJIT ROY: The statement released after the Summit talks of complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. However, experts point to lack of phrases such as ‘verifiable’ and ‘irreversible denuclearisation’ in the statement. How do you counter such suspicion regarding North Korea’s intent?

I think the more important thing is trust between the parties. I personally believe that commitment is crucial here. North Korea in talks with President Moon as well as President Trump agreed to complete denuclearisation.

SHUBHAJIT ROY: Post the meeting, President Trump said that he would stop the war games. How do you see that playing out with respect to the South Korean foreign policy?

Yes, the South Korea-US annual military exercise has been suspended. But I think if there is no threat, there is no need for that kind of military exercise. To have an environment for serious negotiation in the future the two sides are showing some kind of sincerity. I think many South Koreans accept that. This type of exercise can be reconvened if either party breaches its promise.

SHUBHAJIT ROY: What do you think of China’s role in this entire exercise? The North Korean Leader recently visited Beijing.

China has an important role to play in ensuring permanent peace in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. Historically, China has been an important player in issues relating to the Korean Peninsula. Even though it established diplomatic relations with North Korea, their bilateral relations were not so good, particularly following the Chinese sanctions. North Koreans were angry with China’s approach. But North Korea needs China. In the negotiations, North Korea needs a guardian. China can play a guardian’s role. I’m more positive of China’s role in this process.

RAKESH SINHA: Will the Summit signal a shift in the power balance in East Asia?

No, I don’t think so. The major stakeholders in Northeast Asia believe in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. For the past two decades South Korea has had very good diplomatic relations with China, and the US and Japan are our allies. North Korea can have a formal relationship with the US and Japan, South Korea’s new government does not oppose it. We are ready to co-exist with North Korea. Earlier, our relationship with the North Korean regime had collapsed. We had a very hard stance towards each other. But if everything goes well, I think the relations will be normal again.

RAVISH TIWARI: Previous commitments by North Korea have failed to improve the situation. Why should the world be optimistic this time?

This time there is political will on all sides — the US, South Korea and North Korea. Previously there were agreements as well, but I don’t believe there was real commitment. But this time, President Moon, President Trump and Kim Jong-un are very serious.

RAVISH TIWARI: The wall between West and East Germany crumbled. What is it that separates North and South Korea today?

When the Berlin Wall crumbled, there was already a long history of exchanges between the two sides. The people on both sides knew each other. The Korean situation is different. There has been a divide for over half-a-century. There were no exchanges between the people. North Korea was a very closed society until now.

We hope for gradual integration between the two sides. Peace is first, unification is next. We have witnessed some changes in North Korea. The market is influencing the situation a lot. We view this change positively. We would like to help them move towards more marketisation. Not regime collapse, but the character of the regime should be different — more democratic in nature. This can lead to political integration in the future. That is South Korea’s present strategy.

“The two countries have agreed that at future sports events the North and the South will play under one flag”, said the South Korea Ambassador. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

ANIL SASI: Both North and South Korea have removed loudspeakers used to broadcast competing propaganda messages across their shared border. Is there any significance of the move beyond symbolism?

I think it is important. North Korea is a very closed society, they do not know much about the real South Korea, and they were hearing these (propaganda) messages. Also, the North Korean leadership was very sensitive about it and they continuously asked to stop it, and so we did it. We hope it can be a conciliatory move and improve relations between the countries.

MIHIR VASAVDA: How do you see the relationship between the two countries on a more personal, people-to-people level?

The North Korean regime made a political statement that Korea is one and should be unified. They blame US imperialism for the division. And yes, most people in the North want unification. The situation in the South, however, is a little different. If we ask the younger people, those in their 20s or 30s, they are okay without unification. Why? They believe that the North is creating problems and that even though we support them economically, they don’t feel any gratitude towards us. (The younger generation feels that North Korea) develops weapons of mass destruction and continuously threatens the South. So there has been this aspect to the public opinion in the South. These days, however, it is changing and the Summit meetings have contributed positively to the change.

MIHIR VASAVDA: At the Winter Olympics we saw both Koreas march under one flag and it is likely to happen at the Asian Games as well. Is there a larger context to it? Will the entire contingent play together under one flag?

Yes, the two countries have agreed that at future sports events the North and the South will play under one flag, and will also cheer the other team. There have been military-level meetings, other high-level meetings between the two countries… So, this will go on as well. The North Korean Leader has already declared on television and radio that the two nations are reconciling. The Summit meeting between Kim Jong-un and Trump was broadcast on North Korean television. It’s quiet a big change.

“Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un don’t want to lose momentum. We should not lose this momentum and if we hasten this process, it has merit.” (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

SHUBHAJIT ROY: What do you make of India’s role in the region? India went along with the sanctions against North Korea and was seen as more favourable towards the South. A month ago, the MoS, External Affairs, visited North Korea, after a gap of almost 20 years.

I look at the developments positively. I think that India, despite being under some kind of pressure from Western countries, maintained its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang. It gave India a kind of leverage to influence North Korea. It was a good thing, we don’t oppose it. India, as a leading global power, has great influence in world politics, it has a voice in the Korean Peninsula issue… India is playing a really constructive role. As far as I know, when North Korea was suffering from famine, India provided food. So it has leverage and some engagement in issues of the Korean Peninsula. It will be helpful in the future.

ABANTIKA GHOSH: Like India is doing with yoga, do you plan to push K-Pop to project your soft power to the world?

Recently, I saw two very interesting photographs in the newspaper. One picture showed people in Paris practising yoga. In another picture I saw people in Seoul practising yoga in the city’s central downtown. So Koreans also have interest in yoga. For a long time, Koreans have been curious about India because in ancient times, almost 2,000 years ago, a Korean king married a princess from Ayodhya. It is mentioned in Korean history books. Some say it’s a myth, others think of it as a fact. Now scholars are trying to find the truth.

I visited Ayodhya and also met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He was enthusiastic about building a Queen Huh Memorial Park. We have been given a big plot inside Ayodhya city to build the park. In the future, we will invite Korean tourists there.

SHUBHAJIT ROY: When Prime Minister Modi went to Seoul in 2015, the relationship was upgraded to ‘special strategic partnership’. What have been the major developments since then?

“The major stakeholders in Northeast Asia believe in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, said the South Korea Ambassador. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

Terms such as ‘special strategic partnership’ are not important. The important thing is that this new administration, compared to previous administrations, emphasises on having a relationship with India. In the past couple of decades, we have been very heavily dependent on our relationship with China, the United States, Japan and Russia — four major powers. For example, our annual trade volume with China is almost USD 250 billion. It is a big amount. We are dependent on China for investments. But China has become quite competitive now, it is a big economic power, and we no more have the kind of relationship that we had earlier (in terms of trade). So we need a new economic partnership and India is growing — economically and politically. There is almost 7 per cent growth rate. India has more potential and the growth rate will jump to double-digits soon. Twenty years ago, China’s growth rate was 12-13 per cent, and India has the potential to reach that kind of growth rate, particularly under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. He is all about development and the diplomatic community sees it very positively.

I hear that PM Modi’s government has pledged that in the near future they will take the economy’s size to USD 5 trillion. That will make India one of the top three economies in the world. I think it’s not just propaganda, it’s possible. Everyone looks at India as a big potential market, an investment destination — you can make products here and export it to other countries. I recently visited Hyundai Motors in Chennai. It is modern and very impressive, better than I thought. Hyundai is competing very strongly with other top car makers. I hear they are the top exporters, much bigger than Maruti Suzuki, Toyota etc. Also, Samsung is expanding its factory here. They are soon going to establish a second factory. Previously, Samsung had its biggest factory in Vietnam but soon the Noida factory will be the largest in the world, smartphone-wise. Samsung also has a big R&D office in Bengaluru. Less than 20 Koreans work there. The rest are Indians, even the top two — the CEO and his deputy. I was surprised. Why say it is a South Korean company? It is an Indian company.

Korean companies are showing a lot of interest in the Indian market and Indian conglomerates are also showing interest in business relationships with Korea, particularly Anil Ambani’s Reliance. Under ‘Make in India’, they will undertake joint ventures and build companies here. Reliance already has an office in Seoul. They are interested in areas such as defence, solar energy, engineering and also finance. So the economic relations are expected to expand in the future.

RAVISH TIWARI: You have spent a lot of time in Beijing. What do you make of China’s global ambitions and does it worry South Korea?

I have stayed in Beijing for almost seven years as a diplomat and I have many friends there. They have a kind of communist system, sometimes authoritarian… They are hardworking people with discipline. All of these have helped drive China’s success story. But there is also a complaint in the society about the big gap between the rich and poor. So there is also a negative side to the rapid economic development.

I think China and India are two countries that should get along well. You are the biggest, most influential, growing powers in the world. It is important that you get along well with China. China can never disregard you. You are such a big power, with big population and democracy. Now everybody respects India.

SHUBHAJIT ROY: Would South Korea like to join the India-US-Japan-Australia Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral in the future?

I think yes… Every country has the right to align themselves with other countries. As far as I know, the relationship of these four countries is not military oriented or aimed at opposing other parties. The Indo-Pacific region is an important area. It should be peaceful. It (the Quadrilateral) reflects the growing power of India in world politics.

AMITAVA CHAKRABORTY: The Singapore Summit is over and the leaders are back home. History has taught us that haste makes waste. How do you see things moving forward in North Korea now?

I think sometimes haste leads to meaningful results as well. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un don’t want to lose momentum. We should not lose this momentum and if we hasten this process, it has merit. My President will visit North Korea in the coming fall.

Of course there will be problems, but the vision of top leaders can bring about a change. We need a political winner. I don’t think this is too hasty. My President is a very patient man. He shares that quality with PM Modi. He has a firm belief in development and is also a visionary. He has the vision to bring peace and stability in the region. Modi is very bold and my President is very bold. They are also very clean politicians.

Muskan Sethi: How important do you think is people-to-people contact, including student exchanges, cultural programmes etc for India and South Korea relations?

I think exchanges between top leaders actually help to promote people-to-people contact. When my President visited India, it was extensively covered by the Korean media and this time, I hear, that more than 200 media people from Korea will accompany him. I think it will be an extensive coverage… Many Koreans have already showed interest in India…We are talking of visa-on-arrival to facilitate tourists.

India has done a lot of positive things like Indian high school textbooks for first time introduced Korean history… Formally there was only China and Japan in East Asia. Now they have introduced Korea. This is an important development… and also, Indira Gandhi National Open University is starting Korean language course from this July.

Avishek G Dastidar: Since we were talking about soft power and people-to-people contact, sports plays an important role in these areas. The football World Cup is underway. How do you view chances of the Korean team winning the football World Cup this time? What is the reason that since 2002 the team hasn’t done very well in the competition?

People’s interests are continuously moving. In 2002, it was sports. When certain countries develop, then people’s interest also diversifies. At that time, more Koreans were focused on soccer…, but now it has changed… Maybe we move on to cricket. We have a cricket national team and I tried to invite it to Delhi and have a competition with your junior team. I pushed it to the Lieutenant Governor and he said that we will invite the team… and have a competition with a team comprising of players selected from the underprivileged section. Sachin (Tendulkar) is a famous cricketer and he could be invited to coach the home team. And they may play in New Delhi’s stadium. Then I asked LG if people will come to see it? They said people will come and we are confident. They may not come to see the Korean national team but they may want to see Sachin. We will have a meagre entrance fee and the money collected will be donated for the underprivileged. I spoke to the Indian foreign ministry to organize it when my President visits India, and Prime Minister Modi and President Moon could attend the match together. Wouldn’t it be a nice picture? But the foreign ministry said it’s a very interesting and nice idea, but too risky… they were not so passionate about it. So I gave it up. We can still bring the Korean national cricket team here. Maybe to compete with high school teams.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/south-korea-shin-bongkil-north-korea-korean-peninsula-kim-jong-un-china-donald-trump-5230656/

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President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan at the White House on June 7. Japan could be left vulnerable depending on the substance of Mr. Trump’s meeting with North Korea about denuclearization.CreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press

TOKYO — Even if Tuesday’s meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, goes well, Japan stands to lose from it in some ways. Despite a last-ditch effort last week by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to play adviser to Mr. Trump before the talks, the American president still seems rather unconcerned by Japan’s long-term strategic interests — actually, its imperatives.

As Mr. Abe put it last week, “first and foremost, we need to seek advancement for the abduction, nuclear and missile programs.” He meant that Japan’s priorities are to obtain the return of all Japanese citizens that North Korea abducted years ago, North Korea’s actual denuclearization and an end to its efforts to develop any missiles, and not just the kind that can reach the United States.

Although the abductee issue is an emotional and sensitive matter in Japan, the government finds itself dependent on third parties to discuss it on its behalf, much like President Moon Jae-in of South Korea reportedly did with Mr. Kim in late April. On this question, and other major matters to do with North Korea, Japan has no choice for now but to try to influence negotiations from the sidelines, or else it risks being left behind altogether.

In the event that Mr. Trump does take up the abduction issue with Mr. Kim for Japan, as he has pledged to do, the North Korean government probably would use the hostages as leverage and release them only for specific gains, as in 2002 when it allowed five Japanese captives to return home in exchange for the promise of economic assistance.

Then there is denuclearization, which means different things to different parties. For Japan, the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear program is essential, as James Mattis, the United States secretary of defense, has said. Verification, the most important prong of this approach, may also be the most difficult to satisfy: It would require North Korea to truthfully reveal the location of all its nuclear sites and fissile material — a very unlikely prospect.

Mr. Kim should be expected to exploit any ambiguity in order to hedge or dither while trying to secure relief from international sanctions. He is playing a long game and has time on his side. Election cycles in the United States, South Korea and Japan are short, but Mr. Kim is unelected and is only in his 30s.

Even if he vows to make what seem like significant commitments toward denuclearization, he will already have accomplished one of his main goals: Just by dint of these talks being held he will have succeeded in getting the United States to, in effect, treat North Korea as a de facto nuclear weapons state.

Denuclearizing North Korea can only be a phased process, for technical reasons, and it could take up to 15 years according to the nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker. Mr. Kim might slow it down further by first proposing, as he has begun to do, a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War to replace the 1953 armistice currently in effect. This, however, would be a dirty peace, especially for Japan, which in the meantime would remain as exposed as ever to a North Korean attack.

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“We’ll be meeting on June 12 in Singapore,” the president confirmed to reporters after hosting an hour-long meeting with a top North Korean official in the Oval Office. Following the announcement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced on Twitter on June 5 that the summit is slated to take place at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island.

In a May 24 letter, Trump announced that he would pull out of the much-anticipated summit.

“Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” Trump said in a letter to Kim, though he thanked the North Korean leader for releasing three American prisoners held in the country.

The next day, Trump tweeted that the two countries are having “productive talks” about reinstating the summit.

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The June 12 meeting in Singapore, the first between heads of the technically still-warring nations, is meant to begin the process of ending North Korea’s nuclear program, and Trump said he believes Kim is committed to that goal. The announcement puts back on track a high-risk summit that could be a legacy-defining moment for the American leader, who has matched his unconventional deal-making style with the mercurial Kim government.

Despite recently envisioning Nobel laurels, Trump worked on Friday to lower expectations for a quick breakthrough.

“We’re going to deal, and we’re going to really start a process,” Trump said. He spoke from the South Lawn of the White House after seeing off a senior Kim deputy who spent more than an hour with him in the Oval Office. Much had been made of a letter his visitor was bringing from the North Korean leader, but Trump’s comments left it unclear when he had even managed to take a look at it.

The president said it was likely that more than a single meeting would be necessary to bring about his goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. He said, “I think you’re going to have a very positive result in the end, not from one meeting.”

In the latest sign of hostility cooling down but hopes kept in check, Trump said he had unilaterally put a hold on hundreds of new sanctions against the North, without Kim’s government even asking. “I’m not going to put them on until such time as the talks break down,” he said.

“I don’t even want to use the term ‘maximum pressure’ anymore,” Trump added, referencing his preferred term for the punishing U.S. economic sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. But he said he would not remove current sanctions until the North took steps to denuclearize.

Trump warmly greeted Kim Yong Chol, the vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party’s central committee, in the Oval Office, where a brief encounter meant for the hand delivery of a personal letter from Kim Jong Un became a longer discussion of areas of disagreement between the two countries.

After the meeting, Trump posed for photos with Kim Yong Chol outside the Oval Office, and they talked amiably at Kim’s black SUV before he was driven away.

Trump told reporters he hadn’t yet read the letter from the North Korean leader and added with a smile, “I may be in for a big surprise, folks.” But minutes earlier, he had described the note as “a very interesting letter,” and teased journalists about revealing its contents.

Later Friday, deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley confirmed that Trump had read the letter, but he did not reveal its contents.

Plans for the meeting in Singapore had been cast into doubt after Trump suddenly announced his withdrawal last week, only to announce a day later that it could still get back on track. White House officials cast the roller-coaster public statements as reflective of efforts by each leader to test the resolve of the other.

Trump cited increasingly bellicose statements from the North – and ignored messages about summit logistics – when he announced he was backing out of the summit in a strongly worded letter. He cited “tremendous anger and open hostility” by Pyongyang but also urged Kim Jong Un to call him. By the next day, he was signaling the event could be back on after a conciliatory response from North Korea.

Within days, three teams of officials in the U.S., Singapore and the Korean demilitarized zone began meeting on preparations for the summit.

Trump has declined to publicly acknowledge whether he’s spoken directly with Kim Jong Un ahead of the talks.

Kim Yong Chol, whisked to the Oval Office by White House chief of staff John Kelly, is the most senior North Korean to visit in 18 years, a symbolic sign of easing tensions after fears of war escalated amid North Korean nuclear and missile tests last year.

Questions remain about what a deal on the North’s nuclear weapons would look like. Trump said Friday he believed Kim Jong Un would agree to denuclearization, but the two countries have offered differing visions of what that entails. Despite Kim’s apparent eagerness for a summit with Trump, there are many doubts that he would fully relinquish his nuclear arsenal, which he may see as his guarantee of survival.

U.S. defense and intelligence officials have repeatedly assessed the North to be on the threshold the capability to strike anywhere in the continental U.S. with a nuclear-tipped missile – a capacity that Trump and other U.S. officials have said they would not tolerate.

Defense ministers from Japan and South Korea offered very different views of the North Korean leader at an international security conference in Singapore. Japan’s defense chief urged caution in dealing with North Korea, while his South Korean counterpart said there was no reason to question the North Korean leader’s sincerity.

Trump has promised that he will provide “protections” for Kim and his government in return for giving up the nuclear program. He also indicated that South Korea, China, and Japan would be prepared to invest in the North to boost its besieged economy.

Kim Yong Chol left his hotel in New York City early Friday for the trip to Washington in a convoy of SUVs. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the former CIA chief who has traveled to North Korea and met with Kim Jong Un twice in the past two months, said he believed the country’s leaders are “contemplating a path forward where they can make a strategic shift, one that their country has not been prepared to make before.”

Kim Yong Chol was allowed into the United States despite being on a U.S. sanctions list, and granted special permission to travel outside the New York area to meet with the president.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Bodeen in Beijing and Matthew Lee in New York contributed.

Source: http://www.hgazette.com/cnhi_network/pressure-grows-on-north-korea-ahead-of-trump-kim-summit/article_2f08e54a-5e15-53b5-902c-01e53bacfd34.html

The post Pressure grows on North Korea ahead of Trump-Kim summit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

“We’ll be meeting on June 12 in Singapore,” the president told reporters after the North Korean emissary left the White House.

He called Friday’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Yong Chol a “great start.” Trump confirmed that the visiting official gave him a personal letter from dictator Kim Jong Un, though he hadn’t yet read it.

Trump spoke to reporters after an extraordinary scene played out on White House grounds, with Trump hosting the North Korean official for over an hour in the Oval Office — the latest gesture in an effort by both sides to get talks back on track after North Korea’s belligerent rhetoric prompted Trump to nix the summit last week.

Trump said the meeting was supposed to just be about “the delivery of a letter” but ended up being a lengthy conversation with the “second most powerful man in North Korea.”

“We talked about a lot of things,” Trump said. “We really did. But the big deal will be on June 12.”

After the meeting, Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo were seen taking photos with the visitors.

Kim Yong Chol is the most senior North Korean visitor to the United States since Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok visited Washington in 2000 to meet President Bill Clinton. He is North Korea’s former military intelligence chief and is one of the North Korean leader’s closest aides.

Trump said they also discussed ending the Korean War between North and South Korea.

“Can you believe that we’re talking about the ending of the Korean War?” Trump told reporters. “We’re talking about 70 years.”

TRUMP-KIM SUMMIT, FROM THE INVITATION TO THE CANCELLATION: A TIMELINE

The official’s arrival in Washington came a day after Pompeo declared that he was confident negotiations with Pyongyang over holding a nuclear summit were “moving in the right direction.”

“Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship, and it would be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste,” Pompeo said in New York after meeting with Kim.

The two countries, eyeing the first summit between the U.S. and the North after six decades of hostility, have also been holding negotiations in Singapore and the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas.

Kim Yong Chol left his hotel in New York City early Friday for the trip to Washington in a convoy of SUVs. Pompeo, the former CIA chief who has traveled to North Korea and met with Kim Jong Un twice in the past two months, said he believed the country’s leaders are “contemplating a path forward where they can make a strategic shift, one that their country has not been prepared to make before.”

Fox News’ John Roberts and Serafin Gomez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/01/trump-says-singapore-summit-with-kim-is-back-on-after-meeting-north-korean-official.html

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Washington (CNN)A US delegation arrived in North Korea on Sunday for preparatory talks ahead of a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said on Sunday.

“Our United States team has arrived in North Korea to make arrangements for the Summit between Kim Jong Un and myself,” Trump tweeted. “I truly believe North Korea has brilliant potential and will be a great economic and financial Nation one day. Kim Jong Un agrees with me on this. It will happen!”

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un believes a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump in Singapore next month could “put an end to the history of war” between the two nations, South Korea’s president said.

Moon Jae-in also said on Sunday that Kim reaffirmed his commitment to “complete” denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula in talks they had at a surprise meeting a day earlier at the demilitarised zone.

“Chairman Kim and I have agreed … our quest for the Korean Peninsula’s denuclearisation and a perpetual peace regime should not be halted,” Moon told reporters.

“He also expressed his intention to put an end to the history of war and confrontation through the success of the North-US summit and to cooperate for peace and prosperity.”

Saturday’s meeting was the latest dramatic turn in a week of diplomatic ups and downs surrounding the prospects for an unprecedented summit between the United States and North Korea, and the strongest sign yet the two Korean leaders are trying to keep the on-again-off-again meeting on track.

‘Moving along very nicely’

A statement from North Korea’s state news agency KCNA on Sunday also said Kim expressed “his fixed will” on the possibility of meeting Trump as previously planned.

Trump, meanwhile, signalled preparations for the June 12 summit with Kim were going ahead, despite having called off the meeting last week.

“We’re doing very well in terms of the summit with North Korea,” Trump said at the White House. “It’s moving along very nicely. So we’re looking at June 12th in Singapore. That hasn’t changed. So, we’ll see what happens.”

Trump rattled the region on Thursday by cancelling his June 12 meeting with Kim in Singapore citing “open hostility” from Pyongyang.

But within 24 hours he reversed course, saying it could still go ahead after productive talks were held with North Korean officials.

‘Complete’ denuclearisation

While maintaining that Kim is committed to denuclearisation, Moon acknowledged Pyongyang and Washington may have differing expectations of what that means, and he urged both sides to hold working-level talks to resolve their differences.

“Even though they share the same resolve, there need to be discussions regarding the roadmap for how to make it happen, and that process could be tough,” he said, declining to define “complete denuclearisation”.

The Trump administration has demanded North Korea completely and irreversibly shutter its nuclear weapons programme. Kim and Trump’s initial decision to meet followed months of war threats and insults between the leaders over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.

American officials are sceptical that Kim will ever fully abandon his nuclear weapons, and Moon said North Korea is not yet convinced it can trust security guarantees from the United States.

A senior South Korean official later said the two Koreas are discussing a possible non-aggression pledge and the start of peace treaty talks as a way of addressing Pyongyang’s security concerns ahead of US-North Korean negotiations.

War’s end?

The Moon-Kim talks at the Panmunjom border village, which South Korean officials said lasted two hours, came after their April 27 meeting, the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade that was also held at the same venue. At that meeting, they declared they would work towards a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

Video and a photo released by South Korea’s presidential Blue House on Saturday showed Kim hugging Moon and kissing him on the cheek three times as he saw Moon off after their meeting at Tongilgak, the North’s building in the truce village, which lies in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) – the 4km wide buffer that runs along the heavily armed military border.

Andrei Lankov, from Kookmin University in Seoul, said North Korea’s fear of what might happen next likely pushed Pyongyang back on track for the summit.

“Donald Trump is seen as a person who can start a war.  And over the last say 48 hours – maybe more – they fear that Donald Trump’s administration is going to cancel the summit and that this will lead to a new escalation of tensions and probably war. This fear has been decisive,” said Lankov.

Stephen Nagy from the International Christian University said Pyongyang is seeking to benefit after achieving nuclear power status.

“I think it’s the North Koreans who have driven this engagement. They’ve consolidated their strategic nuclear deterrent, they’ve decided that they can push through with negotiations – not only with the United States but also with South Korea and re-engage China. They have a clear pathway forward,” he said.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/donald-trump-north-korea-summit-june-12-180527053507290.html

The post Donald Trump: US-North Korea summit back on for June 12 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

“The White House pre-advance team for Singapore will leave as scheduled in order to prepare should the summit take place,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.

President Trump wrote to the North Korean dictator on Thursday, saying the June 12 summit was being nixed after comments by a North Korean official that had threatened nuclear war.

“Based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” Trump wrote in his letter to Kim. “Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place.”

He called the imploded summit a “sad moment in history.”

“You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used,” Trump wrote to Kim. “If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth.”

But on Friday night, Trump tweeted that “very productive talks” about reinstating the summit were underway, and he said that June 12 could still be the date for such a meeting.

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WASHINGTON –  The United States and South Korea are laboring to keep the highly anticipated U.S. summit with North Korea on track, even after President Donald Trump abruptly said “there’s a very substantial chance” it won’t happen as scheduled.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reminded Trump Tuesday of the sky-high stakes, saying, “The fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinge” on the meeting.

The June 12 summit, planned for Singapore, offers a historic chance for peace on the peninsula — but also the risk of an epic diplomatic failure that would allow the North to revive and advance its nuclear weapons program.

U.S. officials say preparations are still underway. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is appearing Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, “We’re driving on.”

Trump’s newfound hesitation appeared to reflect recent setbacks in efforts to bring about reconciliation between the two Koreas, as well as concern whether the self-proclaimed dealmaker can deliver a nuclear accord with the North’s Kim Jong Un.

Seated in the Oval Office with Moon Jae-in Tuesday, Trump said Kim had not met unspecified “conditions” for the summit. However, the president also said he believed Kim was “serious” about negotiations, and Moon expressed “every confidence” in Trump’s ability to hold the summit and bring about peace.

“I have no doubt that you will be able to … accomplish a historic feat that no one had been able to achieve in the decades past,” Moon said.

U.S. officials said preparations for the summit were still underway despite recent pessimism — and privately suggested there would be additional public maneuvering as both sides seek to maximize their leverage. Both parties to the talks are invested in holding the meeting, with Kim seeing an opportunity for international legitimacy and Trump the prospect of securing Korean stability — and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump suggested the summit could be delayed rather than canceled: “It may not work out for June 12, but there is a good chance that we’ll have the meeting.”

He did not detail the conditions he had laid out for Kim but said if they aren’t met, “we won’t have the meeting.” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was referring to a commitment to seriously discuss denuclearization.

Skepticism about the North’s intentions have mounted in recent weeks after Kim’s government pulled out of planned peace talks with the South last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces. The North also threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over U.S. insistence on rapidly denuclearizing the peninsula, issuing a harshly worded statement that the White House dismissed as a negotiating ploy.

Trump expressed suspicion that the North’s recent aggressive barbs were influenced by Kim’s unannounced trip to China two weeks ago — his second in as many months. Trump said he’d noticed “a little change” in Kim’s attitude after the trip.

“I don’t like that,” he said.

The president added that he hoped Chinese President Xi Jinping was actually committed to the goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, calling him a “world-class poker player.” Trump said he was displeased by China’s softening of border enforcement measures against North Korea.

Trump encouraged Kim to focus on the opportunities offered by the meeting and to make a deal to abandon his nuclear program, pledging not only to guarantee Kim’s personal security but also predicting an economic revitalization for the North.

“I will guarantee his safety, yes,” Trump said, noting that promise was conditioned on an agreement to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. Trump said if such an agreement is reached, China, Japan and South Korea would invest large sums to “make North Korea great.”

____

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/05/23/us-south-korea-work-to-keep-north-korea-summit-on-track.html

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