US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are likely to meet again after the New Year, US Vice President Mike Pence said yesterday, but added that his government would not repeat past mistakes where “promises are broken.”
Trump and Kim in June held a summit in Singapore, where they signed a vaguely worded deal on denuclearization.
North Korea has taken some steps since then — forgoing nuclear and missile tests, dismantling a missile test site and promising to break up the nation’s main nuclear complex if the US makes concessions.
Photo: AFP
However, progress has generally been slow, with the two nations sparring over the exact meaning of the agreement.
Trump has said he hopes to have a second meeting with Kim early next year, but talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a top North Korean official planned for last week, partly to prepare for the meeting, were canceled.
The US said that North Korea axed the talks because they were not ready and Trump said he was in “no rush.”
Speaking in Singapore, Pence said that plans for the second meeting were “ongoing.”
“We believe that the summit will likely occur after the first of the year, but the when and the where of that is still being worked out,” he told reporters. “We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of prior administrations — frankly, both political parties have made over the last several decades — where promises are made, sanctions are lifted, and economic support comes and then promises are broken.”
His comments came after a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of a summit attended by world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強).
Pence at the meeting urged other nations to keep up sanctions pressure on North Korea amid signs that Pyongyang’s traditional trading partners, China and Russia, have eased enforcement.
Seoul has also said it is mulling lifting measures against Pyongyang.
US officials insist on the complete, verified and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula before sanctions are lifted.
North Korea has rejected demands for what it calls “unilateral” disarmament and has instead sought unspecified reciprocal US measures in a gradual process.
It has also called for sanctions to be eased as a reward for coming to the table, saying that Washington’s stance is undermining confidence.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe piled on the pressure in a meeting with ASEAN members, saying that sanctions should be fully enforced.
“He urged ASEAN countries to collaborate on concrete measures such as ship-to-ship transfer of prohibited materials, including fuel,” Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Takeshi Osuga said.
Trump has skipped this week’s Singapore summit, the biggest annual meeting organized by ASEAN, raising new questions about the US’ commitment to Asia.
Taking his place, Pence said that the US’ commitment to the region was “steadfast and enduring.”
“In all that we do the United States seeks collaboration, not control,” he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique