The US is expected to announce its largest package of sanctions yet against North Korea to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs, as South Korea readies itself for more talks with the North’s officials.
Tougher sanctions might jeopardize the latest detente between the two Koreas amid their preparations to create conditions appropriate to hold a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
A senior US official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, called the new penalties “the largest package of new sanctions against the North Korea regime,” without giving details.
Photo: EPA-EFE
US Vice President Mike Pence had hinted at such a plan two weeks ago during a stop in Tokyo that preceded his visit to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Kim said he wants to boost the “warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue” with South Korea after a high-level delegation including his sister returned from the Winter Olympics.
Last year, North Korea conducted dozens of missile launches and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of UN sanctions.
However, it has now been more than two months since its last missile test in late November last year.
The new US sanctions are to be announced while Trump’s daughter Ivanka is visiting South Korea to attend a dinner with Moon and the closing ceremony of the Games.
In addition to the dinner, which is to feature a kosher menu for Ivanka’s dietary restrictions, the Blue House has planned a small traditional Korean music performance for her delegation.
Her visit coincides with that of a sanctioned North Korean official, Kim Yong-chol, blamed for the deadly 2010 sinking of a Republic of Korea Navy vessel that killed 46 sailors. His delegation is also to meet with Moon.
The Blue House has said there are no official opportunities for US and North Korean officials to meet.
Kim Yong-chol is the vice chairman of the North Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee and was previously chief of the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau, a top military intelligence agency which South Korea blamed for the sinking of the navy’s Cheonan.
North Korea has denied any involvement in the sinking.
South Korea yesterday said it approved the Winter Olympic visit by Kim Yong-chol in the pursuit of peace and asked for public understanding.
“Under current difficult circumstances, we have decided to focus on whether peace on the Korean Peninsula and improvement in inter-Korean relations can be derived from dialogue with [the visiting North Korean officials], not on their past or who they are,” South Korean Ministry of Unification spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a media briefing.
A South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country’s spy agency yesterday said that Kim Yong-chol was the “right person” for inter-Korean and denuclearization talks.
“Kim Yong-chol is the top official regarding inter-Korean relations and he is being accepted [here] as the right person to discuss various issues, like easing military tension, improving inter-Korean ties and denuclearization,” South Korean lawmaker Kang Seok-ho told reporters.
Kim Yong-chol currently heads the United Front Department, the North’s office responsible for handling inter-Korean affairs.
South Korea’s decision on Thursday to allow Kim Yong-chol, who has been sanctioned by the US and South Korea, across the border has sparked protest from family members of the dead Cheonan sailors and opposition parties.
About 70 members from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party yesterday staged a protest in front of the presidential Blue House, demanding that the government withdraw its decision.
“President Moon’s decision to accept the North’s facade of peace is a serious issue and it will go down in history as a crime eternal,” the party said in a statement.
A group of family members of those killed in the Cheonan sinking has said it would hold a news conference against the decision today.
Acknowledging public angst over Kim Yong-chol’s pending visit, Baik said the South’s stance that the Cheonan sinking was instigated by the North has not changed.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
RSS