North Korean leader Kim Jong-un means to abolish all nuclear weapons, materials and facilities to achieve “complete” denuclearization, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said yesterday.
Moon also said the North and the US are in working-level discussions to arrange a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump as soon as the US midterm elections are over, according to a script of Moon’s interview with the BBC that was shared by his office.
In the BBC interview, Moon said the actions could include opening a US liaison office in North Korea, humanitarian aid and an exchange of economic experts.
Trump on Tuesday said that his second summit with Kim would be held after US congressional elections on Nov. 6.
Meanwhile, North and South Korea will hold high-level talks on Monday at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss follow-up steps to their recent summit, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said.
At their third summit in Pyongyang last month, Moon and Kim Jong agreed to resume economic cooperation, including relinking railways and roads, and reopening a joint factory park and tours to the North’s Mount Kumgang resort, when conditions are met.
Moon also said Kim said he would invite international experts to watch the dismantling of a key missile site and close the North’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex if Washington took reciprocal actions.
The latest talks are to take place on the south side of Panmunjom within the Demilitarised Zone and be led by the South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon, the ministry said.
The North has yet to confirm its delegation, but previous sessions were steered by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country in charge of cross-border affairs.
“Through the high-level meeting, we will discuss ways to implement the Pyongyang agreement overall and finalize the schedules for follow-on talks on each area,” the ministry said in a statement.
The announcement comes amid US concerns that inter-Korean relations might be warming too fast relative to negotiations to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed “discontent” with an inter-Korean military pact reached during last month’s summit.
The two Koreas agreed in that accord to halt military drills, set up a no-fly zone near the border and gradually remove landmines and guard posts within the Demilitarised Zone, among other steps.
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
‘DOWNSIZE’: The Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US government-funded media outlets in a move critics said could undermine the US’ global influence US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America (VOA) and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after the US Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial and US
RSS