South Korea - Page 19

When South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said on Wednesday her government was thinking about lifting some sanctions on North Korea, there were fears even a purely symbolic gesture along those lines could weaken the international coalition allied against North Korea’s nuclear missile program. Right on cue, Chinese state media jumped in and encouraged Seoul to lift unilateral sanctions as quickly as possible in a gesture of fellowship with Pyongyang and defiance toward Washington.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Thursday contradicted controversial statements made by the foreign minister to parliament the previous day and said there are no plans to lift sanctions against North Korea imposed after the sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan in 2010.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers on Wednesday the administration of President Moon Jae-in is considering proposals to lift sanctions against North Korea as a reward for improved relations on the peninsula.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly invited Pope Francis to visit Pyongyang, South Korea’s presidential office revealed on Tuesday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made unspecified progress Sunday toward an agreement for the North to give up its nuclear weapons, though there was no immediate indication whether Pompeo had managed to arrange a much-anticipated second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.

Japan withdrew on Friday from an international naval review scheduled for next week because South Korea asked that Japan not fly the “Rising Sun” flag on its ships. The Koreans see the flag as symbolic of Imperial Japan’s atrocities in World War II, but Japan said its ships are required by law to fly it.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told the Washington Post in remarks published Wednesday that Seoul is seeking to convince the United States and North Korea to exchange the shutdown of Pyongyang’s Yongbyon nuclear research site for a peace treaty to end the Korean War.

A top South Korean official told lawmakers on Monday that Kim Jong-un’s regime in North Korea is estimated to have up to 60 nuclear weapons, in Seoul’s first public admission about the size of the Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.

North Korea’s state-run KCNA news service declared on Tuesday that a peace treaty to formally conclude the Korean War “can never be a bargaining chip” for ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and suggested the United States must decide if it truly wants a treaty.

South Korea’s Yonhap News on Monday noticed North Korea’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun lavishing extraordinary praise on China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, an international infrastructure program China has invested a great deal of pride and money in.

North Korea’s state newspaper Rodong Sinmun opened the month of October with a stern warning to readers that America’s “bourgeois ideology and culture” was a “constant danger” to the country, just days after a senior communist official declared to the United Nations that the country would never unilaterally abandon nuclear weapons.

President Donald Trump on Saturday hit out at countries that rely on the U.S. “subsidizing” their military capabilities, pointing to Saudi Arabia, as well as Japan and South Korea as culprits. In doing so he linked them to NATO allies in Europe that rely on U.S. defense capabilities while neglecting their own.

A South Korean tour company appears set to be the first in the nation to organize trips to North Korea, according to a report by the nation’s Yonhap news agency Friday.

The South Korean destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great sailed close to the disputed Paracel Islands in mid-September, irritating the Chinese even though South Korean officials say the ship was merely seeking refuge from a typhoon.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, as world leaders often do. The encounter began on a high note but turned sour with an argument over the “comfort women” issue that has divided South Korea and Japan for many years.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, expressing thanks to the United States, United Nations, and various international organizations for helping to create an opportunity for lasting peace between North and South Korea.

“From day one I promised the American people that I would renegotiate our trade deals to ensure that our agreements were fair and reciprocal,” Trump said during his remarks.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in New York on Sunday to attend the U.N. General Assembly and hold a bilateral summit meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Moon is eager to set up a second meeting between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. President Trump indicated on Monday such a meeting could occur “quite soon.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Thursday that America’s stance on negotiations with North Korea has not changed regarding denuclearization and that Washington would take no “corresponding measures” to please Pyongyang before the communist rogue state fully dismantles its illegal nuclear program.

As the third summit meeting between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in drew to a close, officials from the Trump administration signaled the United States is ready to resume discussions about eliminating North Korea’s nuclear program.

President Moon Jae-in and wife Kim Jung-sook made a final stop on their three-day trip to North Korea on Thursday to climb Mount Paektu, the highest peak in the Koreas.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in told reporters following his return to Seoul from North Korea Thursday that he hopes to see all participants in the Korean War sign a peace treaty by the end of the year.

North and South Korean military officials agreed on Wednesday to conduct joint searches for the remains of Korean War soldiers, the first such cooperative project undertaken since the end of the war in 1953.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s third summit meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, held in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, produced an offer on Wednesday for Kim to visit South Korea “in the near future.”

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in signed an agreement Wednesday to “get rid of all threats in every part of the country that could spark war,” according to Moon, and potentially limit North Korea’s nuclear development in exchange for unspecified rewards.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un credited his meeting in June with President Donald Trump for “stabilizing” Asia while greeting his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on Tuesday in Pyongyang.

Leftist South Korean President Moon Jae-in landed in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday morning local time to a fervent crowd and a hug from dictator Kim Jong-un, who thanked him for continuing talks with the rogue regime even as no evidence surfaces that Kim has shut down his illegal nuclear weapons program.

Leftist South Korean President Moon Jae-in has assembled an entourage of over 200 big business CEOs, pop stars, politicians, and journalists to accompany him to Pyongyang on Tuesday for his third summit this year with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

The governments of North and South Korea announced on Friday that they had agreed to open two liaison offices, one for each country, on their mutual border that would allow for “round-the-clock communication.” The offices will be located in the same building.

The government of South Korea downplayed the high financial cost of diplomacy with North Korea on Wednesday, as opposition lawmakers argue they are spending excessively to appease the communist regime.

Authorities in South Korea have vowed to “make an example” of a dozen music students who allegedly gained weight to avoid having to do the country’s mandatory military service. 

China is continuing to undermine international sanctions on North Korea by increasing trade with their close communist ally, NBC News revealed in a report Wednesday.

South Korea’s special envoy to the North, Chung Eun-yong, met with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Wednesday and said the North Korean dictator wants to denuclearize during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term. Chung said Kim professed “unwavering trust for President Trump” despite recent diplomatic tensions between the United States and North Korea.

The North Korean communist regime – through state media, ministry statements, and words attributed to dictator Kim Jong-un – changed its approach towards the United States on Thursday, urging President Donald Trump to restart denuclearization talks.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un met with a special delegation representing South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, continuing ongoing talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

An NGO specializing in the proliferation of cluster bombs released a report Thursday at the United Nations accusing the communist government of North Korea of continuing to build and stockpile the weapons.