by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Social Round-up, World
Seoul : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold their three-day third summit from September 18 in Pyongyang, Seoul said on Thursday, after their envoy met the North Korean leader.
South Korea’s National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, who led the special delegation to Pyongyang on Wednesday, told this to the media here on Thursday.
Kim and Moon have agreed to hold the new summit to continue strengthening ties and work on the denuclearization of the peninsula, as stipulated in their joint declaration signed in the first inter-Korean summit in April.
They also discussed the complex process of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, Efe news reported.
During the meeting, Kim “reaffirmed his firm commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with not only South Korea but also the US to that end,” Chung said.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, just minutes before the press conference,also published a statement by Kim guaranteeing his pledge to “realise the denuclearization”.
Chung also said that Kim has asked him to deliver a message to US President Donald Trump. However, he did not specify its content.
After Trump and Kim signed a joint declaration in Singapore in June to work towards the denuclearization, in exchange for Washington guaranteeing Pyongyang’s security, the White House has grown impatient over the absence of concrete measures from the regime.
Pyongyang, for its part, demands progress in the signing of a peace treaty to definitively end the inter-Korean conflict in exchange for concrete steps to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, World
Seoul : South Korea and North Korea on Monday agreed to hold a summit meeting of their leaders in Pyongyang in September.
The agreement was made during high-level talks on the northern side of the peace village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas. They, however, did not unveil the date of the meeting, reports Yonhap News Agency.
“We agreed to hold an inter-Korean summit within September in Pyongyang” the two Koreas said in a joint press statement issued after the meeting.
North Korea’s chief delegate, Ri Son-gwon, hinted after the meeting that the two sides agreed on a date but decided not to announce it, only to emphasise that the summit will take place “within September”.
The summit meeting, if held, will mark the third of its kind between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following their face-to-face meetings in April and May.
In the April summit, the two leaders agreed to meet again in Pyongyang some time later this year.
During Monday’s talks, the two Koreas also discussed what has been implemented since their previous summits, especially on their promised efforts to expand cross-border exchanges and cooperation.
“We reviewed the implementation situations of the Panmunjom Declaration and held consultations in a sincere manner on matters related to its more active enforcement,” the two sides said, referring to the agreement reached in the historic April summit.
The talks came amid worries that the denuclearization process seems to have been in a stalemate since the June 12 summit in Singapore between North Korea and the US.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Tokyo : Visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said North Korea had reaffirmed its commitment to denuclearization during his recent trip to Pyongyang.
At a joint press conference here with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Taro Koko and Kang Kyung-wha, Pompeo described his talks in North Korea as “very productive” and these were in “good-faith”, adding that Pyongyang had agreed to the destruction of a missile facility, reports Efe news.
He also said the sanctions against the regime would remain in place until it has completely dismantled its nuclear weapons program.
“While we are encouraged by the progress of these talks, progress alone does not justify relaxing the sanctions regime,” Pompeo said, adding that the road ahead would be difficult and challenging.
Pompeo downplayed criticism by the North Korean foreign minister Gen. Kim Yong-chol, who on Saturday called Washington’s attitude during the negotiations “regrettable” and “gangster-like” and the outcome of the talks “very concerning” in a statement issued hours after the top American diplomat’s departure.
He said Pyongyang understood that the regime’s denuclearization must be complete and verified.
Kim is considered an important figure of North Korean intelligence and was a key player in paving the way for the historic summit in Singapore between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
Pompeo also reiterated the US’ commitment to defending its allies, including South Korea and Japan, and said that Sunday’s trilateral meeting, the third in less than a month, served to strengthen cooperation to ensure the implementation of the agreements signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump at a summit in Singapore last month.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Social Round-up, World
North and South Korea are resuming senior-level peace talks
Panmunjom : A high-level meeting took place between North Korea and South Korea on Friday to discuss steps to implement the agreement reached by their leaders in the April 27 and May 26 summits.
In the meeting, North Korea proposed holding joint events in South Korea to mark the anniversary of the two Koreas’ first-ever summit in 2000, a Unification Ministry official said.
South Korea also proposed opening a liaison office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong as the first step to implement the agreements reached in the April 27 summit, reports Yonhap news agency.
The North shared the need to open such an office as soon as possible, according to the official.
The morning session of the meeting, that started at 10 a.m. at Panmunjom, ended after less than an hour. Both the Koreas will resume their talks in the afternoon.
“The two sides exchanged broad ideas with regard to schedules for talks in each sector, joint events to mark the June 15 summit (held in 2000) and the (opening of) a liaison office. After reviewing each other’s proposals, they agreed to meet again. There appear to be no big differences in their stances,” a ministry official said.
The talks were originally scheduled for May 16, but North Korea abruptly called it off at the last minute, taking issue with joint military drills between South Korea and the US.
In an apparently hastily arranged second inter-Korean summit last week, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to hold high-level talks on June 1.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Pyongyang : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday arrived here in North Korea, amid growing speculation over the possible release of three US detainees, to prepare for the historic talks between Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump.
Pompeo’s arrival coincided with the first trilateral summit between Japan, China and South Korea, who endorsed the agreement signed by Pyongyang and Seoul to achieve complete denuclearisation and long-term peace on the Korean Peninsula, Efe news reported.
Ahead of the surprise visit, the US Secretary of State said he hoped North Korea would “do the right thing” and release three Americans imprisoned in the country.
“We’ve been asking for the release of these detainees for 17 months,” the BBC quoted Pompeo as saying.
A South Korean presidential official told news agency Yonhap that Pyongyang was expected to release the US citizens –Kim Dong-chul, 64, Kim Sang-duk, 58, and Kim Hak-song, about 60, — as a “goodwill gesture” ahead of the summit.
A State Department official travelling with Pompeo said the US would also be “listening for signs from North Korea that things have substantially changed” with the nation’s nuclear ambitions.
Trump on Tuesday referred to Pompeo’s latest visit while announcing the US’ withdrawal from an Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran.
This is Pompeo’s second trip to Pyongyang after meeting with Kim in April.
Pompeo had said that a “good relationship” was formed at that meeting, which marked the highest level of US contact with North Korea since 2000.
At a trilateral summit in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to join forces and focus on an open dialogue with Pyongyang to make it abandon its nuclear arsenal.
In a joint press meet after the summit, Abe stressed the importance of the inter-Korean agreement for peace and stability in the region and said he shares a common stand with Beijing and Seoul that the successive UN resolutions on North Korea should be complied with.
Kim was earlier quoted as saying that he hoped “phased and synchronised” measures would be taken to realise denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.
Li said the dialogue in the peninsula was heading in a good direction and added that all parties should take advantage of this moment to resolve the conflict.
Moon welcomed the strong support from Li and Abe for the “Panmunjom Declaration” signed between Seoul and Pyongyang on April 27, and said he would do everything possible to implement the pact.
This was the first trilateral summit since 2012 and it comes amid a whirlwind of diplomatic activity to finalize preparations for the upcoming Kim-Trump meet.
—IANS
