North Korea has no intention of meeting U.S. officials during the Winter Olympics that start in South Korea on Friday, state media said, dampening hopes the Games will help resolve a tense standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons program. However, the North’s high-ranking delegation, including the younger sister of its leader Kim Jong Un, will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in and have lunch with him on Saturday. Such a meeting would be the first such event between a South Korean head of state and a member of the Kim family since a 2007 summit meeting of Kim Jong Il and late South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who has described North Korea as the world’s most tyrannical regime, spoke with Moon on Thursday ahead of the opening ceremony in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the heavily armed border with the reclusive North. Friday’s ceremony will be attended by North Korea’s delegation, including its nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North’s leader, and her entourage, will travel by private jet to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport on Friday, North Korea told the South. “We have never begged for dialogue with the U.S. nor in the future, too,” the North’s KCNA news agency said, citing Jo Yong Sam, a director-general in the North’s foreign ministry. “Explicitly speaking, we have no intention to meet with the U.S. side during the stay in South Korea …… [Read full story]
North Korea said it may delay a much-criticised rocket launch originally scheduled for as early as Monday, as analysts say its efforts to mark a key anniversary were hampered by technical troubles. Photo: AFP Scientists were "now seriously examining the issue of readjusting the launching time of the satellite for some reasons", the Korean Committee of Space Technology said in a statement carried by state media Sunday. The committee gave no further details. Analysts said technical problems or snow, rather than overseas political pressure, are likely to be behind the delay in what the North calls a satellite launch, originally…... [read more]
The missile flew about 500 kilometers (310.69 miles), reaching an altitude of 560 km, and landed in waters off the North's east coast, South Korea's military said on Sunday. North Korea said on Monday it has successfully tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile to confirm the reliability of the late-stage guidance of the nuclear warhead, indicating further advances in the ability to hit U.S. targets. The North's KCNA news agency said leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test which also verified the functioning of the solid-fuel engine for the Pukguksong-2 missile and ordered it for deployment in field action. North Korea…... [read more]
A U.S. Treasury official arrived in Beijing Sunday for talks with N.Korea on a U.S. financial crackdown, and Japan's Foreign Minister said six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons could resume in 12 days. Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, last held talks with North Korean officials in December, when the two sides traded arguments over the U.S. financial crackdown. Pyongyang has cited the crackdown as a reason for stonewalling the six-party disarmament talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia. "I'm looking forward to some productive meetings picking up…... [read more]
North Korea said Tuesday it would strengthen its nuclear deterrent in response to US military threats and is prepared for both dialogue and war with Washington. The comments from a foreign ministry spokesman follow Monday's launch of a major US and South Korean military exercise which the North depicts as a rehearsal for invasion. On Monday the communist state said it had ordered its military on full alert and announced readiness to "blow up" South Korean facilities. The US and South Korea say the annual Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise, which involves 18,000 American and 20,000 South Korean troops, is defensive.…... [read more]
SEOUL ' North Korea has agreed to meet South Korean private groups for talks about aid following deadly floods, officials said on Thursday. The North's Council for National Reconciliation sent a message last week to the South's non-governmental organisations accepting their offer of discussions, the South's unification ministry said. An official of South's Korea NGO Council for Co-operation (KNCC) with North Korea said they plan to visit Kaesong city just across the border for the meeting on Friday. The ministry, which must by law authorise all cross-border contacts, said it was still considering whether to allow the visit. KNCC said…... [read more]
