Chinese Emperor President Xi has decided to make a visit to the vassal allied state of North Korea this week:
This photo printed in the Jan. 10, 2019, edition of North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) posing for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 8.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to North Korea this week, the North’s state media reported Monday, marking his first trip to Pyongyang since becoming president.
Xi is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to North Korea from Thursday at the invitation of its leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
It will be the first visit by a Chinese leader to its communist neighbor in 14 years. Though Xi visited North Korea in 2008, he was China’s vice president at that time.
You can read more at the link, but this could be a sign that Kim Jong-un is preparing to agree to another summit with President Trump because Kim has traveled to China before other summits with the U.S. President.
N.K. leader offers condolences over former first lady’s death A condolence message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rests on a memorial altar at a Seoul hospital on June 12, 2019, for Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung. Lee died on June 10 at age 96. Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, delivered the condolence message and a wreath of condolence flowers to Chung Eui-yong, head of South Korea’s presidential National Security Office, and Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace at Tongilgak, a North Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone, the same day. (Yonhap)
It looks like President Trump is continuing his charm offensive with Kim Jong-un:
President Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday before departing for a trip to Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Trump promised he wouldn’t allow the CIA to use spies against North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after reports surfaced that Kim’s half brother had been a U.S. intelligence asset before he was assassinated in Malaysia. Kim Jong Nam was killed in February 2017 — allegedly while he was en route to meet a CIA contact — by two women who sprayed a nerve agent in his face. U.S. officials quickly placed the blame for the killing on North Korea. Trump, speaking to reporters on the White House lawn Tuesday before leaving on a campaign trip to Iowa, was asked about Kim Jong Nam’s spying, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t know, I have not heard about that,” the president said, before contradicting himself and assuring Kim Jong Un that his administration wouldn’t do anything so underhanded. “I saw the information about the CIA with respect to his brother or half brother, and I would tell him that would not happen under my auspices, that’s for sure,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t let that happen under my auspices.”
There have been so many false reports about the North Korean regime I find this report to be just another likely click bait headline:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly executed a general accused of plotting a coup by throwing him into a piranha-filled fish tank. The unnamed general was said to be the latest victim of the dictatorial leader, who has executed numerous aides, including his envoy to the US in May. The general was allegedly killed inside a giant piranha tank built inside Kim’s Ryongsong Residence, in Pyongyang, after being accused of plotting a coup, the Daily Star reported.
It is claimed the general had his arms and torso cut open with knives before being thrown into the tank, which was filled with hundreds of piranhas imported from Brazil, it is reported.
Despite the sensational headlines, this story does not seem very well sourced:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the execution by firing squad of four foreign ministry officials after the failure of his Hanoi summit with Donald Trump, a report has claimed. The officials were reportedly executed after the February talks between North Koreaand the US came to an end without any deal being made. Pyongyang had accused the four officials of selling information to Washington before the Hanoi summit, according to a Japanese news agency. The executions, which included a diplomat from North Korea’s embassy in Hanoi, have not been verified.
Asia Press claimed its reporter spoke to a trade official who was told the rumour about the executions. It is claimed that the executions were watched by members of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and Korean People’s Army.
ROK cable network MBN's bureau chief on disciplinary action after station misreported FLOROK Kim Jung-sook as "First Lady Kim Jong Un," "North Korean president (instead of "President Moon") has message for KJU from President Trump." https://t.co/kq9pyOA3RC
It looks like everything went as expected for the Kim-Putin summit in Vladivostok:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday highlighted his “unwavering” will to cement ties with Russia while President Vladimir Putin made an emphatic call for a peaceful resolution of Pyongyang’s nuclear quandary. The leaders held their first summit in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok amid Pyongyang’s stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington. The much-anticipated summit was seen as a key test of Kim’s diplomatic outreach aimed at breaking the logjam in the parley with the United States, easing sanctions pressure and catalyzing his lackluster drive for economic development. “I had candid, meaningful talks with President Putin on the issues of developing the friendly relationship between North Korea and Russia, of guaranteeing peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and common international issues,” Kim said during a dinner session after the summit that lasted for around three hours. (……)
During a press conference, Putin stressed the need for an “international” security guarantee for the North as part of efforts toward denuclearization and a lasting peace on the peninsula. He also said that multilateral talks on the North’s denuclearization, including long-stalled six-party dialogue, ought to resume if a need arises.
You can read more at the link, but Putin talking about how there needs to be an international security guarantee for the North to denuclearize I believe is code for withdrawal of USFK.
Kim Yong Chol, NK's top negotiator with the US, and Ri Su Yong, head of the party's International Department, not going to Russia with Kim Jong Un. First time for Kim or Ri to skip out on the leader's foreign trip.
Kim-Putin summitWorkers hang the North Korean and Russian flags on a road leading to the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia, on April 23, 2019. The school is widely believed to be the venue for an upcoming summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Yonhap)
These two have much to discuss on how they plan to avoid international sanctions against North Korea:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emerges from his private train upon arriving at the Russian border city of Khasan, Wednesday morning. Russian government officials welcomed him there. After staying for an hour at the station, he resumed his trip to Vladivostok where he is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yonhap
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Vladivostok on his personal train, Wednesday, for a high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia gave a red-carpet welcome for Kim at the train station in the Russian Far Eastern city amid tight security.
En route to Vladivostok, Kim’s train stopped at Khasan near the border between the two countries at around 9:40 a.m. (KST).
Russian government officials greeted the North Korean leader with flowers, salt and bread, as part of a local tradition to welcome guests. Local media outlets reported that Kim said he would visit Russia again in the future.
Kim stayed at the station for about an hour before resuming his journey to Vladivostok.
