This October 2018 file photo shows President Moon Jae-in patting a female dog named Gomi, one of the two Pungsan-breed dogs given to Moon by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their third summit in Pyongyang in September. Moon said in a Twitter message on Nov. 12, 2018, that Gomi gave birth to six white puppies — three male and three female — on Nov. 9 and all look healthy. (Yonhap)
#MoonJaein working hard for #KimJongun again. Said "I'd appreciate the National Assembly issuing a statement welcoming chairman Kim." Also want Kim to address the Natl Assembly. Meanwhile, he shirks his presidential duties, like meeting foreign leaders.https://t.co/VRrBKysJM0
What I would not be surprised to see happen is that Kim Jong-un cancels the visit to Seoul because sanctions are not dropped by the US:
President Moon Jae-in told parliamentary floor leaders Monday that it is unclear whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit Seoul within this year as promised because the visit is linked closely to a second summit between the North and the United States, officials said.
Moon also said during a meeting with the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties that the government is thinking about whether Kim’s visit should take place before or after the North-U.S. summit that has been postponed until early next year.
“For now, we’re making preparations on the assumption that it’s going to take place within this year,” Moon said during the meeting, according to participants from the parties.
Moon said he hopes Kim’s visit to Seoul will be realized so that it can serve as a dramatic turning point in relations between the two sides. Moon also said he hopes the National Assembly will release a statement welcoming Kim’s visit. [Yonhap]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of the Wonsan-Kalma resort area on the country’s east coast in this photo capture from the North’s Central TV on Nov. 1, 2018. The country’s media said Kim berated the international sanctions on his country during the visit, blaming them for standing in the North’s “way toward the promotion of people’s wellbeing and development” and for forcing its submission. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours a township construction site in Samjiyon County in northeastern North Korea in this combined photo carried by the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s ruling party organ, on Oct. 30, 2018. It marks his third visit to the site this year. (Yonhap)
President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that he could give North Korea’s Kim Jong-un a tour of Mount Halla, South Korea’s tallest mountain, on the southern island of Jeju, if the leader comes for a visit.
Moon made the remarks in response to a reporter’s question about what he would show Kim should the communist leader reciprocate his own visit to Pyongyang last month for the third inter-Korean summit aimed at fostering inter-Korean rapprochement and cooperation.
“As we have an expression like ‘from Mount Paekdu to Mount Halla,’ I could give him a tour of Mount Halla if (he) wants,” Moon said during talks with reporters after climbing up to a peak of Mount Bukak just behind the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. [Yonhap]
It looks like Kim Jong-un may be heading off to Russia in the near future:
Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of Russia’s Federation Council,shakes hands with Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong at the presidential office in Seoul on Friday. Yonhap
Pyongyang and Moscow are working to arrange an official visit to Russia for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a top Russian politician revealed Friday.
“(I) attended North Korea’s 70th foundation anniversary event on orders from President Putin,” Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of Russia’s Federation Council, told Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong ahead of her meeting with President Moon Jae-in. “There was a meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-un. (Moscow and Pyongyang) are negotiating on the dates and location of the Chairman Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia.”
Matviyenko’s comments confirm rumors that have been circulating for some time, regarding the possibility that Kim might be planning to travel to Moscow in the near future. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link, but this could just be more optics to make Kim Jong-un look more like a legitimate world leader by visiting Russia. The timing of this will be interesting to see if he visits Putin before meeting with President Trump if a second Trump-Kim summit does in fact happen.
This photo belatedly released by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 2, 2018, shows South Korean magician Choi Hyun-woo (L) performing with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during an inter-Korean summit dinner at the North’s state banquet hall in Pyongyang on Sept. 18. (Yonhap)
On the 80th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, may I say: It was a good thing that Neville Chamberlain had the good grace not to hoist a giant picture of Adolf Hitler on London's City Hall in 1938. https://t.co/4Lr9On1Y4K
Trump just said in his W Virginia speech that he “loves” Kim Jong Un, & his audience clapped. Seriously. WTH has happened to the GOP? It’s just unrecognizable. This is why I’m so resistant to T’s diplomacy w/ NK. He’s doing it for all the wrong reasons – flattery, admiration, /1
