Tag: Kim Jong-un

President Moon received a lavish welcome in Pyongyang:

President Moon Jae-in began talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to seek momentum in denuclearization, following his arrival in Pyongyang for a three day summit, Tuesday.

Their first talks of the third summit took place at the headquarters of the Workers’ Party of North Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang for 90 minutes starting at 3:30 p.m.

Seoul’s spy chief Suh Hoon and National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong attended, while the North was represented by Kim Yong-chol, a senior ruling party official and the first lady Kim Yo-jong, according to presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan in a media briefing at a main press center set up in Dongdaemun, Seoul.

This is the first time a South Korean president has been to the WPK headquarters, where Kim’s office is located. President Moon is also the first head of state to hold a summit with Kim in Pyongyang since the latter took power.

“From that perspective, we believe this is great hospitality that has never been seen before, as Kim flew to China and Singapore for summits with other leaders,” Yoon said.

“The leaders of the two Koreas undertook a comprehensive review of key pending issues that need to be addressed properly. The two also searched for specific ways to advance various inter-Korean projects. However, South Korea is committed to abiding by all U.N. Security Council sanctions, and the talks for greater economic cooperation with the North were done in accordance with these,” Yoon said.  [Korea Times]

So how is getting Kim Jong-un to denuclearize going?  About as we all expected:

While getting a specific timeline and details for North Korea’s denuclearization is at the top of President Moon’s agenda for the summit, Yoon said it was highly unlikely the two would agree on a detailed timeframe towards a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

“We can figure it out, but we have to wait,” he said.

When it comes to denuclearization it is always we have to wait, but when it comes to giving the Kim regime concessions they always have to happen now.  Here is what else President Moon had to say:

Before his departure for Pyongyang, President Moon said he was seeking “permanent peace,” which is irreversible and can be sustained regardless of external factors.

The quickest way to permanent peace is to surrender, which is essentially what Moon’s confederation idea is.

If there is going to be a second Trump-Kim summit I would think there is going to be a major announcement from the summit instead of the generalities that came out of the first summit:

South Korea’s president called on the United States and North Korea to make “bold decisions” to put nuclear negotiations back on track as the White House announced planning is underway for a second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

President Moon Jae-in, who plans to travel to Pyongyang next week for his own meeting with Kim, said he has no choice but to play mediator to promote dialogue between the longtime adversaries.

Talks aimed at persuading the North to give up nuclear weapons have stalled since Trump and Kim vowed to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” at their June 12 summit in Singapore.

But Trump welcomed a North Korean military parade over the weekend that left out the usual long-range missiles and focused on peace and economic development in what was seen as a gesture toward rekindling talks with Washington.

Moon said Tuesday that the North must dismantle its nuclear weapons programs and the U.S. must take a corresponding step.

“If we would like to move to a higher level … bold ideas and decisions by the leaders of North Korea and the United States are necessary,” he said during a Cabinet meeting, according to a transcript from his office. “In the process, both countries must end the deep-rooted, mutual distrust stemming from 70 years of hostile relations.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but when President Moon talks about “bold decisions” what he means is that President Trump needs to sign up for the “pretend denuclearization” plan.  Does anyone really expect Kim Jong-un is going to show up at a second summit and hand over his nukes to President Trump?

Kim Jong-un and President Trump are continuing their pen pal relationship:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he expects to receive a “positive letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he knows a personal letter from Kim is going to be delivered to him, adding that it was handed over at the border the day before.

This border Trump refers to is suspected to be the inter-Korean border, but a detailed route of the letter’s delivery was not provided.

Trump said the letter will likely be delivered to him by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and added that “It’s an elegant way, the way it used to be many years ago before we had all of the new contraptions that we all use.”

Trump also said he thinks it’s going to be a positive letter.   [KBS World Radio]

I have to wonder what flattery and empty denuclearization promise will be in the letter that Kim is going to try and use to sway President Trump to make a major concession?  My guess would be the major concession Kim will ask for is a treaty to end the Korean War.

It appears that the North Koreans are still trying to use flattery with President Trump to get sanctions removed instead of denuclearizing:

U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and pledged to work together with him on Thursday after Kim said via a South Korean envoy that his faith in Trump remains unchanged.

“Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!” Trump tweeted.

South Korea’s chief presidential security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, made a one-day trip to Pyongyang on Wednesday and held talks with the North’s leader amid a deadlock in denuclearization negotiations between the United States and the North.

During the talks, Kim told Chung’s delegation that he remains firmly committed to denuclearization and that his faith in Trump remains unchanged, even though nuclear negotiations with the U.S. encountered difficulties, according to Chung.

Kim was also quoted as saying he’s never spoken ill of Trump to anybody.  [Yonhap]

Kim Jong-un best be careful, Bob Woodward will probably claim he found an anonymous source that he talked bad about President Trump.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours a hot spring resort in Yangdok, South Pyongan Province, in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 17, 2018.  (Yonhap)

This photo provided by the Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 13, 2018, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting a ranch, north of Pyongyang. As is customary, the agency didn’t provide the date of his visit. (Yonhap)

It looks like President Moon and Kim Jong-un need to have another meeting to determine their next step to get around sanctions since the Trump administration will not drop them for little to nothing in return as they had hoped:

The two Koreas have agreed to hold high-level talks Monday to prepare for another summit between their leaders, even as nuclear talks between the North and the United States have stalled.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead the South Korean delegation to the meeting on the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles the heavily fortified border, the ministry said Thursday.

The North offered to hold the talks but has yet to announce its chief delegate, a ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy. The two sides planned to discuss preparations for another summit as well as review the implementation of agreements made during the first one on April 27.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met again in a more informal summit in late May. Both of those meetings – which were the first inter-Korean summits in more than a decade – were held in Panmunjom.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju inspect a fish pickling factory in southwestern North Korea in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 8, 2018.  (Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) tours a catfish farm in Samchon, South Hwanghae Province, in this photo carried on North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 6, 2018.  (Yonhap)