North Korea has promised to shut its atomic test site within weeks and invite American weapons experts to verify its closure, Seoul reported Sunday, as new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had an "obligation" to pursue peace. Kim Jong Un plans to shut down North Korea's nuclear test site in May, Seoul says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- who may meet US President Donald Trump as early as next month -- also said Pyongyang would have no need for nuclear weapons if it were promised it would not be invaded, according to Seoul. Friday's historic meeting saw Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agree to pursue the complete denuclearisation of the peninsula. Washington's new chief diplomat said he and Kim held in-depth talks about a denuclearisation "mechanism" when they met over Easter. "We talked a great deal about what it might look like, what this complete, verifiable, irreversible mechanism might look like," Pompeo said. "We have an obligation to … [Read more...] about N. Korea offers to shut nuclear test site in May, invite US experts
North korea invaded south korea
Kim invites Trump to visit Pyongyang as North hails ‘radical switchover’
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at a signing ceremony with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) during their historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore on Jun 12, 2018. (SAUL LOEB/AFP) The unprecedented encounter in Singapore on Tuesday saw the leader of the world's most powerful democracy shake hands with the third generation scion of a dynastic dictatorship, standing as equals in front of their nations' flags. Kim agreed to the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula", a stock phrase favoured by Pyongyang that stopped short of long-standing US demands for North Korea to give up its atomic arsenal in a "verifiable" and "irreversible" way. In its first report on the landmark summit, the official KCNA news agency ran a glowing dispatch on the talks, describing them as an "epoch-making meeting" that would help foster "a radical switchover in the most hostile (North Korea)-US relations". The report said the two men each asked the other to visit their country. "The two … [Read more...] about Kim invites Trump to visit Pyongyang as North hails ‘radical switchover’
Trump says he will stop ‘war games’ with South Korea
The US will stop holding joint military exercises on the Korean peninsula, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Jun 12), making a major concession to North Korea after his summit with Kim Jong Un. A US Air Force F-22 Raptor lands at Gwangju Air Base in South Korea during the Max Thunder drills in May. (Photo: AFP) Washington and Seoul are security allies, with 28,500 US troops stationed in the South to defend it from its neighbour which invaded in 1950. They hold joint military exercises every year that infuriate Pyongyang, which has long demanded an end to the drills and often responds with actions of its own, ratcheting up tensions. North Korea in May cancelled talks with Seoul over "Max Thunder" joint military air exercises between the US and the South. They were a "rude and wicked provocation", it complained. "We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters. "I think it's very provocative," he said - echoing … [Read more...] about Trump says he will stop ‘war games’ with South Korea
North Korea casts doubt on Trump summit, cancels talks with Seoul
North Korea casts doubt on Trump summit, cancels talks with Seoul, Mandel Ngan/AFP/KCNA via KNS North Korea on Wednesday (May 16) called into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump set for next month. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due on Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises being held between the United States and South Korea, denouncing the drills as a "rude and wicked provocation". "There is a limit to the amount of goodwill and chances we can give," the North's official news agency KCNA said. The drills between the two allies' air forces were a rehearsal for invasion and "a deliberate military provocation" at a time when inter-Korean relations were warming, it added. "The US will have to think twice about the fate of the DPRK-US summit," KCNA said, referring to the North by its official acronym. Washington said it will continue to plan the meeting in Singapore on … [Read more...] about North Korea casts doubt on Trump summit, cancels talks with Seoul
Beijing says 32 Chinese tourists killed in North Korea bus accident
A bus crash in North Korea has killed 32 Chinese tourists and four North Koreans, the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday. Two other Chinese nationals were injured in Sunday's accident south of the capital Pyongyang, ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing. "We are investigating the cause" of the accident, Lu said. The ministry provided few details but China's state broadcaster CGTN earlier tweeted that more than 30 people died when a tour bus fell from a bridge in North Korea. The tweet was later deleted. State broadcaster CCTV broadcast images of a large overturned vehicle with light rain falling on rescue vehicles and doctors attending to a patient. China was informed about the accident on Sunday night, and its embassy personnel in Pyongyang rushed to the scene and are working to manage the situation, the foreign ministry said in a statement earlier. The vast majority of foreign tourists to North Korea are Chinese, with the Cold War-era allies sharing a long … [Read more...] about Beijing says 32 Chinese tourists killed in North Korea bus accident