Tag: North Korea

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.

Yonhap

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.

These two have much to discuss on how they plan to avoid international sanctions against North Korea:

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.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

#NorthKorea's #KimJongUn thinks he can both intimidate and disrespect President #Trump. I think that could be Kim's last mistake. https://t.co/xItBOjdNv5

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) April 19, 2019

It looks like if the the North Koreans want a deal, they are going to have to get one by going through Mike Pompeo first:

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday he will continue to lead nuclear talks with North Korea, dismissing the regime’s call for his replacement.   

In a news conference held after a meeting between U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers, Pompeo said “nothing’s changed,” which is viewed as an open dismissal to North Korea’s request for his replacement with a “more mature” negotiator who can better communicate with the North. 

Pompeo said the U.S. continues to work to negotiate and that he is still in charge of the team. 

He said President Trump is obviously in charge of the overall effort, but it will be his team and Special Representative Stephen Biegun who will continue to lead U.S. efforts to achieve what the North Korean leader committed to do in June last year, which was to denuclearize.

KBS World Radio

You can read more at the link, but this seems like a miscalculation by North Korea if they thought President Trump would replace Pompeo.

#NorthKorean laborer in Russia jumped to death, couldn't stand exploitation. Had to pay large sums of money to the #KimJongUn regime, the company prez, etc. If can't pay due to lack of work in winter, it becomes debt. Was only able to save $1k in 4 yrs.https://t.co/5HtrkZpQVe

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) April 18, 2019

Just another example that the Israeli do not play around when it comes to bad actors plotting against them:

North Korean missile experts who worked on Syrian weapons development were killed and wounded in an Israeli airstrike in Syria, according to an Israeli media report.

Debka File, an Israeli defense media outlet, reported the airstrike, which hit the Scientific Studies and Research Center in the Syrian town of Masyaf on Saturday, killed and wounded weapons experts from North Korea and Belarus as well as Iranian and Syrian military officers. It said the missile technicians were hired to upgrade Syrian missiles, citing Western intelligence sources. It did not state the exact number of casualties.

AFP, meanwhile, wrote the attack was carried out early Saturday and killed several Iranian military personnel and wounded 17 Syrian troops and their allies.

“North Korean engineers were working on the production of solid fuel, while Belarusians were in the pay of Syria’s Organization of Technological Industries,” Debka File reported.

“Especially targeted were the sections working on the upgrade of Syrian and Hezbollah surface missiles, the production of solid fuel for those missiles and the departments focusing on installing new guidance instruments to enhance their precision.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but long time ROK Heads may remember that Israel killed North Korean nuclear specialists back in 2007 in another bombing strike.

North Korea earns more revenue from its laborers in Russia than it does from its laborers in any other jurisdiction. Any DPRK workers that remain in Russia after December 22, 2019 would be doing so in violation of UNSCR 2397 (2017). https://t.co/ZrKqYS0qcq

— Jason Arterburn 艾杰生 (@jasonarterburn) April 16, 2019

I would not be surprised if the Kim regime intentionally made sure this was captured on satellite imagery just to further pressure the US to cut a “pretend denuclearization” deal with them:

Commercial satellite imagery from last week shows activity that could indicate the movement of radioactive material at North Korea’s main nuclear facility, a U.S. think tank said Tuesday.
The April 12 imagery shows five specialized railcars near the uranium enrichment facility and the radiochemistry laboratory at the Yongbyon nuclear site, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“In the past these specialized railcars appear to have been associated with the movement of radioactive material or reprocessing campaigns,” it said in a report.
“The current activity, along with their configurations, does not rule out their possible involvement in such activity, either before or after a reprocessing campaign,” it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.