8 September، 2018 - DPRK celebrates 70th anniversary of its founding
DPRK celebrates 70th anniversary of its founding – Syrian Arab News Agency
The people of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of their country with the determination to continue economic development in various fields and strengthen self- defense capabilities to counter conspiracies by hostile forces.
“The DPRK’s strength is growing stronger with passage of days,” said the DPRK Embassy in Damascus in a statement issued on the occasion.
The ability of DPRK lies firstly in its one-hearted unity, where this unity is based on the loyal and enduring love of the leader Kim Jong-un who elevated its people, just as President Kim Il-sung and the Chairman of the National Defense Commission kim Jong-il have done, following the path of his directives for achieving the happiness of all the DPRK’s people and making great achievements in the process of reconstruction, as well as getting rid of the effects of the floods in the country.
The Embassy went on saying that the ability of the DPRK lies secondly in its huge military capabilities where the leader Kim Jong-un is doing his best to enhance the national defense capabilities, focusing on nuclear armed forces in order to put an end to the reckless US nuclear threat and ensure the safety of the people of the DPRK.
The Embassy said that the ability of DPRK lies thirdly in the in the power of self-enhancement, as the leader Kim has achieved great achievements in building a strong socialist state, adding that conspiracies and the acts of the hostile forces against the DPRK have not dissuaded the people of the DPRK from developing their economy, culture, and national defense, depending on local resources, technologies, abilities, and talents.
The value of industrial output exceeded 144 percent last year and industrial production grew by 6 times in 2015, as hundreds of projects were inaugurated and rebuilt, the Embassy stated.
The Embassy concluded by saying that the DPRK has exceeded the GDP goal in the industrial sector by 119%, and at the same time completed work to undo the damage caused by floods in the north. By 2017, the DPRK achieved many successes in national defense industries and other economic sectors, and is moving steadily towards realizing the state’s five-year strategy for developing the economy set by the 7th conference of the 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, adding “doubtless the DPRK’s abilities will exceed the world’s expectations when this goal is achieved soon.”
06.09.2018 - North Korea Could Formally End War with South Without US Troop Pull Out - Report
North Korea Could Formally End War With South Without US Troop Pull Out - Report
Chief of the national security office at Seoul's presidential Blue House Chung Eui-yong shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea September 5, 2018. Picture taken September 5, 2018. The Presidential Blue House/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY
A South Korean delegation returning from Pyongyang brought important news from the socialist country: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing to sign an end-of-war declaration without the withdrawal of US troops from the South. Meanwhile, the North is preparing to celebrate its 70th birthday amid speculation about how militant the fete will be.
A special envoy delegation sent by South Korean President Moon Jae In visited the North Korean capital of Pyongyang Wednesday, delivering a personal letter from Moon to Kim. A Thursday
statement in the Workers Party of Korea's newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, described the photoshoot, dinner and discussions as taking place "in a compatriotic and warm atmosphere."
The Rodong Sinmun article says Kim was "pleased over the fact that technical contacts in various fields were made between the north and the south, the reunions of separated families and relatives were realized and north-south military talks and the work of setting up a joint liaison office progressed well after the historic Panmunjom meeting," and that "we should value all these successes which the north and the south made hand in hand and keep advancing without deviation the north-south ties that have definitely entered the new orbit of peace, the orbit of reconciliation and cooperation."
According to the statement, the two Korean delegations mostly discussed the agenda and schedule of the upcoming inter-Korean summit, to take place in Pyongyang September 18 to 20, and Kim said, "The north and the south should further their efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Those efforts that have seemingly stalled in recent weeks as the US cancelled it most recent planned visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the US equivalent of a foreign minister, claiming not to have seen sufficient progress by North Korea toward denuclearization.
More details about the meeting came to light once the delegation returned to South Korea, when members of the envoy delivered further messages from Kim.
Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser, told reporters Thursday that Kim said he would be willing to sign the end-of-war declaration that Seoul and Pyongyang have been pursuing since the spring without concomitantly demanding the withdrawal of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea or an end to the alliance between the US and South Korea.
While a lasting peace treaty to the 1950 to 1953 war would require much more extensive negotiations between the four powers involved — North Korea, China, South Korea and the US — a statement declaring the end of the war, issued by the two Koreas, would be an important step toward realizing that goal, which Moon and Kim have indicated to be their primary concern ever since their first meeting at the truce city of Panmunjom in April.
Rodong Sinmun articulated the belief Thursday that "[t]he US should no longer stick to a position of attaining denuclearization before signing a peace treaty."
Chairman Kim Jong Un has made it clear several times that he is firmly committed to denuclearization and expressed frustration over skepticism in the international community over his commitment," Chung said. "He said he has pre-emptively taken steps necessary for denuclearization and wants to see these goodwill measures being met with goodwill measures."
Chung also told reporters that "Chairman Kim stressed that he has never spoken negatively about President Trump to his staff or anyone," a statement that won praise from US President Donald Trump in a tweet Thursday.
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims “unwavering faith in President Trump.” Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!
6:58 AM - Sep 6, 2018
In turn, the US State Department announced Thursday that Stephen Biegun, the US' new special envoy to North Korea, who was supposed to go on Pompeo's cancelled visit, would be touring South Korea, China and Japan next week.
"The special representative will meet with his counterparts and continue diplomatic efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore," it said, without further elaborating in Biegun's itinerary, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday.
The South Korean diplomat further affirmed the two Korean governments' commitment to opening a liaison office in the North Korean industrial city of Kaesong before the inter-Korean summit. Another goal of the Panmunjom summit, the South Korean Ministry of Unification announced last month the approval of $3.1 million in funding to set up the inter-Korean joint liaison office, to come from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, NK News reported at the time.
"We will operate the liaison office with the aim that it can contribute to round-the-clock dialogue and cooperation and the stable management of the situation of inter-Korean relations," the unification ministry said in the statement.
"The Ministry of Unification will strive to contribute to the development of the South-North relations by implementing the Panmunjom Declaration sector-by-sector without setbacks."
Meanwhile, North Korea is preparing to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Sunday, and there's no shortage of speculation and anticipation about how the festivities will play out.
Satellite photos on the website 38 North show that North Korean troops have been practicing for weeks at a mockup of Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, named after the founder of the country (and Kim Jong Un's grandfather), a revolutionary communist leader who led the Korean insurgency against Japanese colonial rule during World War II. His Workers Party of Korea declared the foundation of the people's democratic republic on September 9, 1948, and the country has made a habit of celebrating its birthday with an extravagant parade, the centerpiece of which is typically their latest military weaponry.
However, observers wonder if this year's event won't be different, to reflect the change in tone by Kim in recent months. The last major military parade, in February, showcased North Korea's Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles, the very weapons at the center of the denuclearization push on the peninsula, which North Korea says are necessary to guarantee its security and independence amid the presence of US troops in the South and the lack of a permanent peace treaty.
In a major contrast to past parades, dozens of international media organizations have been granted visas to attend this year's events, Defense News noted Thursday.
It's known that the parade, which always features mass performances by the people of the city, will include a torch parade as well as the revival of the country's iconic mass games after a six-year hiatus. The celebrations also feature civilian contingents celebrating achievements in agriculture, industry, science and art, and may feature these more prominently in the past, given Kim's newly declared focus on building these parts of North Korean society.
5 September، 2018 - North Korea's Kim sets Denuclearization Time line, prompting Thanks from Trump
North Korea's Kim sets denuclearization time line, prompting thanks...
Chief of the national security office at Seoul's presidential Blue House Chung Eui-yong meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea. The Presidential Blue House /via REUTERS
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for denuclearization, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would “get it done together”.
Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss “practical measures” toward denuclearization, Moon’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said a day after meeting Kim.
The summit could provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearization between North Korea and the United States, after Trump canceled a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month citing lack of progress.
Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was “unchanged” and that he wanted denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and an end to hostile relations with the United States before Trump’s first term ends in early 2021, Chung said.
But there was no indication that Kim had offered concrete steps toward giving up his nuclear arsenal, something some U.S. officials have said privately they doubt he is willing to do.
“He particularly emphasized that he has never said anything negative about President Trump,” Chung said.
Trump welcomed Kim’s remarks in a trademark Tweet.
“Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!” Trump wrote.
Trump had previously hailed his landmark June 12 summit with Kim as a success and said the North Korean nuclear threat was over, despite little evidence to back that assertion.
In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear program if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.
U.S. officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearization and has insisted the United States must first agree to simultaneous steps to reduce sanctions pressure.
Some analysts suggested Kim was flattering Trump in hopes of dividing the president from advisers who have advocated a tougher U.S. stand.
“Kim just owns Trump. He knows his mark,” Vipin Narang, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in nuclear issues, said in a message on Twitter.
‘ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK TO DO’
Pompeo, on a trip to New Delhi, said there was still “an enormous amount of work to do” on the denuclearization issue.
He visited Pyongyang in July, after which North Korea accused him of making “unilateral and gangster-like demands for denuclearization”.
Asked about U.S. intelligence that North Korea was still advancing its weapons programs, Pompeo noted Pyongyang had ceased its nuclear tests and test-firing missiles, which he said was a “good thing.”
“But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make this strategic shift that we’ve talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues,” Pompeo said.
The State Department later said Pompeo was sending his newly appointed North Korea envoy, Stephen Biegun, to South Korea, China and Japan from Sept. 10-15.
Signaling that Washington’s concerns extend beyond Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the U.S. government on Thursday charged and sanctioned an alleged North Korean hacker over the 2017 global WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, the 2014 cyber assault on Sony Corp. and other “malign cyber activities.”
Chung said Kim had stressed the need for the United States to reciprocate North Korea’s initial moves, which have included dismantling a nuclear test site and a missile engine facility.
“We support progress in inter-Korean relations and President Moon’s statements that such progress must go hand-in-hand with denuclearization,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said when asked about the meeting
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said Kim told the South’s envoys that his “fixed stand” was to turn the Korean peninsula into “a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat”.
Chung said Kim showed “frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearize, and asked us to convey his message to the United States”.
“He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures toward denuclearization if action is taken in response to the North’s preemptive steps,” Chung said.
Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, said: “Looks like Kim is trying to wash away worries that talks could stall or fail, knowing well that Washington is losing patience.”
U.S. officials have previously said they have already made conciliatory gestures, such as suspending joint military exercises with South Korea.
During his meeting with Kim, Chung delivered a message from Trump and will relay comments from Kim to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moon’s spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters. Chung later spoke to Bolton, the NSC official said.
Trump spoke to Moon on the evening before Chung’s trip and asked Moon to act as “chief negotiator” between Washington and Pyongyang, the spokesman said.
However, a three-way summit between Trump, Kim and Moon - an idea that South Korea has floated - is not expected on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month, Chung said, suggesting that Kim is not likely to become the first North Korean leader to attend the gathering.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised the Koreas for their trust-building efforts and expressed hope for further progress toward “complete and verifiable denuclearization,” his spokesman said.
WHAT HAPPENS FIRST?
Kim and Trump held an unprecedented summit in Singapore in June, in which the
North Korean leader made a broad, vague commitment to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. But negotiations have stalled, while signs North Korea has maintained work on its weapons have emerged.
Under discussion is whether North Korean denuclearization or declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.
The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning U.S.-led U.N. forces are technically still at war with the North.
“The United States shouldn’t delay any further an end-of-war declaration, which the U.S. president promised at the Singapore summit,” the North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said.
U.S. officials have said such a declaration could weaken North Korea’s incentive for denuclearization, and create uncertainty about the purpose of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
