North - South Korea

[goyacobol]

Could this be a backdoor effect of influence by Russia, albeit a small effect. A growing diplomacy a.k.a Mr Lavrov.? It's just a feeling.

Although it may be no stronger than the flapping of butterfly wings I see no reason to not see it as a positive effect.

Let's hope this could be one of those balancing attempts described in

Session 14 March 2015:

Q: (L) Well, I guess that means we should ask some questions. Everybody is concerned about Vladimir Putin's health. That's Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin. So, I'm wondering is his health compromised?

A: No, not even close. He is working hard and steady.

Q: (L) What is he working on?

A: Solving major global imbalances.

Q: (L) So does that suggest that he has some surprises in store for the globalists?

A: Oh indeed! But they are too blinded by greed to anticipate his moves.

 

[angelburst29]

Could this be a backdoor effect of influence by Russia, albeit a small effect. A growing diplomacy a.k.a Mr Lavrov.? It's just a feeling.

Yes, you're very perceptive, Tuatha de Danaan!

There was a "mark difference" in the format of this second Summit in Hanoi, then in Trump-Kim's first meeting last year in Singapore.
The Singapore Summit did set a "Historical moment" between the two World Leaders, which helped to transform dialog between the two Korea's, bringing them closer together in Diplomacy and Political associations. Historically, I found the rapid developments between North and South Korea and the intercession of an American President - to be noteworthy. It's of little surprise, that Russia would influence the Diplomatic process. If my understanding of the Korean History is within factual events, at one point - the Soviet Union offered a recommendation for it's troops and the American troops, both occupying parts of Korea, to withdraw and give the Korean people the opportunity to form their own government. This was rejected by the US. That a US President would now step forward to help "unify the Korea's" is a historical re-set towards unity. In my view, Trump is making a correction in US Foreign Policy? Russia has always been behind a "unified Korea" and the preservation of their culture and their generational traditions.

Division of Korea - Wikipedia
Post–World War II - In December 1945, at the Moscow Conference, the Allies agreed that the Soviet Union, the US, the Republic of China, and Britain would take part in a trusteeship over Korea for up to five years in the lead-up to independence. Many Koreans demanded independence immediately; however, the Korean Communist Party, which was closely aligned with the Soviet Communist party, supported the trusteeship.[18][19] According to journalist Fyodor Tertitskiy, documentation from 1945 suggests the Soviet government had no plans for a permanent division.[17]

A Soviet-US Joint Commission met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration, but failed to make progress due to increasing Cold War antagonism and to Korean opposition to the trusteeship.[20] In 1946, the Soviet Union proposed Lyuh Woon-hyung as the leader of a unified Korea, but this was rejected by the US.[17] Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened. The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics, and a transfer of population between North and South.[21] In May 1946 it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit.[22 At the final meeting of the Joint Commission in September 1947, Soviet delegate Terentii Shtykov proposed that both Soviet and US troops withdraw and give the Korean people the opportunity to form their own government. This was rejected by the US.[23

A growing diplomacy a.k.a Mr Lavrov.? Credit - where credit is due! The Hanoi Summit did present rare moments that mirror the
the hallmarks of Lavrov's disciplined Statesmanship and impeccable Diplomacy. Next to Putin, they're a Dynamic-duo in organization and problem solving and the proper steps in protocol for establishing dialog towards resolving differences, fostering an amicable solution, for both sides. (Now, if we "American's" could only convince Trump - to invite Putin and Lavrov to Washington - for "a joint working visit", Trump could accommodate them (for a month or two) at his residence in Mar-a-Largo - to help Trump - finally make MAGA by cleaning up the swamp in Washington? A pipe dream, I know but it would take the dynamic talents of all three, to reverse the downside trend we're in?) The only other problem I could envision, while all eyes are fixated on the Mexican/US Border, little attention will be given to some of Washington's "finest" trying to scale the Canadian Border Wall!

March 01, 2019 - “Killer Diplomacy”: The Kim-Trump Summit in Hanoi, Sabotaged by Mike Pompeo?
"Killer Diplomacy": The Kim-Trump Summit in Hanoi, Sabotaged by Mike Pompeo? - Global Research

Polite diplomacy over the dinner table. Smiles on both sides. A nice private dinner. “Everybody is having a good time. Hope so”, says Trump.

Trump and Kim met before the formal dinner party for about half an hour. Kim smiled and said: “We have exchanged in a very interesting dialogue with each other for about 30 minutes”.

Trump responds with a smile “yes it was good”. “So we’re going to have a very busy day tomorrow, says Trump.

“And a lot of things are going to be solved. I hope. and I Think it will lead to a really wonderful situation long term… And our relationship is a very special relationship”.

Published on Feb 27, 2019 (1:50 min.)

Prior to the Hanoi encounter, Trump intimated that if a moratorium on nuclear missile testing by the DPRK was reached, he would be satisfied. And that this commitment would then lead to subsequent negotiations.

But this stance was not shared by his top advisers:
“Senior Trump aides have privately expressed skepticism … Some fear that Trump could feel pressure to make a major concession to Kim during face-to-face talks, including a one-on-one session, in hopes of securing a reciprocal commitment he can herald as a political victory. (WPo, February 24, 2018, emphasis added)

Who are these “Senior Trump aides”? The WPo fails to mention the central role of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who was put in charge of the negotiations from the very outset in 2017 when he was head of the CIA.

While we are not privy to what was discussed behind closed doors (with the two leaders and their senior advisors), or what was discussed by Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol in meetings prior to the Hanoi venue, there is evidence that Pompeo was instrumental in the sabotage of peace negotiations both in Singapore and Hanoi.

Back in October 2017, a few months following the beginning of negotations with the DPRK, Pompeo while he was head of the CIA, had hinted in a public statement that Kim Jong-un was on the CIA assassination list: (Statements at site.)

This was a deliberate act of provocation,

“Killer Diplomacy” From the outset the DPRK does not trust Washington’s Peace Negotiator. Pompeo should be removed from the peace negotiation process which eventually requires the repeal of the 1953 armistice agreement and the signing of a peace agreement with the DPRK and China.

In a bitter irony, the same Mike Pompeo who casually refers to the “CIA history” of political assassinations, had come to play a central role in “peace” negotiations together with his North Korea envoy, Stephen Biegun.

Pyongyang was fully aware of the assassination list. But Pompeo deliberately chose to make it public prior to the conduct of negotiations with a political leader who is on the CIA hit list. This is tantamount to saying to Kim: “Lets negotiate but I want to kill you”.

Not surprisingly, in the followup US-DPRK negotiations with Pompeo held in Pyongyang in the wake of the Singapore Summit (June 12-14, 2018), the DPRK accused the Trump administration of pushing a “unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization.” The statement was directed against Pompeo who was in charge of the negotiations on behalf of president Trump.

“We still cherish our good faith in President Trump … But, the U.S. side [Pompeo] came up only with its unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization… The U.S. side [Pompeo] never mentioned the issue of establishing a peace regime on the Korean peninsula which is essential for defusing tension and preventing a war.” (DPRK Statement, July 8, 2018, emphasis added)

Second Day of the Hanoi Summit - Flash Forward to Hanoi, February 27, 2019: Both leaders expressed their optimism “for continuing the great dialogue”. “I am in no rush,” Trump said alongside Kim. “What is important is that we do the right deal.”

Acknowledged by Trump, the DPRK has not fired a single nuclear ballistic test missile since late 2017. “To me, I very much appreciate no testing of nuclear rockets and missiles,” Trump added.

Both leaders were committed to achieving a positive outcome:

The decision to “permanently shut down” Yongbyon nuclear complex, one of the DPRK’s main nuclear research centers located in the west of the country, and Tongchang-ri missile engine test site, was made last September. Pyongyang also stated that the DPRK is willing to invite international experts to watch the dismantling or even take additional denuclearization steps if there are corresponding actions from the U.S. (CGTN, February 27, 2019)

Prior to the final wrap-up session, the two leaders had a fruitful “one-on-one meeting” of about 45 minutes. (“Senior political aides” feared the one-on-one session which provided leverage to Trump to strike a deal with Kim, as reported by the WaPo, see above).

About-Turn - And then there was an about-turn at the final session attended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DPRK’ vice chairman of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee Kim Yong-chol.

On the US side, this outcome had been planned well ahead of the Hanoi venue in Washington in consultations with the CIA, State Department and Pentagon including National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Nothing concrete emerged. Why did things go wrong? The meeting behind closed doors with senior advisors (and translators) led to an impasse.

The US failed to provide anything in exchange for the DPRK’s commitment to denuclearization. Did Pompeo play a central role in deliberately sabotaging the peace process at the wrap up session behind closed doors?

No final communique. The US refused to lift the sanctions regime.

See Video below - Final wrap-up meeting at 1’38” - See press conference statement by Trump at 2′.15″ (embedded videos)

“Basically they wanted the sanctions removed in their entirety and we could not do that. They are willing to denuke a large part of the areas we wanted. But we could not give up all of the sanctions”, said Trump.

“Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times.” Trump’s statement regarding the removal of the sanctions is a lie.

The DPRK had requested the partial removal of sanctions and that request was turned down. See Foreign Minister’s statement below at DPRK press conference.

2’50” DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yon-ho

“If the US removes the sanctions that hamper the civilian economy and the livelihood of our people in particular, we will permanently and completely dismantle the nuclear production facilities in the Yogbyon area, including plutonium and uranium in the presence of US experts by the joint force of technicians in bothe countries.”
….
“What we have asked for was partial lifting of sanctions, not entirely.
…
In detail, we asked to lift five sanctions that were imposed within 2016 and 2017, out of a total of 11 sanctions, which would affect ordinary people’s economy and life,”( Statement of the DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yon-ho).

 

[angelburst29]

North Korea has released a film on leader Kim Jong Un's second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last week in which talks broke down over how to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear program, but saw the two leaders engage in an amicable farewell.

North Korea documentary focuses on Kim-Trump relationship not summit breakdown

The 78-minute documentary, which followed Kim’s 11-day train journey to Hanoi in Vietnam for the summit, was aired late Tuesday by North Korea’s state television.

It showed the highlights of Kim’s nine-day stay in the Vietnamese capital, including his exchanges with Trump, a visit to the North Korean embassy and a tour of tourism and industrial sites by his top aides.

Strictly controlled North Korean state media has made no mention of the summit breakdown or any disagreement, though Kim and Trump failed to narrow their gap over how far North Korea was willing to abandon its nuclear program and the degree of U.S. willingness to ease sanctions.

The film showed the two leaders smiling and shaking hands even after they ended the summit without a deal and saying they had agreed to “sit face-to-face more often” and would continue “constructive dialogue”.

At one point, Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton, whom Pyongyang’s state media previously slammed for making “reckless remarks” by comparing the country with Libya, was seen stone-faced during the summit, while Trump and other U.S. participants were all smiles.

The two countries “can overcome twists and turns and ordeals and go forward if both sides make fair proposals based on principles that are mutually accepted and respected, and engage in negotiations with the right attitude and willingness to resolve problems,” a presenter said.

“The summit was an important change to bring the two countries’ relations to a new height based on the mutual respect and trust shared by the two leaders,” the presenter said.

According to a diplomat, Moscow is waiting for the agreement on Kim Jong-un’s visit reached earlier to be implemented.

March 7, 2019 - Arrangements for Kim Jong-un's Russia visit to restart soon, says diplomatic source
Arrangements for Kim Jong-un's Russia visit to restart soon, says diplomatic source

Planning for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia will resume after a pause due to the second Trump-Kim summit held in Hanoi on February 27-28, a Russian diplomat who specializes in the Korean affairs, told TASS on Thursday.

"My impression is that all that [preparations for the Russian-North Korean summit] will restart after Hanoi," he presumed.

According to the diplomat, Moscow is waiting for the agreement on Kim Jong-un’s visit reached earlier to be implemented.
He did not rule out that, taking into account the experience of the Hanoi summit, the North Korean leader would prefer to travel to Russia by train, noting that the potential overland trip would require more fine-tuning.

That said, Kim Jong-un has never been to Russia. In contrast, his father Kim Jong-Il had visited the country three times - in 2001, 2002 and 2011 - travelling across Russia on his personal armored train.

Russian, North Korean diplomats to hold consultations in Moscow on March 14
Russian, North Korean diplomats to hold consultations in Moscow on March 14
"On March 14, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov will hold consultations with his North Korean counterpart Im Chon-il," he said when asked whether Moscow would host such consultations in the near future.

Moscow and Pyongyang have recently stepped up contacts. Two North Korean delegations visited Moscow this week. North Korean Minister for External Economic Affairs Kim Yong-jae participated in a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, while the deputy head of the Foreign Affairs Department at the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea attended events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the bilateral agreement on economic and cultural cooperation.

U.S. open to North Korea talks despite missile program activity
U.S. President Donald Trump is open to additional talks with Pyongyang over denuclearization, his national security adviser said on Thursday, despite reports that North Korea is reactivating parts of its missile program.

U.S., North Korea have closed gaps 'on a number of issues': State Dept official
The United States has closed gaps with North Korea on a number of issues about denuclearization, but important areas remain to make progress on, a senior State Department official said on Thursday.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

The US doesn't want 'to conquer' the N.Korea 'step-by-step'.

Full obedience or tougher sanctions: US says N. Korea’s ‘step-by-step’ denuclearization unacceptable
8 Mar, 2019

 

[goyacobol]

The US doesn't want 'to conquer' the N.Korea 'step-by-step'.

Full obedience or tougher sanctions: US says N. Korea’s ‘step-by-step’ denuclearization unacceptable
8 Mar, 2019

I wonder...it seems like a whole lot of "posing" going on just to add to the drama. Haven't read The Art of the Deal but...

 

[angelburst29]

I wonder...it seems like a whole lot of "posing" going on just to add to the drama. Haven't read The Art of the Deal but...

I think there was "high drama" involved in this meeting but I don't sense - it was between Kim and Trump? In all the photos I came across dealing with this meeting, Kim and Trump got along fine and their mannerisms and facial expressions - reflected the same. They have some kind of comradery going on between them. But there was really "something" going on between Pompeo and Trump - like Pompeo is the head-honcho and acting like Trump's handler, hovering "on top" of Trump's every move? Other then the reported two different occasions, when Trump and Kim took a brief walk with their aids (photo #9), Trump was flanked by Pompeo and Bolton - like century guards! On the one hand, I can reason Pompeo and Bolton attending the high level meeting, due to their official positions but why did Trump allow Pompeo, who as CIA director - called for Kim's "assassination" allow Pompeo to sit directly in front of Kim? (#3) How asinine is that? In the second meeting, they revered positions (#10). The stability of that meeting unraveled the moment Pompeo stepped off the plane in Hanoi! I can't even imagine, the mental and emotional impact, Pompeo's attendance caused Kim? Yet, Kim remained calm, Diplomatic and assertive, even answering reporters questions after the last meeting. I sense, Trump was under a lot of stress and emotional turmoil - that - or he didn't get much sleep, denoted by the appearance of his eyes? (#4. #5, #6. #7, #8)
If trump is going with the idea, "Keep family and friends close but your enemies - closer" he's playing a very dangerous game!



#2 - China says hopes U.S., North Korea exercise patience, keep talking

China hopes that the United States and North Korea can exercise patience, meet each other halfway and continue to talk, China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday in a phone call, China's foreign ministry said.

#3 - Pompeo says more U.S-North Korea meetings possible, but no plans

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States and North Korea could hold further meetings after a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam failed to yield an agreement, but there was no plan to do so immediately.

#4 - Trump says Kim promised not to test nuclear weapons, missiles

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday had still wanted to keep his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who had promised not to test nuclear weapons or rockets.

#5 - Trump says China has been 'a big help' with North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had spoken a lot about China during their summit in Vietnam but North Korean was not taking orders from anyone.

#6 - Trump says he and North Korea's Kim discussed dismantling of Yongbyon nuclear plant

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he and North Korean leader Kim Jon Un had discussed the dismantling of North Korea's main nuclear facility at Yongbyon during talks at their second summit in Vietnam.
#7 -

#8 -


#9 - Trump, Kim go for brief walkabout after meeting, joined by envoys

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took a brief stroll on Thursday in the courtyard of the Hanoi hotel where they are meeting for the second day of summit talks.

#10 - No agreement at Trump, Kim summit in Vietnam: White House

U.S. Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not reach an agreement at the end of two days of meetings on Thursday but had constructive discussions on denuclearization of the North and its economy, the White House said.

#11 - Trump says Cohen hearing may have contributed to North Korea summit failure

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Democrats' decision to interview his longtime fixer, lawyer Michael Cohen, on the same day as a meeting with Kim Jong Un may have contributed to the North Korea summit ending with no deal.

South Korea's Moon names new point man on North Korea after Hanoi summit breakdown

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has replaced his unification minister who played a major role in detente with North Korea over the past year, his office said on Friday, and named a longtime confidant to lead a drive for "a new Korean peninsula".

U.S., North Korea have closed gaps 'on a number of issues': State Dept official
The United States has closed gaps with North Korea on a number of issues about denuclearization, but important areas remain to make progress on, a senior State Department official said on Thursday.

South Korean President Moon Accelerates Peace Process in Latest Reshuffle
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has appointed a new Unification Minister in an effort to welcome a new era of peace on the peninsula. Outgoing Unification Minister (in effect, Seoul’s proverbial ‘Minister for DPRK Affairs) Cho Myoung-gyon will be replaced by Kim Yeon-chul, a man with a long record of advocating peace and win-win engagement with Pyongyang.

Moon’s appointment of Kim demonstrates a clear desire by the Blue House to not only maintain the momentum of the peace process, but to give it a boost after the Kim Jong-un/Donald Trump summit in Hanoi failed to produce any concrete agreements beyond an oral acknowledgement of personal good will between the two leaders.

 

[angelburst29]

The U.S. special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, said on Monday that "diplomacy is still very much alive" with North Korea, despite the collapse of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month.

U.S. envoy on North Korea says 'diplomacy still very much alive' with Pyongyang

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun listens to South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea on February 9, 2019. Ed JONES/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

But Beigun, speaking at a nuclear conference in Washington, said gaps remain between the two sides and North Korea must show it is fully committed to elimination of its nuclear weapons.

“It’s certainly our expectation that we will be able to continue our close engagement,” he said, while offering no specifics on when new talks might be held.

U.S. says North Korea diplomacy 'very much alive,' but it's watching rocket site

The chief U.S. envoy for North Korea said on Monday that "diplomacy is still very much alive" with Pyongyang despite a failed summit last month, but cautioned that Washington was closely watching activity at a North Korean rocket site and did not know if it might be planning a new launch.

 

[angelburst29]

Japan has decided for the first time in years not to submit to the United Nations a joint resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses, given U.S. efforts to end North Korea's weapons program and other factors, Japan said on Wednesday.

Japan not to submit U.N. resolution condemning North Korean rights abuses

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Japan and the European Union have submitted a motion condemning North Korea’s rights record to the United Nations every year since 2008. North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of rights abuses.

“The decision was made taking into consideration various factors comprehensively, such as results of the summit meeting between the United States and North Korea and the situation of Japan’s abduction issue,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

 

[angelburst29]

Interesting, a mystery?

On February 22, the North Korean embassy in Madrid suffered a breech/break-in. Ten men burst into the embassy, tied up and gagged several embassy employees - before making off with documents, computers and telephones. They escaped in two embassy vehicles (with diplomatic plates) which were later abandoned. The former ambassador to Madrid, Kim Hyok Chol, is today the North Korean envoy to the United States and was involved in preparations for the recent summit in Hanoi between Kim Jung Un and Donald Trump. Two of the group “have been recognized by Spanish secret services as being linked with the CIA". The attack took place "five days" before the start of the North Korea-United States Summit in Hanoi. I'm sure - we can rule out ex-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, the present Secretary of State, as having any foreknowledge of this timely break-in?

Wed Mar 13, 2019 - Report: CIA Implicated in Attack on North Korean Embassy in Spain
Farsnews

Spanish investigators believe that two assailants who broke into the North Korean embassy in Madrid last month and took hostages have links to the CIA, according to reports.

None of the 10 individuals who broke into the embassy before tying up and beating staff as they looked for information on computers have been caught. But sources from the investigation told the Spanish newspaper El País that they been able to identify several of the attackers from video evidence.

Although the majority of the assailants who sped away in two of the embassy’s cars before vanishing have been identified as Koreans, two of the group “have been recognised by Spanish secret services as being linked with the CIA”, El País reported on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, members of the investigation by the National Police and Spain’s CNI secret service contacted the CIA to ask for an explanation of possible US involvement in the break-in. The response, according to Spanish government sources, was “unconvincing”.

The break-in, during which the assailants took computers and mobile phones from members of embassy staff, took place five days before the start of the North Korea-United States Summit in Hanoi, which ended in failure after President Donald Trump broke off talks with his counterpart Kim Jong-un.

North Korea’s most recent ambassador to Spain, Kim Hyok-chol, played a key role ahead of the Vietnam summit, heading up the North Korea negotiating team that received a US delegation in Pyongyang in early February to discuss denuclearization.

El Confidencial reported on Sunday, citing sources, US intelligence agencies may have been behind the February attack on the North Korean Embassy in Madrid.

According to El Confidencial newspaper, Spain's National Police and the foreign intelligence unit of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) are examining all possible versions of what happened.

Nevertheless, the sources told the newspaper that the theory that the US intelligence agencies, which could have been acting together with other foreign counterparts, were involved in the attack, was gaining momentum.

CNI reportedly suspects that the way the embassy was attacked resembles the "method of work" of the North American intelligence services during secret operations.

The newspaper added that embassy employees, who were in the building at the time of the attack, told investigators that some attackers spoke Korean and could be nationals of South Korea, a "US strategic ally".

In February, reports emerged in Spanish media, saying that a group of attackers had broken into the North Korean embassy in Madrid, effectively took diplomatic personnel hostage for several hours and seized their computers. One of the employees managed to escape and contacted the police.

Another version is that North Korean intelligence services themselves could have been behind the attack. According to the media outlet, the attack may be somehow connected to the former North Korean ambassador in Madrid, who was declared persona non grata and expelled from Spain back in 2017.

Investigators purportedly believe that the attackers were searching for information about the diplomat, who had been enjoying the freedom of movement in Madrid throughout four years of his mission.

A court in Madrid is in charge of the investigation into the assault on the embassy but so far no arrests have been made.

Published on Mar 13, 2019 (4.22 min.)

A week after a break-in at the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spanish authorities were on Friday still trying to shed light on the mysterious theft of computers and office equipment.

March 2, 2019 - Mystery surrounds break-in at N.Korea embassy in Spain
Mystery surrounds break-in at N.Korea embassy in Spain

Ten men burst into the embassy on February 22 brandishing fake handguns, according to sources close to the enquiry cited by Spanish media.

The intruders then tied up and gagged several embassy employees before making off with documents, computers and telephones. They escaped in two embassy vehicles with diplomatic plates which were later abandoned.

According to the El Pais newspaper, investigators have not ruled out "political espionage".

The Spanish government has said little about the mysterious incident. "An enquiry is underway into what happened," said a foreign ministry spokesman, without elaborating.

The interior ministry said the North Korean embassy had not filed any official complaint.

North Korea's ambassador to Spain was expelled in 2017 as a "persona non grata" after nuclear tests and missile firings by Pyongyang. Since then, North Korea has had diplomatic representation in Madrid but no ambassador.

The only element that the government and police have officially confirmed was that on February 22 a North Korean woman who was slightly injured was picked up on a street near the embassy.

According to the media, she is believed to have been the one who gave the alert.

Alejandro Cao de Benos, a Spaniard who has worked since 2002 for the Pyongyang regime as a delegate for cultural relations, told AFP what he learned from "administrative technicians".

"The only thing that I know directly is that there was the theft of computer equipment and mobile phones and that the personnel are fine after having suffered some minor injuries," said Cao de Benos, who is also president of the Korean Friendship Association.

The former ambassador to Madrid, Kim Hyok Chol, is today the North Korean envoy to the United States and was involved in preparations for the recent summit in Hanoi between Kim Jung Un and Donald Trump. The talks failed to reach a nuclear accord, though both sides say they are keeping the door of diplomacy open. (AFP)

A South Korean official in charge of the peace regime issue will head to the United States on Wednesday for a "working group" meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

March 13, 2019 - Seoul, Washington set for 'working group' session on Pyongyang
Seoul, Washington set for 'working group' session on Pyongyang

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the extended bilateral meeting in the Metropole hotel with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House national security adviser John Bolton, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and Kim Yong-chol, Vice Chairman of the North Korean Workers' Party Committee, during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 28, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap

Rhee Dong-yeol, director general of the ministry's Korean Peninsula peace regime bureau, plans to meet with Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea, in Washington, D.C. on Thursday (local time).

They will be joined by several other officials of the two sides handling North Korea affairs in the first face-to-face working group session since the unsuccessful Hanoi summit between the U.S. and North Korea late last month.

Top agenda items include ways to revitalize the denuclearization process and Seoul's pursuit of a sanctions waiver for the planned video reunions of separated families living on the other side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Some equipment needs to be brought into the North for the humanitarian project.

The allies are also expected to touch on Seoul's push for inter-Korean economic cooperation, such as the resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang tour program.

 

[angelburst29]

Wed Mar 13, 2019 - Report: CIA Implicated in Attack on North Korean Embassy in Spain
Farsnews

The WaPo and it's un-identified sources = damage control?

Group seeking to overthrow Kim behind North Korea embassy raid in Spain: Washington Post

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes his way to board a train to depart for North Korea at Dong Dang railway station in Vietnam, March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

A dissident organization committed to overthrowing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was behind a raid on the North Korean embassy in Spain last month, The Washington Post reported on Friday, quoting people familiar with the planning and execution of the mission.

The newspaper, which did not further identify its sources, identified the group as Cheollima Civil Defense, which also goes by the name Free Joseon. It said the group came to prominence in 2017 after evacuating a nephew of Kim from Macau when potential threats to his life surfaced.

The Post’s sources said the group did not act in coordination with any governments and U.S. intelligence agencies would have been especially reluctant to be involved given the sensitive timing of the mission ahead of a second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi from Feb. 27-28.

According to Spanish media accounts, broadly confirmed by a Spanish Foreign Ministry source, a group of unidentified men entered North Korea’s embassy in Madrid on Feb. 22, bound and gagged staff, and drove off four hours later with computers.

There has been no claim of responsibility.

The dissident group identified by the Washington Post could not be reached for comment and its purported website has made no mention of any involvement in the raid.

On Feb. 25 the website posted a statement saying the group had “received a request for help from comrades in a certain Western country” and that “it was a highly dangerous situation but (we) responded.” The group said an important announcement would be coming that week, but no details of any operation have been released.

The Madrid embassy is where North Korea’s chief working-level negotiator in talks with the United States, Kim Hyok Chol, was ambassador until 2017.

Intelligence experts said computers and phones reportedly seized in the raid would be eagerly sought by foreign intelligence agencies given the information they might contain on Kim Hyok Chol and others.

Asked about the Washington Post report, the U.S. State Department referred queries to the Spanish authorities. The CIA declined to comment.

 

[angelburst29]

I'm going to take a wild guess - that Trump was never briefed on the attack at the North Korean Embassy in Spain, that occurred a week before the Summit in Hanoi - that the information was purposely held from him by the war hawks Pompeo, Bolton, and Abrams, who are now calling the Foreign Policy shots for the Trump administration? That CIA's Gina Haspel was at the forefront of the activities and only after Trump had landed in Hanoi - did he learn of the events at the Embassy in Spain and probably from the North Korean side? What I don't seem understand, why was "acting White House Chief of Staff" Mick Mulvaney present at the high level meetings - instead of U.S. special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun? Chief of Staff has nothing to do with Foreign Policy?

Trump looks like he got hit below the belt (figuratively speaking) and blew a few gaskets - knowing the meeting with Kim was already compromised - before they even sat down at the table?

To get a better perspective - the attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spain happened on February 22. Trump-Kim Hanoi Summit in Vietnam was held February 27-28th. On March 2nd, the Korean Times published an article on the Embassy break in. On March 13th, both Farsnews and the WaPo published articles related to the embassy break in.

The first part of this article gives a general run down of events in Venezuela and then goes into further details - as to what really happened at the NK Embassy in Spain.

March 18, 2019 - Trump’s CIA Now Unbound and Back to Its Traditional Hijinks
Trump’s CIA Now Unbound and Back to Its Traditional Hijinks

Under the directorship of torture and black site maven Gina Haspel, Donald Trump’s Central Intelligence Agency has returned to its traditional roots of conducting “black bag” operations and disrupting electrical grids through cyber-attacks.

The Venezuelan government has accused the Trump administration of giving the green light for a series of crippling power failures in Venezuela, which affected 22 of Venezuela’s 23 states, including the capital of Caracas. The long-duration power failures were cited by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a reason for the US withdrawing its diplomats from Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that an international commission assisted by specialists from Russia, China, Iran, and the United Nations would help his country analyze the sources of the Venezuelan electrical grid cyber-attack. Initial cyber-forensics by Venezuela traced some of the cyber warfare being waged against Venezuela to nodes in Houston and Chicago.

In addition to electricity, water service was disrupted in Venezuela. From Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Maduro tweeted on March 12: “From the Presidential Command Post, we monitored minute-by-minute the progress of the recovery of the National Electric System.”

Cyber-attacks on a country that puts its civilian population in jeopardy might, at first glance, appear to be a violation of the Geneva Conventions on warfare. However, without a Digital Geneva Convention, civilian populations are not covered by the current Geneva Conventions. However, in 2015, the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security (UN GGE), which included experts from the United States, China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and other nations, agreed that current international law does apply to cyberspace. Most international legal experts agree that the Geneva Conventions require a digital annex to cover the type of cyber-disruption of the Venezuelan electrical grid carried out by the US intelligence services.

Hybrid warfare against Venezuela, which includes economic, diplomatic, and cyber, has the backing of the neo-conservatives who now call the shots for the Trump White House. They include, in addition to Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton; Iran-Contra felon Elliott Abrams, Trump’s special envoy to the US-backed opposition-led rump Venezuelan government of Juan Guaido; Cuban-American Mauricio Claver-Carone, the senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council; and Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, who represents the interests of South Florida’s right-wing oligarch exiles from Venezuela and other Latin American countries.

While Trump was preparing for his Hanoi summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump’s second summit with Kim, Haspel’s CIA dug into its old bag of black operations, while also engaging in the more modern form of cyber-attack in targeting North Korea.

On February 22, 2019, ten males, all wearing masks, broke into the North Korean embassy, which is located in the residential suburb of Aravaca, north of Madrid, Spain, and subjected eight embassy staff members to brutal interrogation tactics, including tying up the diplomats, throwing black bags over their heads (a specialty of Ms. Haspel), and subjecting them to beatings. One female diplomat managed to escape through a second-floor window and her screams alerted a neighbor, who promptly called the police. Two embassy employees required medical attention from their injuries.

The Spanish police and National Intelligence Center (CNI) linked two of the embassy invaders to the CIA. “El Pais,” a Spanish national newspaper, reported that the CIA issued one of its standard “denials,” however, the paper stated that Spanish authorities found the denial from Langley, Virginia to be “unconvincing.” “El Pais” reported that the invasion of the North Korean embassy by the CIA had severely harmed relations between Madrid and Washington.

The National Police Corps’ General Commissariat of Information (CGI) and CNI concluded that the attack and occupation of the North Korean embassy was not carried out by common criminals but was the work of a “military cell” that stole mobile phones and computers. Two of the embassy invaders were identified as Koreans and, based on CGI’s and CNI’s analysis of security camera video footage, they were further recognized as Koreans linked to the CIA. Spanish authorities did not rule out the possibility that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service assisted the CIA in the embassy invasion. The embassy invaders escaped from the embassy using two North Korean luxury sedans bearing diplomatic plates. The cars were later found abandoned.

The criminal inquiry into the incident is now before the Spanish High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, which could order the arrests of the embassy attackers and, if they are in the United States or South Korea, have Spain’s INTERPOL national bureau put out a Red Notice for their arrest and extradition to Spain to stand trial.

Spanish authorities believe the CIA’s embassy attackers were looking for information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain, who was declared “persona non grata” by the Spanish government in 2017. Kim Hyok Chol, a career diplomat from one of North Korea’s elite families who studied French at the Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies and speaks fluent English, is now one of Kim Jong Un’s trusted diplomatic advisers on nuclear talks with the Trump administration and he traveled with Chairman Kim to the failed Hanoi summit with Trump.

With certainty, Kim Hyok Chol thoroughly briefed Kim Jong Un on the CIA’s storming of his old diplomatic post in Spain. When Trump and Chairman Kim met in Hanoi on February 27 and if the issue of the CIA’s siege of the North Korean embassy was brought up, that could have been enough to derail the summit. Considering the fact that war hawks like Bolton, Abrams, and Pompeo are now calling the foreign policy shots for the Trump administration, the attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid, just five days prior to the Hanoi summit, may have been ordered by Washington’s neo-con cell with the intention of scuttling the second meeting between Trump and Kim and put on ice any future meetings.

There is further evidence that suggests the neo-cons, in cahoots with Haspel at the CIA, set out to disrupt the Hanoi summit.
While Trump was meeting with Kim in Vietnam, the CIA is believed to have launched a cyber-attack on the Korean American National Coordinating Council (KANCC) in New York, an organization with ties to the Pyongyang government. KANCC is a non-governmental organization with offices in the Interchurch Center building, near Columbia University in Manhattan. It champions the dropping of US sanctions against North Korea, a sore point in Hanoi between Trump and Kim.

The Trump-Kim Hanoi summit was reported to have hit a roadblock over North Korea’s request for a partial lifting of US sanctions on North Korea, in return for the continued North Korean moratorium on nuclear testing and a partial freeze on production of fissile material. With the CIA’s attack on the North Korean embassy in Spain still fresh in the minds of the North Korean side and the neo-cons’ insistence, pushed by Bolton and Pompeo, for complete North Korean nuclear disarmament, the Hanoi summit was destined for failure. And, with Bolton, Abrams, Pompeo, and other dangerous neo-cons in charge at the White House and the State Department -- and Haspel dancing to their tune at the CIA - North Korea and Venezuela are not the only countries currently in the gunsights of the Trump administration.

Maybe, Trump needs to follow in Maduro's footsteps and initiate a "deep restructuring" of his own government?

 

[angelburst29]

North Korea has called back its top diplomats to China and the United Nations, KBS World Radio reported, citing sources in Beijing, who pointed out that an Air Koryo flight carrying Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong and North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song had departed for Pyongyang from Beijing on Tuesday afternoon.

March 20, 2019 - North Korea Calls Back Top Diplomats from UN, China Amid Unresolved Issues with US

Both high-profile diplomats are said to have played a significant role in negotiations with Washington on denuclearisation and the resolution of the crisis between the two Koreas.

Per the Korean international broadcaster, there is speculation that Pyongyang has summoned the pair to talk about Washington apparently floating an idea to strengthen sanctions against the DPRK, as well as the country’s potential response following the collapse of the second round of North Korea-US talks, which took place in February.

It came weeks after the second Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un summit in Hanoi, which finished abruptly without any deal or declaration due to the parties’ failure to agree on the scale of North Korea’s denuclearization and US-led sanctions relief.

Trump has stated that his talks with Kim broke down because the North Korean leader wanted the removal of sanctions "in their entirety", a claim rejected by Pyongyang, which insists it merely wanted a partial lifting of the biting economic penalties.

After their first face-to-face meeting in Singapore last June, which took place after a historic inter-Korean summit and Kim’s talks with Xi Jinping in China, the US and North Korean leaders agreed to work towards the denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for sanctions relief and security guarantees.

But, US-North Korea talks for a denuclearization deal appear to have stalled, in part due to disagreements over the timing of sanctions relief. While Pyongyang has since stopped testing ballistic missiles or nuclear bombs, the Americans continue to insist the country's nuclear program must be fully dismantled before they deliver on their part of the deal. Also, North Korea is demanding a solid guarantee of its security and the removal of Washington’s nuclear umbrella protecting allies South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has also denounced the US administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the country, warning that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever. North Korean authorities have also complained about continued US and UN sanctions, calling them a “source of mistrust

March 20, 2019 - In wake of Hanoi summit, South Korea's Moon left with less room to maneuver

The breakdown at last month's U.S.-North Korea summit has left South Korean President Moon Jae-in with little room to maneuver and exacerbated divisions within his government over how to break the impasse, three sources familiar with the issue said.

March 20, 2019 - Japan to extend sanctions against North Korea by two years: NHK

Japan will extend unilateral sanctions against North Korea by two years, public broadcaster NHK said on Wednesday.

 

[angelburst29]

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ordering the withdrawal of recently announced North Korea-related sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Trump says he is withdrawing earlier North Korea-related sanctions
“It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea,” Trump said on Twitter. “I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!”

It was not immediately clear what sanctions Trump was referring to, although the United States on Thursday blacklisted two Chinese shipping companies that it said helped North Korea evade sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea quits liaison office in setback for South after new U.S. sanctions
North Korea on Friday pulled out of a liaison office with the South, in a major setback for Seoul, just hours after the United States imposed the first new sanctions on the North since the second U.S.-North Korea summit broke down last month.

U.S. says Russian ship suspected of illicit North Korea trade

The U.S. government has named a Russian ship on a list of vessels suspected of providing fuel to Pyongyang, a month after Reuters reported the same ship violated sanctions by carrying out a clandestine transfer to a North Korean tanker.

 

[angelburst29]

Wed Mar 13, 2019 - Report: CIA Implicated in Attack on North Korean Embassy in Spain
Farsnews

A Spanish judge plans to request the extradition from the United States of members of a group he suspects of forcing their way into the North Korean embassy in Madrid and trying to persuade an official there to defect, a judicial source said on Tuesday.

March 26, 2019 - Spanish judge to seek extradition of North Korea embassy intruders: source

FILE PHOTO: A Spanish National Police car is seen outside the North Korea's embassy in Madrid, Spain February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo

A Spanish judge plans to request the extradition from the United States of members of a group he suspects of forcing their way into the North Korean embassy in Madrid and trying to persuade an official there to defect, a judicial source said on Tuesday.

The judge believes a group of 10 intruders identified themselves as human rights campaigners during the assault, according to a document of Spain’s High Court. A few days later their leader contacted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to pass on information about the raid, the document said.

The judicial source told Reuters the judge believes all the identified suspects went to the United States after the raid and that he would request their extradition to Spain, where they could face up to 28 years in prison.

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the U.S. government was not involved in the raid, which Spanish High Court documents said involved a Mexican citizen who is a U.S. resident and a U.S. citizen.

“The United States government had nothing to do with this,” Palladino told a regular news briefing, stressing that the United States called for the protection of embassies, whichever country they belonged to. He referred questions about the investigation to Spanish authorities.

The FBI said in a statement it is “our standard practice to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation,” adding that the agency had a strong working relationship with Spanish law enforcement partners.

Spain’s Interior Ministry had previously said police were investigating an incident at the embassy on Feb. 22, but gave no details except to say that a North Korean citizen had been injured and that no one had filed a complaint.

A Mexican citizen who is a U.S. resident, identified as Adrian Hong Chang, led the group, the Spanish High Court said in the document, based on the investigation of the incident.

The group stole computers, hard disks and pen drives, it said. It was not clear how the court knew that the man had contacted the FBI.

Three of the intruders took an embassy official into the basement and encouraged him to defect from North Korea. They identified themselves as members of a group who campaigned for the “liberation of North Korea”, the document said.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that a dissident organization called Cheollima Civil Defense had carried out the raid. The paper last week quoted unnamed sources as saying that the group shared information about the raid with the FBI.

Fake guns, Balaclava masks - The Spanish court document gave a detailed account of the intruders’ movements before as well as during the intrusion, including their stay in a hotel and purchases of knives, balaclava masks and fake guns.

The group included a U.S. citizen and South Korean citizens. There was no immediate comment on the matter from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. Spain’s Interior Ministry declined to comment.

The embassy raid occurred shortly before the Feb. 27-28 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi.

The Mexican, Hong Chang, said he had carried out the raid voluntarily and he did not identify his companions, the court document said. The court identified the U.S. citizen as Sam Ryu.

The group kept embassy staff tied up for several hours and then searched the premises for arms before leaving, at which point they separated into four groups and headed to Portugal. Hong Chang then flew from Lisbon to New York.

In Spain the High Court has the power to investigate criminal offences, after which formal accusations are launched.

U.S. government had nothing to do with raid at North Korea's Madrid embassy: State Department
The U.S. government had nothing to do with a raid last month at North Korea's embassy in Madrid, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said on Tuesday.

 

[angelburst29]

They keep trying to spin this narrative - that some shadowy group (Cheollima Civil Defense) was the culprit of this break-in? The more they try to spin the story, the more it sounds like a deflection and a cover up. If they were invited - then why "the break in" and why steal two Diplomatic cars and then abandon them?

A dissident group accused of breaking into North Korea's embassy in Madrid said on Thursday it was temporarily suspending operations, after a Spanish judge issued international arrest warrants for two suspected intruders now believed to be in the United States.

March 28, 2019 - Dissident group accused of North Korean embassy intrusion suspends operations

A shadowy group called Cheollima Civil Defense, also known as Free Joseon, acknowledged on its website late on Tuesday that it was behind the incident but said it was not an attack and that the group had been invited into the embassy.

In a statement on its website on Thursday, Cheollima Civil Defense said that while it has “bigger tasks ahead,” it had temporarily suspended work because of “speculative” media reports.

“We ask the media to restrain itself in its interest in our organization and its members,” the statement said, noting that the group’s membership includes North Korean refugees, but that it had not recently contacted defectors living in South Korea.

A judicial source said on Wednesday that warrants were issued for the group’s alleged leader and another suspect after an investigation by a Spanish court found that they broke into the embassy, tried to persuade an official to defect and then stole computer equipment.

I wonder...it seems like a whole lot of "posing" going on just to add to the drama. Haven't read The Art of the Deal but...

Those words keep filtering through my mind - in each photo I have recently come across in the news lately. The serious posing?

I think, you might be on to something, Goyacobol? I hate to keep "harping on it" but I sense something "happened" when Trump was in Vietnam. Although the incident at the NK Embassy might have had a heavy impact and repercussions on the Summit, there's a feeling that something else is "in play" here - something that affects Trump, personally? I wonder, if he Is being blackmailed or threaten in some way? His demeanor has completely changed - like a switch was flipped and he did a complete 360 degree turn? He acts like he's totally pissed-off and just going through the motions of doing this or that - because he has, too?


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