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The Living Force
It seems that Donald Trump wants to borrow something from Kim Jong-un's political style amid the general thaw between the US and North Korea.
15.06.2018 - 'Don Jong-un?' Trump Admires How People Sit up at Attention When Kim Speaks
'Don Jong-un?' Trump Admires How People Sit up at Attention When Kim Speaks
Speaking to Fox and Friends on Friday, Trump called Kim a "strong head" of his country and said he admires the attention his staff seems to pay to their leader when he speaks. "Don't let anyone think different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same," Trump said.
Later in the day, Trump was asked by reporters what he meant by the remark. "I was kidding. You don't understand sarcasm," he said.
The comments prompted media on both sides of the Atlantic to "remind" readers that Kim was not a democratically elected leader, with CNN, Vox, The Guardian, and others pointing to North Korea's human rights record, including the alleged execution of several hundred people, including top military and government officials, as reported on by South Korean think tanks and media.
Trump's comments followed remarks he made in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, in which Baier called Kim "a killer" and a leader who has "done some really bad things."
"Yeah, but so have a lot of other people done some really bad things. I could go through a lot of nations where a lot of bad things were done," Trump countered. "I think we have a very good relationship. We understand each other," Trump said of Kim.
In an interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, Trump was again told that Kim was "a brutal dictator [who] runs a police state, [engages in] forced starvation, [runs] labor camps; he's assassinated members of his own family. How do you trust someone like that?"
"I can only tell you from my experience, and I've met him, I've spoken with him…I think that he really wants to do a great job for North Korea. I think he wants to de-nuke, without that, there's nothing to discuss," Trump said. "Over my lifetime I’ve done a lot of deals with a lot of people and sometimes the people you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones and the people that you do trust turn out to be not the honorable ones," he added.
15.06.2018 - No More Fire and Fury: Trump, Kim Took Military Option Off the Table - Analyst
No More Fire and Fury: Trump, Kim Took Military Option Off the Table – Analyst
The Singapore Summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has caught many by surprise. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Dr. Joseph Cheng, professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong shared his views on the meeting and explained skepticism over its potential outcomes.
Sputnik: No matter which way you look at this agreement between the United States of America and North Korea and despite much conflict being caused by President Trump's "America First" policy with global partners, this is a huge coup by the US president to achieve such concessions and agreement by a ruling North Korean leader. Just as a starter, perhaps you could just give us an overview as to your feelings to recent events.
Dr. Joseph Cheng: Well, this is a quite surprising achievement, I do agree, especially when you compare [it] with what was going on six months ago, when both leaders were talking about pushing the button, about fire and fury and so on. Now they were heading a summit. This summit apparently was successful, both leaders expressed satisfaction over the outcome and two countries have agreed to go on negotiating at the foreign minister-secretary of state level. Both sides basically reaffirmed their respective position, North Korea pressed to engage in complete denuclearization and President Donald Trump also promised to offer security guarantees to North Korea. So, the basic foundation has been laid; as expected, they cannot make further commitments with regard to exchanges of mutual state visits as well as de-conclusion of a peace agreement. These things probably need more time. And they, as expected and reasonably, did not have enough time to reach these agreements.
Sputnik: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un swept aside decades of hostility between the nations at this historic summit at Singapore last Tuesday jointly pledging a new future of peaceful relations and one of the significant concessions that sparked criticism in Washington. Mr. Trump declared the US would halt military exercises in Korea and pledged security guarantees to Pyongyang in return for an unwavering but unspecified commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by Mr. Kim. This has caused some concern by Japan and the senators from the Democratic Party of the US. What's your take on these particular comments after the historic meeting?
Dr. Joseph Cheng: Well, I think everyone can agree that a good beginning, a good foundation, has been made, but the outcome is still far from certain, given the fact that previous agreements did not work out. In 1994, both the United States and North Korea were ready to reach a framework agreement and the United States promised to send two light-water reactors to North Korea in exchange of its abandonment of its nuclear weapons. The agreement did not work out. There were also agreements reached during the Six-Party talks [between China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States] in the previous decade [2003-2009]. Again these agreements did not end up in any constructive foundation for denuclearization on the part of Pyongyang. So, these failures before probably generated some sense of cynicism and perhaps pessimism. But this is the only way, obviously, to go forward. I think that the most important achievement of the summit is to demonstrate to the world that military means are off the agenda, military options are far too costly, far too dangerous, risky and they are opposed not only by South Korea, but also strongly opposed by China and Russia.
So, the parties concerned have to engage in negotiations and try to reach a solution through peaceful solutions. This is too early to assess the outcome — there must be some years of negotiations ahead before North Korea completely finishes its denuclearization program. Japan, as you said, is certainly concerned. Japan has been left out so far. As you know there have already been summit meetings between the two Koreas, between China and North Korea and between the US and North Korea now. Russian Foreign Minister [Sergei Lavrov] visited Pyongyang recently and he was received by Kim Jong-un, and Japan naturally feels a bit isolated and at the same time Japan has its own agenda item, mainly the return of abducted Japanese nationals in the previous decades and so on. And Japan may like to have a piece of action in the near future, which is also highly likely.
15.06.2018 - US Forces in South Korea Not Subject to Talks with North Korea - Seoul
US Forces in South Korea Not Subject to Talks With North Korea - Seoul
The announcement by a senior official in South Korean president Moon Jae-in's office was made in the wake of the Pentagon's announcement that the US will suspend the military exercises with South Korea after the first-ever meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
The senior official said that the US military contingent presence in South Korea is not the subject to negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang as it is a matter of relations between South Koreans and Americans.
Donald Trump gave North Korea security assurances and indicated he would suspend military exercises with South Korea.
Recently, Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Logan said that the US Defense Department was working with the White House on options to halt military exercises with South Korea.
Earlier, South Korean President Moon Jae-in stated, that a change in military pressure on North Korea would be possible only if Pyongyang was to "carry out denuclearization steps sincerely."
On June 12 Trump and Kim met on the Singaporean island of Sentosa. Following the meeting, the leaders signed a document showing their commitment to establish new bilateral relations and build a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
After the summit the Donald Trump stated, that military exercises in the region were "provocative" and might be suspended.
Pyongyang reaffirmed its commitment to the "complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula."
In April, Kim Jong-un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and agreed to jointly work on peacefully resolving long-standing bilateral tensions.
15.06.2018 - China May Demand That US Remove THAAD From S Korea - Analyst
China May Demand That US Remove THAAD From S Korea – Analyst
The implementation of the US-North Korea June 12 accords might require China's participation, analysts told Sputnik, suggesting that Beijing could demand that the Pentagon remove its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems deployed on the Korean Peninsula.
On June 12 North Korea clearly signaled its determination to carry out the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, therefore, at this stage, the proposal to mitigate sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is quite reasonable, Lu Chao, head of the Center for North Korean and Republic of Korea Studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told Sputnik China.
"Previously, the international community imposed sanctions on the DPRK because of its nuclear tests," Lu said. "However, North Korea has already responded positively to the idea of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In this case, the UN Security Council should also reconsider sanctions against the DPRK, up to the introduction of appropriate adjustments. Of course, the UN Security Council should take a decision on a relevant discussion [on the issue]. We can say that the DPRK's efforts to conduct the denuclearization are obvious. In particular, we are talking about the dismantling of [Pyongyang's] nuclear test site in May this year."
On May 25 Pyongyang destroyed the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site — the only known nuclear test site in the country, ahead of the June 12 Singapore Summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The demolition of the nuclear test site came as a signal of the DPRK's goodwill and readiness to go ahead with the denuclearization process.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on May 13, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia raised the anti-DPRK sanctions issue, suggesting that the Security Council should consider steps to lift restrictions against Pyongyang.
"I think that it is only natural that we should be thinking about steps in that direction," Nebenzia told reporters. "There is progress on the track that should be reciprocal. There should be a two-way street. Of course the other side should see encouragement to go forward."
The Russian diplomat specified that earlier, Moscow and Beijing had proposed a phased plan of denuclearization of the peninsula. One of the steps envisaged the suspension of US-South Korean military drills in exchange for Pyongyang's gradual abandonment of its nuclear program.
On June 13 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises had been suspended, adding that the drills would be resumed in case Pyongyang stops negotiations over the nuclear program.
The next day, however, Pompeo clarified that the sanctions against Pyongyang would not be lifted until the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization of North Korea.
"We believe that Kim Jong Un understands the urgency… that we must do this quickly," Pompeo said.
US Can't Implement Kim-Trump Accords Without China
Speaking to Sputnik, Russian political analyst Alexander Lomanov emphasized Beijing's role in the US-North Korean talks. It is likely that the US secretary of state's upcoming visit to China will be devoted to both the outcomes of the Singapore Summit and the subsequent implementation of the Washington-Pyongyang agreement.
However, the discussion of this sensitive issue is overshadowed by the White House pledge to impose "a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the 'Made in China 2025' program" on June 15 and 30, respectively
The US intention to impose political pressure and harm the Chinese economy at the same time enlisting China's support in solving the North Korean problem is a very bold and daring plan," Lomanov opined. "It may not strike a chord with Beijing, because [the Chinese] still believe that usually partners do not engage in the destruction of economic ties.
According to the analyst, the Singapore Summit looked like an attempt to "make friends and talk," rather than making some serious arrangements.
The main problem remains: the US is demanding that the DPRK take real steps in exchange for verbal promises, Lomanov pointed out. The analyst underscored that Washington had repeatedly demonstrated that its words do not always translate into actions. Thus, the absolute asymmetry of these agreements will be evident soon, he believes. He added that one should not delude oneself into believing that the DPRK will disarm under Washington's verbal guarantees.
However, according to Lomanov, China could ensure North Korea's disarmament. Still, Beijing would not do it for nothing: The analyst presumed that the Chinese leadership may demand that the US redeploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems outside South Korea and reduce the US military contingent on the peninsula.
In any event, given China's historic ties with North Korea Washington needs Beijing's assistance in implementing the Trump-Kim accords, Lomanov emphasized.
The US installed the THAAD complex in South Korea in 2017 under the pretext of tacking North Korea's missile threat. The move was criticized by both China and Russia, which cited serious security concerns and warned Washington against escalating tensions in the region.
15.06.2018 - DoD Chief Mattis Discusses With S Korean Counterpart Results of Singapore Summit
DoD Chief Mattis Discusses With S Korean Counterpart Results of Singapore Summit
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis discussed with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo over the phone on Thursday the results of the Singapore summit, the Department of Defense said in a press release.
"Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis spoke with Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo today from the Pentagon to discuss the results of the US-North Korea summit," the release said on Thursday.
Mattis also discussed with Song implementing US President Donald Trump’s guidance to halt US-South Korean military exercises in the region.
Moreover, the US defense secretary discussed the results of the summit with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, the Defense Department said in a separate press release.
Mattis reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad defense commitments to Japan and its determination to maintain military readiness in the region, the release said.
15.06.2018 - 'Don Jong-un?' Trump Admires How People Sit up at Attention When Kim Speaks
'Don Jong-un?' Trump Admires How People Sit up at Attention When Kim Speaks
Speaking to Fox and Friends on Friday, Trump called Kim a "strong head" of his country and said he admires the attention his staff seems to pay to their leader when he speaks. "Don't let anyone think different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same," Trump said.
Later in the day, Trump was asked by reporters what he meant by the remark. "I was kidding. You don't understand sarcasm," he said.
The comments prompted media on both sides of the Atlantic to "remind" readers that Kim was not a democratically elected leader, with CNN, Vox, The Guardian, and others pointing to North Korea's human rights record, including the alleged execution of several hundred people, including top military and government officials, as reported on by South Korean think tanks and media.
Trump's comments followed remarks he made in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, in which Baier called Kim "a killer" and a leader who has "done some really bad things."
"Yeah, but so have a lot of other people done some really bad things. I could go through a lot of nations where a lot of bad things were done," Trump countered. "I think we have a very good relationship. We understand each other," Trump said of Kim.
In an interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, Trump was again told that Kim was "a brutal dictator [who] runs a police state, [engages in] forced starvation, [runs] labor camps; he's assassinated members of his own family. How do you trust someone like that?"
"I can only tell you from my experience, and I've met him, I've spoken with him…I think that he really wants to do a great job for North Korea. I think he wants to de-nuke, without that, there's nothing to discuss," Trump said. "Over my lifetime I’ve done a lot of deals with a lot of people and sometimes the people you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones and the people that you do trust turn out to be not the honorable ones," he added.
15.06.2018 - No More Fire and Fury: Trump, Kim Took Military Option Off the Table - Analyst
No More Fire and Fury: Trump, Kim Took Military Option Off the Table – Analyst
The Singapore Summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has caught many by surprise. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Dr. Joseph Cheng, professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong shared his views on the meeting and explained skepticism over its potential outcomes.
Sputnik: No matter which way you look at this agreement between the United States of America and North Korea and despite much conflict being caused by President Trump's "America First" policy with global partners, this is a huge coup by the US president to achieve such concessions and agreement by a ruling North Korean leader. Just as a starter, perhaps you could just give us an overview as to your feelings to recent events.
Dr. Joseph Cheng: Well, this is a quite surprising achievement, I do agree, especially when you compare [it] with what was going on six months ago, when both leaders were talking about pushing the button, about fire and fury and so on. Now they were heading a summit. This summit apparently was successful, both leaders expressed satisfaction over the outcome and two countries have agreed to go on negotiating at the foreign minister-secretary of state level. Both sides basically reaffirmed their respective position, North Korea pressed to engage in complete denuclearization and President Donald Trump also promised to offer security guarantees to North Korea. So, the basic foundation has been laid; as expected, they cannot make further commitments with regard to exchanges of mutual state visits as well as de-conclusion of a peace agreement. These things probably need more time. And they, as expected and reasonably, did not have enough time to reach these agreements.
Sputnik: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un swept aside decades of hostility between the nations at this historic summit at Singapore last Tuesday jointly pledging a new future of peaceful relations and one of the significant concessions that sparked criticism in Washington. Mr. Trump declared the US would halt military exercises in Korea and pledged security guarantees to Pyongyang in return for an unwavering but unspecified commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by Mr. Kim. This has caused some concern by Japan and the senators from the Democratic Party of the US. What's your take on these particular comments after the historic meeting?
Dr. Joseph Cheng: Well, I think everyone can agree that a good beginning, a good foundation, has been made, but the outcome is still far from certain, given the fact that previous agreements did not work out. In 1994, both the United States and North Korea were ready to reach a framework agreement and the United States promised to send two light-water reactors to North Korea in exchange of its abandonment of its nuclear weapons. The agreement did not work out. There were also agreements reached during the Six-Party talks [between China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States] in the previous decade [2003-2009]. Again these agreements did not end up in any constructive foundation for denuclearization on the part of Pyongyang. So, these failures before probably generated some sense of cynicism and perhaps pessimism. But this is the only way, obviously, to go forward. I think that the most important achievement of the summit is to demonstrate to the world that military means are off the agenda, military options are far too costly, far too dangerous, risky and they are opposed not only by South Korea, but also strongly opposed by China and Russia.
So, the parties concerned have to engage in negotiations and try to reach a solution through peaceful solutions. This is too early to assess the outcome — there must be some years of negotiations ahead before North Korea completely finishes its denuclearization program. Japan, as you said, is certainly concerned. Japan has been left out so far. As you know there have already been summit meetings between the two Koreas, between China and North Korea and between the US and North Korea now. Russian Foreign Minister [Sergei Lavrov] visited Pyongyang recently and he was received by Kim Jong-un, and Japan naturally feels a bit isolated and at the same time Japan has its own agenda item, mainly the return of abducted Japanese nationals in the previous decades and so on. And Japan may like to have a piece of action in the near future, which is also highly likely.
15.06.2018 - US Forces in South Korea Not Subject to Talks with North Korea - Seoul
US Forces in South Korea Not Subject to Talks With North Korea - Seoul
The announcement by a senior official in South Korean president Moon Jae-in's office was made in the wake of the Pentagon's announcement that the US will suspend the military exercises with South Korea after the first-ever meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
The senior official said that the US military contingent presence in South Korea is not the subject to negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang as it is a matter of relations between South Koreans and Americans.
Donald Trump gave North Korea security assurances and indicated he would suspend military exercises with South Korea.
Recently, Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Logan said that the US Defense Department was working with the White House on options to halt military exercises with South Korea.
Earlier, South Korean President Moon Jae-in stated, that a change in military pressure on North Korea would be possible only if Pyongyang was to "carry out denuclearization steps sincerely."
On June 12 Trump and Kim met on the Singaporean island of Sentosa. Following the meeting, the leaders signed a document showing their commitment to establish new bilateral relations and build a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
After the summit the Donald Trump stated, that military exercises in the region were "provocative" and might be suspended.
Pyongyang reaffirmed its commitment to the "complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula."
In April, Kim Jong-un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and agreed to jointly work on peacefully resolving long-standing bilateral tensions.
15.06.2018 - China May Demand That US Remove THAAD From S Korea - Analyst
China May Demand That US Remove THAAD From S Korea – Analyst
The implementation of the US-North Korea June 12 accords might require China's participation, analysts told Sputnik, suggesting that Beijing could demand that the Pentagon remove its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems deployed on the Korean Peninsula.
On June 12 North Korea clearly signaled its determination to carry out the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, therefore, at this stage, the proposal to mitigate sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is quite reasonable, Lu Chao, head of the Center for North Korean and Republic of Korea Studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told Sputnik China.
"Previously, the international community imposed sanctions on the DPRK because of its nuclear tests," Lu said. "However, North Korea has already responded positively to the idea of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In this case, the UN Security Council should also reconsider sanctions against the DPRK, up to the introduction of appropriate adjustments. Of course, the UN Security Council should take a decision on a relevant discussion [on the issue]. We can say that the DPRK's efforts to conduct the denuclearization are obvious. In particular, we are talking about the dismantling of [Pyongyang's] nuclear test site in May this year."
On May 25 Pyongyang destroyed the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site — the only known nuclear test site in the country, ahead of the June 12 Singapore Summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The demolition of the nuclear test site came as a signal of the DPRK's goodwill and readiness to go ahead with the denuclearization process.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on May 13, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia raised the anti-DPRK sanctions issue, suggesting that the Security Council should consider steps to lift restrictions against Pyongyang.
"I think that it is only natural that we should be thinking about steps in that direction," Nebenzia told reporters. "There is progress on the track that should be reciprocal. There should be a two-way street. Of course the other side should see encouragement to go forward."
The Russian diplomat specified that earlier, Moscow and Beijing had proposed a phased plan of denuclearization of the peninsula. One of the steps envisaged the suspension of US-South Korean military drills in exchange for Pyongyang's gradual abandonment of its nuclear program.
On June 13 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises had been suspended, adding that the drills would be resumed in case Pyongyang stops negotiations over the nuclear program.
The next day, however, Pompeo clarified that the sanctions against Pyongyang would not be lifted until the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization of North Korea.
"We believe that Kim Jong Un understands the urgency… that we must do this quickly," Pompeo said.
US Can't Implement Kim-Trump Accords Without China
Speaking to Sputnik, Russian political analyst Alexander Lomanov emphasized Beijing's role in the US-North Korean talks. It is likely that the US secretary of state's upcoming visit to China will be devoted to both the outcomes of the Singapore Summit and the subsequent implementation of the Washington-Pyongyang agreement.
However, the discussion of this sensitive issue is overshadowed by the White House pledge to impose "a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the 'Made in China 2025' program" on June 15 and 30, respectively
The US intention to impose political pressure and harm the Chinese economy at the same time enlisting China's support in solving the North Korean problem is a very bold and daring plan," Lomanov opined. "It may not strike a chord with Beijing, because [the Chinese] still believe that usually partners do not engage in the destruction of economic ties.
According to the analyst, the Singapore Summit looked like an attempt to "make friends and talk," rather than making some serious arrangements.
The main problem remains: the US is demanding that the DPRK take real steps in exchange for verbal promises, Lomanov pointed out. The analyst underscored that Washington had repeatedly demonstrated that its words do not always translate into actions. Thus, the absolute asymmetry of these agreements will be evident soon, he believes. He added that one should not delude oneself into believing that the DPRK will disarm under Washington's verbal guarantees.
However, according to Lomanov, China could ensure North Korea's disarmament. Still, Beijing would not do it for nothing: The analyst presumed that the Chinese leadership may demand that the US redeploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems outside South Korea and reduce the US military contingent on the peninsula.
In any event, given China's historic ties with North Korea Washington needs Beijing's assistance in implementing the Trump-Kim accords, Lomanov emphasized.
The US installed the THAAD complex in South Korea in 2017 under the pretext of tacking North Korea's missile threat. The move was criticized by both China and Russia, which cited serious security concerns and warned Washington against escalating tensions in the region.
15.06.2018 - DoD Chief Mattis Discusses With S Korean Counterpart Results of Singapore Summit
DoD Chief Mattis Discusses With S Korean Counterpart Results of Singapore Summit
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis discussed with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo over the phone on Thursday the results of the Singapore summit, the Department of Defense said in a press release.
"Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis spoke with Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo today from the Pentagon to discuss the results of the US-North Korea summit," the release said on Thursday.
Mattis also discussed with Song implementing US President Donald Trump’s guidance to halt US-South Korean military exercises in the region.
Moreover, the US defense secretary discussed the results of the summit with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, the Defense Department said in a separate press release.
Mattis reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad defense commitments to Japan and its determination to maintain military readiness in the region, the release said.
