North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday visited the spiritual birthplace of the Korean nation for a show of unity after their summit gave new momentum to Pyongyang’s negotiations with Washington.
Kim on Wednesday agreed to shutter the Tongchang-ri missile-testing site in the presence of international observers, a move the US welcomed by saying it was ready for immediate talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea.
Pyongyang also said it could dismantle its best-known nuclear facility at Yongbyon if the US takes “corresponding measures.”
Photo: AFP / Pyeongyang Press Corps
There was an important caveat — Moon told reporters on his return to Seoul that the US would need to “end hostile relations with North Korea and provide security guarantees for the regime.”
However, the declaration appeared to break the North’s logjam with Washington.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the move, tweeting that Kim had “agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also praised the “important commitments,” saying he had invited his North Korean counterpart for talks next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and representatives of both sides to meet “at the earliest opportunity” in Vienna — home of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Washington was ready to “engage immediately in negotiations” to achieve the North’s denuclearization by January 2021, Pompeo added.
Kim was hoping for a second summit with Trump “at an early date,” Moon said, adding that he would take Trump a message from Kim when he meets him next week.
Experts remain skeptical, saying that closing Tongchang-ri would have no effect on the North’s ability to manufacture rockets.
Pyongyang has used several other locations for missile launches. Many also believe the North has other covert nuclear facilities.
“The North Koreans are offering gestures that mimic disarmament,” arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis tweeted. “They don’t meaningfully constrain North Korea’s nuclear program.”
Their main purpose was “to appease Trump, so that Moon and Kim can keep their engagement alive,” he added.
Yesterday, Moon and Kim, accompanied by their wives, visited Mount Paektu on the Chinese border.
The 2,744m peak is considered sacred by all Koreans as the birthplace of Dangun, the legendary founder of the first Korean kingdom.
According to Pyongyang’s narrative, it is also where Kim Jong-un’s father, former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was born, at a secret camp where his own father, state founder Kim Il-sung, was fighting Korea’s Japanese colonial occupiers.
However, historians say that Kim Jong-il was born in the Soviet Union, where his father was in exile.
South Korean tourists flock to see the mountain via China, but only a handful have been granted access from the North Korean side, mostly for research purposes.
Kim and Moon raised their clasped hands aloft on the crater rim as Moon said he hopes many of his compatriots would follow in his footsteps.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old