Kang Kyung-Wha, addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said the goal remained complete denuclearization on the divided Korean peninsula.

“A speedy resumption of the US-DPRK negotiations is critical so that all stakeholders maintain and build upon the hard-won momentum for dialogue. We stand ready to engage with the North in a way that facilitates and accelerates the US-DPRK dialogue,” Kang told the Geneva forum.

South Korea was promoting talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, she said, using the formal name of the isolated country, North Korea.

“And we will do so adhering faithfully to the international sanctions regime on the DPRK,” Kang added.

North Korea has been subjected to UN sanctions since 2006. They have been strengthened by the Security Council over the years in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea continued to enhance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs last year in breach of United Nations sanctions, according to a confidential UN report seen by Reuters in New York this month.

North Korea told the Geneva talks last month that as the United States had ignored its year-end deadline for nuclear talks, it no longer felt bound by commitments, which included a halt to its nuclear testing and the firing of inter-continental ballistic missiles.

There was no immediate reaction from the North Korean or US delegations on Monday as the meeting continued.

The post South Korea to Prompt US, North Korea Talks appeared first on Iran News Daily.

TEHRAN (Iran News) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for his military and diplomats to prepare unspecified “offensive measures” to protect the North Korea sovereignty, the North’s state media said on Monday, before his end-of-year deadline for the US to make major concessions to salvage fragile nuclear diplomacy.

The post Kim urges offensive measures to protect North Korea appeared first on Iran News Daily.

War with North Korea comes closer as Pyongyang has promised a possible “Christmas surprise” missile test if Washington does not come to the negotiating table, noting it would not give in to the US’ pressure since it already has “nothing to lose.”

In response, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said at a press conference Friday that the United States was ready “to fight tonight.”

The Pentagon chief, however, said, “I remain hopeful that we could get the process started again and remain on the diplomatic path.”

Meanwhile, General Mark Milley, who was next to Esper, said, the US alliance with Japan and South Korea is “rock-solid,” noting, “I think it’s prepared to defend the interests of the United States, Japan, and South Korea at a moment’s notice.”

Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went on to say that “North Korea has indicated a variety of things. And I think you’re aware of all those. So we are prepared for whatever.”

“Korea is one of those places in the world where we’ve always maintained high levels of readiness.”

The negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been largely stalled since the collapse of a February summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The North Korean leader and Trump have already held two official meetings on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, their first meeting, the Singapore Summit held in June 2018, concluded with a broadly-worded agreement, and the second one, the Hanoi Summit, held in February, collapsed without an agreement.

The North has been under multiple rounds of harsh sanctions by the UN and the US over its nuclear and missile programs.

The post War with North Korea Comes Closer as US Says Ready appeared first on Iran News Daily.

On the other hand, Trump administration starting from 2017 considered all the possibilities of diplomatic strategies including a preemptive military strike, to maximize the sanctions on North Korea. Through these measures, the Trump administration brought the North Korean government to a negotiating table in the hopes of denuclearizing North Korea. Iran News quotes the story of Korean legacy.

Amidst the tension, Moon administration in South Korea starting from 2017 consistently delivered the messages of reconciliation and collaboration to North Korea. In 2018, Kim expressed its will in New Year’s congratulatory messages to improve the North-South Korea relationship and participate at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, bringing two Koreas into the new phases of diplomatic relationship. Afterward, North and South Korean governments held three meetings, which also led the heads of North Korea and the United States to hold the Summit for the first time in its history. The whole world paid its close attention to the four Summits held within 6 months.

Especially the North and South Korean Summit on April 27^th marked the historical event where the North Korean leader come down to South for the first time. At that moment, the candid conversation between President Moon and Kim was broadcasted worldwide, leaving the deep impression onto people.

The movement of peace rose quickly in the Korean peninsula which was left at a ceasefire for 70 years, bringing many achievements. Such events also changed the perceptions of people toward Korean reunification.

Changing the Perceptions of South Korean Citizens

While the world was concerned with North Korea’s nuclear missile threats, people in South Korea were interested in bringing reunification to cherish their shared heritages and ethnic identities. And yet, North Korea remained closed and off-limits for the most part, which left uncertainties to the hope of fulfilling reunification. What was discussed during the North-South Korea Summits and U.S-North Korea Summit had great impacts on bringing new perspectives into North Korea. There have been significant changes in how South Korean citizens view North Korea, as shown in the statistical data below.

As seen in the data, South Korean citizens began to see North Korea more as a collaborative ally rather than a hostile enemy. Particularly noteworthy is that less people in all ages see North Korea as hostile enemies. This significant change in people’s perceptions toward North Korea can be attributed to three North and South Korea Summits, spreading the peaceful atmosphere throughout the Korean peninsula. In 2017, several threats from nuclear missile tests by North Korea heightened the tensions and brought two countries at the brink of war. In 2018, tensions between North and South Korea quickly eased when the North Korean athletes participated at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games.

For the first time, the number of people who answered positively on the reliability of the North Korean government exceeded that of people who answered negative on the reliability of North Korean Regime statistical data. That number increased dramatically between 2017 and 2018. This increase can be attributed to the will and measures the North Korean regime has taken toward denuclearization after actively exchanging the conversations at the North and South Korea Summits.

The number of people who answered positively to see the changes in North Korea in the immediate future, not only surpassed that of people who answered negative, after 10 years, but also marked the highest number of people. Tourists’ commentaries on the recent development and trends in Pyeongyang quickly spread worldwide via social media, which played a significant role in bringing such change in the perceptions. People are now more informed of usages of smartphones as well as fashion trends in North Korea. In contrast to the previous North Korean leaders who were often portrayed as reclusive, Kim’s striking movement also greatly impacted on the South Korean citizens’ perceptions of North Korea.

There are many hurdles to overcome in order to bring two Korean countries into the reunification. As seen in the cases of German reunifications, many social, cultural, and economic aspects must be considered in prior, as two countries have changed a lot since they were separated 70 years ago. However, the North and South Korea Summit in 2018 has greatly changed people’s perceptions, the most important strides toward reunification. The world is paying closer attention to see how these changes will lead to more Summits and Korean reunification.

The post Korean reunification, mighty legacy of Korean dialogue appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The five European members of the UN Security Council met on Tuesday to urge North Korea policy makers “to take concrete steps” towards giving up its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

That call came days after North Korea said it test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, in what was the most provocative action by North Korea since it resumed dialogue with the United States in 2018.

North Korea, as part of its efforts to sustain that dialogue, which has included three meetings between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and US President Donald Trump, has stopped testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

But North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman, in a statement reported by its state KCNA news agency, raised questions about that restraint.

“There is a limit to our patience and there is no law that anything we have refrained from so far will continue indefinitely,” the spokesman said, Reuters reported.

The spokesman also denounced what he said was the UN Security Council’s unfair taking up of the issue of North Korea’s self-defense.

“The fact … Is prompting us to reconsider the crucial preemptive steps we have taken to build trust with the US.”

The spokesman did not elaborate on what preemptive steps he was referring to, but North Korean state media and officials have referred to the halting of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, and the return of remains of US soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War, as good-faith gestures to the United States, which it says have not been reciprocated.

The North Korean spokesman also referred to a US Air Force test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile this month.

The US test was “clearly carried out in order to pressure us”, the North Korean spokesman said.

The post North Korea policy may reconsider steps to build Trust with US appeared first on Iran News Daily.