Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis is ready to visit North Korea if its leader Kim Jong Un extends a formal invitation, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday after meeting the pontiff. Moon briefed the pontiff about his visit to Pyongyang in September when Kim …
Read More »Planned Kim summit narrowed down to ‘three or four’ locations: Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that planning for his next summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is advanced and that “three or four locations” have been short-listed. Trump said at the White House that the meeting would “probably” not be …
Read More »North Korea wants Pope to visit, South to tell Vatican
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited Pope Francis to visit, saying he would be “ardently welcomed”, South Korea’s presidency said Tuesday, adding it would pass on Pyongyang’s message to the Vatican. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will have an audience with the …
Read More »Pompeo: Sanctions to remain until N. Korea ‘final’ denuclearisation
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Sanctions on North Korea will remain in place until Pyongyang carries out “final” denuclearisation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. “Sanctions will remain in place until final, fully verified denuclearisation as agreed to by Chairman Kim (Jong Un) occurs,” Pompeo said, speaking in …
Read More »WFP chief urges North Korea to grant more access
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea needs to allow more access and monitoring for international aid, the head of the UN’s World Food Programme said Tuesday following a four-day visit to the country. The WFP is one of the few aid agencies operating in the isolated country, which …
Read More »Why Singapore for the Trump-Kim summit?
Singapore, Singapore | AFP | It has one foot in the East and one in the West, is ultra-modern, secure and sometimes mocked as being a little dull — Singapore was the safe pick for a historic first meeting between the unpredictable leaders of the US and North Korea. US …
Read More »After Obama, a Nobel prize for Trump — or not so fast?
Washington, United States | AFP | A decade after Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, could his White House successor Donald Trump follow suit for navigating the thorny North Korean nuclear standoff? The very idea, put forward by a handful of Republican lawmakers in a Wednesday letter nominating the …
Read More »Trump says Kim summit details to be unveiled within days
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump seemed pleased Tuesday by a suggestion he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promising that a time and place for the historic meeting will soon be announced. “Nobel Peace Prize? …
Read More »Sudan ordered to ‘terminate’ N. Korea ties before terror tag talks
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan has to “terminate all business ties” with North Korea before any talks could begin for removing Khartoum from the US “terrorism” blacklist, a top US official said Monday. Washington lifted its decades-old trade embargo imposed on Khartoum in October, but kept Sudan in its …
Read More »Trump can have Nobel Peace Prize: S. Korea president
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday played down the prospect of winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his historic summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, saying Donald Trump can have it instead. Friday’s summit between Moon and Kim has been hailed …
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