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It looks as though President Trump won over Kim Jong-un in Singapore, but now Kim has to sell the deal to the Pyongyang power elite. The stick of a threat of “fire and fury” (meaning the military destruction of the regime) and the carrot of wealth – like that of glittering Singapore, where Kim took the opportunity for sightseeing, including a lavish casino run the Sheldon Adelson’s Sands corporation -- certainly worked on the dictator. At his press conference, President Trump mentioned that he had shown a video to Kim illustrating the wealth that could lie ahead for Kim and...

We have been closely watching movements of aircraft in and out of North Korea since we reported that foreign aircraft will be part of Kim Jong Un's travel plans to Singapore for the historic summit. In recent hours, a number of North Korean and Chinese aircraft have made their way from Pyongyang to Changi Airport in Singapore, with Kim's arrival aboard one of them having just occurred. The Chinese government, via flag carrier Air China, has supplied North Korea with an Airbus A330 and a Boeing 747. The A330 made a run from Pyongyang to Singapore yesterday before returning back...

As the highly anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un nears, Corin Dann of TVNZ1's Q+A explains why the summit is important, for both the Asia-Pacific region and for New Zealand. "If you go back a year, there really was a great fear Kim Jong Un had developed these missiles and developed that nuclear programme to a point he could effectively fire missiles at the US. But if you're already in Asia, or in Japan in particular, they were firing missiles over Japan. There was a feeling things were really getting a lot more...

Americans should “be rooting” for President Donald Trump at next week’s U.S.-North Korea summit on denuclearization, former President Bill Clinton said Thursday. “I think we should be rooting for [Trump] to succeed with the North Korea negotiations,” Clinton said in an interview with PBS NewsHour managing editor and anchor Judy Woodruff. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are meeting June 12 in Singapore to discuss ending the regime’s nuclear weapons program — a goal that has eluded previous U.S. presidents, including Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton. The summit could be successful even if it doesn’t produce...

President Trump took a swipe at Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Friday, saying the New York Democrat never tackled the conflict with North Korea while serving in Congress, so the president doesn’t need his advice ahead of the summit with Chairman Kim Jong-Un.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that reaching a denuclearization deal with North Korea will mean allowing the U.S. to inspect ALL of its nuclear sites, including those North Korea hasn't acknowledged. "I don't want to get too far into the details, but when you think about complete denuclearization, it would certainly be all of their sites, not just those that have been declared."...."So, we've got to make sure that it's complete," Pompeo added. "That takes a great deal of work, a great big commitment on the part of North Korea as well, and there'll be a parallel set...

He warned World War 3 would be the end of civlisation, and that should "restrain" world powers fron taking "dangerous steps". Relations between Russia and the West have plunged to Cold War lows amid tensions over Syria, Crimea, NATO build-ups and Sergei Skripal. Putin said pressure on Russia from the West will end when they realise they are "counter productive". And he said fears of mutally assured destruction from nuclear is forcing "powers to respect each other". He said: ""The understanding that a third world war could be the end of civilisation should restrain us from taking extreme steps on...

Shock! Horror! President Trump is actually doing something right. Sadly, Democrats in Congress are responding in a quite Trumpian way: They seem more concerned with undermining him than supporting a peace process with North Korea. They are on the same side as National Security Adviser John Bolton, quietly subverting attempts to pursue peace. While international security is complicated, here’s a rule of thumb: When you find yourself on the same side as Bolton, go back and re-examine your position. Sure, we all wish that Trump treated Justin Trudeau or Angela Merkel with the respect that he now shows Kim Jong-un....

Why would North Korea suddenly change their declared objective of being a nuclear power even before they had played all their cards to maximal advantage in hopes of improving their reputation in full view of the international community? North Korea, at least topically, blew up the entrances to their nuclear labs before they had used that demonstration to its best use as their trump card in negotiations with the Trump himself. Why? We know for sure that North Korea has managed to accomplish a significant nuclear underground explosion creating an earth-wide quake of magnitude 6+ on the Richter Scale. If...

Ex-NBA star turned Kim Jong Un soulmate Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore during President Trump’s summit with the North Korean dictator next week, The Post has learned. “The Worm” will arrive in the country a day before the June 12 sitdown — and sources said he could even play some sort of role in the negotiations. “No matter you might think about his presence. One thing’s for sure the ratings will be huge,” a source said. “A lot of times in situations that involve complex diplomacy countries like to identify ambassadors of goodwill and whether you agree with it...

SINGAPORE -- The June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be held at the five-star Capella Hotel on Singapore's resort island of Sentosa, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted on Tuesday.

SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy on Monday departed for Russia as part of efforts to drum up international support for ongoing efforts to denuclearize North Korea and establish lasting peace on the peninsula. Lee Do-hoon, representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, plans to meet Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow on Tuesday to exchange views on recent developments on the nuclear issue. "For the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, support from neighboring countries and the international community is important," Lee told reporters at Incheon International Airport before...

Immediately after touching down in N.Korea, Mr Lavrov called for the phased lifting of sanctions on North Korea, suggesting that Pyongyang would not give up its nuclear weapons until the sanctions were scaled back. “As for sanctions, it is absolutely obvious that, as we start discussions on how to resolve the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula, it is understood that the solution cannot be comprehensive without the lifting of sanctions”, Mr Lavrov said in a press conference. “This cannot be achieved at one go”, he added. “There can be no immediate denuclearisation, this should be done step by step...

As if anybody thought it was not going to happen!.................

When Donald Trump canceled his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un—before hinting that it might happen anyway after all, as the South Koreans moved into damage-control mode on Saturday with an impromptu summit of their own—it followed days of discussion over a historical parallel: Libya. U.S. National-Security Adviser John Bolton said the basis for a deal with North Korea was the “Libya model” from 2003 to 2004, when Muammar Qaddafi essentially handed over his entire nuclear program to the United States. For North Korea, however, this allusion to Libya looked “awfully sinister” because, in 2011, less than...

President Trump kept the diplomacy door open with North Korea on Friday, welcoming the regime's latest “productive” statement and saying the two sides are still talking following the administration’s decision to cancel a planned summit with Kim Jong Un. Trump nixed the summit, which was slated for June 12 in Singapore, following threats from North Korea. But hours after the U.S. pulled out of the meeting, North Korea issued a statement suggesting the regime was open to talks. “Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea. We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully...

Before traveling to Annapolis Friday morning to speak at the commencement ceremony for the U.S. Naval Academy, President Trump said the summit with North Korea could still happen June 12. “We’ll see what happens. We’re talking to them now. It was a very nice statement they put out. We’ll see what happens," Trump said.  “We’ll see what happens. It could even be the 12th. We’re talking to them now. They very much want to do it. We’d like to do it. We’re going to see what happens.” “Everybody plays games. You know that better than anybody,” he continued when asked about...

I have decided to terminate the planned Summit in Singapore on June 12th. While many things can happen and a great opportunity lies ahead potentially, I believe that this is a tremendous setback for North Korea and indeed a setback for the world... See video on link.

Nobody should be anxious,” Trump said. “We have to get it right.” He called it a “tremendous setback” for North Korea and for the world. He said that he would continue to be open to the idea of a summit, even one on June 12, but only if denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was on the table. “If and when Kim Jong-un chooses to engage in constructive dialogue and actions, I am waiting,” Trump said bluntly, adding that the economic sanctions against North Korea would stay in place as well as the campaign as maximum pressure. “I hope that Kim...

After Kim Jong Un called the VP names the only possible course of action was to respond this way; Trump compliments Kim while reminding him of the subjugated nature of his military abilities. To have gone ahead with the meeting without forcing the DPRK to come back to the table would be disastrous, diplomatically, and start any negotiations off with Kim Jong Un as the superior actor.