North Korea threatens to withdraw from summit with Trump

[jj22]

Trump may not understand his power in the world, and fancy's himself a fox news contributor playing President. But his games with NK came at a deadly cost to those he dragged into this love affair.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-carrying-out-purge-after-hanoi-summit-collapse-chosun-ilbo/ar-AAC9ZgJ?ocid=ientp

Sickening the American president didn't understand what he was doing flirting with Kim. Professing his love for this man? Giving him unprecedented credibility on the world stage (although some say it was the American President seeking the credibility on the world stage from Kim).

God bless this guy and his family for falling victim to an woefully unprepared Trump.  

[GMDino]

https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korea-executes-5-officials-over-failed-kim-trump-summit-south-korean-media

Quote:North Korea executes 5 officials over failed Kim-Trump summit: South Korean media

North Korea has executed five officials for their part in the failed second summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to a South Korean newspaper.



Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea's special envoy to the U.S., was executed by firing squad in March for being "won over by the American imperialists to betray the supreme leader", according to the Chosun Ilbo.

The paper also claimed that four other North Korean Foreign Ministry officials were executed that same month because of the breakdown of the February summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, but did not provide details.


Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea's special envoy to the U.S., and four other North Korean foreign ministry officials, were executed because of the breakdown of the February North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. (REUTERS, File)

Seoul's spy service said it could not confirm the report, while the presidential Blue House said that "it's inappropriate to make hasty judgments or comments."


Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, told reporters in Berlin that he had seen the reports and the U.S. was "doing our best to check it out."


Trump’s much-anticipated summit with Kim ended abruptly and without the two leaders signing any agreements over nuclear disarmament.

Kim aide Kim Yong Chol is reportedly undergoing hard labor for his role in the breakdown. (REUTERS, File)

Top Kim aide Kim Yong Chol is reportedly undergoing hard labor for his role in the breakdown.
He had been Kim’s most trusted policy adviser and was removed from one of his posts.

President Trump meeting with Kim Yong Chol this past January 18 in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo)
He even was seen in photos with President Trump at the White House over the past year, delivering letters from the North Korean dictator.

Kim Yong Chol has been North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since Kim entered nuclear talks with the U.S. early last year.


Since the Hanoi nuclear summit between Trump and Kim ended in failure, North Korea has again tested weapons and boosted its belligerent rhetoric toward American and South Korean officials.

The POTUS has been too busy tweeting about immigrants and taxing the american people raising tariffs on Mexico to comment on this.  But he and Kim are "in love with each other" so he'll let it slide....probably.

[*michaelsean*]

(05-31-2019, 11:17 AM)GMDino Wrote: https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korea-executes-5-officials-over-failed-kim-trump-summit-south-korean-media




The POTUS has been too busy tweeting about immigrants and taxing the american people raising tariffs on Mexico to comment on this.  But he and Kim are "in love with each other" so he'll let it slide....probably.

JJ's thread wasn't good enough for you? And JJ's thread came with insightful commentary.  Typical liberal board snob.

http://thebengalsboard.com/Thread-Trumps-love-has-deadly-consequences

[GMDino]

(05-31-2019, 11:45 AM)michaelsean Wrote: JJ's thread wasn't good enough for you?  And JJ's thread came with insightful commentary.  Typical liberal board snob.

http://thebengalsboard.com/Thread-Trumps-love-has-deadly-consequences

I didn't want to hurt some poster's "feels" by starting a new thread.  



Missed JJ's.

[jj22]

The Administrations reaction to everyone involved in their summit getting executed..

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/pompeo-smirks-when-asked-if-north-korea-executed-negotiators-next-time-my-counterpart-might-be-someone-else/

A smirk. These innocent people are dead because of Trump and his Administrations flirting with Kim and this is the best they can offer?

Them not fully understanding their consequences when falling in love with Kim is another black eye on American history/reputation.

[Yojimbo]

(05-31-2019, 01:15 PM)jj22 Wrote: The Administrations reaction to everyone involved in their summit getting executed..

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/pompeo-smirks-when-asked-if-north-korea-executed-negotiators-next-time-my-counterpart-might-be-someone-else/

A smirk. These innocent people are dead because of Trump and his Administrations flirting with Kim and this is the best they can offer?

Them not fully understanding their consequences when falling in love with Kim is another black eye on American history/reputation.

I think you’re getting it wrong. They do understand, they just don’t care.

[Dill]

(05-31-2019, 01:15 PM)jj22 Wrote: The Administrations reaction to everyone involved in their summit getting executed..

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/pompeo-smirks-when-asked-if-north-korea-executed-negotiators-next-time-my-counterpart-might-be-someone-else/

A smirk. These innocent people are dead because of Trump and his Administrations flirting with Kim and this is the best they can offer?

Them not fully understanding their consequences when falling in love with Kim is another black eye on American history/reputation.

I have been vehement critic of Trump's summitry, but I don't hold him responsible for "killing" North Korean officials. 

Not clear the people are innocent, as they are part of the NK totalitarian elite who live comfortably while the bulk of their countrymen starve.  Certainly they are all "trapped" inside that regime, but these executions follow no logic that could be planned or prepared for or avoided.

Not defending Trump. But these executions are really not the kind of consequences that should have been on Trump's mind.  It's all the other stuff--the blow to US credibility, the fouling up of the sanctions regime, disruption of alliances, etc.

In any case, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48477248

[jj22]

I disagree. If there was no summit, they would be alive. Trump and his Administration don't understand the consequences of their actions. Their professed love for Kim. Trump even brags at campaign speeches about Kim chopping off heads of family. As we can see they smirk at the idea of someone getting executed.

These acts attract their admiration and we have to call it what it is to fully understand the dangers Trumps ignorance bring to those who follow him. As we can see this past week from his Japan trip, these executions haven't changed his love for Kim, and that should alarm all around Kim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXYfOH8Jl4k

[Dill]

(06-05-2019, 10:06 AM)jj22 Wrote: I disagree. If there was no summit, they would be alive. Trump and his Administration don't understand the consequences of their actions. Their professed love for Kim. Trump even brags at campaign speeches about Kim chopping off heads of family. As we can see they smirk at the idea of someone getting executed.

These acts attract their admiration and we have to call it what it is to fully understand the dangers Trumps ignorance bring to those who follow him. As we can see this past week from his Japan trip, these executions haven't changed his love for Kim, and that should alarm all around Kim.

If I were US president and negotiating with North Korea, I would be trying to do what was in the US best interest. If an action of mine resulted in Kim killing advisors, that would not concern me a whit.  He's going to be killing people no matter what, and concern for the lives of elite leaders in a totalitarian military organization would be at the very bottom of my priorities. It would under not circumstances influence policy goals.

This is quite a separate issue from what happens to people who follow Trump in his own administration or allies who suck up to him.

[GMDino]

https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2019-06-27/north-korea-threatens-us-pompeo-for-breakdown-in-diplomacy

Quote:NORTH KOREA ISSUED NEW warnings to the U.S. on Thursday, blasting recent statements by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and threatening military action if diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang continues to falter.


A statement from North Korea's foreign ministry said the U.S. "viciously slandered" the country, citing the recent release of State Department reports about human trafficking and religious freedom that rank North Korea poorly, and Pompeo's comments on Sunday reiterating that 80 percent of North Korea's economy remains under U.S. sanctions.


"It would be difficult to look forward to the improvement of bilateral relations and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula as long as American politics are dominated by the policy-makers who have an inveterate antagonism towards the DPRK," the statement read, using North Korea's preferred acronym for itself. "If anyone dares to trample over our sovereignty and the right to existence, we will never hesitate to pull a muscle-flexing trigger in order to defend ourselves."

Earlier this week, officials from both countries confirmed North Korean leader Kim Jong Unsent President Donald Trump a letter that North Korea's state news service described as "of excellent content." Neither side disclosed any additional details about the letter's contents.


Thursday's statement, however, blasted Pompeo for "sophistry" and said that his comments are "full of falsehoods and fabrications." North Korean officials have previously said they will no longer negotiate with Pompeo, accusing him of "talking nonsense" and being "reckless." Pompeo has responded that the North Koreans don't get to decide the composition of the U.S. delegation.


The latest rhetoric comes at a low point in diplomatic relations between the two countries following two summits the Trump administration organized, one in June 2018 and another in February, which ended abruptly. Both failed to secure any sort of meaningful progress toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula in exchange for easing U.S. sanctions. Each side insists the other must act first.


READ: 
Trump Dismisses North Korean Missiles Tests ]


And it follows other new signs that whatever goodwill the Trump administration was able to develop with the Kim regime is deteriorating rapidly.


In May, North Korea test-fired short-range missiles, which Trump dismissed shortly afterward as not "anything major." His assessment differed from those of some of his top officials, including then-acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan who believed the tests violated U.N. resolutions.

North Korean officials said Wednesday that South Korea must cease serving as a mediator between Pyongyang and Washington. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a liberal, has served as a conduit between the two powers as he seeks to achieve one of the principal elements of his administration.

Trump arrived in Osaka, Japan, on Thursday to attend the G-20 summit. He said he plans to meet privately with Xi Jinping, the president of China, which has served as one of North Korea's most critical benefactors as U.S. sanctions continue to choke its economy.


Trump plans to travel to South Korea after the summit, where White House officials will reportedly try to broker a third summit between the two leaders. 

[GMDino]

DJT is now desperate for anything so he's begging NK for a photo op.

Such a sad, weak "man".

https://www.apnews.com/12c0389ada294c158ff1989bc7049cad

Quote: President Donald Trump issued a Twitter invitation Saturday to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to meet for a handshake at the Demilitarized Zone that separates the North and South, and expressed a willingness to cross the border for what would be a history-making photo opportunity.



The invitation, while long rumored in diplomatic circles, still came across as an impulsive display of showmanship by a president bent on obtaining a legacy-defining nuclear deal. North Korea responded by calling the offer a “very interesting suggestion.”

Presidential visits to the DMZ are traditionally carefully guarded secrets for security reasons. White House officials couldn’t immediately say whether Kim had agreed to meet with Trump. The president himself claimed before flying from Japan to South Korea that he wasn’t even sure Kim was in North Korea to accept the invitation.

“All I did is put out a feeler, if you’d like to meet,” Trump said later of the message to Kim. He added, somewhat implausibly: “I just thought of it this morning.”


Later, after arriving in Seoul from a summit in Osaka of world leaders, Trump offered no further insight into his planned trip to the heavily fortified border. “It will be very interesting,” he said.

While in Japan, Trump said at a news conference that he was “literally visiting the DMZ,” but wasn’t sure whether Kim would meet him.


Trump said he’d “feel very comfortable” crossing the border into North Korea if Kim showed up, saying he’d “have no problem” becoming the first U.S. president to step into North Korea.


His comments followed hours after Trump asked for Kim to meet him there. “If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” he wrote.


It was not immediately clear what the agenda, if any, would be for the potential third Trump-Kim meeting.


“If he’s there we’ll see each other for two minutes,” Trump predicted.


Such a spectacle would present a valuable propaganda victory for Kim, who, with his family, has long been denied the recognition they sought on the international stage.


Despite Trump’s comments Saturday, he had told The Hill newspaper in Washington in an interview this past week that he would be visiting the DMZ and “might” meet with Kim. The paper reported it had withheld Trump’s comments, citing security concerns by the White House.


North Korea’s first vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, said the meeting, if realized, would serve as “another meaningful occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders and advancing the bilateral relations.”


South Korea’s presidential Blue House said in a tweet that Trump asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Group of 20 meetings whether he’d seen Trump’s Twitter message to Kim. When Moon replied he had, Trump said ”(Let’s) try doing it” and raised his thumb, the Blue House said.


A Moon aide told reporter after the presidents had dinner that they agreed a possible Trump-Kim meeting would be a “good thing.” Moon talked about Kim’s commitment to denuclearization, while Trump expressed his “amicable” views on Kim, according to the official, Yoon Do-han, who added that a meeting would help pave the way for the resumption of nuclear diplomacy.


Trump’s summit with Kim in Vietnam earlier this year collapsed without an agreement for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. He became the first sitting U.S. president to meet with the leader of the isolated nation last year, when they signed an agreement in Singapore to bring the North toward denuclearization.


Substantive talks between the nations have largely broken down since then. The North has balked at Trump’s insistence that it give up its weapons before it sees relief from crushing international sanctions.


Still, Trump has sought to praise Kim, who oversees an authoritarian government, in hopes of keeping the prospects of a deal alive, and the two have traded flowery letters in recent weeks.


Every president since Ronald Reagan has visited the 1953 armistice line, except for George H.W. Bush, who visited when he was vice president. The show of bravado and support for South Korea, one of America’s closest military allies, has evolved over the years to include binoculars and bomber jackets.


Trump, ever the showman, appears to be looking to one-up his predecessors with a Kim meeting.


As he left the White House for Asia earlier this week, Trump was asked whether he’d meet with Kim.


“I’ll be meeting with a lot of other people ... but I may be speaking to him in a different form,” Trump said.


Such trips to the demilitarized zone are usually undertaken under heavy security and the utmost secrecy. Trump tried to visit the DMZ when he was in Seoul in November 2017, but his helicopter was grounded by heavy fog.


Trump has staked his self-professed deal-making reputation on his rapprochement with the North and has even turned it into a campaign rallying cry. Trump has repeatedly alleged that if he had lost the 2016 presidential campaign, the U.S. would be “at war” with North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.


The meeting would come at a time of escalating tensions. While North Korea has not recently tested a long-range missile that could reach the U.S., last month it fired off a series of short-range missiles. Trump has brushed off the significance of the tests, even as his own national security adviser, John Bolton, has said they violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Couldn't go to a D-Day remembrance last year because of rain but has "no problem" walking into North Korea on a whim.
A dangerous fool is what he is.

[GMDino]

SO DJT got his photo op with the man who tortured an American citizen and sent him back to the US to die.

Trump said he loves Kim.

Doesn't he just swell you MAGA types with pride for America?  

[BmorePat87]

Imagine being Kim Jong Un and getting everything your country wanted for 50 years without having to do anything of substance.

The great deal maker...


Also, the shit show that was the respective countries security forces and the press not knowing what was going on, with the new press secretary shoving North Korean guards was hilarious.

[GMDino]

? pic.twitter.com/A8MM7Cxzf1

— Jim Swift (@JimSwiftDC) June 30, 2019

 

[Dill]

(07-01-2019, 01:12 PM)GMDino Wrote:

? pic.twitter.com/A8MM7Cxzf1

— Jim Swift (@JimSwiftDC) June 30, 2019

 

LOL, Trump's "apology tour" continues.

Meanwhile, Here are some memories from a 2018 article.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/every-time-fox-news-lost-its-mind-over-obama-and-north-korea.html/

You can’t talk about media pundit hypocrites without including Sean Hannity. The longtime Fox News host couldn’t believe Obama would disgrace the nation by dealing with a leader like Kim or Ahmadinejad.

In fact, Hannity went even further when he brought up respect for America’s allies. “Now is it just me, or does it look like President Obama was more willing to give time to our enemies than our allies?” Hannity asked in 2013.

By 2018, Hannity couldn’t be prouder that Trump met with Kim — just days after alienating American allies at the G7 conference (and on Twitter).

 

[Dill]

— Donald Trump on Sunday, June 30th, 2019 in a press conference in South Korea
Trump’s claim Obama begged to meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is unproven
https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/jul/01/donald-trump/trump-wrong-obama-begged-meet-north-koreas-kim-jon/

Trump noted under President Barack Obama, face-to-face meetings never happened.

"Nobody was going to meet," Trump said. "President Obama wanted to meet, and Chairman Kim would not meet him. The Obama administration was begging for a meeting. They were begging for meetings constantly. And Chairman Kim would not meet with him."

The statement that Obama and his administration "were begging for a meeting" is not backed up by the record.

We reached out to the White House press office, and staff there had no comment.

Preconditions for talks

Obama’s special representative for North Korea policy, Glyn Davies, laid out the administration’s position for senators at a 2013 hearing.

"The United States will not engage in talks for the sake of talks," Davies said March 7, 2013. "The United States will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state. We will not reward the DPRK for the absence of bad behavior. We will not compensate the DPRK merely for returning to dialogue. We have also made clear that U.S.-DPRK relations cannot fundamentally improve without sustained improvement in inter-Korean relations and human rights. Nor will we tolerate North Korea provoking its neighbors. These positions will not change."

[jj22]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/08/north-korea-is-keeping-its-nukes-that-seems-be-fine-with-trump-now/?utm_term=.d868bb0ad84d

[GMDino]

I wonder what Otto Warmbier’s parents think of that.

— Evan (@EvanRVice) July 15, 2019

 

[GMDino]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49107187

Quote:North Korea fires 'new short-range missile' into sea, S Korea says


They were launched over the sea early on Thursday, from Wonsan on North Korea's east coast.


A JCS official said at least one of the missiles travelled about 690km (428 miles) and appeared to be a new design.


It marks the first time North Korea has fired any missiles since leader Kim Jong-un's impromptu meeting with Donald Trump late last month.


It also comes after anger from the North over planned military exercises between South Korea and the US, an annual event. The North warned they could affect the resumption of denuclearisation talks.

The first missile was launched at about 05:34 Thursday local time (20:34 GMT Wednesday) and the second at 05:57, said the JCS.

Initial reports said both missiles travelled about 430km, reaching an altitude of 50km, before falling into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
But after analysis from US and South Korean intelligence officials, the JCS said at least one was likely to have been a "new type of missile".

Japan's defence minister said the launches did not reach Japanese waters and had no immediate impact on its national security.


It is not clear if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw Thursday's launch.

South Korea's defence ministry has urged Pyongyang to stop acts that it said were unhelpful for easing tension, reported Reuters.


'North Korea is clearly upset'


After an invitation on Twitter in June, US President Donald Trump and his counterpart Mr Kim had an impromptu meeting at the demilitarised zone that divides the two Koreas, where they agreed to restart denuclearisation talks.


Following that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said working-level talks would likely start in July, but there have been no further public meetings between US and North Korean officials.


But North Korea has condemned the planned US-South Korea military drills next month, calling it a "violation of the spirit" of the joint statement signed by Mr 
Trump and Mr Kim at their first face-to-face talks in Singapore last year.


Though the US and South Korea have refused to cancel the military exercises, they have been scaled back significantly.

"North Korea is clearly upset that the US and South Korea are conducting joint military exercises," Harry Kazianis of Washington's Center for the National Interest told news agency Reuters.

Last year, Mr Kim said North Korea would stop nuclear testing and would no longer launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Nuclear activity appears to be continuing, however, and satellite images of North Korea's main nuclear site last month showed movement, suggesting the country could be reprocessing radioactive material into bomb fuel.

Pyongyang also continues to demonstrate its abilities to develop new weapons despite strict economic sanctions. Earlier this week Mr Kim inspected a new type of submarine, state media reported, which could be developed to carry ballistic missiles, according to some analysts.


Pyongyang also conducted a similar short-range missile launch in May, its first such test since its intercontinental ballistic missile launch in 2017.

Mr Trump had responded then by saying he believed Mr Kim would not do anything that could jeopardise his country's path towards better relations.
He had tweeted that Mr Kim "knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me".

[GMDino]

And again...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49173514

Quote:North Korea fires two ballistic missiles in second missile launch in a week


North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea's military, the second such launch in a week.


The two missiles were launched from the Wonsan area early on Wednesday.


Last week's launch was the first such action since US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in June.


The North called that launch a "solemn warning" to Seoul over its planned military exercises with Washington.


It has previously expressed anger that the annual drills will go ahead next month- an event it sees as preparation for war.


What happened on Wednesday?
The missiles were launched at 05:06 (20:06 GMT Tuesday) and 05:27 local time from the Kalma area near the port of Wonsan.


The missiles flew 250km (155 miles) and reached a height of 30km before landing in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).


The South's defence minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said the missiles were identified as a different type from previous models.


Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed that there was no impact on Japan's security following the launch.

• North Korea's missile and nuclear programme
• Can the world live with a nuclear North Korea?
• Are Pyongyang's missiles a risk to planes?
  

Six days ago, North Korea fired two short range missiles, one of which travelled about 690km (428 miles) and the other 430km.

Missiles launched on 25 July

That launch was the first since Mr Trump and Mr Kim held an impromptu meeting in June at the demilitarised zone (DMZ), an area that divides the two Koreas, where they agreed to restart denuclearisation talks.


Why is this happening now?
Pyongyang has recently again voiced anger over planned military exercises between South Korea and the US, an annual event which the allies have refused to cancel but have scaled back significantly.

One analyst said more missile tests could be expected.



Media captionPresident Trump: "Stepping across that line was a great honour"


"North Korea will continue to vent its anger by testing missiles... in the coming days before [the] drills begin in early August," Harry Kazianis of Washington-based think tank the Centre for the National Interest said.


"[It's] a message to Washington and Seoul: stop joint exercises or we will continue to show off our own offensive military capabilities."

• Nine charts which tell you all you need to know about North Korea
• North Korea crisis in 300 words
  

North Korea called the drills a "violation of the spirit" of the joint statement signed by Mr Trump and Mr Kim at their first face-to-face talks in Singapore last year.



Pyongyang had warned the exercises could affect the resumption of denuclearisation talks.


US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that he hoped these talks could start "very soon", but that there were no further summits planned.


What's the latest on US-North Korea relations?
Last year, Mr Kim said North Korea would stop nuclear testing and would no longer launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Nuclear activity appears to be continuing, however, and satellite images of North Korea's main nuclear site last month showed movement, suggesting the country could be reprocessing radioactive material into bomb fuel.

Pyongyang also continues to demonstrate its abilities to develop new weapons despite strict economic sanctions.


It conducted a similar short-range missile launch earlier in May, its first such test since its intercontinental ballistic missile launch in 2017.

North Korea also showed off a new submarine last week, which South Korean officials have determined is capable of carrying up to three ballistic missiles.