Sunday, 22 March 2015
Friday, 20 March 2015
Kim Jong Un to visit Moscow
Moscow (CNN)Kim Jong Un is expected to attend World War II anniversary celebrations in Moscow at Russia's invitation, a Russian official speaking on condition of anonymity said Thursday.
North Korea accepted Russia's invitation, but Russia is waiting on Pyongyang to make the official announcement about the May trip, the official said. This would mark Kim's first official foreign trip since inheriting the leadership in late 2011.
"The invitation was sent to Kim Jong Un. North Korea accepted the invitation. The leadership of North Korea is expected to take part in Victory Day celebrations in Moscow," the Russian official said.
The official later clarified: "By leadership, we're talking about Kim."
North Korea and Russia declared 2015, which is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, The two countries have intensified their relationship, with goals to increase trading to $1 billion a year.
So far, North Korean state media has not issued any statement about the invitation.
This year's Victory Day marks the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Chatter over whether Kim would make his first official overseas trip during the pivotal anniversary started in late December after Russian state media reported that Moscow had extended an invitation to Pyongyang.
On December 22, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told Itar-Tass: "First signals are given from Pyongyang that the North Korean leader plans to come to Moscow and attend celebrations."
Recently, Russia and North Korea have been fostering warmer relations.
Anniversary celebrations
If Kim appears in Russia along with other world leaders, he may look like a minor figure, said Dr. Leonid Petrov, an Asian studies professor who specializes in the political history of North Korea.
Concerns rising over Russia, North Korea alliance
"In a setting with a large crowd of state officials, in group pictures, he would look like a minor figure instead of what he's portrayed in North Korean media as supreme leader, invincible marshal, jack of all trades.
"So I think if Kim Jong Un decides to go to Moscow, he's going to look like a very lonely, lonely figure."
The Kremlin has invited 68 world leaders to its Victory Day celebrations on May 9, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as quoted on Russian network RT. He was quoted in Russian media as saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping will also attend.
Russia and North Korea
In the last year, Russia and North Korea, two historical allies, have increasingly established stronger ties as Russian President Vladimir Putin faces international backlash over the war in Ukraine. The two countries declared 2015 their "Friendship Year."
Both countries have been slapped with sanctions by the United States and are facing international isolation.
North Korea, Russia declare a 'year of friendship'
"North Korea is a convenient friend for Moscow -- it's anti-American and it's in a key place of Asia," Petrov said. "Russia lost many of its traditional allies -- it needs friends, both economically, politically, strategically."
Ties between North Korea and Russia date back to World War II, when Kim Jong Un's grandfather and founder of the country, Kim Il Sung, trained as a communist guerrilla leader in the Soviet Union. Throughout Kim's subsequent reign, the Soviet Union backed the nation. After the Soviet Union crumbled in the early 1990s, North Korea became increasingly reliant on China.
Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, visited Moscow several times, with his last visit in 2011. The late Kim rode into Russia in an armored train (he disliked flying) and met with both Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
"Moscow undertook a diplomatic offensive" with North Korea, said Petrov, of Australian National University. "It absolved $10 billion of Soviet-era debts from the account books and started rebooting relationships between North Korea and Russia."
Last year, Russia forgave 90% of North Korea's $11 billion debt.
CNN's Alla Eshchenko reported in Moscow, and Madison Park wrote and reported in Hong Kong. CNN's Jessica King contributed to this report.
North Korea accepted Russia's invitation, but Russia is waiting on Pyongyang to make the official announcement about the May trip, the official said. This would mark Kim's first official foreign trip since inheriting the leadership in late 2011.
"The invitation was sent to Kim Jong Un. North Korea accepted the invitation. The leadership of North Korea is expected to take part in Victory Day celebrations in Moscow," the Russian official said.
The official later clarified: "By leadership, we're talking about Kim."
North Korea and Russia declared 2015, which is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, The two countries have intensified their relationship, with goals to increase trading to $1 billion a year.
So far, North Korean state media has not issued any statement about the invitation.
This year's Victory Day marks the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Chatter over whether Kim would make his first official overseas trip during the pivotal anniversary started in late December after Russian state media reported that Moscow had extended an invitation to Pyongyang.
On December 22, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told Itar-Tass: "First signals are given from Pyongyang that the North Korean leader plans to come to Moscow and attend celebrations."
Recently, Russia and North Korea have been fostering warmer relations.
Anniversary celebrations
If Kim appears in Russia along with other world leaders, he may look like a minor figure, said Dr. Leonid Petrov, an Asian studies professor who specializes in the political history of North Korea.
Concerns rising over Russia, North Korea alliance
"In a setting with a large crowd of state officials, in group pictures, he would look like a minor figure instead of what he's portrayed in North Korean media as supreme leader, invincible marshal, jack of all trades.
"So I think if Kim Jong Un decides to go to Moscow, he's going to look like a very lonely, lonely figure."
The Kremlin has invited 68 world leaders to its Victory Day celebrations on May 9, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as quoted on Russian network RT. He was quoted in Russian media as saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping will also attend.
Russia and North Korea
In the last year, Russia and North Korea, two historical allies, have increasingly established stronger ties as Russian President Vladimir Putin faces international backlash over the war in Ukraine. The two countries declared 2015 their "Friendship Year."
Both countries have been slapped with sanctions by the United States and are facing international isolation.
North Korea, Russia declare a 'year of friendship'
"North Korea is a convenient friend for Moscow -- it's anti-American and it's in a key place of Asia," Petrov said. "Russia lost many of its traditional allies -- it needs friends, both economically, politically, strategically."
Ties between North Korea and Russia date back to World War II, when Kim Jong Un's grandfather and founder of the country, Kim Il Sung, trained as a communist guerrilla leader in the Soviet Union. Throughout Kim's subsequent reign, the Soviet Union backed the nation. After the Soviet Union crumbled in the early 1990s, North Korea became increasingly reliant on China.
Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, visited Moscow several times, with his last visit in 2011. The late Kim rode into Russia in an armored train (he disliked flying) and met with both Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
"Moscow undertook a diplomatic offensive" with North Korea, said Petrov, of Australian National University. "It absolved $10 billion of Soviet-era debts from the account books and started rebooting relationships between North Korea and Russia."
Last year, Russia forgave 90% of North Korea's $11 billion debt.
CNN's Alla Eshchenko reported in Moscow, and Madison Park wrote and reported in Hong Kong. CNN's Jessica King contributed to this report.
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Chinese envoy brings up Thaad
Chinese envoy brings up Thaad
Seoul insists it wasn’t on the official agenda, so it wasn’t discussed
Mar 17,2015 | |
| Liu Jianchao |
Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao met with Lee Kyung-soo, his Korean counterpart, at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Monday. After their talks, Liu told reporters that he had spoken with Lee about China’s concerns about possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, better known as Thaad.
“We had a very candid and free discussion on the Thaad issue,” Liu said. “China’s position was provided to Korea.”
He urged Seoul to seriously consider Beijing’s concerns about the missile shield.
“The United States and Korea should make a proper decision on the Thaad issue,” Liu said.
Thaad is a U.S. missile defense program designed to shoot down missiles closer to their point of origin than current defenses can. Both Beijing and Moscow are against deployment of a Thaad battery in Korea because they worry that its radar system, which can cover 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), could be used as a method of surveillance against them.
“Thaad was not an official agenda item between Seoul and Beijing,” said a Korean foreign ministry official. “We did not formally discuss it. China expressed its stance, and we, once again, explained our position that the United States has not made a request to send a Thaad battery here and no decision has been made.”
The official said the discussion on Thaad between Liu and Lee was brief and no details, such as reducing the range of the radar for the missile defense system, were discussed.
It is not the first time that a senior Chinese official expressed concerns about the Thaad deployment in Korea. During his visit to Korea last month, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan brought up the issue in talks with his Korean counterpart, Han Min-koo.
Sources have also told the JoongAng Ilbo that Chinese President Xi Jinping urged President Park Geun-hye to reject any U.S. request to deploy the system to Korea during a summit last year.
Seoul and Washington’s official position is that they haven’t even discussed Thaad deployment, although pressure has been applied publicly by several American officials.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel is also scheduled to arrive here on Monday, and it appeared almost certain that the Thaad deployment would be addressed by him in some manner. He will meet Tuesday with Assistant Foreign Minister Lee, who is also his counterpart.
The U.S. Forces Korea made a rare public admission last week that it had conducted studies to find suitable sites for a possible future deployment.
The JoongAng Ilbo reported last week that former commanders of the U.S. Forces Korea had tried to persuade National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa of the necessity to deploy Thaad during their meeting in Washington on March 6. Ahn Ho-young, the Korean ambassador to the United States, also attended the meeting, the report said.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu told reporters Monday that he discussed with Lee yet another sensitive issue, Korea’s participation in China’s initiative to create the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“I explained to him the progress of the AIIB and once again expressed our position that China hopes to have Korea as a founding member,” Liu said. “Korea said it will make a decision based on a comprehensive assessment on its actual economic gains.”
While China has pushed Korea to join the AIIB, Seoul has remained reluctant due to pressure from the United States. For Korea to join the AIIB as a founding member, it should make a decision before the end of this month.
Seoul is under increasing pressure from Washington to stay away from the plan following the British government’s decision last week to become a founder member.
The AIIB is envisioned as a new financial institution to rival the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
BY SER MYO-JA [ser.myoja@joongang.co.kr]
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