JAPAN(REUTERS) It is reported that the Japanese government has begun considering setting the defense budget at $30 billion for five years starting next year.

If this increase is made, Japan’s defense spending in 2027 will roughly double this year.
Citing multiple Japanese government and ruling party officials on the 8th, the government said it aims to increase defense spending by 6 to 7 trillion yen next year and increase it by 1 trillion yen from the following year to 10 trillion yen by 2027.

If all of these amounts are added, Japan’s total defense expenditure between 2023 and 2027 will be 43 to 45 trillion yen.

Japan’s defense spending this year was 5.36 trillion yen. However, the Japanese government is also considering including the budget of the Coast Guard (Korea’s Maritime Police Agency) and pensions (pensions) paid to retired soldiers in order to avoid financial pressure from excessive defense costs.

South Korea’s defense spending was slightly higher at 38.32 billion dollars as of this year.

However, as Japan decided to significantly increase defense spending in the name of security threats from China and North Korea, Japan’s budget will be ahead of South Korea again from next year.

According to the mid-term defense plan announced by the Ministry of National Defense in September last year, the government’s target defense budget for five years from 2022 to 2026 was $219.08 billion.

Japan’s defense budget for 2023-2027 will be more than $70.1 billion higher than that.

JAPAN(REUTERS)The Liberal Democratic Party won the House of Representatives election in October last year and the Upper House election in July by promising to significantly increase defense costs.

According to the pledge book at the time, NATO members are trying to raise the defense budget to 2% of GDP, and Japan also aims to achieve the budget level necessary to fundamentally strengthen its defense capabilities within five years.

According to the report by the Mainichi Shimbun, Japan’s defense spending will roughly double the current level in 2027, five years later, close to 2% of the gross domestic product targeted by NATO members.

In a speech at the Japanese National Assembly on the 3rd, Kishida said, “It is Japan’s top mission to strengthen deterrence and countermeasures to firmly protect its territory, territorial waters, and airspace.”

JAPAN(REUTERS)The specific size of Japan’s defense spending over the next five years will be finalized by the end of this year.

Currently, the Japanese government will revise three major security documents by the end of this year: the National Security Strategy,　the Defense Program outline, and the Mid-term Defense Force Plan.

The specific goal of increasing defense costs will be included in the mid-term defense plan, which will determine what weapons the government should buy over the next five years.

The problem is the budget. Japan does not have financial capacity, with its national debt twice as much as its gross domestic product.

For this reason, there is a conflict between the government’s plan to issue government bonds to secure defense costs and the government’s plan to raise taxes.

As a result, there is even discussion on the ” expedient” of calculating the budget of the Korea Coast Guard in defense expenses.

MIKE CHOI

ASIA JOURNAL

VOGE, a 130-year-old tradition, is a prestigious fashion magazine published in 27 countries around the world. In Korea, “VOGE KOREA” was launched in 1996 and has established itself as an influential medium encompassing fashion, beauty, and culture based on its sharp planning power and outstanding visuals.

“Vogue Korea” has interpreted and photographed modern fashion from a modern, contemporary, and futuristic perspective for the past 26 years. This is the decisive evidence of Korean fashion history that reflects the times of the time.

The Seoul Design Foundation (CEO Lee Kyung-don) will hold a photo exhibition of “Vogue Fashion, Fashion, and You” from October 7 to December 4 at the Design Gallery on the first floor of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Design Lab. Vogue Korea collected fashion photos taken in 2014 and 2022 respectively against the backdrop of DDP.

“Vogue Korea” recorded fresh beauty by contrasting Korean costumes against the backdrop of Zaha Hadid’s future architecture, which was a hot topic at the time of the DDP opening in 2014.

Meanwhile, eight years later, the 2022 pictorial highlights the identity of DDP as a “fashion playground” against the backdrop of DDP, which has become a hub of Korean fashion. The exhibition will be designed to compare fashion photos taken under different themes.

A total of 40 fashion photos will be displayed at the exhibition, including 7 photos taken by Vogue Korea in 2014 and 33 photos taken in 2022. As a new chapter in fashion culture, it will showcase a landscape that combines DDP and Korean fashion, which naturally permeated our daily lives.

All of the photos on display are works by photographer Kang Hye-won, who has been active in numerous fashion pictorials for 10 years as exclusive photographers of Vogue Korea. This exhibition will be more interesting in Korean fashion viewed by a media and figures through the view of the DDP and camera lenses in 2014 and 2022.

Through this exhibition, Vogue Korea aims to convey hope to the Korean fashion world by showing more vibrant fashion scenes than before. An official from Vogue Korea, who organized the exhibition, said, “We hope Vogue Korea will appreciate the places, characters, and stories contained with fashion, and discover the future of Korean fashion that will unfold more vigorously in the future.””

The exhibition is part of a series of design exhibitions hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation to develop contemporary notable design and designer content and showcase design trends. Following this exhibition, the foundation will hold a typography exhibition in December.

<Design Exhibition Series> involves designers who are active in each design field in planning to enhance the expertise of the exhibition and show life trends.

The exhibition with Vogue Korea will also show the history of DDP to people.

If these exhibitions continue in the future, people will also be interested in Korean design.

“The South and North will hold the 2018 inter-Korean summit at the Peace House at the southern side of Panmunjeom on April 27, according to the will of the leaders of both sides,” the statement read.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (right) and North`s Ri Son-gwon enter the conference room on Thursday. Yonhap

The upcoming meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be the third North-South summit since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The first was held between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on June 15, 2000, and the second was held between President Roh Moo-hyun and the same Kim on Oct. 4, 2007.

The statement also said both sides would hold separate working-level talks at the Peace House on April 4 to discuss relevant protocol and security matters for the summit. Similar talks on cross-border communication are planned, but a specific date and venue have yet to be settled, it added.

Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae welcomed the news, dubbing the summit as a “groundbreaking opportunity” to bring about peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“As the date of the South-North summit has been set, we will do our utmost to make sure nothing will be neglected in our preparations for the summit during the remainder,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.

“It is our hope that all people will become one so the summit can become a groundbreaking opportunity to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

The statement came as the outcome of high-level talks held the same day at the Tongilgak administrative building on the northern side of the border. The meeting kicked off around 10 a.m., according to pool reports.

South Korea’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon was tapped to head the delegation from Seoul. Chief presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung joined Cho in the three-member delegation.

The delegation from Pyongyang was led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the North’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification, the cabinet-level agency that oversees inter-Korean affairs.

Thursday’s talks were the second meeting between Cho and Ri. Both were chief negotiators of their respective delegations for high-level talks on Jan. 9, which were the two Koreas’ first formal talks in more than two years.

Prior to the meeting, Cheong Wa Dae said setting a specific date and itinerary details for the summit are likely to be key agenda items at the talks.

Before heading off to the meeting, Cho stressed that the issue of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula has always been regarded as a main focus of inter-Korean talks. It has remained a key focus throughout the flurry of inter-Korean exchanges following the Jan. 9 high-level talks and is an agenda item that will remain as such, he told a group of reporters in Seoul.

But there was no mention of “denuclearization” in the joint statement released after the talks.

After the talks, when asked whether the issue was raised at the discussion table, Cho merely replied that although there was “sufficient” exchange of opinions on the summit agenda items and both sides have come to a conclusion, more time is needed to place a specific frame on the subjects.

“Such issues are subjects that will be discussed between the leaders (of the respective Koreas at the upcoming summit), so both sides are on the same page about giving more time to the issue with sufficient negotiations. … If necessary, we decided to take an approach where we will handle such issues through additional high-level talks in April,” Cho explained at a briefing held after the talks.

During the morning portion of the meeting, Cho and Ri each noted the “unprecedented progress” in inter-Korean ties amid a mood of rapprochement created after the North’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

“It’s been less than three months since Jan. 9, but there have been many fruitful results with the issues that exist between the South and North (which is more than what we anticipated in the first place),” said Cho.

In response, Ri said, “Over the past 80 days, there have been many dramatic events that have not been seen earlier.”

Earlier this month, a special envoy for Moon visited Pyongyang and returned with a message from Kim Jong-un expressing the willingness to hold a summit with Moon and talk about the possibility of denuclearization with the United States. US President Donald Trump agreed to meet with Kim in May.

The talks come on the heels of the North Korean leader’s surprise visit to China earlier this week.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, Kim held his first summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and expressed his commitment to denuclearize. Kim reportedly added that the North’s denuclearization hinges on Seoul and Washington taking “progressive and synchronous measures.”

Kim’s Beijing trip was not discussed with the North during Thursday’s talks, according to Cho.

Meanwhile, Seoul on Wednesday formed an advisory group of 46 experts and former top point men on North Korea for preparations for the April summit. It includes former unification ministers from the liberal administrations of late former Presidents Kim and Roh: Lim Dong-won, Jeong Se-hyun, Lee Jong-seok and Lee Jae-jeong.

By Jung Min-kyung & Joint Press Corps (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)

In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, Kim reiterated that denuclearization of the peninsula is the “will of the ancestors,” but called on Seoul and Washington to take progressive steps.

The surprise meeting between Kim and Xi was held in Beijing, marking Kim’s first trip outside North Korea since taking power in 2011. His visit was confirmed by Chinese and North Korean media on Wednesday.

Kim was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju, and top-ranking officials including Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yong-chol.

Choe is the vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party’s central committee, and Kim Yong-chol is a ranking party official who is suspected of masterminding a number of attacks on South Korea.

“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying by the Chinese Xinhua News Agency.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, is seen talking with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 28. (Yonhap)

The “progressive and synchronous measures” are likely a reference to compromise on the part of Seoul and Washington, which the allies have ruled out without verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.

North Korea has long called for the cessation of joint South Korea-US military drills, saying that US military presence is detrimental to stability in the region and a direct threat to the regime. Pyongyang has also threatened retaliation against the US, claiming that international sanctions are an “act of war.”

The efforts made by North Korea include offering to meet with South Korean and US leaders, and to halt nuclear and missile tests while related processes are underway.

Kim is set to meet President Moon Jae-in at the end of April, and US President Donald Trump sometime in May.

Regardless of the implications of Kim’s comments, Cheong Wa Dae is taking the related developments as a positive sign ahead of the summits.

“Kim’s comments from the summit (with Xi), such as that denuclearization is the will of his ancestors, signal positive effects for the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits,” a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity.

He added that Cheong Wa Dae would elaborate on its position after Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi’s visit to Seoul, and that the presidential office is handling North Korea-related issues with “all possibilities in mind.”

According to Cheong Wa Dae, Yang will brief Seoul officials on the Kim-Xi meeting on Thursday when he visits as Xi’s special representative. During his stay, Yang is to meet with Moon and his National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong.

(Yonhap)

“During his visit (Yang) will provide a detailed account of the North Korea-China summit, and discuss current issues in South Korea-China relations including denuclearization of the peninsula,” said Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s chief press secretary.

Although Cheong Wa Dae remains tightlipped, the presidential office is said to have had information on the Kim-Xi meeting.

Beijing is said to have informed Seoul of Kim’s visit at some point between Saturday and Tuesday.

Seoul’s presidential office declined to pinpoint when it was informed of Kim’s trip to China, saying only that Moon was briefed on the developments while in the United Arab Emirates. Moon was in the UAE from Saturday until Tuesday.

The White House also revealed that China notified the US of Kim’s visit on Tuesday (US EST), According to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, the Chinese government also relayed a personal message from Xi to Trump.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

The news came as both Koreas and the US are gearing up for an inter-Korean summit in April and a possible US-North Korea summit in May.

Japanese media had previously reported a “specific train” carrying an unidentified high-ranking North Korean official arriving in China on Monday. The same train left Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, according to Reuters, citing a witness.

A special train is seen at Beijing Railway Station in Beijing Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Speculation about a visit to Beijing by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or another high-level Pyongyang official was running high Tuesday amid talk of preparations for a meeting between the North’s reclusive leader and President Donald Trump. (Kyodo News via AP – Yonhap)

Bloomberg said Tuesday that Kim was in Beijing, citing three sources familiar with the matter, while adding that the purpose and itinerary of his visit are not yet known.

CNN also said that “an official with deep knowledge of North Korea” told the media outlet that there was a “strong possibility” that the young North Korean leader had set foot in China’s capital.

A large security presence was spotted outside Beijing’s Diaoyutai guesthouse, which was used to accommodate North Korean leaders in the past.

A train believed to be carrying a senior North Korean delegation leaves the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, China March 27, 2018. (REUTERS – Yonhap)

Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said that the delegation had included Kim and that it had departed for North Korea after wrapping up the visit Tuesday, citing an unnamed senior intelligence official.

Local daily Donga Ilbo also reported rare sightings of a convoy of about 20 vehicles including two large buses leaving the Great Hall of the People — where top Chinese leaders often meet visiting heads of state — and entering the guesthouse late Monday.

If Kim’s visit is confirmed, it would be the North Korean leader’s first known overseas trip since coming to power at the end of 2011, after his father and predecessor Kim Jong-il’s death.

Heavily armed police guard an area outside a train station ahead of the arrival of a convoy in Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 27, 2018. The activity followed the arrival Monday of a train resembling one used by North Korea`s previous leader, and a foreign guesthouse in Beijing had a heavy security presence overnight. Some media have speculated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was making a surprise visit to China. (AP – Yonhap)

On Tuesday, analysts also raised the possibility that the mystery visitor may be a pairing of the North Korean leader’s sister Kim Yo-jong and nominal state head Kim Yong-nam as special envoys of Kim Jong-un. The two came to South Korea as part of the North’s high-level delegation for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.

In response to a question on whether Kim Jong-un or another high-level North Korean official was visiting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was “not aware” of the situation, according to the AFP.

“If we have information, we will publish it,” Hua said.

South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday was also unable to confirm reports of Kim’s Beijing trip, saying it has yet to identify the presence of a top North Korean official there, but was leaving “all possibilities” open.

“We are carefully watching the situation concerning things that are currently happening in Beijing, with all possibilities in mind,” a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters, declining to be named.

He added that “certain movements” were detected on the North Korean side a few days ago, but was unable to identify who was in Beijing.

“An improvement in relations between Beijing and Pyongyang is a positive signal ahead of the summits between the two Koreas and between the United States and the North (planned for next month and May, respectively),” the official said.

Two security guards watch near the Tiananmen Square in Beijing on March 27, 2018. Speculation intensified on March 27, 2018 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was in Beijing for a surprise visit, after Japanese media reported the arrival of a special North Korean train met by an honour guard under tight security. (AFP – Yonhap)

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry and spy agency both echoed Cheong Wa Dae, saying that they are closely looking into the situation.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said the US could not confirm reports of Kim’s visit to China, but instead reiterated President Donald Trump’s plans to meet with Kim. Shah said the US-led international pressure campaign against Pyongyang “has paid dividends and has brought the North Koreans to the table.”

Analysts here say that if Kim was actually in Beijing, it could be part of his plan to break out of the current diplomatic isolation brought upon the reclusive regime by its nuclear weapons program.

But they also expressed doubts over whether Kim would visit China in such a “secretive” manner.

“If the purpose of the visit is to improve North Korea-China ties through a summit between the two leaders of the nations, then there is no reason to carry out the first formal meeting in such secrecy” said Cha Du-hyeogn, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

North Korea’s relations with China, a traditional ally, is believed to have soured in recent years with China’s support of international sanctions against North Korea chief among a number of points of conflict.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Tokyo has been communicating with Pyongyang through “various means” on the possibility of meeting Kim, while also voicing a positive note about the prospects of opening a three-way dialogue involving Washington.

“We have been communicating with North Korea through various means, including using embassy channels in Beijing, but I will refrain from revealing any further details,” Abe told an Upper House Budget Committee session that came on the heels of recent media reports saying Tokyo had conveyed to Pyongyang Abe’s willingness to hold talks with Kim, according to the Japan Times.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)

“A summit’s success can depend on how much progress has been made throughout its preparation process,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.

Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korean Unification Minister (right) and Ri Son-gwon, chairman of North Korea`s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country shake hands at a high-level meeting held in Panmunjom on Jan. 9. (Yonhap)

“The main goal of the upcoming high-level talks will have to be about finalizing a specific date for the inter-Korean summit and discussing agenda items linked to the summit,” he added.

North Korea on Saturday accepted South Korea’s proposal to hold high-level talks on Thursday to discuss the date and agenda items for an inter-Korean summit scheduled to take place in late April, Seoul’s Ministry of Unification said Saturday.

South Korea’s three-member delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, according to Seoul’s message to Pyongyang via a border communication channel on Thursday. Cho’s counterpart will be Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the North’s agency that handles inter-Korean affairs, Seoul said, citing Pyongyang’s response.

The meeting will take place at the Tongilgak administrative building on the northern side of the border truce village of Panmunjeom.

The upcoming talks will be the second such meeting between Cho and Ri, who previously met at Panmunjeom on Jan. 9 to hammer out details on North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics and bringing about an improvement in bilateral relations.

The Jan. 9 talks was the first formal meeting of the two Koreas in more than two years, following a period of frozen inter-Korean ties precipitated by the North’s continued pursuit of nuclear and missile programs.

“North Korea likely tapped Ri in light of the smooth progress and solid result of the January high-level talks, to show its willingness to cooperate with the South in hosting the inter-Korean summit,” said Kim from Dongguk University.

Another analyst pointed out that the Moon Jae-in administration would have to set a clear foundation for Moon-Kim talks during the March 29 meeting to prepare a less bumpy road toward its goal of achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

“Ways to bring about the denuclearization of the peninsula, declaration of the end of the Korean War, and how to expand civilian exchanges between the two Koreas will have to be considered and discussed,” said Shin Beom-chul, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Moon’s road map for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula appears to be in line with the peace declaration signed on Oct. 4, 2007 following the second inter-Korean summit between liberal President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang.

The declaration called for a nuclear-free peninsula and a permanent peace pact between the two Koreas through dialogue and negotiation. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a truce.

Also noting the appointment of security hawk John Bolton as the new national security adviser in the US, Shin highlighted the role of the Moon-Kim summit, taking place before the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim in May, in preventing a quick deterioration of the current mood set for Trump-Kim talks.

“South Korea needs to get a solid response from North Korea on the issue of denuclearization because the North’s willingness to bring its nuclear issues on the table is the reason US agreed to hold talks with Kim in the first place,” said Shin.

“There is a possibility that the US may shift back to strengthening its pressure campaign against North Korea if the North’s response is about maintaining its nuclear weapons program instead of a noteworthy change,” the Seoul-based expert added.

Shin even raised the possibility of a US announcement of a new level of maritime interdiction operations against North Korea to further hobble the Kim regime and its nuclear weapons program, if the North makes what Washington views as a “wrong step.”

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)

John Mearsheimer, a professor at the University of Chicago, said there is a chance that the Trump-Kim summit may not materialize, or if the talks fail, the two counties could return to the level of animosity of last year.

“It’s not clear whether they will meet … there is hardly any preparations for the meeting and there is a good chance they won’t meet,” Mearsheimer said during a lecture hosted by the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies on Wednesday.

“The great danger there is that if the summit happens between Kim Jong-un and Trump and it fails, then you could end up in a situation where relations between the US and North Korea are worse after the failed summit than they have been over the past years.”

(Herald DB)

Tension on the Korean Peninsula had escalated last year, with Trump and Kim exchanging war-like rhetoric with each other. Trump threatened to attack North Korea with “fire and fury,” prompting Kim to call Trump a “mentally deranged dotard.”

The bellicose mood shifted this year when Kim made a diplomatic overture by inviting South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and Trump for summits. Kim even expressed willingness to bring denuclearization to the negotiation table.

But Mearsheimer said there are no incentives for the nuclear-armed North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, saying the North is in a “completely different” situation from countries that abandoned their nuclear weapons when the Cold War ended in the 1990s.

“I can’t think of a country that needs nuclear weapons more than North Korea because you all know that the US is into a regime change,” the scholar said, referring to previous debates over military strikes on North Korea within the Trump’s administration.

“From their point of view, it will make eminently good sense. We don’t see any evidence that the US, which has the most powerful conventional forces in the world, is giving up their nuclear weapons. So why would you expect North Korea to do so?”

Regarding President Moon’s engagement policy with North Korea, Mearsheimer said it is helpful in reducing inter-Korean tensions for now, but its longer-term implications remain to be seen, as the prospects of the summits with North Korea look bleak.

John Mearsheimer, a professor at the University of Chicago. (Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies­)

“I think it is very smart policy. He did everything possible to tamp down the tension and get the US and North Korea to walk away from the cliff. I think President Moon did the right thing and pushed us in that direction.”

“How it plays out in the long term? It’s very hard to say. It’s not clear if there will be a happy ending to the summit. I think it’s more likely there will be an unhappy ending. … For the time being, I think it is good to walk away from the crisis.”

Mearsheimer has long asserted that the US and China would end up in a “security competition” that could end in major conflicts and that Washington should contain the rise of China by building a “balancing coalition.”

In his perspective, the security landscape surrounding East Asia is much more precarious than during the Cold War, and the likelihood of war between the US and China is higher than between the US and the Soviet Union.

But the scholar predicted such a scenario would not be fulfilled in the foreseeable future, as China wants to avoid conflicts — particularly those with the US and its allies — until it becomes powerful enough to compete with Washington.

“The Chinese are fully aware that provoking the US is not a good idea. … I think the Chinese understand that time is on their side (and) now is not the time to provoke the crisis,” he said.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)

Kang and Wallstrom met in Brussels on Sunday (local time) on the sidelines of a European Union meeting of foreign ministers.

The meeting followed Wallstrom’s three-day series of meetings with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in Stockholm. Sweden said the talks were “focused primarily on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is high on the U.N. Security Council agenda.”

(Yonhap)

Kang and Wallstrom have agreed to closely cooperate on making the upcoming summits with North Korea a “turning point” in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and bringing lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry here said.

“The two ministers shared the view that the recent fast changing situation unfolding on the Korean Peninsula, including the decisions to hold inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea summits, will serve as a pivotal turning point in tackling the North Korean nuclear issue from its root and bringing lasting peace,” the ministry said in a press release.

“To that end, (they) agreed to maintain close communication and coordination going forward.”

South Korea is preparing to hold a summit with the North in late April. Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a summit and proposed holding talks before the end of May.

Wallstrom shared the outcome of his meeting with the North Korean minister and also expressed an intent to keep playing a “constructive” role in ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said.

After the Wallstrom-Ri meetings, the two sides made no mention of the proposed summits, but speculation arose that their discussions may have been aimed at laying the groundwork for a summit between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea, given that Sweden serves as a communication channel for the U.S. in dealings with the North.

Sweden is a nonpermanent member of the UNSC and a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which monitors the armistice on the Korean Peninsula. It also runs a diplomatic mission in North Korea. (Yonhap)

According to Seoul’s presidential office, Moon and Trump spoke over the telephone for about 35 minutes from around 10 p.m., discussing issues surrounding North Korea, and Seoul-Washington relations.

President Moon Jae-in (left) and US President Donald Trump. Yonhap

“Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the most important objective in achieving peace not on the peninsula but in the world,” Moon was quoted as saying by his chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan.

“Concessions on (denuclearization) cannot be made under any circumstances, and that is our adamant position.”

According to Yoon, Moon also touched on the issue of Washington’s trade policies, saying that the strength of the alliance should be made visible, hinting at Seoul’s desires to see Washington easing its protectionist measures.

Yoon also revealed that Moon briefed Trump on the results of his national security officers’ visits to China, Russia and Japan, and said that these countries fully support US-North Korea talks. Yoon added that the two leaders agreed to maintain close cooperation “in every step to enable North Korea to take action towards denuclearization.”

Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon had traveled to China, Russian and Japan to rally support for inter-Korean and US-North Korea talks.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday the US had not heard anything directly from North Korea since President Donald Trump accepted Thursday the invitation from the North’s leader Kim Jong-un’s for a meeting to be held by May.

“It‘s very early stages,” Tillerson told reporters in Abuja, Nigeria on a swing through Africa, when asked about plans for the meeting, according to the Associated Press. “We‘ve not heard anything directly back from North Korea, although we expect to hear something directly from them.”

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Yonhap

Tillerson’s remark came amid continued silence on the proposed summit in North Korea, which seems cautious on the impact of the unprecedented overture on the tightly controlled residents, Seoul’s officials and analysts said.

The North’s state-run newspaper and broadcaster have so far offered no coverage of the proposed meeting between Kim and Trump, prompting speculations over the reasons and when the news will be broken to the public there.

Officials and experts here said the North’s silence is “not unusual,” given the tight control the regime exercises over news that might affect its people, who rarely have access to news about the outside world.

“I think the North Korean government will publicize the news after a certain period, when it thinks the residents will be ready to accept the shock,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

It is not unusual for the North Korean state media to take their time in releasing news as they synchronize their message.

When President Moon Jae-in expressed his willingness to meet with Kim during a speech in Berlin last July, it took more than a week for North Korea to issue an official response. The North then dismissed the idea as “far-fetched.”

Kim Dong-yup, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Far East Institute, suspects that North Korea may be holding off on the coverage partly out of fear that a failure in the talks could compromise the dictator’s authority.

“North Korea believes that laying low is the way to avoid confronting consequences of failure,” Kim said. “In order to prevent possible chaos from a surprise announcement, it wants to discipline its residents with ideological education.”

Without mentioning summits with the US and South Korea, the North’s main newspaper Rodong Sinmun Tuesday hit back against the international campaign of economic sanctions and denouncing of human rights abuses.

The editorial was published days after a news article about the US-North Korea direct talks was removed from the website of Choson Sinbo, a weekly newspaper published by a pro-North Korea group in Japan.

The original article published Sunday said the US and North Korea are ready for a peace dialogue that will end the US’ invasion attempt “once and for all.” The article, however, was deleted a day later for reasons unknown.

“We believe North Korea is taking a cautious approach as it needs time to organize its stance,” Baik Tae-hyun of South Korea’s Unification Ministry said at a regular press conference Monday. “There has been no official response from the North regarding the US-North Korea summit.”

(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)