North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may visit China as early as Tuesday (Jun 19) to brief President Xi Jinping on last week's summit with US President Donald Trump, according to Japanese reports. China retains a strong influence in North Korea AFP/KCNA VIA KNS Kim is expected to fly into Beijing and security preparations are already underway, Japan's Nikkei business daily quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying. If confirmed, it would mark the third time Kim has visited China since March, when he made his inaugural foreign visit as leader. Citing diplomatic sources, Japanese news agency Kyodo said a "high-ranking North Korean official, possibly Kim" was due to visit Beijing by air. Kim is seeking relief from economic sanctions in return for his pledge to denuclearise and is believed to seek support from China for that, the Nikkei said in a dispatch from Beijing. Following the historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore exactly a week ago, China suggested the UN Security … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim planning China visit: Report
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Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Pyongyang: Report
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang Thursday (May 31), North Korea's state media said, ahead of a landmark summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is visiting North Korea for the first time since 2009 ahead of a planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. (Photo: AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev) Lavrov's visit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to organise next month's summit, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also meeting Kim's right-hand man Kim Yong Chol in New York late Wednesday. "Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, arrived here on Thursday at the invitation of Ri Yong Ho, foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)", KCNA news agency said in a brief dispatch. It gave no further details but Russia's Tass news agency said the two foreign ministers had begun talks at the Supreme People's Assembly building in Pyongyang. … [Read more...] about Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Pyongyang: Report
Pentagon uninvites China from major US military exercise
The Pentagon on Wednesday uninvited China from a major U.S.-hosted naval drill in response to what it sees as Beijing’s militarization of islands in the South China Sea, which is known as the East Sea in Vietnam, a decision China called unconstructive. “As an initial response to China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea we have disinvited the PLA Navy from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise,” said Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan, a Pentagon spokesman. PLA is the English-language acronym of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army. Logan did not specify what else the U.S. government might do to respond but stressed there was “strong evidence” that China had deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems and electronic jammers to contested features in the Spratly Islands. “We find that a very unconstructive move,” the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councilor Wang … [Read more...] about Pentagon uninvites China from major US military exercise
Việt Nam to send more officers to UN peace-keeping missions
Viet Nam News BRUSSELS —Việt Nam will send more officers, especially women, to participate in the UN peacekeeping operations, said Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Chí Vịnh. Speaking as an honorary guest at a recent meeting of EU chiefs of defence in Belgium, Vịnh said Việt Nam is scheduled to run the level-2 field hospital in Bentiu, South Sudan in the second quarter of this year, replacing the UK’s level-2 field hospital. In 2019 or 2020, Việt Nam will dispatch a peacekeeping military engineering unit to a suitable mission, the deputy minister added. Applauding the EU’s contributions to peacekeeping, Vịnh affirmed that Việt Nam will make more contributions to UN peacekeeping operations within its capacity and as part of its overall foreign policy. He noted that after nearly four years of joining UN peacekeeping operations, Việt Nam has sent 20 officers to work at the UN … [Read more...] about Việt Nam to send more officers to UN peace-keeping missions
Vietnam welcomes footballers home as ‘heroes’ in wake of AFC U23 miracle
The Vietnamese team arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi from Changzhou at 1:00 pm to the exciting welcome of everyone. A huge number of fans had lined the streets around the airport for hours to wait for the team’s plane to land. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam was among those waiting for the squad at the airport. A water salute was given to their plane when it touched down, signifying a for-heroes reception for the players and coaching staff. A double-decker was dispatched to the airport to pick the team up and take them to the Government Office for a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc the same day. PM Phuc had decided to present them with Government Certificates following their great achievement at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship. State President Tran Dai Quang has also approved PM Phuc’s proposals to award the First Labor Order the Vietnamese team, the Third Labor Order to goalie Bui Tien Dung and midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai, and the Third Labor … [Read more...] about Vietnam welcomes footballers home as ‘heroes’ in wake of AFC U23 miracle
Dispatch giving Vietnam students afternoon off to watch AFC U23 final a fake: ministry
Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training has requested an investigation into a fake dispatch asking schools to close this Saturday afternoon so students can cheer for Vietnam against Uzbekistan in the final game of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship in China. The bogus document, which went viral on social media on Wednesday, cited permission from the Vietnamese prime minister in requesting that education departments across the country allow students of all levels to skip school on Saturday afternoon for the game. “Students are to have the afternoon of January 27, 2018 off school to cheer for our national team. Make-up classes are to be arranged for a later date,” the fake dispatch wrote, according to a photo of the document uploaded to Facebook. The counterfeit dispatch bore the signature of deputy education minister Bui Van Ga, accompanied by the ministry’s official stamp, which allegedly was added to the photo using editing software. Nguyen Viet Loc, … [Read more...] about Dispatch giving Vietnam students afternoon off to watch AFC U23 final a fake: ministry
No survivors as Iranian tanker sinks engulfed in flames
Earlier, a Tehran official said there was no hope of saving some 30 missing crewmen before the ship sank, amid concern over an oil spill as Chinese officials played down fears of a major environmental disaster.The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, had been burning since colliding with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, on Jan 6.At around midday Sunday the ship "suddenly ignited", with the entire vessel burning fiercely and a pall of smoke between 800 and 1,000 metres (2,625 and 3,280 feet) high, China's transport ministry said, releasing dramatic pictures of the entire vessel obscured by thick black smoke.The ship later sank, the official news agency Xinhua cited the State Oceanic Administration as saying."There is no hope of finding survivors among the members of the crew," Mohammad Rastad, spokesman for the Iranian rescue team dispatched to Shanghai, told Iran's state broadcaster in Tehran before the tanker went down.Rastad said … [Read more...] about No survivors as Iranian tanker sinks engulfed in flames
Iranian oil tanker burns, 32 missing after collision off China’s coast
A tanker carrying Iranian oil and run by the country’s top oil shipping firm was ablaze and spewing cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese freight ship, leaving the tanker’s 32 crew members missing, the Chinese government said. Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the Sanchi tanker, engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship, Mohammad Rastad, head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation, told Iranian television. The Sanchi, run by the country’s top oil shipping operator, collided with the CF Crystal about 160 nautical miles off the coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta on Saturday evening, the Chinese Ministry of Transportation said in a statement. The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tons of condensate, an ultra light crude. That is equivalent to just under 1 million barrels, worth … [Read more...] about Iranian oil tanker burns, 32 missing after collision off China’s coast
North Korea reopens border hotline as Trump boasts of ‘bigger’ nuclear button
North Korea reopened a long-closed border hotline with South Korea on Wednesday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to mock the North's leader by saying he has a "bigger and more powerful" nuclear button than he does. The North's decision to open the border phone line came a day after South Korea proposed high-level discussions amid a tense standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes. That followed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's New Year address in which he said he was open to speaking with the South and would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held just across the border in Pyeongchang in February. U.S. officials said Washington would not take any talks between North and South Korea seriously if they did not contribute to denuclearising North Korea. A State Department spokeswoman said North Korea "might be trying to drive a wedge of some sort". Kim ordered the reopening of the hotline at the truce village of Panmunjom at 0630 … [Read more...] about North Korea reopens border hotline as Trump boasts of ‘bigger’ nuclear button
Vietnam’s soft power: A view from Korea Most Recent News
In August 2014, I was dispatched to Vietnam to head the Korea Foundation Hanoi Office, an agency responsible for promoting mutual understanding and friendship between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea. Since beginning my work here, I have realized that examples of Vietnam’s implicit soft power can be found almost everywhere in the country. Although unpolished as of yet, if these rough pearls are polished, placed in a systematic order, and used for cultivating international friendships, the country will be able to enjoy more economic successes and strengthen its position on the global stage. In the eyes of a foreigner, one of Vietnam’s most obvious examples of soft power is its people. Or, to put it more specifically, soft power lies in the national character of the Vietnamese people. This is easily seen in the warm and appealing charm that endears the Vietnamese to anyone they encounter. The radiant and elegant smiles of women and the care free high school students having … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s soft power: A view from Korea Most Recent News