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North Korean dictator says will withdraw South Korean facilities from Mount Kumgang Tourist Region

Mount Kumgang Tourist Region is a special administrative region of North Korea.

Popular with South Korean tourists.
Tensions between North and South have re-exscalated recently, this a response from Kim Jong Un. Adds that SK visitors are still welcome.

US-North Korea nuclear talks break down: Pyongyang envoy

Nuclear talks between North Korea and the U.S. in Stockholm have ended less than 24 hours after they began, Pyongyang’s lead negotiator said Saturday, a claim that was quickly disputed by Washington.

The working-level negotiations “have not fulfilled our expectation and finally broke off,” said Kim Myong Gil as reported by Reuters.

“The U.S. raised expectations by offering suggestions like a flexible approach,” Kim said. “But they have disappointed us greatly and dampened our enthusiasm for negotiation by bringing nothing to the negotiating table.”

The U.S. struck a more positive note, with the State Department saying the North Korean delegation’s comments “do not reflect the content or the spirit of today’s 8 1/2 hour discussion.”

“The U.S. brought creative ideas and had good discussions” with its North Korean counterparts, the state department said in a statement after Kim spoke. The U.S. delegation accepted an invitation by Sweden “to return to Stockholm to meet again in two weeks.”

Delegations from the two countries had convened on the outskirts of the Swedish capital to address North Korea’s denuclearization. The U.S. negotiating team is led by Stephen Biegun, special representative for North Korea. This marked the first direct talks since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea in late June. (more…)

Trump meets Kim Jong Un at Korea’s DMZ

Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to enter North Korea when he stepped over the border to greet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas.

The two leaders met for the third time at the peace village of Panmunjom, the site of the demarcation line drawn as the Korean War ended in 1953. The two leaders first met in Singapore in June last year.

“I never expected to meet you at this place,” Kim told Trump, moments after the U.S. president stepped over the border. The pair then went over to the South side, where they briefly chatted and spoke to the media before greeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

“Stepping over that line was a great honor,” Trump said. “A lot of really positive things are happening,” stressing that he liked Kim from the first time they met.

“I’m sure our special relations will lead to good results,” Kim said. “I’m sure our good relations have a mysterious power that can overcome difficulties.”

Trump and Kim then entered closed door talks without Moon in the House of Freedom on the South side of the DMZ. (more…)