March 5th 2018: BREAKING NEW: S. Korean S. Korean president's special envoys fly to Pyongyang for two-day visit

March 8th 2018: Arirang News: [LIVE/NEWSCENTER]
S. Korean president's chief envoys leave for U.S. carrying "plus alpha"...

According to Arirang News, Moon Connyoung, the Blue House."

Dated 8th, 2018,

South Korea's presidential envoys are now heading to Washington to discuss the outcome of their North Korea trip with their U.S. counterparts.

The meetings will be critical in the next phase of the latest detente with North Korea: Pyongyang, Washington talks on denuclearization.

Arirang News chief Blue House correspondent Moon Connyoung explains that Two days after they returned from a historic trip to North Korea, South Korea's chief presidential envoys headed for the U.S. on Thursday to meet officials there and discuss the outcome of their meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier in the week. "At this point I cannot discuss any details of this trip. But, the most urgent issue for us is to make sure the United States and North Korea will engage in talks."

President Moon Jae-in's directors of National Security Office and National Intelligence Service are scheduled to meet with their U.S. counterparts over the next two days and possibly even President Donald Trump.

U.S. officials will be looking to see if the South's Chung Eui-yong and Suh Hoon reaffirm that the North's Kim has promised to refrain from nuclear and missile tests and to engage in negotiations on giving up its nuclear arsenal if its security is guaranteed.

"Obviously, we are cautiously optimistic that there's some forward progress here. But we've been optimistic before so we're going to have watch actions and see if they match words"

That much was announced by the South Koreans upon return from their Pyongyang trip earlier this week, but the South Korean leader's chief envoys have said they are carrying additional offers from North Korea's Kim Jong-un to pass on to U.S. President Trump.

They did not announce what the "plus alpha" entails but local media in South Korea are raising speculations. Among them - Pyongyang's vow to halt its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles BUT dependent on (quote) U.S. attitude to the release of three U.S. citizens detained in the reclusive state.

If Washington takes up on the offer, the Americans' step likely will be to ask the North Koreans directly reiterate that position which could be done through a special envoy from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"If North Korea reaffirms that stance, that probably would represent a sufficient basis for the U.S. to begin talking with North Korea.

But, the ball is now in the U.S. President Donald Trump's court.

What's for sure is that the" plus alpha" that South Korea's presidential envoys are to pass on to Washington will serve as the make-it or break-it factor in what has the potential to become a historic turning point.

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March 6th 2018: Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Löfven of Sweden in Joint Press Conferencerence

Remarks by President Trump andPrime Minister Löfven of Sweden in Joint Press ConferenceConference

Foreign Policy

Issued on: March 6, 2018

East Room

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. I’m honored to be joined by Prime Minister Löfven of Sweden at our first meeting in the White House.he White House.

Sweden is one of our oldest and closest partners, and was among the first European nations to offer the United States an unsolicited treaty of friendship — a treaty signed, believe it or That’s a long time ago. long time ago.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: That was something, huh? That But that wasn’t expected, but that’s okay. We’ll take it. nbsp;We’ll take it. Right? All of the athletes should be immensely proud of the great job they did.

The Prime Minister and I have just concluded a series of very productive meetings. The relationship between the United States and Sweden is one based on shared values, including respect for individual rights, the rule of law, and human dignity. These common principles are the foundation of our partnership. And we have had a great partnership for many years.

We look forward to exploring further opportunities to increase our security and our cooperation in every other way. And we encourage nations around the world to share responsibility for our common defense.

The United States is also grateful to Sweden for advocating for Americans detai I particularly want to thank the Swedish government for its assistance in securing the release of American college student Otto Warmbier last year. Warmbier last year. Terr We continue to pray for Otto’s parents, Fred and Cindy — two terrific people — over the tragic death of their son. death of their son.

In economic matters, we are striving for a relationship grounded in fairness and reciprocity. The United States is one of the largest investors in Sweden, and the Swedish investments in the United States support over 200,000 American jobs.

Earlier this afternoon, I heard from several Swedish business executives — some of the greatest in the world. Where are you, folks? Please. Some of the great execu People I’ve known for a long time and certainly know of. certainly know of. And they’re investing tremendous amounts of money in the United States and supporting, also, vocational training for American workers. We are grateful for those investments, and we are committed to working with Sweden to pursue even greater economic cooperation.

We’re also continuing to pursue bilateral agreements to advance I’m pleased that Sweden intends to procure the Patriot air and missile defense system — finest in the world — in a deal worth over $3 billion. th over $3 billion. This system will increase stability and security in the Baltic Sea region.

A strong and balanced economic relationship strengthens security and prosperity in both of our countries. And this is just the beginning. We have a lot of things that we’re working on. And we’re working on them, really, very hard.

Mr. Prime Minister, I want to thank you again for joining us. And I want to thank your great staff, who we’ve met with, and your great business leaders. It was a very interesting and productive meeting.

The longstanding friendship between our people, anchored in our shared beliefs and values, has greatly enriched both of our countries. And this is just the beginning. Our relationship has never been better. An honor to have you here. Thank you. Thank you very much.

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: Thank you, Mr. President, for a warm and generous welcome. It is a true pleasure to be here at the White House. This year, Sweden and the United States celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations, and this meeting reaffirms the strength of our relations.

History has shown that our two nations share fundamental values and interests, such as democracy and human rights. We also share a strong partnership that continues to evolve.

Today, we have discussed how to further strengthen our country’s prosperity and security. As for prosperity, Sweden is one of the largest per capita investors in the United States, and my country may not be big, but we support, directly and indirectly, almost 1 million jobs in the United States. And some key executives of the companies that provide these jobs are also here with me at this visit.

At the same time, the United States is our most important foreign employer, and many U.S. companies play a vital role in providing investment and creating jobs in Sweden. President Trump and I have discussed how our nations can support jobs and growth. It’s a crucial issue.

For Sweden, that means embracing new sustainable technologies which permit our economy to grow, but at the same time reducing emissions, and also how we can secure good jobs in a labor market constantly changing due to automation and digitalization.

Sweden and the United States are two of the most innovative economies in the world, and we see great opportunities ahead. Swedish prosperity is built on cooperation, competitiveness, and free trade, and I am convinced that increased tariffs will hurt us all in the long run. And as a Swede, I, of course, support the efforts of the European Union to achieve trade with fewer obstacles and as few as possible.

Turning to security, the President and I have discussed some key regional and global security challenges, such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, but also the developments in Sweden’s neighborhood.

We have also addressed the constructive cooperation between Sweden and the United States in the United Nations Security Council.

I would like to underline that the transatlantic link is strong, and it remains crucial to responding to global security challenges. Sweden is a military non-aligned country, but we build security in partnership with others, and we greatly value our broad security and defense cooperation with the United States.

One important example of that is our joint efforts to fight and combat terrorism. Sweden and the United States stand shoulder to shoulder in the global coalition against ISIS and also in the resolute support mission in Afghanistan. And these vital military efforts must go hand in hand with strong political, diplomatic, and also civilian support to create sustainable results.

So, in conclusion, as we celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations, we’re also planning for shared prosperity and security for many, many years to come. And once again, I thank you, Mr. President, for a constructive and successful meeting, and for the very warm welcome that both my delegation and I received. Thank you so much.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much.

John.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke about North Korea in the Oval Office, so I’d like to turn to trade, if I could. My understanding is that the Prime Minister came to you with a message from the European Union Commission President saying, if you put tariffs on steel and aluminum, we’ll slap you back with punitive tariffs on bourbon and jeans and the motorcycles that you talk about from Wisconsin. Are you still planning on going ahead with these tariffs? There are some people in your party who have suggested it’s not a good idea.

And, Prime Minister Löfven, what’s your perspective on tariffs? And what message did you convey to the President from Sweden and from the European Union? Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, the United States has been taken advantage of by other countries, both friendly and not so friendly, for many, many decades. And we have a trade deficit of $800 billion a year, and that’s not going to happen with me. We have been mistreated by many, sometimes fairly, but there are, really, very few instances where that’s taken place.

And I don’t blame the countries. I blame our leadership for allowing it to happen. When I was with President Xi in China — as an example, we lose $500 billion a year on trade. We have a deficit of approximately $500 billion a year with China. And we’re doing things with China which are very strong, but they understand it. But I was with him and I said to him in public, I said, “Look, I’m not blaming you. I blame our people for not doing a better job, for allowing this to happen.”

But it’s like that with many countries, other than small — the European Union has been particularly tough on the United States. They make it almost impossible for us to do business with them, and yet they send their cars and everything else back into the United States. And they can do whatever they’d like, but if they do that, then we put a big tax of 25 percent on their cars. And believe me, they won’t be doing it very long. The European Union has not treated us well, and it’s been a very, very unfair trade situation.

I’m here to protect. And one of the reasons I was elected is I’m protecting our workers, I’m protecting our companies. And I’m not going to let that happen.

So we’re doing tariffs on steel. We cannot lose our steel industry. It’s a fraction of what it once was. And we can’t lose our aluminum industry. Also a fraction of what it once was.

And our country is doing well. The massive tax cuts and all of the deregulation has really kicked us into gear. But I have to work on trade deals. We’re working on NAFTA right now. And if we’re able to make a deal with Canada and Mexico in NAFTA, then there will be no reason to do the tariffs with Canada and Mexico.

But again, other countries we won’t have that choice, unless they can do something for us. As an example, if the European Union takes off some of the horrible barriers that make it impossible for our product to go into there, then we can start talking. Otherwise, we’re going to leave it the way it is.

So the fact is we’ve been mistreated as a country for many years, and it’s just not going to happen any longer.

Q How do you avoid this escalating — how do you avoid this escalating into a trade war?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we’ll have to see. You know, when we’re behind on every single country, trade wars aren’t so bad. You understand what I mean by that? When we’re down by $30 billion, $40 billion, $60 billion, $100 billion, the trade war hurts them; it doesn’t hurt us. So we’ll see what happens.

You know, you can also take it — in some cases, we lose on trade, plus we give them military where we’re subsidizing them tremendously. So not only do we lose on trade, we lose on military, and hence we have these massive deficit numbers in our country. We’re going to straighten it out. And we’ll do it in a very loving way. It will be a loving, loving way. They’ll like us better and they will respect us much more. Because even they say — right now, they say, “We can’t believe we’ve gotten away.” I mean, two countries have said, “We cannot believe, to be honest with you, we’ve gotten away with this so long.” Now, one of them made that statement before I got elected. He said, “I can’t believe I made that statement before I got elected.” But it’s one of those things.

We have to straighten it out. We really have no choice.

Q And, Mr. Prime Minister, how forceful was your message to the President on what the consequences will be if he goes ahead with tariffs?

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: First, trade is a European Union mandate, so we’re a member of the European Union. It’s a European mandate to handle the trade issues. But as a member of the European Union, I think it’s important for us to try to find a way to cooperate between the European Union and the United States.

I fully understand and respect the President’s view that they have to look after his own country — the country that you’re leading. I under that fully. That’s my primary task, as well.

But for me, leading a small country, depending on open trade, the best way for us is to do that with others, because our export equals to 50 percent of our GDP. So for us, it is crucially important that we have this open and free trade.

Today, also, I believe that the supply chains are very, very complicated to see. I know that, for example, when we sell our fighter aircraft, which is a very good aircraft, the content is perhaps 50 percent American. So we want this to be resolved in cooperation. And when it comes to steel, yes, we have an overcapacity in the world. That’s obvious. But at the same time, it is China that is producing about 50 percent of the steel in the world, and European Union perhaps 10 percent and less than that.

So, to summarize, I think it was a pity. Again, it’s a European Union mandate. But it was a pity, also, that the T-TIP negotiations ended, because perhaps with negotiations and talks, we can come into a situation where the European Union and the United States can cooperate. I think that would be a very good solution.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Just to add maybe a little bit further: If you talk China, I’ve watched where the reporters have been writing, 2 percent of our steel comes from China. Well, that’s not right. They transship all through other countries. And you’ll see that a country that doesn’t even have a steel mill is sending us 3 percent steel for our country. And many countries are doing it, but it comes from China.

So China doesn’t send us 2 percent; they send us a much, much higher level than that. But it’s called transshipping. So it doesn’t look good when it all comes out of China, so they send it through other countries, and it comes to us. And it’s putting our steel mills out of business. Our aluminum mills are going out of business. And we need steel and we need aluminum.

And you know there’s a theory that if a country doesn’t have steel, it doesn’t have a country. And it’s true. So this is more than just pure economics. This is about defense. This is about the country itself.

But again, remember this: We lose $800 billion a year in trade. And I think I was elected, at least partially, on this issue. And I’ve been saying it for 25 years — our country has been taken advantage of by everybody. By everybody. Almost everybody. And we cannot let that happen any longer, not for our companies and not, most importantly, for our workers. So we’re not going to let it happen.

Please.

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: Okay. Tina, TT News Agency.

Q So, Mr. President, thank you for hosting us. You mentioned that Sweden has helped the United States with North Korea. How do you see your collaboration in the future to create a future of a peaceful Korean Peninsula? How do you see Sweden’s role there? How do you both view the collaboration?

And as a follow-up to that, if I may — Mr. President, I know that you follow the development in Sweden closely, especially when it comes to immigration politics. Now that you’ve spent some time with our Prime Minister, how do you view Sweden in general? What is your take? And also, on our immigration politics? Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think you have a wonderful Prime Minister, I have to say. We’ve gotten to know each other. Certainly, you have a problem with the immigration. It’s caused problems in Sweden. I was one of the first ones to say it. I took a little heat, but that was okay because I proved to be right. But you do have a problem, and I know the problem will slowly disappear — hopefully, rapidly disappear.

But as far as our relationship with Sweden, it’s going to be only stronger, only better, both in a military sense and a trading sense, and economic sense. You know, Sweden is, I think, the largest — the eighth largest investor in the United States. And they like me very much because the market is up almost 40 percent since Election Day. So I’ve made a lot of these business geniuses look even better. So they like Trump. But, you know, it’s been up very substantially.

But I believe Sweden is about the eighth largest investor in the United States, and that’s quite an achievement.

Q What about the collaboration on North Korea?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’ve been working on North Korea. Sweden has somewhat of a relationship with North Korea. We’ve been working with North Korea. As I said, Otto was really brought home, unfortunately in very poor condition, but Otto was brought home largely with the help of Sweden. They’re terrific — terrific people. People from Sweden, the Swedish people, are fantastic people. I have many friends in New York and Washington from Sweden, and they are fantastic people.

Thank you.

Q And, Mr. Prime Minister, how do you view Sweden and North Korea and the U.S.?

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: We have to find a dialogue. I know it’s not easy, but that’s the way it has to be. It’s a very dangerous situation, and we need all to be very concerned about the development of nuclear weapons.

But we must look at the Peninsula, the region, the world, and this has to do with world peace or something else. So the key actors is obviously the two countries, South and North Korea, as well as the United States and other big countries. They’re the key actors.

We’ve said that we can provide — we can be a channel or do whatever we can to see that the dialogue is smooth. Not being naïve. It’s not up to us to solve this problem, but we can definitely, with our long presence on the Peninsula — both in South and North. We have an embassy in Pyongyang, for example. We’ve had that since 1973.

So with that relation with North Korea, I believe that they trust us. We are a non-aligning country, and — on military, non-aligning country. And I think if we can — if the President decides, the key actors decide if they want us to help out, we’ll be there.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: They really have been terrific. Really terrific.

Saagar Enjeti, Daily Caller. Please, Saagar.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Since it’s my first time before you, I thought you might indulge me with two questions. First, sir, do you believe that North Korea’s recent willingness to talk is sincere, or is it an effort to buy time for their nuclear program? And to what do you owe this recent openness to talk?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Me. No, I think that — (laughter). Nobody got that. (Laughter.) I think that they are sincere, but I think they’re sincere also because the sanctions and what we’re doing with respect to North Korea, including, you know, the great help that we’ve been given from China. And they can do more, but I think they’ve done more than, certainly, they’ve ever done for our country before. So China has been a big help. I think that’s been a factor.

But the sanctions have been very, very strong and very biting. And we don’t want that to happen. So I really believe they are sincere. I hope they’re sincere. We’re going to soon find out.

Q Sir, you tweeted today that you would like to see some change in the people around you. Does that include your Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, or either of your Cabinet secretaries?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I don’t really talk about that. I just said that the White House has tremendous energy. It has tremendous spirit. It is a great place to be working.

Many, many people want every single job. You know, I read where, “Oh, gee, maybe people don’t want to work for Trump.” And believe me, everybody wants to work in the White House. They all want a piece of that Oval Office; they want a piece of the West Wing. And not only in terms of it looks great on their résumé; it’s just a great place to work.

It’s got tremendous energy. It’s tough. I like conflict. I like having two people with different points of view, and I certainly have that. And then I make a decision. But I like watching it, I like seeing it, and I think it’s the best way to go. I like different points of view.

But the White House has a tremendous energy, and we have tremendous talent. Yeah, there will be people — I’m not going to be specific — but there will be people that change. They always change. Sometimes they want to go out and do something else. But they all want to be in the White House. So many people want to come in. I have a choice of anybody. I could take any position in the White House, and I’ll have a choice of the 10 top people having to do with that position. Everybody wants to be there.

And they love this White House because we have energy like rarely before. Okay? Thank you very much.

Q Thank you, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Please.

Q Mr. Prime Minister, last year you criticized the President for drawing a link between immigrant crime and the recent arrivals of refugees. This week, one of our own flagship papers, The New York Times, actually profiled a link between hand grenade violence and immigrant gangs in your country. Do you stand by your criticism of the President?

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: First, Sweden — we have our share of domestic challenges, no doubt about that. And we inherited a legislation that was not sustainable legislation on migration, which meant that, in 2015, we received 163,000 refugees seeking refuge. Bear in mind, we’re a country of 10 million inhabitants. So that was a lot. Seventy percent of them came from September to December, which meant it was a dramatic increase.

We changed the legislation, so now we have decreased the number of refugees entering Sweden, and we’re also putting pressure on the other European Union countries to take their share of the responsibility. This is not a responsibility for one, two, three or four countries. It is a shared responsibility. We are working with that now, within the European Union.

And we, of course — we also have problems with crime, organized crime, in Sweden — shootings. But it’s not like you have these no-go zones. We have dealt with it. I’m dealing with it every day, allocating more resources to the police, more policemen trained, more resources to the security police, tougher law on crime, tougher law on terrorism, supporting terrorism. So we do a lot to combat that.

And we can also see some results now in our three major cities — decreased shootings — because we’re attacking the organized crime very tough. And we’ll keep on doing that because there is no space in Sweden for organized crime because they decrease freedom for ordinary people.

At the same time, Sweden has a high growth. Unemployment is going down; employment is going up. We have high investment rates. We are allocating resources to the welfare. We have a strong, strong economy with a surplus — huge surplus — that we’re now using to develop our society with, for example, the welfare that we want.

So the pictures we need to be — it’s two pictures. Yes, we have our share of domestic problems and challenges, no doubt about that. But we’re dealing with them. And we also have a good foundation for dealing with them, not least with the strong economy and the shrinking unemployment.

Okay. So it’s (inaudible), Swedish Radio.

Q Thank you. This is an election year for both of our countries, and I want to ask you, Mr. Trump: What do you think Sweden should learn from how the Russian influence campaign affected the presidential election in the U.S.?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, the Russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever. But, certainly, there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals. And I think you have to be really watching very closely. You don’t want your system of votes to be compromised in any way. And we won’t allow that to happen.

We’re doing a very, very deep study, and we’re coming out with some, I think, very strong suggestions on the ’18 election. I think we’re going to do very well on the ’18 election, although, historically, those in the White House have a little bit of a dip. But I think we’re going to do well because the economy is so good and because we’re protecting our job, like — our jobs are being protected, finally, like with what we’re doing with the tariffs.

But the big thing would be the tax cut and the regulations cuts. Also, the judges. I mean, we have outstanding judges. Judge Gorsuch in the Supreme Court, and many, many judges going onto the bench all over the country.

So I think we’re going to do very well, and I think it will be a tremendous surprise to people how well. The economy is so good; jobs are so good. Black unemployment, Hispanic unemployment at all-time lows. I mean, we’re really doing well.

So based on that, I guess we should do pretty well, and I hope so. But you have to be very vigilant. And one of the things we’re learning is, it’s always good — it’s old-fashioned, but it’s always good to have a paper back-up system of voting. It’s called “paper,” not highly complex computers — paper. And a lot of states are doing that. They’re going to a paper backup, and I think that’s a great idea.

But we’re studying it very closely. Various agencies, including Homeland Security, are studying it very carefully.

Q But are you worried about Russia trying to meddle in the midterm election?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, because we’ll counteract whatever they do. We’ll counteract it very strongly. And we are having strong backup systems. And we’ve been working, actually — we haven’t been given credit for this, but we’ve actually been working very hard on the ’18 election and the ’20 election coming up. Thank you very much.

Q Mr. Löfven, are you guys on the same page when it comes to evaluating the threat from Russia when it comes to meddling in elections, you think?

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: Well, we both agree upon that the election in a country should — the result of the election in a country should be decided by nobody else but the voters in that country. And that is also our clear stance.

And that is why our intelligence agencies now also increase in their own capacity to detect and counter, whether it’s hacker attacks or financing, or producing or spreading propaganda, whatever it is. We are increasing our capacity to handle that. We are cooperating with other European Union countries. Some of our agencies are also cooperating with American counterparts. And this we’ll continue to do.

So any foreign power that believes that they can interfere with our election, we will find out and we will call them out very clearly, loud.

Q ;And since this is the first time that you two meet, just the two of you, where did you find most common ground and where do you differ most on political issues.

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: (Laughs.) We — First, we —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Maybe almost everything?

PRIME MINISTER LÖFVEN: (Laughs.) Yeah. We — no, first, we — I mean, we both come from outside politics, into politics. I’ve spent 30 years in industry as a welder but also as a trade unionist — trade union leader — spending 75, 80 percent of my time cooperating with the company leaders, with the employers’ organization in an effort to strengthen our industry. So that’s, perhaps, a similar background. Not similar — because it’s different — but we come from outside politics.

But, of course, also, friends differ from time to time. The Paris Agreement, the importance of the Paris Agreement, we stand by that. We think it’s very important that we implement and fulfill the Paris Agreement because of the climate issue. And on that, we might differ. Terrorists, as well.

But having said that, still we know that the relationship is a good — yes, so we can take — that we differ as well, because the values are there and we cooperate very, very good on economic issues, making sure that we create jobs and growth, and also on security issues, both when it comes to combatting terrorism but also when it comes to defend ourselves.

Q Just finally, a follow-up for Mr. Trump. Do you think that trade is where Sweden and the U.S. differ most right now?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, I think we have very good relationships on trade. We have had, and we are constantly in touch. We have, on the military, great cooperation, including design of various components of aircraft, et cetera. And we are — we were discussing that. We have some of the great makers of these components in the room with us today.

No, we have a very good relationship on trade, and we always will have. Sweden is a great country. It’s small, but it’s very sharp, I will tell you. They are very sharp.

Thank you very much, everybody. I appreciate it. Thank you

END

4:10 P.M. ES

March 6th 2018: ROK Special Envoys Returned to South Korea From North Korea

According to Alzeejara and Arirang News dated, March 6th, 2018, The leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to hold a historic summit in April as hopes build for a breakthrough on the peninsula. It follows a high-level meeting between a South Korean delegation and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. With search News stated that there will be no DPRK nuclear test during the meeting proceeding time althoug there was no commitment about denuclearization from DPRK however, ROK Special Envoy Chung Eui Yong stated that He is planning to visit U.S. and China and Russia and S. Hoon planning to visit Japan

They have agreed to install a hotline between the two leaders to de-escalate military tensions and North Korea has said it would consider freezing its nuclear programme under the right circumstances. Is clear that ROK special envoys has delivered to DPRK leader Kim Jong-un from President Moon's message DPRK denuclearization is very important.

U.S and The world is hoping to have break through that DPRK's Denuclearization and have prosperity in North Korea.

Youtupe Maia reported that N.Korea Agreed On Denuclearization Talk With The United States.

March 5th 2018: BREAKING NEW:S. Korean president's special envoys fly to Pyongyang for two-day visit

Aaccording to Arirang News, Dated March 5th, 2018, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's senior delegation took a chartered flight to North Korea this Monday afternoon for the start of historic talks.

Arirang News Reporter Moon Conn-young reported that a chartered flight carrying South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special delegation led by his top national security adviser and represented by his chief intelligence officer took off for North Korea Monday afternoon marking the first such visit under the Moon administration and the first in 11 years.

Prior to leaving for Pyongyang on Monday, President Moon's national security director leading the delegation said he will relay the South Korean leader's hopes for North Korean nuclear disarmament and a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. "I will certainly deliver President Moon's firm resolve to achieve a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and genuine and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. My team and I will also push for 'in-depth' talks to find ways to help arrange the restart of dialogue between North Korea and the U.S."

North Korea has repeatedly said it will not put its nuclear program on a negotiating table, while the United States has made it clear that it doesn't want talks for the sake of talks and said all options, including military measures, are on the table.

Chung , a longtime diplomat, heads a 10-member delegation that includes intelligence chief S Hoon with a 30-year career at South Korea's intelligence agency who has been involved in the coordination of the two previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 and vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, another veteran official in North Korean affairs for the next two days in Pyongyang that will most likely include talks with leader Kim Jong-un. "The high-profile delegation is to reciprocate the trip by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister and special envoy, Kim Yo-jong, on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games."

;

Kim Yo-jong delivered an invitation from her brother for the South Korean president to visit Pyongyang at an early date for what would be a third inter-Korean summit.

South Korea's special envoys are also carrying a written message from President Moon which they may be able to deliver to the North Korean leader as early as Monday evening if Kim shows up to

host dinner for the South Koreans.

If and when that meeting is realized, it would mark the first time for any South Korean to meet Kim in person since he took power upon his father's death in late 2011.

After the two-day Pyongyang trip, President Moon's special envoys are to fly to the United States to brief officials about the outcome of their talks with North Korean officials.

Moon Connyoung, Arirang News, the Blue House.

---------

Meanwhile, same day, According to Arirang News, Dated, March 6th, 2018, The South Korean envoys weren't completely sure of what they'd be doing or when before embarking on their two-day journey to North Korea, but it seems they were able to meet with the highest levels of the regime's leadership.

According to South Korea's presidential office, the envoys landed Monday afternoon at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, where they were met on the plane by RiHyon, an official from North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.

Ri belongs to the United Front Department, the intelligence arm of the Workers' Party leadership.

Then they were greeted at the airport by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and another senior official from the United Front Department, MaengKyong-il.

The envoys then moved to a resort at Mount Kobang in the North Korean capital at around 3:40 PM. There they were met by the head of the United Front Department, Kim Yong-chol, the same official who attended the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea last month. They discussed the details of the two-day itinerary and were invited to dinner with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Finally, at 6 PM, the envoys met Kim for the dinner at the headquarters of the Workers' Party. They were also joined by the leader's sister Kim Yo-jong, his wife Ri Sol-ju, and his chief of staff, Kim Chang-son.

Kim's wife is rarely seen at diplomatic events, so experts interpret her presence as a way for Kim to try and show the world that his regime is, in a sense, "normal." The 10-member delegation held another meeting with North Korean officials on Tuesday... before heading back to South Korea.

Judging from the initial reports, experts say there's a noticeable difference in the diplomatic approach taken by the regime's current leader compared to his father.

"Kim Jong-il was a reclusive leader who kept South Korean envoys on the edge of their seats, but Kim Jong-un has been greeting our envoys very proactively. The fact that they had dinner at the headquarters of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party is unseen."

The expert adds that although it's hard to predict whether this will lead to dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang the proactive attitude on Kim Jong-un's part definitely reflects a open attitude towards future talks with South Korea, as well as the U.S.

February 28th 2018: BREAKING NEW: S. Korean Foreign Minister says sanctions are not aimed at bringing down N. Korea

North Korea demanding not to have South Korea and US Annual Defense Excercise

S. Korean Foreign Minister says sanctions are not aimed at bringing down N. Korea

U.S. Disarmament Ambassador Washington will never recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapon state.US

According to Norae Wang Korean Broad Cast dated February 28th, 2018, there was concerns about DPRK nuclear tests becoming the furious concern that radioactive contamination and leak and it is becoming a huge concern around the neighboring countries and among the people who knows about it. Also DPRK is continue to digging and breaking the rocks in Mount Manta area to have continuous nuclear tests. Norae Wang broadcast mentioned that North Korea possibly carry another nuclear test before March 31st, if there is one, the test will be the biggest explosion which it may be the 14 times bigger than the 5th Nuclear test.

Meanwhile,

The United Nations Conference on Disarmament is meeting this week in Geneva in a renewed push to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

It's been over 20 years since the conference has been able to agree on anything, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the international community to work together and make progress. North Korea, though, is defiant as ever.

Won Jung-hwan reports. Diplomats from both South and North Korea addressed the UN Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday.

North Korea's envoy to the UN, Han Tae-song, said the international sanctions and pressure against North Korea to get it to abandon its nuclear program will never work.

Han also said plans by South Korea and the United States to resume their joint military exercises will be a setback for inter-Korean relations, which have improved since the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

And Han urged the Trump administration to stop what he called its "provocations."

"Stop all provocations that accelerate tensions including deployment of nuclear assets around Korean peninsula. Second, completely stop the joint military exercises which is key factor that undermines regional peace and security."

Addressing Han's statement, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said North Korea must realize that as long as it continues down the path of nuclear development, it will only face more sanctions and pressure.

But Kang also said the sanctions on North Korea are not aimed at toppling the regime, but pressuring it to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

"Sanctions are not an end in themselves and not meant to bring down North Korea but to make it understand that its future lies not in nuclear weapons but in working with the global community towards denuclearization,"

The South Korean foreign minister called on the international community to faithfully implement the sanctions on the North,… but she also said that if Pyongyang makes the "right decision," Seoul will be ready to work "towards a brighter and prosperous future."

Meanwhile, U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood was adamant that Washington will never recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapon state.

He said North Korea needs to drop that as a demand and respond to calls for it to halt its banned weapons programs.

South Korea would like to see its current thaw in ties with North Korea lead to dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington

However, the U.S. says any such talks will only be possible under the right conditions -- that is, on the principle of denuclearization.

North Korea continues Stronger Nuclear Plan

U.S. says any such talks will only be possible under the right conditions that is, on the principle of denuclearization

PBS reported how deep have been making nuclear materials in DPRK

NORTH KOREA MUST CONFIRM BEFORE TALK OR ANY DIALOG WITH US.

PRESIDENT TRUMP IS CLEAR THAT DENUCLEARIZATION IS MUST AND NO MORE TESTS… US AND SOUTH KOREA DEFENSIVE EXCERSICE RESUME BEFORE APRIL, 2018

February 26th, 2018: BREAKING NEWS

February 23, 2018: Press Briefing by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on North Korea Sanctions

Briefing on North Korea Sanctions

According to The White House

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

11:40 A.M. EST

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Hello, everybody. Today, the Treasury Department is announcing the largest set of sanctions ever imposed in connection with North Korea.

This action targets the deceptive shipping practices that have enabled the Kim regime to fund its dangerous weapons programs. Our actions target shipping and trade companies, vessels, and individuals across the world who we know are working with North Korea’s behalf. Specifically, we are sanctioning 27 entities, 28 vessels, and 1 individual, all involved in sanctions evasions schemes.

Today’s actions will significantly hinder North Korea’s ability to conduct evasive maritime activities that facilitate illicit coal and fuel transports, and limit the regime’s ability to ship goods through international waters.

Our actions are part of the ongoing maximum economic pressure campaign to cut off sources of revenue that this regime derives from U.N. and U.S. prohibitive trade to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

We are also issuing a global shipping advisory, in conjunction with the Coast Guard and the State Department, to put everyone on notice of North Korea’s illicit maritime tactics and underscore the significant sanctions risk of engaging in maritime business with North Korea.

We are releasing new imagery of the deceptive shipping practices used by those who aid and profit from illicit trade with North Korea. These images from December 2017 reveal ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other products destined for North Korea in an attempt to evade sanctions. They shine a spotlight on the practices employed by the government of North Korea to falsify identifying information on ships and conceal illicit cargo.

These sanctions — evasion tactics are prohibited by U.S. Security Council resolutions, and we are fully committed to shutting down those who engage in trade with them.

Through today’s actions, we are putting companies and countries across the world on notice that this administration views compliance with U.S. and U.N. sanctions as a national security imperative. Those who trade with North Korea do so at their own peril.

The United States will leverage our economic strength to enforce President Trump’s directive that any company that chooses to help North Korea fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programs will not be allowed to do business with anyone in the United States.

Kim Jong-un’s nuclear program serves one goal: to keep him in power, even as his people starve and suffer. The United States will not sit idly by while he threatens American allies and territories.

This administration is committed to full, irreversible, and permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. And our actions today, against those who continue to fuel this rogue regime, amplifies our strong resolve to achieve that end.

And I’m happy to answer any questions.

Q Mr. Secretary, in recent weeks there seems to have been a little bit of a thaw, at least between South Korea and North Korea; their participation in the Olympic games. There hasn’t been a missile test, certainly not a nuclear test, in recent weeks. Why these sanctions, and why now, when it looked like there was the beginning of an opening, at least between South and North Korea?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Okay, well, I’d say, while we appreciate the fact that there haven’t been tests, that’s not exactly a terrific standard of what we’re applying.

It was very clear that this has been a directive that the President has issued, going back to his time at the U.N. When the Vice President was over in the region, he made it very clear that we were working on these sanctions. And as you know, there’s a huge process that goes into preparing these sanction packages. And as soon as they were ready, we were prepared to release them today.

Q Secretary Mnuchin, real quick question about the nuclear — you mentioned nuclear weapons. Do we have any specific — two questions. Do we have any specific example of this being used to enhance their nuclear program? Do you have specific examples of where they breached trade to do that?

Secondly, is there a linkage between a speech the President made earlier last week, when he said we’re going to be so far ahead of everyone else in nuclear like you’ve never seen before, far in excess of anyone else? Was he talking about North Korea?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, those are independent issues. Our capabilities are obviously — far surpass the rest of the world in those capabilities.

I’m not going to make any comments on direct — on the source of funds. But I can assure you that he is diverting money from the people of the country to support his programs.

Q Thank you very much. And thank you for doing this. This targets 27 entities, 27 vessels. When you talk about ship-to-ship, like the picture behind you there, give us some sort of scope or some context. Is that a small portion of the ships involved and the transfers involved? Is this a larger portion, or in the middle? How impactful, actually, is going after these 27 entities and these 28 vessels?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: This is very impactful. This is virtually all the ships they’re using at this moment in time. We will obviously continue to monitor and use all of our resources to monitor activities going forward. And we will do new sanctions as needed going forward.

But this is a very, very significant action, along with, I might just say, the advisory that the Coast Guard has worked on with us that we think will be very impactful.

Q If it’s virtually all of the ships, do you expect these ship-to-ship transfers to essentially be eliminated after this?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: We’re going to do everything to stop these ship-to-ship transfers.

Q Mr. Secretary, to that point, and using the words you just spoke, we will do everything to stop ship-to-ship transfers. Clearly, we have the intelligence to identify them. This feels like the economic equivalent of a blockade. Is that the next step? A military blockade to, in fact, block these ship-to-ship transfers if these sanctions are not effective?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I think, as the President has said before, we’re not going to announce in advance anything that we may do in the future on military actions. We are monitoring.

What I would say again is, right now we are using the full power of the United States economically, and working with our allies to cut them off economically. That’s the priority of the maximum pressure campaign at the moment.

Q Do you disagree with that characterization that it’s like an economic blockade?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I’m not going to confirm that. What I will say is we’re using all of our sanctions capabilities, and we will continue to do so, to economically cut off illicit activities.

Q I’ve got two questions for you, Mr. Secretary. The first is on the superlative, “largest.” Is that just purely the number of entities and vessels and companies that are being sanctioned? The President also called it the heaviest sanctions —

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I think we think it’s both the largest in number we’ve ever done against them, as well as impactful. I would just say that this brings up the total to over 450 sanctions that we have on North Korea. I would say approximately half of those have been done in the last year. So we’ve had sanctions since 2005. Under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve done half of those in the last year.

Q Mr. Secretary, some of those sanctions of Chinese companies and banks that have done hundreds of millions of dollars of business with the North are — I mean, when you say — so just from a superlative standpoint, wouldn’t those be bigger? Your argument is these are more impactful than taking action against a Chinese entity.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I’m not going to make any specifics. Again, Chinese entities, we will continue to look at them like everyone else. We expect people to follow through on the obligations of the U.N. sanctions and our sanctions programs.

Q Mr. Secretary, to what extent is Russia helping North Korea evade the sanctions?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I’m not going to make any comments specifically on that, other than to say that, obviously, Russia and China are two countries that have traded with them. And we are working actively with both of those.

Q Thank you, Mr. Secretary. What indicators will you use to measure whether or not these sanctions are successful?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: We have both classified and unclassified indicators that we monitor, as to the success. And I will tell you, we believe that the economic sanctions are beginning to have a significant impact on their ability to fund their programs.

Q Could you let us know about some of the unclassified indicators that you use?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, in this setting I’m not prepared to go through the difference in classified and unclassified. But we’ll follow up.

Q Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Two questions for you. To follow up on Steve, why not blacklist Russian ships?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, we’re prepared to blacklist Russian ships to the extent there are Russian ships. So let me be clear. Whether they’re Russian ships, whether they’re Chinese ships, we don’t care whose ships they are. If we have intelligence that people are doing things, we will put sanctions on them and we will go forward with that.

Q And the second question on timing here, specifically today. This is a time, obviously, when the Olympics Closing Ceremonies are happening on the Korea Peninsula. The President’s daughter and senior advisor just arrived in South Korea. Is that timing more than a coincidence? Or are you trying to send a coordinated message by rolling these sanctions out today?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Well, first let me say, Ivanka Trump has been briefed on this. She’s been part of the team. She had dinner with President Moon. They had a private discussion in advance about this occurring. And this has been an interagency process.

So I think, as I said earlier, when the Vice President went over there, he announced these. These sanctions were not ready at the time. Had they been ready to release, we would have done them earlier. And there’s an extensive process, an enormous amount of work that’s been done with the intel community on an interagency basis to get where we are today.

In the back. Yes.

Q What are you going to do when you exhaust all the sanctions? In other words, what if it shows that it doesn’t work? What’s the next —

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I don’t think we’re going to make any comments on what our options are or aren’t in the future. We will continue — as we see things that should be sanctioned, I can assure you we will continue to roll our new sanctions.

So as you know, since I’ve been here, this has been an evolving process. And although we don’t comment on future sanctions, I can assure you we have a large team — the largest ever — dedicated at Treasury to focus on North Korea illicit activities. And as there are more actions that need to be sanctioned, we will do that in the future.

Q Mr. Secretary, you said that — do you mind going into a little bit more detail about Ivanka briefing the South Korean President? Does she have the proper security clearance to have been able to know what these sanctions were and brief the South Korean President?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yeah, she has the appropriate access to brief President Moon.

Q Do you think the greatest effect by this will be military or economic?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I’m not going to comment on any military issues. I am going to comment that we think the economic activities are significant and the sanctions are working.

Q But you think there will be military —

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I’m not commenting one way or another. You shouldn’t interpret that.

Q Regarding North Korean people who are under the U.S. — under the sanctions, and Kim Yong-chol, who is the military chief in the North Korea. He was (inaudible) in South Korea. So he’s coming for the closing ceremony the 25th. So what is the U.S. position of this terrorist guys enter the South Korea? Do you have anything —

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: That’s for South Korea to decide. I’m not making any comments on that. But again, let me just emphasize, our actions are not against the people of North Korea. Our actions are against the leadership of North Korea and the illicit activities, and our commitment to have safety and security on the Peninsula.

Q Can you rule out the United States boarding and inspecting North Korean ships full stop?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: No, I cannot rule that out. So again, under the U.N. sanctions, with the consent of state flags, there are certain rights that we and other countries have. And I’m not ruling anything out.

Q Sorry, just with the consent of state flags. So say a ship doesn’t give you consent — it’s a North Korean ship and it’s suspect — do you rule out then boarding it forcibly?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I’m not going to make any comments on what the military may or may not do. I would direct you to — under the U.N. sanctions, we do have the right, with the consent of the state flag. And we will actively — and we expect states that, as we give them information, they de-flag the ships. I think that’s also something that’s very important.

Yes, in the back.

Q Do you believe these sanctions will create or will entice North Korea to have a change of heart?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I’m not going to speculate what their change of heart will be or won’t be. Again, what I’ve said is we do believe the sanctions work. There’s no question. The case of Iran, the sanctions and unified sanctions is what brought Iran to the table. We believe that the economic might of the United States and our allies, cutting them off will limit their ability to continue their programs.

Q What if some of these companies actually don’t have much economic exposure in the U.S.? What is there you can do to pressure them further?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: So again, I think, as you’re aware, we have the ability to do both primary sanctions and secondary sanctions. So if these companies are doing business in other places in the world and that is facilitated, we have the ability to cut off the banking system in other parts of the world. And we will look at that very seriously.

Q Mr. Secretary, are you right now actively considering any further designations under the Patriot Act, Section 311, of any banks or financial institutions (inaudible)?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, as a matter of policy, I’m not going to give specifics as to what we are considering and what we’re not considering. But I assure you, we are reviewing information as it associates with banks that are doing illicit activities.

Q Can I sneak one in on taxes while we have you here?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Go ahead.

Q Last time you were here was because of it. And there was supposed to be this calculator on the Treasury website — the IRS website — so that people could go and sort of figure it out.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yeah, I’ve —

Q It hasn’t been posted yet. There’s this kind of turf battle between Treasury and IRS and OMB on how to deal with regulations on the tax code. Has this rollout gone as smoothly as you expected it?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Absolutely. So let me just comment. First of all, the calculator is on track. I think it’s being released next week.

STAFF MEMBER: Correct.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: It is being released next week. I think we’re going to give the press a demonstration of this.

And again, I would just emphasize — I think the rollout of the tax plan, we’ve had very close coordination between the IRS and our team at Treasury, and the White House and the OMB. I think there have been some articles about a memorandum of understanding that Treasury has had for 30 years with OMB.

But again, I assure you that Mick Mulvaney and I are working very closely together. And to the extent that it makes sense to reconsider how things have been done over the last 30 years, we’re already doing that.

Q And the President said today at CPAC that past administrations, when talking about the deficits and debt, have let it go to hell, I believe were his words. Yet the projections are still close to trillion-dollar deficits that are going to be racked up in the future years here. Is the administration on the same track as past ones?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Let me comment on that because I think that’s an important issue. Again, as we’ve said, the debt has gone from $10 trillion to $20 trillion over the last eight years. The President is concerned about that. A big component of that was spent in the Middle East on wars, as the President has talked about.

The President has been very clear that getting more money for the military was a major priority of his, and that’s something that was achieved. And as part of that, the Democrats required us to raise nonmilitary money. I think given the importance of what the President wanted to do with the military, that was critical that we get it done. And we’ll be looking at the issue of budget deficits going forward.

Q Mr. Secretary, while we’re on the subject of taxes, where is the administration on the idea of a 25-cent rise in the gas tax that the President has suggested in meetings with members of Congress?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I will tell you it’s something that’s being considered. There is no decision on that. I think, as some of you noted in my testimony, the President is focused on the idea of Internet sales tax. Again, let me just say, this is not a new tax. This is, most states have a sales or use tax, and the President wants to make sure that the states are getting the money that they deserve and that they can spend on infrastructure.

Q Another question on the gas tax. Do you, Mr. Secretary, believe it will be in any way economically harmful to raise it on — maybe keep it on a inflation-adjusted basis as some in the infrastructure community have suggested would be necessary?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, I would just comment, we haven’t had an increase in the gas tax in a long time. It’s one of the things that we’re looking at. It’s just one of the issues. We haven’t made any decisions.

Q Have you made any determinations on whether or not it would be economically harmful?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, we’ve done some analysis on it. But it’s on a preliminary basis, and nothing we’re prepared to decide on right now.

Why don’t we take —

Q Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yes.

Q Mr. Secretary, can you update on the monitoring of the China-North Korea corridor that is the lifeline for North Korea, which is not monitored by any international organization?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I’m not going to comment on specifically what ability we have to monitor things and what ability we don’t. But I can assure you that we have a lot of capabilities.

Q Mr. Secretary, yesterday you met with our Prime Minister, and he quoted you as suggesting that 70 percent of the benefits of the tax cuts go to workers. He’s got a similar agenda he’s trying to get through back home. What’s the evidence to suggest that that flow-through is there for workers?

And secondly, on North Korea — the sanctions. You briefed him on that as well. Do you expect to have strong support from Australia on that —

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I do. So I’ve known the Prime Minister for a long period of time. He is trying to focus on a very similar to economic agenda to what we’ve done. He explained to me how he’s lowered the corporate tax rate on the small- and medium-sized companies, and how he’s focused to do it on bigger companies. And he congratulated us on our success, and hopefully that will show the success for him there.

And we’ve talked about this statistic in the past. We believe that a major part of the burden of corporate taxes are borne by the workers.

And then on North Korea, we had a very productive discussion on North Korea. He’s very supportive, and we’ve encouraged him to work with us on sanctions and other areas.

So a very productive discussion. I know he’s looking forward to see the President today.

Q On that modeling, Mr. Secretary, with the 70 percent dividend that goes to workers that you mentioned to Malcolm Turnbull yesterday, is that all in wage growth or some other dividend?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: It’s mostly in wage growth.

All right. Why don’t I take one or two more questions? But I don’t want to leave here without emphasizing — you haven’t asked me yet — we are working on Russia sanctions. I can assure you that is in the process. I will be back here within the next several weeks to talk about that.

But again, I just want to emphasize, I think you know under Section 241, we did deliver both the unclassified and classified report. And as I’ve repeatedly said, we are working on sanctions as a follow-up to that.

So why don’t we take the last question.

Q (Inaudible) related to election meddling, sir? Is that what you —

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: We’ll continue to look at election meddling. I might just add we are closely working with the FBI on them giving information, as it relates to the recent suit. And as appropriate, we will look at sanctioning individuals from the information they had.

And I would also just comment, we already had sanctions against one of the very significant people that were on their list.

Q Sir, did the indictment change anything?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Didn’t change anything.

Thank you, everybody. Appreciate your help.

Q (Inaudible) Russian sanctions. Are they having anything to do with North Korea, or just, as Steven pointed out, about the election meddling?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Again, let me just say quickly, again, as it relates to North Korea, we’re looking at everybody the same. So the ability that we have under North Korea is not differentiated by country. We’ve done over 100 sanctions under our Ukraine and Russia abilities that we’ve done since the President has been in office. We will continue to look at those abilities, as well as the authority we’ve been given under CAATSA, which I think you know has huge bipartisan support, and election meddling.

Thank you very much.

END

12:01 P.M. EST

On February 7th, 2018: Vice President Pence stated that The U.S. Will Unveil New Tough and Aggressive Sanctions on North Korea

Vice President Mike Pence completed his first day in Japan where he met with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, participated in a bilateral meeting and a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to the United States-Japan alliance.

The Vice President’s day began with a visit to the Japanese Ministry of Defense. There he saw one of the Patriot missile batteries that protect Tokyo. The Vce President said that the full range of American military capabilities is dedicated to the protection of Japan.

Afterwards, the Vice President arrived at the Kantei to begin his meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Abe. The Vice President announced the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever.

“We have brought unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea through our maximum pressure campaign,” the Vice President said

“We will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all.”

According to Arirang News South Korea's Moon administration makes all efforts to keep Olympic-driven and N. Korea 'willing to talk' with U.S. even though, Pres. Moon's mention of nuclear although there was no mentioned about commitment for DPRK denuclearization

There is dialogue between South and North Korea lasts beyond the Olympic Games which is important that we need China's support not only inter-Korean talks but also North Korea, U.S. dialogue aimed at denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

There is North Korea delegation Kim Yong Chol who was masterminding Cheonan ship sinking while the respective delegations - U.S. led by its presidential adviser and first daughter, Ivanka Trump and the North by a former spy chief Kim Yong-chol- were in town.

The Ivanka-led delegation left South Korea on Monday and there has not been any word of interaction between the Americans and the North Koreans.

The Blue House did announce, however, that President Moon's chief security adviser and other key officials had lunch with the North Korean delegation released a brief statement that read "the two sides agreed to work together for permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, sustainable relations between North and South Korea and balanced cooperation with the international society."

Little is known at this point - whether there has been any progress in the South Korean president's efforts to bring North Korea and the U.S. to the dialogue table whether there had been any interaction between the two, even if low-key, working-level and whether North Korea has attached preconditions for starting talks with the U.S.?

Arirang News also stated that "What we do know is that something is in the works behind closed doors between the two Koreas with the South Korean president ever mindful that he must make headway before the Winter Paralympic Games end on March 18th when Seoul and Washington have said their mass military drills, which North Korea may have laid out as precondition for talks with the U.S., will begin shortly thereafter."

According to Youtube Mania, there will U.S & South to Begin Military Drill Aimed At N. Korea After The Winter Olympic .

According to PBS News, This American scientist Sig Hecker, has seen North Korea’s nuclear program up close nuclea who has visited seven times and given eye-opening access to their facilities. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports on how experts try to access the North’s capabilities.

Meanwhile, Pyoeng Chang Olympic media survey shows that Pyeong Chang Olympic 2018 was a huge success and most of the people who were in the olympic and tourist reported that South Korea had great coordination compare to speaking in Korean for many places and organized very well people felt their kindness and graceful manner although many of social people from South Korean have felt uncomfortable with North Korean Human rights abused person Kim Yo Jong and Cheonan masterminding person who have killed for 46 people as guests in South Korea Olympic Game also Yahoo News, Businessinsider.com, Reuters reported that the North Korea plans to send a man blamed for the death of 46 South Korean sailors to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony puting the photos of Members of the South Korean special warfare command salute in front of the portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service at Seoul City Hall Plaza in South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. The defense minister says that a torpedo attack likely has torn apart and sank a South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month.

Anyway, The Pyeong Chang Olympic 2018 was a huge success and extraordinary and made many people happy and great memory to keep in many athletics generated great historic moment!! Way to go South Korea and the world athletic people all of you pulled one world together and exchanging the energetic sportmanship power in a healthy way!!!

Sources:Arirang News, Day Break, Go News, Youtube Mania, Military News, CNN, Fox, References: Eskify, NORAE Wang Vocal King Youtube, Yahoo Sports VOA, Cross ,Olympic chanel, CHANNEL90seconds Youtube mania, newscom, U.S. Military News, Olympic closing Highlights before 2018: Tweeter, Reuters, Yahoo\wikipedia and Youtube DOD news,
catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, February 23th, 2018, Rev. Feb 26th, 2018 Rev. Feb 27, 2018,

February 21st, 2018: BREAKING NEWS

News Alert -North Korea Fully read for dialogue and war: state media

South Korea planning to warm welcome Ivanca Trump

;

News Alert: According to Arirang News,Yutube mania, GoNews, and News media search dated Feb. 19th, 2018:

North Korea's state-run news agency says the regime is "fully ready for both dialogue and war" and stressed it's prepared to respond to any U.S. provocation with a prompt counterstrike.

The Korean Central News Agency also took aim at the U.S. over what it said were moves to stifle thawing inter-Korean ties.

Also targeting the annual joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington the North slammed the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea for saying the postponed drills would be held in April.

The North's outburst comes a day after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the White House is willing to work with the North Korean leadership and Washington is waiting to hear from Pyongyang that the regime is ready to talk.

That said, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also stressed that the Trump administration will keep up its campaign of maximum pressure on North Korea.

The Washington Post reported that Vice President Pence stated " No pressure comes off until they are actually doing something that the alliance believes represents a meaningful step towardd denuclearization," Pence told the Post, "... But if you want to talk, we'll talk." Vice president was schedule to meet DPRK officials but, DPRK cancelled before 2 hours for meeting scheduled. Arirang News also reported that North Korea and South Korea may propose to have next winter olympic however, The IOC has selected Pyeongchang, South Korea, to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Beijing, China, to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. As of 2017 no city in the southern hemisphere had applied to host the cold-weather-dependent Winter Olympics, which are held in February at the height of the southern hemisphere summer.

Meanwhile, According to Arirang News, Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News dated Feb. 20th, 2018

Ivanka Trump will be visiting South Korea later this week for the Olympic closing ceremony.

Seoul is looking to use the chance to convince Washington to allow inter-Korean talks.

Kwon Jang-ho shows us how the Moon administration will be driven by a singular purpose when welcoming America's first daughter. Seoul is preparing a warm welcome for Ivanka Trump for her trip to South Korea later this week. She is set to arrive on Friday and stay for three nights.

The main purpose of her visit will be to lead the U.S. delegation at the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday, where she is expected to be seated next to President Moon Jae-in. Foreign ministry officials have said that a separate meeting between the two is also likely over the weekend.

There's also talk that President Moon, or another senior official, such as Seoul's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha, might accompany Ivanka Trump to Olympic events to support Team USA.

Seoul is also reportedly arranging events that are in line with her role as an advocate for women's rights and empowerment.

It's unusual for the family member of a world leader to receive such treatment a foreign ministry official has said that there are no official guidelines to help them prepare.

But Seoul's lavish reception of Kim Yo-jung , North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, who came as part of the North Korean delegation for the opening ceremony, has led to pressure to provide similar hospitality to the U.S. first daughter. Ivanka Trump is also considered to have her father's ear, and Seoul is looking to court her potential influence, at a time when South Korea looks to orchestrate talks with North Korea. But observers aren't expecting too much from the visit.

"I don't think there should be any expectation, I think this should be about creating a good mood and understanding. I think we need to be careful not to go too far in overestimating her influence over the President. But at the same time I don't think it hurts the South Korean government to have a good relationship with some of the closest advisors to President Trump, and Ivanka Trump clearly is one of them."

When U.S. Vice President Mike Pence came for the opening ceremony, he met with a group of North Korean defectors to highlight North Korea's human rights abuses.

A similar event might also be on the cards for Ivanka Trump to make a similar statement and keep the pressure on Pyongyang.

February 12th, 2018: BREAKING NEWS:

News Alert - ROK President Moon Jae-In At Odd With Trump's Administration If Accept N. Korea's Invitation

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang, could complicate the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts to pressure the reclusive communist state, to abandon its nuclear weapons program, analysts say.

DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un's Sister Kim Yo Jong extended the rare invitation to the South Korean leader through his closest confidante: his only sister Kim Yo Jong, who was visiting the South as part of the North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics, according to South Korea’s presidential office on Saturday. Moon said he wanted to “create the environment for that to be able to happen,” according to the office.

The North Korean diplomatic initiative comes amid growing international pressure, led by the United States, aimed at imposing maximum economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime. Former U.S. officials and analysts say the North Korean move could put Moon, who supports Trump’s pressure campaign while pursuing dialogue with the North, at odds with the Trump administration.

The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games WHICH IS The 23rd Anniversary of Winter Olympic and commonly known as PyeongChang 2018, is an on going international multi-sport event hosted by the county of Pyeongchang, South Korea. The county was selected as the host city in July 2011, during the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa. It marks the first time that South Korea has hosted the Winter Olympics, and the second Olympics held in the country, the first being the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

The Winter Olympics runs from 9 to 25 February 2018, with certain events being held on 8 and 9 February 2018 prior to the opening ceremony. The games feature 102 events in seven sports with fifteen disciplines, including the addition of big air snowboarding, mass startspeed skating, mixed doubles curling, and mixed team alpine skiing to the Winter Olympic programme. A total of 2,952 athletes from 92 National Olympic Committees are slated to compete, including the debut of Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore.

The lead-up to these Games was affected by the ongoing tensions between South Korea and North Korea, and also the ongoing missile crisis involving the country. These led to security concerns, with several countries threatening to skip the games if their safety was not ensured, including the United States. In January 2018, after their first high-level talks in over two years, North Korea agreed to participate in the Games. The countries also marched together during the opening ceremony and agreed to field a unified women's hockey team.

North Korean relations: Many of ROK people complained with Pyeong Chang 2018 as Pyong Yang Winter Olympic instead Pyeong Chang Winter Olympic 2018 due to decision of inviting many North Korean people to enteraining and cheer leaders even if North Korea is in UN sanctions are involved and people are complaining with President Moon Jae in invited DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong who is on the sanction lists (daily news, Fox News). Protesters at Gwanghwamun Plaza criticizing game's pro-North Korean measures, calling it the “Pyongyang Olympics”

Due to the state of relations between North and South Korea, concerns were raised over the security of the 2018 Winter Olympics, especially in the wake of tensions over North Korean missile and nuclear tests. On 20 September 2017, South Korean president Moon Jae-in stated that the country would ensure the security of the Games.

The next day, Laura Flessel-Colovic, the French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, stated that France would pull out of the Games if the safety of its delegation couldn't be guaranteed.

The next day, Austria and Germany raised similar concerns and also threatened to skip the Games. France later reaffirmed its participation. In early December 2017, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told Fox News that it was an "open question" whether the United States was going to participate in the games, citing security concerns in the region. However, days later the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, stated that the United States "looks forward to participating" and is attending.

In his New Year's address on 1 January 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed talks in Seoul over the country's participation in the Games, which would be the first high-level talks between the North and South in over two years. As a result of the talks, held 9 January, North Korea agreed to field athletes in Pyeongchang.

On 17 January 2018, it was also announced that North and South Korea had agreed to field a unified Korean women's hockey team at the Games, and enter together under a Korean Unification Flag during the opening ceremony.

These moves were met with opposition in South Korea, including protests and online petitions; critics argued that the government was attempting to use the Olympics to spread pro-North Korean sentiment, and that the unified hockey team would not be successful. A rap video entitled "The Regret for Pyeong chang" (평창유감), which echoed these criticisms and referred to the event as the "Pyong yang Olympics", went viral in the country. Japan's foreign affairs ministerTarō Kōno warned South Korea to be wary of North Korea's "charm offensive", and not to ease its pressure on the country.

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong-un, attended the opening ceremony. This marked the first time since the Korean War that a member of the ruling Kim dynasty had visited South Korea.

On February 11th, 2018, DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un's Sister Kim Yo Jong Personally invited ROK President Moon to North Korea although ROK President Moon have mentioned that he will discuss with U.S.A. However, U.S.A. President Trump and Vice President Pence firmly believes that DPRK has to committed denuclearization before even any consideration to visit North Korea which many are believe not to even consider unless Denuclearization is committed and for sure, otherwise, ROK is falls into making complete DPRK KIM JONG UN regim.

OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE

February 7, 2018: BREAKING NEWS:

USA VP Mike Pence: DPRK PROSPERITY WITH DENUCLEARIZAION

OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE

According to Arirang News dated February 7th, 2018, Oh Jung-hee reported that Kim Yo-jong's inclusion is likely to irritate the U.S. that has sent its own delegation led by Vice President Mike Pence to counter North Korea's charm offensive. Also Day break reported that she is on the U.S. Black Lists as humanitarian abuse lists.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong will be the first of Pyongyang's Kim dynasty of the so-called Mount Baekdu bloodline to visit South Korea.

The North notified the South on Wednesday of its high-level delegation, and Seoul's unification ministry said Pyongyang seems to have taken into account both Kim Yo-jong's position within the regime as well as the fact that national leaders tend to send their family members to other countries for celebrations.

Experts say Pyongyang aims to maximize the effect of the sudden change of atmosphere on the Korean peninsula... by using Kim Yo-jong as a card.

The scheduled presence of U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump... is another reason. "President Trump is sending his country's vice president, Mike Pence, as well as his daughter, and the North would have considered that. By sending delegates who're at the same level with those of the U.S., like Kim Yo-jong and Kim Yong-nam, the North aims to show it's willing to improve ties with the South."

Pundits add that another person making the trip South, Choe Hwi is going not only because he's the regime's highest authority in sports, but also a very close aide to Kim Jong-un.

Also Ri Son-kwon as a control tower-like figure... since he led the North Korean delegation at the high-level talks a month ago.

By sending Kim Yo-jong to the South, experts believe Pyongyang aims to show the world that it's sincere about improving inter-Korean ties.

They see it as highly likely that Kim Yo-jong will deliver proposals or messages to South Korean president Moon Jae-in... on behalf of her brother. "North Korea could make some dramatic proposals to the South through Kim Yo-jong like holding Seoul-Pyongyang summit talks... or having a high-level South Korean delegation visit the North. So the Seoul government will have to be ready for all possible scenarios."

Pundits also stress that it's crucial for Seoul to maintain close coordination and communication with Washington.

The Security system for the Winter Olympic Game Should be fully prepared for any contingencies and provide assurance to the public so they can continue on with their daily routine to protect homeland and global security in the case of rule out the possibility of an unexpected situation, such as a reckless provocation.

Jan 30, 2018

Top Leaders say DPRK Denuclearization is the most critical

Sources:Arirang News, Day Break, Go News, Youtube Mania, Military News, CNN, Fox, Tweeter, Reuters, Yahoo\wikipedia and Youtube
catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, February 7th, 2018, Rev. Feb. 8th, 2018, Rev.March 6th. 2018

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