Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in North Korea around noon to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. This is the first visit by a Chinese President to Pyeongyang in 14 years. The rare visit comes as both men are locked in disputes with the U.S.
Xi boarded his personal jet at 9:10 AM, local time, in Beijing, with his wife and several top aides -- including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, top diplomat Yang Jiechi, and key economic adviser He Lifeng.
During the one-on-one that's expected to take place this afternoon, President Xi and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will discuss bilateral relations and Korean Peninsula issues.
There's a possibility they may talk about ways to resume nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. that have been stalled since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit in February.
Washington has imposed fresh sanctions on a Russian financial company for allegedly helping Pyeongyang evade sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday that its sanctions target Russian Financial Society, which has provided financial services to Dandong Zhongsheng Industry and Trade, a North Korea-controlled entity based in China.
It also accused the Russian company of opening multiple bank accounts for a representative of Korea Zinc Industrial Group, which had already been designated under Washington's sanctions program.
The statement explained that Russian Financial Society has helped the North channel funds to the regime's nuclear weapons program.
The new sanctions freeze all of the Russian financial firm's U.S.-based property.
The latest move comes just 3 months after Washington announced North Korea-related sanctions targeting two Chinese shipping firms.
A day ahead of the historic summit between the leaders of China and North Korea the nuclear envoys of South Korea and the U.S. got together in Washington urging Pyeongyang to engage in talks with their leaders for the regime's complete denuclearization.
Beigun said the U.S. was willing to discuss all commitments made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump made at the two leaders' first summit in Singapore last year, including security guarantees for North Korea.
However, Beigun stressed that progress would require North Korea taking "meaningful and verifiable" steps on denuclearization.
Lee called on North Korea to hold a 4th summit between the leaders of the two Koreas... ahead of President Trump's visit to Seoul next week.
The South Korean envoy urged the North to "grab the golden opportunity" citing President Trump's promise to provide economic aid in return for denuclearization.
Seoul's Defense Minister apologized to the South Korean people on Thursday following heavy criticism over the military's handling of the situation concerning a North Korean fishing boat that crossed into South Korean waters last week... and went undetected for more than three days.
He also vowed to meticulously explain various suspicions regarding the incident to regain public trust in the military and reprimand those responsible for the false reporting or concealment of the incident from the public.
The ministry has set up an investigation team and begun a probe into the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as the navy and army troops in charge of maritime surveillance concerning the incident.
Source: Arirang News
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