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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2018
Syrian President Bashar Assad to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang
Syrian President Bashar Assad is planning to visit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in what would be Kim's first summit with a foreign head of state in Pyongyang, the North's state-run media said Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2018
Trump says Kim summit is on for June 12, but puts Japan and South Korea on spot for economic aid
It's back on. U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course Friday, announcing that his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will, indeed, be held on June 12 in Singapore, but noted pointedly that Japan, South Korea and China — not the United States — would cover the cost of economic...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2018
Trump wants quick North Korean denuclearization, but leading experts say process could take a decade
A top U.S. government adviser who has in the past been granted unprecedented access to North Korea's nuclear weapons program is warning that the "quick" denuclearization process sought by the Trump administration could, in fact, take far longer, possibly up to 10 years, according to an analysis by experts....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2018
North Korea urges South to scrap military intelligence-sharing deal with Japan
North Korea has called for the scrapping of a military intelligence-sharing agreement between South Korea and Japan, calling it a "hurdle" to realizing the goals of the historic Panmunjom Declaration signed between the two Koreas on April 27.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 29, 2018
Kim Jong Un's right-hand man bound for U.S. as summit talks progress
A top North Korean official widely known as leader Kim Jong Un's right-hand man has arrived in Beijing, en route to the United States for a meeting with top U.S. officials, a report said Tuesday, as Washington and Pyongyang continue to lay the groundwork for a historic leaders' summit.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 28, 2018
In push to salvage U.S.-North Korea summit, team of veteran American diplomats faces high hurdles
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that an advance team of veteran American diplomats is conducting talks with North Korean officials at the border between the two Koreas as both the U.S. and the North work to salvage a possible leaders' summit — a push that faces a number of daunting challenges,...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 28, 2018
China vows to boost 'combat readiness' after U.S. sails two warships near South China Sea islands
China's Defense Ministry has vowed to bolster its "combat readiness" to defend against what it said was a "serious infringement" of the country's sovereignty after the U.S. Navy dispatched two warships for an apparent "freedom of navigation" operation (FONOP) in disputed South China Sea waters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 27, 2018
Trump-Kim summit back on track, Moon says after secret meeting
With all eyes on next month's on-again, off-again summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim reiterated his commitment to the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and to a Trump sit-down, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday, a day after his secret...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2018
North and South Korean leaders hold surprise talks at border as Trump signals summit may be back on track
In yet another stunning turn of events on the Korean Peninsula in recent days, the leaders of the two Koreas held a second summit, secretly meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone on Saturday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled talks with the North might...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 26, 2018
Trump says U.S. in 'productive talks' with North Korea, suggests summit with Kim could still happen on June 12
Just a day after abruptly pulling out of a planned summit with North Korea's leader, U.S. President Donald Trump held out hope Friday that the talks could still be held — possibly even on the scheduled June 12 date in Singapore.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2018
Trump cancels summit with North Korea's Kim, citing 'tremendous anger and open hostility' in recent statement
In a stunning turn of events, U.S. President Donald Trump called off his landmark meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday, citing “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent statement released by Pyongyang’s state-run media.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 24, 2018
North Korea issues most direct threat yet to pull out of summit with U.S.
In North Korea’s most direct comment yet that the planned summit with the U.S. may be in jeopardy, a top official from the nuclear-armed country said Thursday that it will reconsider the meeting if Washington continues with “unlawful and outrageous acts” — a reference to a “Libya-style” coerced...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 23, 2018
U.S. and North Korea engage in diplomatic dance amid shifting prospects for Singapore summit
With less than three weeks to go before the first-ever planned U.S.-North Korea summit, both sides are engaging in a delicate diplomatic dance, claiming that the landmark event might not even be held while also serving up concessions to draw the other back to the negotiating table.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2018
U.S. bolsters missile defense in Japan as cutting-edge Aegis destroyer arrives ahead of Trump-Kim summit
An advanced U.S. destroyer equipped with cutting-edge ballistic missile defense technology arrived at its new home port at the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Tuesday, as the U.S. Navy's Japan-based 7th Fleet looks to bounce back from two deadly accidents less than a year ago while also...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 21, 2018
Top U.S. senator says Trump looking to end North Korea crisis in first term
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview Sunday that President Donald Trump would seek to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis in his first term, adding that if Pyongyang backs out of a landmark summit scheduled for next month, the two countries would be "on the path to conflict."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2018
China lands bombers on South China Sea outpost for first time
China has landed heavy bombers on one of its outposts in the South China Sea for the first time, part of an operation intended to provide "experience for Air Force bomber units to use islands as their bases," according to the Defense Ministry.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2018
Trump nominates Pacific Command chief Harry Harris to be South Korean ambassador
The White House formally nominated Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris on Friday to fill the long-vacant post of ambassador to South Korea, as the U.S. gears up for the planned first-ever talks between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader on June 12 in Singapore.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2018
North Korean ruling party newspaper rips Japan as 'desperate' amid detente, urges end to 'hostile policy'
North Korea's ruling party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, has lashed out at attempts by Tokyo to urge Washington to address its nuclear and missile programs at a planned U.S.-North Korea summit, calling the moves "desperate efforts" by a "trouble-maker creating only complexities" on Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 16, 2018
North Korea threatens to cancel Trump-Kim summit over U.S. push for 'unilateral' denuclearization
North Korea abruptly threatened to cancel the summit between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump if the U.S. presses ahead with demands Pyongyang unilaterally relinquish its nuclear arsenal.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 15, 2018
Satellite imagery shows first evidence of buildings being dismantled at North Korean nuclear test site, monitor says
New commercial satellite imagery has provided the first definitive evidence that North Korea is dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear test site ahead of a scheduled ceremony next week to mark the event, U.S. researchers said Monday.

Longform

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