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North Korea-U.S. talks in Sweden fail to reach a deal, chief DPRK negotiator says
NKNews said:Working-level negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea in Stockholm, Sweden this weekend have failed to produce a deal, Pyongyang’s chief negotiator said on Saturday.
In a statement following a day of talks with American counterparts at the Villa Elfvik Strand conference center just north of Stockholm, Kim Myong Gil said the U.S. had not been able to provide the DPRK with the new “calculation” demanded by Pyongyang in recent months.
“The breakdown of the negotiations without producing any results is entirely due to Washington’s failure to abandon its outdated stance and attitude,” Kim said in comments outside the DPRK embassy in Stockholm, in comments carried by South Korean media.
“The United States had raised our expectations by hinting at a flexible approach, new ways, and creative solutions, but has come up with nothing, and it has greatly disappointed us and discouraged us from negotiating,” he said.
“The U.S. came out empty [handed] without any calculations we asked for,” he continued. “The negotiations failed to live up to our expectations and broke down.”
Reminding the U.S. of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s warning earlier in the year that he would pursue a “new path” should diplomacy with the U.S. not succeed, Kim said it was now up to the U.S. whether North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing will continue.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NK News on the outcome of the talks.
Talks began at 10:00 local time and lasted for much of the day, and were held primarily between Kim and his U.S. counterpart, Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun.
The two sides held a preliminary round of meetings on Friday, with talks taking place between senior DPRK diplomat Kwon Jong Gun and the U.S.’s deputy delegation chief Mark Lambert.
The talks were the first of their kind between the U.S. and North Korea since January, as well as their first since a summit between the two countries in Hanoi in February failed to reach a deal.
Discussions were set to be dominated by the questions of sequencing — with observers suggesting ahead of time that a “small deal” between the two countries, in which Pyongyang made incremental steps towards denuclearization in exchange for partial sanctions relief, may be on the table.
Speaking to reporters in Athens earlier on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was “hopeful” the two sides would be able to make progress in talks this weekend.
“We came with a set of ideas, we hope the North Koreans came with a good spirit and a willingness to try to move forward and implement what President Trump and Chairman Kim agreed to back in Singapore,” he said, while stressing that “a lot of work needs to be done.”
US-North Korea nuclear talks have broken off, North Korean negotiator says
CNBC said:Working-level nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States have broken off, North Korea’s chief negotiator said on Saturday.
“The negotiations have not fulfilled our expectation and finally broke off,” the North’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, told reporters through an interpreter outside the country’s embassy in Stockholm.
The North Korean delegation arrived in Stockholm on Thursday for the working-level denuclearization talks.
North Korea said on Wednesday it had successfully test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile. The launch was the most provocative by North Korea since it resumed dialogue with the United States in 2018. U.N. Security Council resolutions ban Pyongyang from using ballistic missile technology.
An imaginary conversation between Flyover-man and Urban-guy by David Brooks of the NYTimes. In it he portrays Urban guy as a dude who just wants a free equal america where the constitution is respected by the President and Flyover-man is someone who doesn't read into evidence and focuses on the 'big picture' instead of informing himself.
Why Trump Voters Stick With Him An imagined conversation with Flyover Man.
The New York Times said:Urban Guy: I hope you read the rough transcript of that Trump phone call with the Ukrainian president. Trump clearly used public power to ask a foreign leader to dig up dirt on his political opponent. This is impeachable. I don’t see how you can deny the facts in front of your face.
Flyover Man: I haven’t really had time to look into it. There’s always some fight between Trump and the East Coast media. I guess I just try to stay focused on the big picture.
The big picture is this: We knew this guy was a snake when we signed up. But he was the only one who saw us. He was the only one who saw that the America we love is being transformed in front of our eyes. Good jobs for hard-working people were gone. Our communities in tatters. Our kids in trouble. I had one shot at change, so I made a deal with the devil, and you’d have made it, too.
Nothing in this impeachment mess makes me rethink this bargain. If people like you are unable to acknowledge my dignity and see my problems, I’ll stay with Trump.
[The big debates, distilled. This guide will put in context what people are saying about the pressing issues of the week. Sign up for our new newsletter, Debatable.]
U.G.: The big picture? The big picture is the U.S. Constitution. It’s no man is above the law. We can’t live in a country in which our leaders flagrantly commit high crimes and nothing happens.
F.M.: I get it. He said some stupid crap on a phone call. But are you going to undo my vote for that? I wouldn’t even rank this among the top 25 worst things he’s done, and I’m a supporter of his!
Listen, do you remember those months just after the election when people like you were briefly curious about people like me? You sent your reporters out on wild safaris into the hinterlands to interview Trump voters. You read “Hillbilly Elegy.” Back then it was fashionable to say that Trump is just a symptom of real problems in America. He’s the wrong answer to the right question.
It didn’t take you long to lose interest in all that. Now we’re just a block of concrete you call “his base.” Now, all you care about is Trump, not his supporters or the issues driving us. Your whole media is Trump-O-Centric.
U.G.: We became Trump-O-Centric because his daily outrages undermine norms, spread xenophobia, degrade public morality.
F.M.: You think that because you have the kind of jobs that allow you to follow Twitter all day. I don’t have that luxury. So all that passing nonsense seems far away. I have to deal with the actual realities of life.
One, mass immigration is changing my town, region and state. Two, the cultural liberalism you preach but don’t practice is leading to the breakdown of families up and down my block. Children out of wedlock. Young men with no dad when they’re young and no wife in their life when they’re grown. Third, an Ivy League elite running government and the economy for itself and shutting out those of us who actually make things with our hands. Fourth, China is replacing us.
U.G.: I’m happy to talk about these big problems.
F.M.: Like hell you are. The media fixates on scandals because they’re easier to talk about than complex issues like why urban and rural America are drifting further apart. You wasted billions of hours speculating about the Mueller report, and now news about Adam Schiff overshadows everything else while my world burns. Let’s face it: Bashing Trump is the media’s business model. That’s what drives eyeballs and profit.
U.G.: We can’t have a productive conversation with Trump around. He lies with abandon. He slanders and insults. He pollutes the water near and far.
F.M.: We can’t have productive conversations if every time I open my mouth you call me a bigot. You may not realize this, but you have Trump supporters around you all the time. It’s just that we’ve learned to keep our mouths shut in your presence. The crushing climate of blue cultural privilege is too strangulating.
U.G.: O.K. I get it. You’re not the first person to spin the right-wing victim narrative in front of me. Why don’t we focus on impeachment? On rule of law.
F.M.: Fine. Bottom line: I would be open to impeachment if you cared about my problems. I’d be open if all those silent Republican dissenters in the Senate had given me some G.O.P. alternative candidate who speaks our language and addresses our issues. I’d be open if there was a moderate Democratic Party that I thought deserved a shot. But I only see Democrats who’d make everything worse: Open the border! Socialism! More power to Washington! You could have paid attention to the forces driving Trumpism, but you ignored us.
So please don’t ask us to sign up for our own obliteration or support your impeachment. This is about identity and pride.
Here’s a confession. I used to think Trump was a jerk. Now, after three years of battle, I see him as my captain. He deserves my loyalty, thick and thin.
See ya’ in hell, brother.
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10/5/2019 9:06:30 PM
I've been waiting for this.
Erdogan: Turkey to launch military operation in northeastern Syria
DW said:Turkey will launch an air and ground military operation in Syria in the next two days in a region east of the Euphrates mainly held by US-backed Kurdish militia that Ankara considers terrorists, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
"We have made our preparations; we have finalized our operation plans, given the necessary instructions," Erdogan told members of his ruling party at its annual camp.
It is Erdogan's most concrete suggestion of a military intervention in the region since Ankara and Washington decided to establish a "safe zone" on the Syrian border that Turkey says should be cleared of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
Ankara sees the YPG as linked with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey and wants Washington to stop its support for them. Washington, in its turn, sees the Kurdish forces as vital in the fight against the extremist "Islamic State" group.
Erdogan had given a deadline of the end of September for the 30-kilometer-deep (19-mile-deep) zone to be established, warning that if it were not kept, Turkey would be "forced" to take military action for its own security. Turkey has accused the US of being too slow in setting up the zone, amid differences between the two NATO partners about how far it should reach into Syria and who should control it.
Ankara has said it wants to use the region to settle up to 2 million Syrian refugees of the 3.6 million it currently hosts, according to government figures.
The Kurdish YPG militia that currently controls the region was instrumental in defeating fighters from the extremist "Islamic State" group in Syria alongside American troops.
According to the Reuters news agency, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Saturday they would "not hesitate to turn any unprovoked (Turkish) attack into an all-out war."
Erdogan says Turkey to launch 'air and ground' operation in Syria
Aljazeera said:President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will carry out an "air and ground military operation" east of the Euphrates River, prompting US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to warn of an "all-out war" to defend the region they control.
It was Erdogan's most direct indication of a unilateral incursion into Syria since Ankara and Washington decided to establish a "safe zone" there.
The operation, which aims to clear groups Turkey considers "terrorists" from the border region, could start as soon as Saturday or Sunday, Erdogan said while speaking at the opening of his AK Party's annual camp on Saturday.
"We will conduct this [operation] on the ground and in the air," Erdogan said, adding it would be in the east of the Euphrates River.
"We have made our preparations, we have completed our operation plans, given the necessary instructions," he said.
The comments came days after Erdogan said Ankara has no choice but to act alone in forming a "safe zone" along its border with northeastern Syria since the United States has "taken too long to act".
The NATO allies agreed to establish the zone on the Syrian border on August 7. Despite beginning joint patrols along the border in September, the two have been at odds over several details of the plan.
Ankara and Washington have disagreed over how far the area should extend, who should control it and what groups should be cleared from the area.
Turkey has said the zone should stretch 30 kilometres (19 miles) into Syria and be cleared of members of the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia operating in Syria that Turkey considers a "terrorist organisation".
The US supports the SDF, which is led by the YPG and was key in defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) fighters in Syria.
Turkey, which currently hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees, also says it wants to settle up to two million refugees in the "safe zone".
SDF warns of 'all-out war'
The SDF, which is fighting the Syrian government forces, quickly responded to Erdogan's comments, saying it would "not hesitate to turn any unprovoked [Turkish] attack into an all-out war".
On Friday, a group of Turkish-backed rebels fighting in Turkey pledged to back a potential cross-border offensive by Ankara.
Erdogan has repeatedly called on Turkey's allies to provide financial support for the "safe zone", including in his speech at the United Nations last month, but has been met with a tepid response.
The plan is also expected to face opposition from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and from Russia and Iran, Damascus's most powerful backers.
The main opposition party in Turkey, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has also said Damascus should be involved in any actions taken by Turkey in setting up the "safe zone".
Erdogan Signals Imminent Turkey Incursion of Northeast Syria
Bloomberg said:Turkey is ready to start a military operation in northern Syria to claim areas from American-backed Kurdish forces and may act “as soon as today or tomorrow,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
“We have made our preparations, completed our operation plans,” Erdogan said at an AK Party meeting in Kizilcahamam in Ankara Province. “We have given the necessary orders.” The operation in the east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria “will be carried out on land and air,” he said.
Erdogan has vowed to create a buffer zone inside Syria by pushing back Kurdish militia and settling Syrian refugees in the country’s north. Turkey suspects that the U.S. is backing Kurdish aspirations for self-rule in Syria and is prepared to use military force to prevent what it perceives as an attempt to redraw the region’s map.
Turkey wants to act quickly before winter conditions make it difficult for tanks to operate in muddy terrain, leaving little room for a last-minute settlement with the U.S.
Erdogan has repeatedly called on the U.S. to join forces in expanding a previously negotiated security zone in Syria -- designed to be off-limits to American-backed Kurdish YPG forces -- while threatening an incursion if he didn’t get his way by the end of last month.
The YPG, which played a leading role in the defeat of Islamic State, has been at the heart of Turkey-U.S. tensions. Turkey sees the fighters as a critical threat given their link to the separatist PKK, an autonomy-seeking Kurdish group. It’s considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.
Erdogan wants to resettle some of the more than 3.6 million Syrians who fled their country’s civil war in the buffer area to alleviate the burden on Turkey’s economy and defuse social tensions over hosting the world’s largest refugee population.
it fascinates me to see people still defending trump's actions as the number of you dwindle down..i wonder if you'll ever admit you were wrong or if u can't accept it. i really do believe he's going to be impeached.
I wonder if you'll ever stop speaking in platitudes.
US State Department approves new Ukraine missile sale
Emerging Europe said:The US Department of State has approved the sale of 150 Javelin-type anti-tank missiles for Ukraine worth 39 million US dollars, Politico has reported.
The State Department’s decision, which was confirmed by the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate, comes one week after the release of a controversial phone call between US President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart.
In the July 25 phone call with Mr Trump, Mr Zelensky expressed his interest about buying a new package of Javelin missiles to which the US president responded by asking his Ukrainian counterpart for “a favour”, namely investigating former US vice president Joe Biden, Mr Trump’s top political rival.
US Democrats have launched impeachment inquiries into the phone call, claiming that Mr Trump withheld a foreign and military assistance package of 400 million US dollars for Ukraine unless the activities of Mr Biden and his son, Hunter in Ukraine are investigated.
Observers see the State Department’s proposal as a move to defy the allegations against Mr Trump and US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, who was also present during the phone call and has been subpoenaed by the US Congress.
Pressure is now mounting over Mr Pompeo’s department to clarify its involvement in the US president’s efforts to investigate a political rival. However, Mr Pompeo has said that he will not testify before the congressional committees.
Speaking to reporters on October 2, Mr Pompeo reiterated the Trump administration’s support for Ukraine.
“It was taking down the threat that Russian poses there in Ukraine,” he said, summarising US policy on Ukraine. “It is about helping Ukrainians get graft out, and corruption out of their government, and to help this new government in Ukraine build a successful, thriving economy. And that’s what we will continue to do, even while all this noise is going on,” he continued.
The new arms deal follows a previous one when the US sold 210 missiles and 37 rocket launchers for 47 million US dollars in March 2018.
U.S. State Department Approves Sale Of Second Batch Of Javelin Missiles To Ukraine
RadioFreeEurope said:The U.S. State Department has approved $39.2 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine, including a second batch of the world's deadliest anti-tank missiles to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia-backed separatists.
The deal approved on October 3 includes 150 Javelin missiles and 10 launch units and adds to the 210 missiles and 37 launchers that Ukraine bought from the United States in April 2018.
The Javelin missile systems are meant to be used in the event of a large-scale escalation in the war and not for offensive purposes, U.S. and Ukrainian officials have said.
"The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements," the State Department said in a notice to Congress.
The latest sale must still be approved by Congress, where support for Ukraine remains strong and where initial approval was earlier given for the sale.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said the Javelin deal will not help Ukraine's defense capabilities but will dent the country's budget.
"What Ukraine really needs today is a settlement of the internal Ukrainian conflict, an end to the crisis in many fields, a better situation in the economy and struggle against corruption, the harmonization of internal political processes and the search for identity," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on October 3.
The Javelin missiles were mentioned in a controversial July 25 phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that has become the focus of an impeachment inquiry against Trump by Democratic lawmakers.
After Zelenskiy said he wanted "to buy more Javelins," Trump responded by asking him for a "favor, though." The sale of the Javelins had been finalized before the call.
Democrats accuse Trump of pressuring Zelenskiy to investigate former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, who had business dealings in Ukraine, by threatening to hold up military aid to Kyiv.
The Ukrainian government has been fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people. Russia also seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimea region the same year.
The United States and European Union have been providing aid to Ukraine since then.
U.S. Air Force General Tod Wolters, the supreme allied commander, told reporters on October 3 that he supported sending additional Javelins to Ukraine beyond those already agreed upon.
The Javelins, manufactured in a joint venture by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, are medium-range, anti-tank guided missiles that are currently being used by the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
North Korea’s New Pukguksong-3 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
38 North said:On October 2, North Korea conducted an underwater launch of its new Pukguksong-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off the coast of Wonsan. The two-stage, solid-fuel missile flew on a steep, upward trajectory, reaching a peak altitude of 950 km, and landing about 450 km from the launch point. If the Pukguksong-3 had used a standard trajectory, it would have overflown Japan and covered 1,900 to 2,000 km, making it the longest-range solid-fuel missile North Korea has tested to date.
Photographs of the launch released by North Korea show a missile breaching the sea’s surface after being ejected from an underwater launch tube, and then igniting its first-stage motor. The missile was likely launched from a submersible barge rather than a submarine, as evidenced by the nearby surface ship that presumably towed the barge to a safe off-shore location. The use of submersible barges during initial flight trials of a new missile design is standard practice, as it eliminates the risk of damaging an expensive and crewed submarine if something goes awry during the launch process.
It is not possible to extract absolute dimensions of the missile from the available photographs, but given its flight details, the Pukguksong-3 is likely to be about 1.4 to 1.5 meters in diameter, and roughly 7.8 to 8.3 meters long, making it similar, if not the same as, the land-based Pukguksong-2, but with a substantially shortened and blunted nose cone. The shorter nose cone was likely adopted to fit the missile into a submarine-launch tube. The US Poseidon and Trident SLBMs and the Chinese JL-2 all employ similar front ends.
The Pukguksong-3’s size and configuration is consistent with other SLBM designs. The US Polaris SLBM had a diameter of 1.37 meters, early-French SLBMs were 1.5 meters in diameter and China’s JL-1 was 1.4 meters. The first stage motor of the Pukguksong-3 is roughly two times the size of the second stage motor. This ratio is similar to those found on the US, French and Chinese SLBMs. These similarities are driven by engineering optimization, and not by one country copying another’s design decisions.
The Pukguksong-3 represents another step forward in North Korea’s pursuit of a sea-based deterrent force. Additional flight tests are likely, including an eventual launch from a prototype submarine. North Korea will also need to build at least three, if not four or five submarines to ensure a constant at-sea presence for the second leg of its strategic arsenal, making operationalization of its SLBMs at least a half-dozen years, or possibly longer, away.
North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Center: Unusual Activity in the Fuel Reception Area
38 North said:Commercial satellite imagery of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center from the month of September reveals there are numerous white, cylindrical-like containers in the Fuel Reception Area of the Radiochemical Laboratory. The purpose of these objects is unclear.
While there are no indications of renewed reactor operations, some minor work in being done to extend the earthen embankment that spans the two pump houses, probably to help mitigate erosion from seasonal flooding. Minor construction projects are underway throughout the rest of the complex, including at the Main Research and Administration Headquarters Area and the engineering office building adjacent to the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR).
The Radiochemical Laboratory
Imagery indicates that numerous small, white cylindrical-shaped containers or “packages” are present in the Fuel Reception Area. A large grouping is concentrated in an area near the building itself and several are lined up along the service road to the facility. Commercial satellite imagery alone does not provide sufficient information to determine the purpose of these objects.
5 MWe Reactor
Light vehicle activity was observed at the 5 MWe Reactor on September 16 and 29. On September 16, a large cargo truck and a possible light utility vehicle were present. On September 29, a small cargo truck and the possible light utility vehicle were present. The presence of vehicles is not unusual, but suggests the facilities are being maintained. In August, for instance, the number of vehicles in this area ranged from none to a high of four vehicles present.
ELWR
No activity was observed at the Experimental Light Water Reactor. However, minor construction continues at the engineering office building located immediately west of ELWR. Unidentified objects have been observed on the concrete parking area of the building, including two large, tarp-covered objects observed on August 4, and approximately a half dozen uncovered, smaller ones neatly stacked in two lines in the front parking area. The latter were first observed on August 25 and have remained present through September 29. Minor construction activity appears to be continuing at the rear and south sides of the building. The three identified objects and probable mobile crane observed along the road on the east side of the ELWR on August 13 were not present on subsequent coverage.Site Construction and Remodeling
Renovation is ongoing in the Main Research and Administrative Headquarters Area. In the northwest corner of the compound, a two-story building, present on August 13, was razed by August 25. On September 16, a new building was under construction on the same site. Its foundation appeared complete and walls were being erected. By September 29, the first-floor slab flooring was partially in place. While the final size and purpose of the new structure is yet to be determined, the pace of construction has been remarkable.
At the east side of that complex, along the river’s edge, dredging and earth-moving have been ongoing, but the nature of the work had been undetermined. Imagery from September 16, however, revealed that an earthwork dike is being constructed in the area between the northern-most pump house and extends north to the bridge. This will be an extension to the existing embankment, which spans the distance south between the two pump houses associated with the complex. When complete, it will likely serve as flood protection against seasonal, rising river waters. Imagery from September 29 showed that a boom crane had arrived and had been located directly above the dredge suggesting, that work was being done to the dredge at that time.
last edit on
10/6/2019 5:01:31 AM