July 25 NEWSROOM TOKYO Bangkok Live
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
North Korea says Trump must drop denuclearization policy if he wants to meet Kim
North Korea said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump must accept that Pyongyang is a nuclear power and that continuing to pursue a policy of denuclearization would prevent any new meeting between the two countries' leaders. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, conceded in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that the personal relationship between Kim and Trump "is not bad.' 'However, if the personal relations between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. are to serve the purpose of denuclearization, it can be interpreted as nothing but a mockery of the other party,' she said, using the acronym for North Korea's formal name. 'If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-U.S. meeting will remain as a 'hope' of the U.S. side,' she added. Trump, who has repeatedly touted his 'great relationship' with Kim Jong Un, said in late March that his administration had been in touch with the North Korean leader, and that the two sides could engage with each other 'at some point.' But NK News, a website that monitors North Korea, reported in June that the United States had attempted to deliver a Trump-drafted letter multiple times through North Korean diplomats stationed at United Nations headquarters in New York, but were "bluntly" rebuffed. It was not clear when the attempts had been made. The U.S. leader, who met with Kim three times during his first term and became the first sitting American president to enter North Korea, has repeatedly called Pyongyang a "nuclear power" in the early months of his second term, raising questions about whether he could pursue arms-reduction talks rather than return to the denuclearization efforts that ultimately failed in his first term in any attempt to reengage with Kim. White House officials, however, have ruled out such a scenario, saying that Trump 'will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term." The policy, even if as a long-term goal, is thought to be a nonstarter for the Kim regime — a view reflected in Kim Yo Jong's statement Tuesday. 'It is worth taking into account the fact that the year 2025 is neither 2018 nor 2019,' she said, in an oblique reference to the two years that Trump met with her brother. Indeed, Kim is in a vastly different position than in 2019, when the summit diplomacy broke down. In the six years since, Kim has doubled down on his nuclear weapons and missile programs. The country is now estimated to have assembled around 50 nuclear warheads, while possessing enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is assisted by his sister Kim Yo Jong as he signs documents at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on April 27, 2018. | Pool / via Reuters Kim, who has called for a 'limitless' expansion of his nuclear arms program, is also believed to have ordered the construction of a new facility at the country's main Yongbyon nuclear complex to pump out more highly enriched uranium. In September 2023, the country enshrined its status as a 'permanent' nuclear power in its constitution. 'The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state and the hard fact that its capabilities and geopolitical environment have radically changed should be a prerequisite for predicting and thinking (about) everything in the future,' Kim Yo Jong said Tuesday. 'No one can deny the reality and should not misunderstand,' she added. 'Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... will be thoroughly rejected.' The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Japan Times on Kim Yo Jong's statement. Kim Yo Jong's remarks Tuesday came a day after she threw cold water on the prospects of rapprochement with Seoul, in the Kim regime's first response to peace overtures by new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
NHK
4 hours ago
- NHK
Ceasefire goes into effect between Thailand and Cambodia
A ceasefire agreed between Thailand and Cambodia has come into effect, bringing clashes that continued for days along their disputed border to a halt. The fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces erupted on Thursday. More than 30 people, including civilians, were reportedly killed, while 300,000 people were forced to evacuate. On Monday, Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet held peace talks mediated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. His country serves as this year's ASEAN chair. Anwar on the same day announced that the two countries agreed on an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire." The truce went into effect at midnight on Tuesday, local time. Since then, no clashes have been reported in the border areas. US President Donald Trump strongly pushed the Thai and Cambodian leaders for a ceasefire by bringing up tariff negotiations. The deal was signed as representatives from the United States and China took part in the peace talks. Military commanders from the two sides are holding informal talks on Tuesday, and officials from the two governments are due to meet to discuss borders. The focus now is on whether the two countries can ease tensions, as both sides have maintained their stance of not making concessions on territorial rights in border areas.
NHK
5 hours ago
- NHK
Rift deepens within Japan's ruling LDP as Ishiba stays as PM
A division within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is deepening as its leader and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru reiterated his intention to remain in office. The party suffered a bitter defeat in the recent Upper House election. The LDP held a meeting of lawmakers from both houses of the Diet on Monday, following the loss in the election earlier this month. Discussions continued for four and a half hours, even though the meeting was originally scheduled to last two hours. Ishiba said at the meeting that he would do his utmost to see that the agreement reached in tariff negotiations with the United States gets implemented without fail. He said he should watch over future agricultural policies, social security and tax systems, and he wants to fulfill his responsibility to the state and the Japanese people and avoid creating a political vacuum. LDP Secretary-General Moriyama Hiroshi expressed readiness to clarify his responsibility for the election results when a report analyzing them is drawn up. More than 60 out of about 240 participants commented during the meeting. Some showed support for Ishiba staying in power, but others disputed it. One said Ishiba's intention goes against the opinion shown by voters in the election and creates a political vacuum, and is calling on him to step down after the party finishes its election analysis. Others called for a snap party presidential election. After the meeting, Ishiba said he will make a proper decision based on various opinions, but reiterated his intention to remain in office, saying that he would fulfill responsibilities that should be fulfilled. Meanwhile, the party leadership plans to convene a meeting of executives on Tuesday to favorably discuss holding the LDP Joint Plenary Meeting, for which mainly mid-ranking and young lawmakers are petitioning. The gathering is the party's decision-making meeting, and those who want Ishiba to resign are trying to step up pressure on him by holding it.
