After
North Korea Kim Plays Host in
the DMZ Pompeo Speaks While UN
Guterres Silent and Corrupt
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
CJR Letter
PFTracker
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, June 30 – After Kim Jong
Un complained to pro-China UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres about the seizure of
a sanctions busting ship, he
also published a vanity press
book in Geneva, rather like UN
News channels whatever drivel
Guterres puts out, see below.
Now with
Guterres silent as on the
crackdown in Sudan and
Cameroon's crackdowns
including in Geneva with his
new Swiss partners in
censorship, this from US Mike
Pompeo, on the DMZ crossing:
"I’ve been listening to
Chairman Kim today. I
think there is. Steve
will be leading the
exercise. We’ll have the
foreign ministry as our
counterpart. I don’t
know exactly who from the
foreign ministry, but it’s
likely to be one of a couple
people. And it’ll
happen – I guess it’s the end
of the June still – yep, this
month, starting
tomorrow. So sometime in
July, probably in the next two
or three weeks, probably
around the middle of the month
would be my guess, at a place
yet to be determined.
But the teams will gather and
they’ll start working.
They’ll start exchanging
ideas. We were hopeful –
I think I’d said to some of
you, or maybe I said it from
the podium a few weeks back –
we thought there might be this
opportunity. And the
President, by getting together
with Chairman Kim today, broke
through and was able to get us
the opportunity to get back to
the negotiating table, which
I’m excited about."
Earlier from KCNA: "Pyongyang,
May 18 (KCNA) -- Supreme
Leader Kim Jong Un's work "Let
Us March Forward Dynamically
towards Final Victory, Holding
Higher the Banner of Songun"
was published in booklet by a
publishing house in Basel City
of Switzerland. The
work, published on April 15,
Juche 101 (2012), says that
the century-long history of
Kim Il Sung's nation clearly
proved the immutable truth
that an outstanding leader
guarantees the dignity and
prosperity of the country and
the nation. It also
indicates the tasks for
glorifying the dignity of
Songun Korea for all ages and
successfully accomplishing the
cause of building a thriving
socialist country."
From UN News:
"United Nations
Secretary-General António
Guterres has long highlighted
the importance of young people
in addressing the challenges
confronting the world. And on
4 May, he took a page from
their book and opened an
Instagram account, reinforcing
his role as the UN’s “lead
influencer”. The move
was an immediate success. In
just five days, the UN chief’s
new account has garnered over
32,000 followers; the highest
number from the United States,
followed by Mexico, India,
Brazil and the United
Kingdom. The
fast-growing Instagram
platform is very popular with
young audiences, as evidenced
by the majority of followers
so far, who are between the
ages of 18 and 34.
Providing social media fans
with access to content not
seen anywhere else, Mr.
Guterres’ first post, pictured
above, was both personal and
authentic. “Looking out
at this vibrant and diverse
city, I remember all the
villages and towns the world
over, where I've heard people
express the same, simple hope
– for a life of dignity and
security on a planet that is
thriving”, he wrote next to
the photo of him taking in the
stunning view from his
office."
The public is
paying for this.
#DumpGuterres.
Earlier in
2019 before the North Korea -
US summit, US President Donald
Trump on June 1 said, "you
people are going to have to
travel because you'll be in
Singapore on June 12th." And
on that day, after a 38 minute
tete a tete (with
interpreters) and wider
meetings and a lunch, Trump
held up the four point
document and after that took
questions, see below. On
June
22, the day the UN ousted
Inner City Press from a speech
by Secretary General Antonio
Guterres in contravention of
the Press' rights even under
the UN's rules (CJR here),
a set up for the UN's
Chairman-style lifetime ban
imposed on August 17 and
confirmed in classic DPRK
style on January 2, 2018. On
January 18 White House press
secretary
Sarah Huckabee
Sanders
announced, "President
Donald J. Trump met with Kim
Yong Chol for an hour and
half, to discuss
denuclearization and a second
summit, which will take place
near the end of February. The
President looks forward to
meeting with Chairman Kim at a
place to be announced at a
later date." On February 4 US
State Department deputy
spokesperson Robert Palladino
said, "U.S. Special
Representative for North Korea
Stephen Biegun will travel to
Pyongyang on February 6 for
meetings with his DPRK
counterpart Kim Hyok Chol to
prepare for the President’s
second summit with Chairman
Kim and advance further
progress on the commitments
the President and Chairman Kim
made in Singapore: complete
denuclearization, transforming
U.S.-DPRK relations, and
building a lasting peace on
the Korean Peninsula." And on
February 8, Trump tweeted, "My
representatives have just left
North Korea after a very
productive meeting and an
agreed upon time and date for
the second Summit with Kim
Jong Un. It will take place in
Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27
& 28. I look forward to
seeing Chairman Kim &
advancing the cause of peace!"
So Hanoi it is. On January 15
it emerged that Kim Yong Chol
is headed to DC January 17-18
to meet Mike Pompeo, maybe
even Donald Trump. "Ideas are
being discussed as interim
measures, not as an end state,
in order to expedite the
denuclearisation process
because the North wouldn’t
respond to any demand for a
declaration of facilities and
weapons,” a senior South
Korean official said. And at
the UN, as to opaque
Netherlands, we're yet to hear
clearing from the 1718
Sanctions Committee, in part
due to censorship by UNSG
Antonio Guterres for his own
CEFC China Energy reasons.
We'll have more on this. On
January 3 the UN has
announced: "UN expert on human
rights in North Korea will
visit the South Korean capital
Seoul from 7 to 11
January. Tomás Ojea
Quintana, Special Rapporteur
on the situation of human
rights in the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea,
will meet with senior members
of the South Korean
Government, members of the
diplomatic community, as well
as representatives of the
civil society and other
stakeholders. He will also
interview people who have
recently escaped the DPRK and
collect information on the
current human rights situation
inside the country.
Despite repeated requests for
a country visit, the DPRK has
not granted the UN expert
access to the country.
The Special Rapporteur
regularly visits the region
and reports annually to the UN
Human Rights Council and the
General Assembly. The upcoming
visit is his fifth to the
Republic of Korea since his
appointment by the Human
Rights Council in March 2016.
He last visited Seoul in July
2018. The Special
Rapporteur will hold a press
conference on Friday 11
January, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
(local time) at the Korea
Press Center (124,
Sejong-daero, Jung-gu), Seoul.
Access to the press conference
is strictly limited to
journalists." Journalists like
the state media Guterres and
Alison Smale let in to "their"
UN while roughing up and
banning Inner City Press? On
December 24, a US District
Judge awarded more than $500
million for the killing of
Otto Warmbier - a default
judgment on which Inner City
Press on Christmas Eve said to
expect the DPRK
response. On December 25
the response is to the
December 22 UN General
Assembly resolution: the DPRK
state-run Rodong newspaper
called the resolution a
"serious political provocation
against the DPRK and a vicious
move to tarnish its
international image. The
wicked intention of the US...
in getting vocal about the
non-existent 'human rights
issue' of the DPRK is to
broaden the scope of the
sanctions and pressure and
escalate them." The US tried
to get a Security
Council meeting on human
rights in North Korea but
stood down, reportedly
thinking it will get it with
the five incoming members.
We'll see and report on it,
even still banned from the UN
North Korea style by Dear
Leader Antonio Guterres,
covering up his own conflict
of interest. As to
Warmbier it's Case
1:18-cv-00977-BAH
and it
goes like this: "Upon
consideration of the
plaintiffs’ Motion for Default
Judgment and, If Necessary,
Motion for Evidentiary
Hearing, ECF No. 16, the
related legal memorandum in
support thereof, the exhibits
and declarations attached
thereto, the evidentiary
hearing conducted on December
19, 2018, and the entire
record herein, for the reasons
stated in the accompanying
Memorandum Opinion issued
contemporaneously with this
Order, the Court finds that
the plaintiffs have
established their “claim[s] or
right to relief by evidence
satisfactory to the court,” 28
U.S.C. §
1608(e), and it is hereby
ORDERED that the plaintiffs’
Motion for Default Judgment is
GRANTED; and it is
further
ORDERED that the defendant
Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea (“North Korea”)
shall be liable for damages in
the amount of $501,134,683.80,
which shall be allocated in
the
following manner:
The estate of Otto Warmbier is
entitled to the sum of
$21,134,683.80 in compensatory
damages and $150,000,000.00 in
punitive damages; and
Otto Warmbier’s parents
Frederick Warmbier and Cynthia
Warmbier are each entitled to
the
sum of $15,000,000 in
compensatory damages and
$150,000,000 in punitive
damages; and it
is further
ORDERED that the plaintiffs
shall, at their own cost and
consistent with the
requirements of 28 U.S.C. §
1608(e), send a copy of this
Order to the defendant North
Korea." On November 19, US
State Department spokesperson
Heather Nauert announced:
"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo
spoke today with Swedish
Foreign Minister Margot
Wallstrom and thanked her for
Sweden’s role in securing the
release of an American citizen
from North Korea. The
Secretary also thanked the
Swedes for their support and
services as our Protecting
Power in North Korea, and
discussed other issues of
mutual concern." On November 8
after Russia called a closed
door consultation on North
Korea, US Nikki Haley emerged
afterward and snarked that
Russia said this was about
humanitarian but what they
REALLY want is to lift banking
restriction and we're not
going to do that. (See
previous Inner City Press
scoop, before being roughed up
and banned by Antonio
Guterres, credited here.)
On November 16 this from US
State Department Spokesperson
Heather Nauert: "Secretary
Michael R. Pompeo met with ROK
Unification Minister Cho
Myoung-gyon on November 16,
2018 in Washington, D.C.
They affirmed their commitment
to close coordination during
ongoing efforts to achieve the
final, fully verified
denuclearization of the DPRK
as agreed to by Chairman
Kim. Both sides also
discussed ways to deepen
coordination so that
inter-Korean cooperation and
progress on U.S.-DPRK
negotiations toward
denuclearization remain
aligned." There are boasts of
the testing of a new high tech
"tactical" weapon...
Back on September
21, this from the US:
"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo
spoke by phone with Japanese
Foreign Minister Kono
yesterday. They
discussed the ongoing pressure
campaign to achieve the final,
fully verified
denuclearization of the DPRK
as agreed to by Chairman Kim
Jong Un in Singapore.
They also talked about the
upcoming UN General Assembly
and global security issues of
importance to the U.S.-Japan
alliance." On September 19
Pompeo said, "The United
States congratulates President
Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim
Jong Un on the successful
outcome of their summit
meeting in Pyongyang. We
welcome President Moon and
Chairman Kim’s reaffirmation
of the Singapore joint
statement of complete
denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula, including the
permanent dismantlement of all
facilities at Yongbyon in the
presence of U.S. and IAEA
inspectors. We also welcome
Chairman Kim’s decision to
complete the previously
announced dismantlement of the
Tongchang-ri site in the
presence of U.S. and
international inspectors as a
step toward the final fully
verified denuclearization of
North Korea, as agreed by
Chairman Kim at the Singapore
summit with President Trump.
On the basis of these
important commitments, the
United States is prepared to
engage immediately in
negotiations to transform
U.S.-DPRK relations. This
morning, I invited my
counterpart Foreign Minister
Ri Yong Ho to meet in New York
City next week where we are
both already scheduled to be
in attendance at the United
Nations General Assembly
meeting. Likewise, we
have invited North Korean
representatives to meet our
Special Representative for
North Korea, Stephen Biegun,
in Vienna, Austria at the
earliest opportunity.
This will mark the beginning
of negotiations to transform
U.S.-DPRK relations through
the process of rapid
denuclearization of North
Korea, to be completed by
January 2021, as committed by
Chairman Kim, and to construct
a lasting and stable peace
regime on the Korean
Peninsula." But will the Ri
meeting be out of the UN,
where Inner City Press can
stake it out and cover it, or
in the Guterres-censored UN
where Inner City Press will
cover, but only as excluded by
Guterres and his Alison Smale?
On September 13 the US made an
addition to its North Korea
sanctions list: "JONG, Song
Hwa (Korean); DOB 05 Feb 1970;
nationality Korea, North;
Gender Male; Passport
927220230 (Korea, North)
issued 11 May 2017 expires 11
May 2022 (individual) [DPRK4].
The following entities have
been added to OFAC's SDN List:
VOLASYS SILVER STAR, 41
Ulitsa Klary Tsetskin,
Vladivostok, Russia [DPRK3]
[DPRK4].
YANBIAN SILVERSTAR
NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
(a.k.a. CHINA SILVER STAR
INTERNET TECHNOLOGY COMPANY;
a.k.a. SILVER STAR INTERNET
TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION; a.k.a.
UNSONG INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
CORPORATION; a.k.a. YANBIAN
SILVER STAR; a.k.a. YANBIAN
SILVERSTAR), 20998B-26
Changbaishan East Road, Yanji,
Jilin, China [DPRK3] [DPRK4]."
On September 7 while Guterres
dodged
a letter from the Korean
missions President Donald
Trump, who may or may no be
behind what the US is telling
people is the US
Mission's support of
censorship of Press, said this
on Air Force One: "I know that
a letter is being delivered to
me, a personal letter from Kim
Jong Un to me, that was handed
at the border, I don’t know if
you know that, it was handed
at the border yesterday. It’s
an elegant way, the way it
used to be many years ago
before we had all the of new
contraptions that we all use.
I think it’s going to be a
positive letter. We have to
start that process.
On North Korea, it’s very
interesting. It started off
very rough. … You people
thought I was too rough. We
have our hostages back, I say
it a hundred times, no
missiles, no rockets, no
nuclear testing. There’s been
some rhetoric, let’s see what
happens. Although the rhetoric
between myself and him has
been very good. He says I have
respect for President Trump.
Let’s see what happens. He did
write me a letter. The letter
is being delivered to me,
probably I’ll have it, I think
it’s being brought in by Mike
Pompeo, who by the way is
doing a fantastic job."
Guterres' censorship, which
included a ban on entering and
covering the stakeout of
Pompeo and perhaps ironically
Nikki Haley has now been
covered not only in DC,
Cameroon,
the UK
and Italy
but also Japan, see
August 24, 2018, “Who
Banned Reporter Michuu Lee
from the United Nations?”
by Hirata Ichiko,
NikkanBerita.com (Japan). Next
stop South Korea, where Ban
Ki-moon's in retrospect less
abusive attempt to Inner City
Press' coverage, by
downgrading status but not
roughing up and banning, was
repeatedly covered: Jan 18,
2017: “Before
trying to be president, Ban
Ki-moon must address his
sibling’s corruption,”
Hankyoreh (South Korea); Jan
18, 2017, Korea Times, “Prosecutors
say Ban Ki-moon was 'indeed
on bribery list,'” Jan
18, 2017, Yonhap, “Ban
aide denies new allegations
surrounding his brother;”
Jan 23, 2017, Sisa
Journal: (“a foreign
reporter exposed it.”
And at the UN, Stephane
Dujarric, Hua Jiang, Maher
Nasser and others throughout
all this, never recusing
themselves, censors. On August
24, President Trump tweeted:
"I have asked Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo not to go to
North Korea, at this time,
because I feel we are not
making sufficient progress
with respect to the
denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula... Additionally,
because of our much tougher
Trading stance with China, I
do not believe they are
helping with the process of
denuclearization as they once
were (despite the UN Sanctions
which are in
place)....Secretary Pompeo
looks forward to going to
North Korea in the near
future, most likely after our
Trading relationship with
China is resolved. In the
meantime I would like to send
my warmest regards and respect
to Chairman Kim. I look
forward to seeing him soon!"
Less that two hours later a UN
North Korea sanctions meeting
Inner City is banned by
Antonio Guterres and Alison
Smale from staking out, at
least from inside the UN.
Guterres is headed to China,
leaving the Press in the
street. Today's UN is corrupt.
Inner City Press
earlier asked UN spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN transcript here: Inner
City Press: it seems that
North and South Korea have
agreed to have at least
temporary family
reunifications sometime this
summer, maybe in August,
since you said the
Secretary-General is following
this process, what does he
think of that? Does it
have any implications for the
nuclear side of the
discussions?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
we welcome all
confidence-building measures
that are taken between the
parties on the Korean
Peninsula and we certainly
hope that the issue of family
reunifications can move
forward. As you're
aware, this has been a concern
of many families for decades
and anything that helps ease
the sort of problems and pain
that they've faced from
separation is a welcome step."
The UN just watches - and
censors. On August 21 in
Washington, "Secretary Pompeo
spoke yesterday with New
Zealand Foreign Minister
Winston Peters. Secretary
Pompeo thanked Foreign
Minister Peters for New
Zealand’s continued support in
working towards the final,
fully verified
denuclearization of the DPRK
as agreed to by Chairman Kim
Jong Un, including the
implementation of UN Security
Council sanctions. They
discussed cooperation in the
Indo-Pacific region and joint
efforts at strengthening the
rules-based regional order."
On August 17 Guterres' Global
Censor Alison Smale issued a
no due process order to ban
Inner City Press for life,
here. On August 20, without
irony, Guterres issued this:
"The Secretary-General
welcomes the holding of an
inter-Korean family reunion
event that began today and is
set to last until 26
August. He hopes that
such reunion events will
become routine and include
many more people, including
affected Koreans worldwide,
allow participants to meet
privately, and to remain in
contact after the meetings.
The Secretary-General further
welcomes the efforts by both
Koreas to continue their
engagement and to take steps
to build confidence and trust.
The Secretary-General
looks forward to discussing
how he can further support the
parties in their diplomatic
efforts to bring sustainable
peace, security, and complete
and verifiable
denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula during the upcoming
high-level week of the United
Nations General Assembly."
(Guterres and Smale are, of
course, trying to ban Inner
City Press from covering this
high level week, see
PressFreedomTracker.us on
Inner City Press, here.)
This came after North Korea
put out a
statement slamming
Guterres for saying, alongside
Japan's Abe, that DPRK "can be
a normal member of the
international community"
through denuclearization.
North Korea says it is not for
Guterres to determine which
are and are not "normal"
states. Who's writing
this material? And on August
9: "The spokesperson of the
Foreign Ministry of the
Democratic People's Republic
of Korea made public the
following press statement on
August 9, 2018.
At the first historic
DPRK-U.S. summit meeting and
talks, the top leaders
committed to work together
toward putting an end to the
extremely hostile relations
through confidence building
and establishing new DPRK-U.S.
relations in favor of
the requirements and interests
of the peoples of two
countries and to make active
contribution to peace,
security, and prosperity on
the Korean Peninsula and over
the world.
Whereas we already took such
practical denuclearization
steps as discontinuing
nuclear test and ICBM test
fire, followed by dismantling
the nuclear test ground
since the end of last year,
the U.S. insisted on its
unilateral demand of
"denuclearization first" at
the first DPRK-U.S. high-level
talks held in Pyongyang
in early July.
Nevertheless, for the sake of
building confidence between
the DRPK and the
U.S., a foremost and
indispensable process for
implementation of the joint
statement of the DPRK-U.S.
summit, we took such
broadminded measures as
repatriating POW/MIA remains.
We hoped that these goodwill
measures would contribute to
breaking down the
high barrier of mistrust
existing between the DPRK and
the U.S. and to establishing
mutual trust. However, the
U.S. responded to our
expectation by inciting
international sanctions and
pressure against the DPRK.
The U.S. is attempting to
invent a pretext for increased
sanctions against the
DPRK by mobilizing all their
servile mouthpieces and
intelligence institutions to
fabricate all kinds of
falsehoods on our nuclear
issue. They made public the
"North
Korea Sanctions and
Enforcement Actions Advisory"
and additional sanctions, and
called for collaboration in
forcing sanctions and pressure
upon us even at the
international meetings.
Worse still, the U.S. is
resorting to such highly
despicable actions as
hindering
international organizations'
cooperation with our country
in the field of sports and
forcing other countries not to
send high-level delegations to
the celebrations of the
70th founding anniversary of
the DPRK.
Now the issue in question is
that, going against the
intention of president Trump
to advance the DPRK-U.S.
relations, who is expressing
gratitude to our goodwill
measures for implementing the
DPRK-U.S. joint statement,
some high-level
officials within the U.S.
administration are making
baseless allegations against
us
and making desperate attempts
at intensifying the
international sanctions and
pressure.
Expecting any result, while
insulting the dialogue partner
and throwing cold
water over our sincere efforts
for building confidence which
can be seen as a
precondition for implementing
the DPRK-U.S. joint statement,
is indeed a foolish
act that amounts to waiting to
see a boiled egg hatch out.
The international society is
struck by this shameless and
impertinent behavior of
the U.S., and we also closely
follow the U.S. behavior with
high vigilance against
their intentions.
As long as the U.S. denies
even the basic decorum for its
dialogue partner and
clings to the outdated acting
script which the previous
administrations have all tried
and failed, one cannot expect
any progress in the
implementation of the DPRKU.
S. joint statement including
the denuclearization, and
furthermore, there is no
guarantee that the hard-won
atmosphere of stability on the
Korean Peninsula will
continue.
We remain unchanged in our
will to uphold the intentions
of the top leaders of
the DPRK and the U.S. and to
build trust and implement in
good faith the DPRK U.S. joint
statement step by step. The
U.S. should, even at this
belated time,
respond to our sincere efforts
in a corresponding manner." On
August 3 US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo met his Chinese
counterpart and Heather Nauert
read it out: "Today, Secretary
of State Michael R. Pompeo met
with Chinese State Councilor
and Foreign Minister Wang Yi
in Singapore. Secretary
Pompeo underscored the
importance of pursuing a
constructive U.S.-China
relationship that produces
meaningful results. He
emphasized our shared
commitment to the final, fully
verified denuclearization of
the DPRK, as agreed upon by
Chairman Kim, as well as the
importance of continued
implementation of all related
UN Security Council
Resolutions. Secretary
Pompeo also discussed
additional priorities in our
bilateral relationship, such
as U.S. concerns about China's
ongoing militarization of the
South China Sea." Earlier on
August 3, the US Mission to
the UN, silent on UN
censorship to date, issued
this: "The U.S. Mission to the
United Nations submitted a
list of designation proposals
today to the UN Security
Council’s 1718 North Korea
Sanctions Committee as part of
the U.S. government’s regular
sanctions implementation
activities. This action
coincided with today’s
Treasury Department actions
and is part of a coordinated
U.S. government effort to
continue to implement existing
sanctions, both domestic and
multilateral, and cut off
North Korea’s illicit
financial activities. The
United States has been clear
that if the international
community wants to achieve the
final, fully verified
denuclearization of North
Korea, the best way to support
that process is to remain
vigilant in applying the
current sanctions to their
full extent." And now the
proposed names, with comments
(or not) solicited by 1718
chair van Oosterom until
August 10 at 3 pm: Ri
Jong Won & 3 entities:
Dandong Zhongsheng Industry
andTrade Company Limited,
Korea Ungum Corporation and
the Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank.
We'll have more on this. On July 3 the same rogue UN
Security officer Ronald E.
Dobbins and a partner roughed
up Inner City Press as it
covered Guterres' budget; on
July 5 and 6, Guterres UN has
banned Inner City Press five
days now and counting from
entering the UN pending a
"review" - of Dobbins'
brutality?
Fox News story
here,
GAP blogs I
and II.
Now
on August 2 on their way to
Malaysia a US State Department
Official travel with Mike
Pompeo answered questions
about North Korea, including:
" If he does meet with the
North Korea foreign minister,
would that be on Friday or
Saturday, do you think?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT
OFFICIAL: Thank you for
that question, Carol.
I’m not in a position to
confirm any additional
meetings of a bilateral nature
beyond those meetings with
Singapore, but I will simply
note what happens at these
annual gatherings is there are
at least 27 – I think this
year with guests of the chair
there are approximately 30 –
foreign ministers. That
provides a platform for a lot
of interaction – some sit-down
meetings, some side-bar
meetings, some pull-asides,
some chance encounters – to
address challenges in the
region or other
business. So I think
it’s safe to say the Secretary
will be seeing many of his
counterparts.
MODERATOR: We need to
wrap it up. A few more
questions.
QUESTION: You said last
Tuesday that the Secretary
will ask countries to continue
implementing sanctions against
North Korea, but what – can he
do more than just ask
implementing when there is a
sense that they are not
implementing them as – as they
were doing before the summit
and before this year?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT
OFFICIAL: Yeah, I think
when it comes to North Korea
and sanctions, it’s more than
an ask; it’s a reminder of
obligations. All of the
countries participating in
these multilateral meetings
are also members of the United
Nations and are obligated to
implement all UN Security
Council resolutions. And
we do have concerns about
North Korea bypassing some of
those sanctions, not adhering
to its own obligations, so the
Secretary will use these
opportunities to remind all of
that obligation to stick to
the sanctions as a means to
get to the ultimate objective,
the fully verified, finally
fully verified,
denuclearization of North
Korea.
QUESTION: But he already
addressed this problem at the
UN Security Council a few
weeks ago. What can he
do more than just reminding
them? I mean, is this
having some success in
implementation? Do you
see some changes or not yet?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT
OFFICIAL: Well, in very
general terms, we believe that
the sanctions and the
adherence to sanctions by
countries around the world is
a primary reason that North
Korea has entered into
dialogue, and those sanctions
need to stay in place until
the goals and objectives of
the sanctions are
achieved. That’s a very
important message, and it’s
not one that the Secretary
delivers lightly, I think he
delivers on a regular basis,
and we see a need to continue
doing so." We'll have more on
this - and, we hope, on the
question we were able to ask
the Dutch chair of the UN's
North Korea sanctions
committee Karel Von Oosterom,
who has been informed in
person at the Delegates'
Entrance gate and then in
writing: would travel ban
waivers be needed if North
Korea attends the UN's
September high level week? The
answer, from genial Dutch
spokesman Frits Kemperman who
knows of the UN's ouster of
Inner City Press, was that Kim
Jong Un is not on the travel
ban list. But how about the
rest of his possible
delegation? How will we get
this answer, while
banned? On June 28,
restricted Inner City Press
observed China's Permanent
Representative and one staffer
rushing, or trying to rush, in
to the Security Council
between 5:45 and 6 pm. But the
door was locked. Exclusive
Inner City Press Periscope
video here.
Later it was reported and
China and Russia had a
proposal to reduce UN
sanctions on North Korea.
We'll have more on this. On
June 13 Inner City Press asked
this month's President of the
UN Security Council Vassily
Nebenzia if his country,
Russia, thinks the Singapore
deal is essentially "freeze
for freeze." Nebenzia replied,
"There are elements of freeze
for freeze, that is clear."
Video here.
Inner City Press also asked
the chair of the UN Security
Council's 1718 Committee if
the blanket sanctions
exemptions were time bound and
are now over. Seems so -
Periscope video here, at end.
On June 12 Trump said the war
games will not be resumed in
North Korea complies, calling
them provocative and
expensive. A Japanese reporter
asked about abductions,
adding, when will Trump do
interview with Japanese TV?
Trump said abductions will be
worked on, it's not in the
document. Trump said that to
verify - the word not in the
document - there'll be a lot
of people there. There was no
mention of the UN or IAEA.
Hours later UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres put
out a canned statement "reiterat[ing]
his readiness
to fully
support the
ongoing
process,"
below, after leaving problems
at the IAEA unaddressed,
taking few and only handpicked
questions, restricting the
Press.
***
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