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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR Letter PFTracker

UN GATE, Jan 14 – After Kim Jong Un complained about the seizure of a sanctions busting ship, he also published a vanity press book in Geneva, rather like UN News channels whatever propaganda UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres puts out, see below. Guterres has for days refused to answer banned Inner City Press' questions about North Korea sanctions, here.

  Now on January 12, with Guterres just back from yet another wasteful junket in Lisbon, this from US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:  "Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Silicon Valley, California.  Secretary Pompeo and Minister Motegi reaffirmed the continuing strength of the U.S.-Japan Alliance in light of the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.  The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed continued cooperation on trade, and coordination on an array of security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region, including the DPRK." Inner City Press will continue to cover this, including from the UN gate while corrupt Guterres clings to power, and at the SDNY where Virgil Griffith has been indicted for participating in a crypto-currency conference in Pyongyang. Watch this site.

  Inner City Press was banned from entering the UN to cover the December 11 UN Security Council meeting about North Korea, so had to tweet it from outside, stakeouts it could not ask questions at by Germany and China, and here Melissa Fleming's MALU which lets Xinhua in, keeps Inner City Press out.

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 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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