The hermit state has reportedly executed four foreign ministry officials after Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump’s latest summit, held in February in Vietnam, failed. The officials are thought to have been executed by firing squad in Pyongyang earlier in April. But according to Japanese agency AsiaPress, rumours have circulated that the officials were accused by North Korea of selling information to the US ahead of the summit.

A trade official in the secretive country believe this caused the Hanoi summit to fail and ordered the death of the officials. The deceased officials are said to have also included a diplomat from the North Korean embassy in Hanoi. The country’s media is state controlled, while communication with the rest of the world is restricted. Punishment for anyone sharing information can be severe.

The news agency said one of its reporters had spoken to a trade official as they travelled to Pyongyang from China earlier this month. A source who lives close to the border told the agency that four officials were executed in Pyongyang at the beginning of April for leaking information. It was also claimed the execution was watched by members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and Korean People's Army.

Yonhap news agency reported North Korea had replaced Kim Jong Un's right-hand man who steered nuclear talks with the United States. Kim Yong Chol, Mike Pompeo’s Korean counterpart, was removed as head of the United Front Department, the North Korean Workers' Party apparatus that traditionally oversees ties with South Korea and increasingly with the United States, reported. A South Korean lawmaker said The NK Worker’s Party blamed the official for the failed summit between the two countries.

A spokeswoman for the US State Department said it was aware of the reports but withheld further comment except to add: "As we have said before, we remain ready to engage in constructive negotiations." Meanwhile the North Korean leader arrived at Russia’s Vladivostok station by armoured train on Wednesday at the start of a state visit to gain the support of President Vladimir Putin. Ahead of the talks on Thursday, Kim told Russian state TV through an interpreter: "I hope that we can discuss concrete questions about peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula, and our bilateral relations."</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week expands a diplomatic charm offensive that has included meetings with leaders from China, South Korea and the United States. Some key moments:

January 1, 2018: In his New Year's address, Kim calls for improved relations with South Korea and offers to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics there.

February 2018: North Korea sends hundreds of people to Pyeongchang Games in South Korea, including Kim's sister, who conveys her brother's desire for a summit with President Moon Jae-in.

March 7, 2018: After visiting Kim in Pyongyang, South Korean presidential envoy Chung Eui-yong says Kim is willing to discuss the fate of his nuclear arsenal with the United States. Days later, US President Donald Trump accepts Kim's invitation to meet following a conversation with Moon's envoys.

March 27, 2018: Kim makes a surprise visit to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an apparent move to strengthen his leverage ahead of his negotiations with Trump.

April 21, 2018: North Korea says it has suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and announces plans to close its nuclear test site as part of a move to shift its national focus and improve its economy. Trump tweets: "This is very good news for North Korea and the World" and "big progress!"

April 27, 2018: Kim holds a summit with Moon. The leaders announce vague aspirational goals of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and permanent peace.

May 7, 2018: Kim meets Xi again in China and calls for stronger strategic cooperation between the traditional allies.

May 9, 2018: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits Pyongyang to prepare for the planned Trump-Kim summit. North Korea releases three Americans who had been imprisoned, and they return with Pompeo to the United States.

May 24, 2018: North Korean diplomat Choe Son Hui releases a statement referring to US Vice President Mike Pence as a "political dummy" for his critical comments on the North and saying it was up to the Americans whether they would "meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown". Trump announces he's pulling out of his summit with Kim, citing the North's "tremendous anger and open hostility".

May 26, 2018: Kim and Moon meet at a border village in an effort to revive the summit with Trump. Moon says Kim reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearise but also said he was unsure whether he could trust the United States to provide a credible security guarantee in return.

June 1, 2018: After meeting North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol at the White House, Trump says his meeting with Kim Jong Un is back on for June 12.

June 12, 2018: Trump and Kim meet in Singapore, where they repeat the first inter-Korean summit's vague statement on the peninsula's denuclearisation without describing when and how it will occur.

June 19, 2018: Kim visits Beijing for his third meeting with Xi, who praises the "positive outcome" of the Trump-Kim meeting.

August 24, 2018: Trump cancels a scheduled trip to North Korea by Pompeo citing lack of "sufficient progress" on denuclearisation.

September 19, 2018: Kim and Moon hold their third summit in Pyongyang and the North says it's willing to permanently dismantle its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon if the United States takes unspecified corresponding measures. The Koreas also vow to resume joint economic activities when possible, voicing optimism that international sanctions could end and allow such projects.

January 1, 2019: Kim in his New Year's speech says he hopes to continue his nuclear summitry with Trump, but also that he would seek a "new way" if the United States persists with sanctions and pressure against the North.

January 8, 2019: Kim visits Beijing for his fourth summit with Xi, vows to "achieve results" on the nuclear standoff in his next summit with Trump.

February 8, 2019: Trump announces the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, as the venue of his second summit with Kim.

February 27-28, 2019: Trump and Kim's second summit breaks down over what the Americans describe as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for partial disarmament steps limited to the Yongbyon complex.

April 13, 2019: Kim says he is open to a third summit with Trump, but sets the year's end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement.

April 23, 2019: North Korea says Kim will soon visit Russia to meet with Putin.</s>North Korea executed four officials from its foreign ministry after Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump's latest summit failed, a new report has claimed.

The officials are said to have been killed by a firing squad in Pyongyang earlier this month after Kim and Trump's talks in Vietnam broke off without a deal.

A Japanese press agency reported that the rumours were spreading through the secretive country after it spoke to a trade official who recently visited North Korea and a source inside the hermit state.

According to the report, North Korea had accused the four officials of selling information to the US before the Hanoi summit, causing it to fail.

The four who were shot dead, according to the rumour, are said to include a diplomat from North Korea's embassy in Hanoi.

However, Japan's Asia Press, which reported the information on Wednesday along with South Korean media, said the claims of the apparent executions have not been verified.

The verification of claims out of North Korea is very difficult given the country's secrecy and that its media is controlled by the state. Communication with the outside world is severely restricted.

Asia Press said one of its reporters spoke to a trade official who heard the rumour when they travelled to Pyongyang from China in mid-April.

The execution was watched by members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and Korean People's Army, it is claimed.

The source told Asia Press that the officials were accused of selling information to the US government before Kim and Trump met in Hanoi in late February.

For the US, the talks were aimed at achieving denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula, while North Korea was seeking to have crippling sanctions lifted.

Neither aim was achieved and the talks abruptly broke off.

The Hanoi summit was held after talks in Singapore last year also failed to produce a deal.

According to the rumour, the officials who were executed were blamed for the summit's failure.

But there was speculation that the claims were fabricated in an attempt to shift the responsibility for the failure off of Kim and onto officials who allegedly betrayed the leader.

In early April, it was reported Kim had visited his father's birthplace, the sacred Paektu Mountain - a trip he traditionally makes before making big decisions.

His uncle Jang Song-thaek, 67, was executed a month after he visited the mountain in November 2013.

Kim, meanwhile, arrived in Russia on Wednesday ahead of his meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.</s>In February, Kim's second summit with Trump in Hanoi ended without any agreement because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. There have since been no publicly known high-level contacts between the U.S. and North Korea, though both sides say they are still open to a third summit. (AP)</s>North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly executed four senior communist officials via firing squad following his failed meeting with President Donald Trump in Vietnam, according to a report from the Japanese news agency Asia Press on Wednesday.

The agency spoke with a North Korean trade official who heard the rumor about the executions, reportedly ordered by Kim Jong-un after he failed to secure the lifting of sanctions following his meeting with President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February. The official also claimed that members of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and the Korean People’s Army were forced to watch the executions.

The meeting, convened amid ongoing peace negotiations between the two countries, was eventually cut short after the two sides failed to reach an agreement about lifting sanctions in exchange for the halting and eventual dismantlement of the country’s aggressive nuclear program.

“Chairman Kim and myself, we want to do the right deal,” Trump said at the time. “Speed is not important. What’s important is that we do the right deal.”

When asked whether he was serious about denuclearizing his country, Kim told reporters: “If I weren’t willing to do that, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Although the report cannot be independently verified, the 35-year-old has executed countless communist officials since seizing power in 2012, including his own uncle. The regime also routinely executes those deemed insufficiently loyal to it or those charged with “crimes” such as practicing Christianity or watching foreign films.

Despite the Kim regime’s atrocious human rights record, President Donald Trump has publicly displayed a warm attitude towards the young dictator, revealing they have gotten to know each other very well and talking up a potentially prosperous economic future for the communist state.

“Kim is a person I’ve gotten to know very well, and respect and hopefully, and I really believe over a period of time, a lot of tremendous things will happen,” he said following the last summit. “I think North Korea has tremendous potential.”

On Wednesday, Kim arrived in the Russian city of Vladivostok to hold bilateral talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who has long been a steadfast ally of the communist regime since the days of Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il.

“I came to Russia with the warm sentiments of our people I hope that this visit will be successful and useful,” Kim said. “I hope that during negotiations with President Putin I will be able to discuss issues of the settlement on the Korean Peninsula and the development of our bilateral relations in detail.”

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com</s>PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to a third summit with President Donald Trump, but set the year’s end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the North’s state-run media said Saturday.

Kim made the comments during a speech Friday at a session of North Korea’s rubber stamp parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States. His speech came hours after Trump and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.

“We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But U.S.-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesn’t fit us, and we have no interest in it,” Kim said during the speech.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, Kim blamed the collapse of his summit with Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States, which he said raised questions over whether Washington has genuine willingness to improve relations. But Kim said his personal relationship with Trump remains good and that they could exchange letters at “any time.”

Trump responded to the remarks by saying he agreed with Kim about their relationship, and also expressed a desire for another summit.

“I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“North Korea has tremendous potential for … extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim. I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!” he tweeted.

In his speech, Kim repeated earlier claims that North Korea’s crippled economy would persevere through heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons program and that he wouldn’t “obsess over summitry with the United States out of thirst for sanctions relief.”

The United States has said the summit in Vietnam broke down because of the North’s excessive demands for sanctions relief in return for limited disarmament measures. In their first summit last June in Singapore, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when or how it would occur.

Kim said the United States has been refusing to withdraw what the North perceives as “hostile policies” while sticking to “mistaken judgment that we would succumb to maximum pressure.” He said the North would not compromise on the “fundamental interests of our country and people, even by a speck,” and blamed the United States for arriving in Hanoi with “completely unrealizable plans.”

“If the United States approaches us with the right manner and offers to hold a third North Korea-U.S. leaders’ summit on the condition of finding solutions we could mutually accept, then we do have a willingness to give it one more try,” Kim added. “We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision. But it will clearly be difficult for a good opportunity like last time to come up.”

Kim also during the speech made a nationalistic call for South Korea to support the North’s positions more strongly and criticized Seoul for acting like an “overstepping mediator” between Washington and Pyongyang. Kim held three summits last year with Moon, who lobbied hard to revive the nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea. Following the collapse of the Trump-Kim summit, the North had been urging the South to break away from Washington and proceed with inter-Korean economic projects that are currently held back by U.S.-led sanctions against the North.

“The South should not act as an ‘overstepping mediator’ or a ‘facilitator’ and should rather get its mind straight as a member of the (Korean) nation and boldly speak up for the interest of the nation,” Kim said.

When asked about Kim’s comments, South Korea’s presidential office said Seoul is committed toward keeping the atmosphere of dialogue alive and helping negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang resume at an early date.

On Friday, KCNA reported that Kim was reelected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the nation’s most important decision-making body, during a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly that praised his “outstanding ideological and theoretical wisdom and experienced and seasoned leadership.”

Experts say the new appointments may be a sign of Kim’s desire to keep recent months of up-and-down nuclear diplomacy alive rather than returning to the threats and weapons tests that characterized 2017, when many feared war on the Korean Peninsula.

But the lack of substantial disarmament commitments from the North and the deepening impasse in nuclear negotiations have fueled doubts over whether Kim would ever voluntarily relinquish an arsenal he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Some experts say it’s becoming clear the North intends to turn the talks with the United States into a bilateral arms reduction negotiation between two nuclear states, rather than a unilateral process of surrendering its arsenal.

Kim has signed vague statements calling for the “complete denuclearization” of the peninsula in his meetings with Trump and Moon. But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of denuclearization that bears no resemblance to the American definition, with Pyongyang vowing to pursue nuclear development until the United States removes its troops and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.

Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.</s>The hermit state has reportedly executed four foreign ministry officials after Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump’s latest summit, held in February in Vietnam, failed. The officials are thought to have been executed by firing squad in Pyongyang earlier in April. But according to Japanese agency AsiaPress, rumours have circulated that the officials were accused by North Korea of selling information to the US ahead of the summit.

A trade official in the secretive country believe this caused the Hanoi summit to fail and ordered the death of the officials. The deceased officials are said to have also included a diplomat from the North Korean embassy in Hanoi. The country’s media is state controlled, while communication with the rest of the world is restricted. Punishment for anyone sharing information can be severe.

The news agency said one of its reporters had spoken to a trade official as they travelled to Pyongyang from China earlier this month. A source who lives close to the border told the agency that four officials were executed in Pyongyang at the beginning of April for leaking information. It was also claimed the execution was watched by members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and Korean People's Army.

Yonhap news agency reported North Korea had replaced Kim Jong Un's right-hand man who steered nuclear talks with the United States. Kim Yong Chol, Mike Pompeo’s Korean counterpart, was removed as head of the United Front Department, the North Korean Workers' Party apparatus that traditionally oversees ties with South Korea and increasingly with the United States, reported. A South Korean lawmaker said The NK Worker’s Party blamed the official for the failed summit between the two countries.

A spokeswoman for the US State Department said it was aware of the reports but withheld further comment except to add: "As we have said before, we remain ready to engage in constructive negotiations." Meanwhile the North Korean leader arrived at Russia’s Vladivostok station by armoured train on Wednesday at the start of a state visit to gain the support of President Vladimir Putin. Ahead of the talks on Thursday, Kim told Russian state TV through an interpreter: "I hope that we can discuss concrete questions about peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula, and our bilateral relations."</s>The hermit state has reportedly executed four foreign ministry officials after Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump’s latest summit, held in February in Vietnam, failed. The officials are thought to have been executed by firing squad in Pyongyang earlier in April. But according to Japanese agency AsiaPress, rumours have circulated that the officials were accused by North Korea of selling information to the US ahead of the summit.

A trade official in the secretive country believe this caused the Hanoi summit to fail and ordered the death of the officials. The deceased officials are said to have also included a diplomat from the North Korean embassy in Hanoi. The country’s media is state controlled, while communication with the rest of the world is restricted. Punishment for anyone sharing information can be severe.

The news agency said one of its reporters had spoken to a trade official as they travelled to Pyongyang from China earlier this month. A source who lives close to the border told the agency that four officials were executed in Pyongyang at the beginning of April for leaking information. It was also claimed the execution was watched by members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and Korean People's Army.

Yonhap news agency reported North Korea had replaced Kim Jong Un's right-hand man who steered nuclear talks with the United States. Kim Yong Chol, Mike Pompeo’s Korean counterpart, was removed as head of the United Front Department, the North Korean Workers' Party apparatus that traditionally oversees ties with South Korea and increasingly with the United States, reported. A South Korean lawmaker said The NK Worker’s Party blamed the official for the failed summit between the two countries.

A spokeswoman for the US State Department said it was aware of the reports but withheld further comment except to add: "As we have said before, we remain ready to engage in constructive negotiations." Meanwhile the North Korean leader arrived at Russia’s Vladivostok station by armoured train on Wednesday at the start of a state visit to gain the support of President Vladimir Putin. Ahead of the talks on Thursday, Kim told Russian state TV through an interpreter: "I hope that we can discuss concrete questions about peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula, and our bilateral relations."</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the execution by firing squad of four foreign ministry officials after the failure of his Hanoi summit with Donald Trump, a report has claimed.

The officials were reportedly executed after the February talks between North Korea and the US came to an end without any deal being made.

Pyongyang had accused the four officials of selling information to Washington before the Hanoi summit, according to a Japanese news agency.

The executions, which included a diplomat from North Korea’s embassy in Hanoi, have not been verified.

Asia Press claimed its reporter spoke to a trade official who was told the rumour about the executions.

It is claimed that the executions were watched by members of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and Korean People’s Army.

The Hanoi summit had the aim of achieving denuclearisation on the Korean Peninusla and North Korea was hoping to have its sanctions lifted.

When the talks failed, Washington insisted that dialogue with North Korea would continue and that the collapse was not a major disappointment.

Following the summit, President Trump said: “Kim is a person I’ve gotten to know very well, and respect and hopefully, and I really believe over a period of time, a lot of tremendous things will happen.

Kim arrived in Russia on Wednesday, April 24 to discuss bilateral ties with President Vladimir Putin.

North Korea’s leader has said he was hoping for a “successful and useful” visit where he hopes to discuss the situation in the Korean Peninsula.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s most trusted policy adviser apparently has been removed from one of his posts, a South Korean politician has said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s most trusted policy adviser apparently has been removed from one of his posts, a South Korean politician has said.

Absence of key aide to Kim Jong Un hailed as ‘positive sign’ in nuclear talks

The possible personnel reshuffle comes in the wake of the breakdown of the North Korea-US summit in February and as the North Korean leader visits Russia.

The head of the South Korean parliament’s intelligence committee, Lee Hye-hoon, cited South Korea’s main spy agency as saying that Kim Yong Chol lost his Workers’ Party post in charge of relations with South Korea earlier this month.

He was replaced by the little-known Jang Kum Chol as the director of the party’s United Front Department, Lee said.

Ms Lee said she obtained the information at a private briefing from the National Intelligence Service.

Kim Yong Chol has been North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator and counterpart of US secretary of state Mike Pompeo since Kim Jong Un entered nuclear talks with the US early last year.

He travelled to Washington and met President Donald Trump twice before Mr Kim’s two summits with Mr Trump.

His rise had baffled many North Korea watchers because he handled South Korea ties, not international or US relations.

Previously, he was a military intelligence chief believed to be behind a number of provocations, including two deadly attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans and an alleged 2014 cyber-attack on Sony Pictures.

Both Seoul and Washington imposed sanctions on him in recent years.

The NIS and the Unification Ministry, a Seoul agency responsible for North Korea ties, said they could not immediately confirm the information on Kim Yong Chol.

The NIS has a mixed record in confirming developments in North Korea.

But if confirmed, Kim Yong Chol’s replacement would add to speculation that he is being sidelined from nuclear diplomacy to take the responsibility for the failure of the February summit in Hanoi.

Kim Jong Un, who is desperate to revive his country’s moribund economy, returned home empty-handed from Hanoi after Mr Trump rejected his calls for easing US-led sanctions in return for dismantling a key nuclear complex, a limited denuclearisation step.

Kim Yong Chol was not among a list of officials accompanying Kim Jong Un on his current visit to Russia, which began earlier on Wednesday.

Many experts in South Korea said North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho and first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui would take the lead in the nuclear diplomacy.

“(Pyongyang’s) significantly diminished reliance on Kim Yong Chol is a very positive sign for the denuclearisation negotiations between North Korea and the United States,” said Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute.

He called Kim Yong Chol “most responsible” for the second summit’s failure due to his hardline stance.

While the NIS believes the personnel change possibly indicates that the department takes a back seat in the nuclear negotiations with Washington going forward, the spy agency also said it was not immediately clear whether Kim Yong Chol would be removed from the talks entirely or immediately, Ms Lee said.

Mr Kim still maintains several other prominent titles, including vice chairman of the Workers Party’s Central Committee and a member of the powerful State Affairs Commission.
Asia Press reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the execution by firing squad of four foreign ministry officials following the failure of his February Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, after accusing them of "selling information to the U.S." before the summit.