Baku. 29 March. REPORT.AZ/ South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that the projectiles were launched from the city of Hamhung, in northeastern North Korea, and traveled approximately 125 miles before landing in the water, Report informs referring to the Russian TASS.

The launches came in the wake of ongoing annual South Korean-US military drills that it sees as an invasion rehearsal. The U.N. Security Council last Friday "strongly condemned and expressed grave concern" at that launch along with those of two short-range missiles on March 10, calling them a violation of past U.N. resolutions.

Hours after the UN's decision, North Korea launched short-range projectiles into the Sea of Japan. In a closed door meeting called by the United States, the UN Council discussed the two medium-ranged ballistic missiles that North Korea recently released. Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun here confirmed that the site at Pyungye-ri, North Hamgyong Province is being maintained "in a condition that allows another nuclear test to be conducted at short notice".

South Korean military are trying to determine the types of a missile and projectiles fired by the North Monday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing sources. In addition to that, Obama had also signed other unilateral USA measures.

Meanwhile, North Korea claims to be testing a re-entry vehicle aimed at returning a nuclear warhead to the atmosphere from space so it could hit its intended target.</s>South Korean security officials may visit North Korea ahead of the first summit since 2007 if more high-level talks are necessary, a Seoul official said on Tuesday, with the South hoping the North will reaffirm its commitment to denuclearize.

After meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in March, South Korea's national security adviser and spy chief said Kim was committed to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and had expressed a willingness to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

The April 27 meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim is scheduled for the border village of Panmunjom. "Even though our special envoys confirmed his denuclearization will, it is entirely different if the two leaders confirm it directly among themselves and put that into text," Moon's chief of staff, Im Jong seok, told reporters.

"We expect the summit will confirm the denuclearization will (of North Korea)".

Reclusive North Korea is pursuing nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

It defends the programs as a necessary deterrent against a possible U.S. invasion, prompting bellicose rhetoric from both sides. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea but denies any invasion plans.

But tensions have eased in recent months, coinciding with North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics held in the South in February.

Seoul and Pyongyang are discussing the wording of a possible joint statement to be released at the summit, Im said. He added it will likely focus on issues of denuclearization and peace on the Korean peninsula, and an improvement in relations not only between the two Koreas but also with other countries including the United States.

Any joint statement is not expected to include economic cooperation with the North, Im said. North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.</s>South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee, who once escaped North Korea with her film-director ex-husband Shin Sang-ok after the pair were kidnapped on the orders of Kim Jong-il in 1978, has died aged 91 after an illness, according to local media.

Choi was born in Gyeonggi Province in 1926 and made her stage debut in 1942. Five years later she made her screen debut before going on to become one of the country’s biggest film stars in the 1960s.

Unfortunately, her celebrity caught the attention of then-North-Korean leader and film fanatic Kim Jong-il, who ordered her to be kidnapped from Hong Kong, starting an eight-year ordeal that would only end after she and Shin made a dramatic escape.

By the late 1970s, Choi’s career had hit a downturn, according to author Paul Fischer, who interviewed her for his book .

She had divorced Shin, who had moved on to a new family, and the Shin Film company, which she had established with him, was in bankruptcy after South Korea’s repressive government revoked its film licence.

Worse, the collapse of the company threatened to bring down her beloved Anyang performing school with it – leaving her 700 students without the education they needed.

So when she was approached in 1977 by Wang Dong-il, a man who claimed to run a film studio in Hong Kong and wanted her to direct a script he had sent her, she decided to take a chance.

Unfortunately, Wang was actually an undercover North Korean agent, as were his compatriots – a woman named Lee Sang-hee and a small girl purporting to be her daughter.

Film review: The Lovers and the Despot – documentary recalls filmmakers kidnapped by Kim Jong-il

Lee lured Choi to Repulse Bay in Hong Kong, where she was grabbed by two men and bundled into a speedboat and injected with a sedative, waking up aboard a freighter bound for North Korea.

Choi later told Fischer that she had considered leaping into the churning waters to escape her fate – but she did not, and was instead taken to North Korea, to become a cinematic slave for Kim.

Shin, meanwhile, had become concerned about his wife’s absence. She had called him prior to taking the directing “job” and he had asked her why Hong Kong would need to look to South Korea for directors, given its own successful film industry. But Choi, feeling that her ex-husband was jealous, had decided to press on despite his reservations.

Now she had disappeared, and Shin – who had, until that point, been occupied with trying to get his films greenlit abroad so that he could feed his new family – became the main suspect in her disappearance.

He began a personal crusade to find her, but while investigating in Hong Kong six months after her vanishing, he too was kidnapped and taken to North Korea, to join his ex-wife.

There, they were shown Kim’s collection of more than 15,000 films and told to critique four of them – largely Communist movies, but also Hollywood fare – each day. Eventually, Kim revealed his plan: They were to become the vanguard of a new North Korean Communist cinema.

From 1983-1985, the pair made several films for the regime, including one based on a stage play by Kim’s father, Kim Il-sung; they also worked on , probably the best-known of the movies – a North Korean take on the franchise in which a creature brought to life by the woes of a humble blacksmith’s daughter grows to enormous size and vanquishes the emperor.

But the pair also concocted a scheme to record Kim admitting to their kidnapping, to defend themselves from accusations that they had gone to North Korea willingly, and plotted their escape.

That chance came in 1986, when they were permitted to travel to Vienna, Switzerland, to promote the films. They managed to give their overseers the slip, and fled to the US embassy, where they sought political asylum.

North Korea claimed that the pair had gone to the country willingly, and had only fled to claim asylum because they were attempting to embezzle a fortune from a movie. The pair were debriefed by the CIA and released.

Shin moved to America temporarily with his wife, directing the 1990s children’s film and executive-producing two of its sequels under the name Simon Sheen.

He eventually returned permanently to South Korea in 1994, having been assured that he would not be accused of defecting, and returned to cinema. He died in 2004 of hepatitis after undergoing a liver transplant two years previously.

Choi returned to South Korea, living in the country’s capital of Seoul. Though she made no more films after that, she received multiple Lifetime Achievement awards, including one at South Korea’s Grand Bell Awards in 2010.

Her wake was held on Monday and her funeral will be held on Thursday.</s>A plan being floated among Japan, the United States and South Korea is aimed at the complete denuclearisation of North Korea by the summer of 2020, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday, in a rejection of Pyongyang’s “phased, synchronised” approach in exchange for benefits.

The three countries are seeking an early end to Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles after past attempts allowed North Korea incremental incentives to halt its nuclear programme and led Pyongyang to buy time and further develop nuclear weapons, the sources close to Japan-US relations said.

The time frame for North Korea’s denuclearisation may be addressed during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip to the United States from Tuesday to Friday for talks with US President Donald Trump, the sources said.

The two leaders are set to discuss a road map toward the “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation” of North Korea.

Trump is apparently eager to push for the denuclearisation of North Korea soon so that he can score diplomatic wins ahead of the presidential election in November 2020.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are expected to meet for the first-ever US-North Korea summit, possibly by the end of May or in early June.

Japan believes setting a target before the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in the summer of 2020 will help create momentum for denuclearisation, the sources said.

Tokyo is hoping that a resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue will lead to progress on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, the sources said.

Kim proposed the “phased, synchronised” approach toward denuclearisation at his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on March 26, according to the Chinese government.

The approach suggests that Kim will not agree to denuclearisation steps without benefits such as an easing of sanctions or the provision of economic assistance.

South and North Korea ‘may announce an end to their 68-year war next week’

In prior talks with Japan, the United States denied such an “action for action” approach had been pursued previously and said it envisions a package agreement under which it will assure North Korea that it is not seeking regime change in exchange for Pyongyang’s complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation, the sources said.

The United States also touched on a target date of around the summer of 2020 during the consultations, while other possible goals such as within 2018 or within a year after a US-North Korea agreement have also been floated among Japan, the United States and South Korea, the sources said.

Meanwhile, some Japanese, US and South Korean officials concede that making concessions to North Korea to a certain degree is unavoidable in order for Pyongyang to take steps towards denuclearisation, including disabling nuclear facilities and readmitting inspectors, they said.</s>It's the second time Trump has welcomed Abe to Mar-a-Lago. In February last year, the two men conferred on the dining patio after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had ordered the test launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Fourteen months later, Trump is preparing for talks with Kim, leaving Abe feeling sidelined.

Japanese officials have signaled Abe will raise his concerns about direct talks during his two-day summit with Trump. White House aides say Trump will take those concerns into serious consideration as he prepares for the historic talks with Kim.

But there is little to suggest Trump will be deterred from holding the meeting with North Korea's leader, which is expected by late May or early June.

Trump is set to meet Abe on Tuesday afternoon for a meeting focused intently on North Korea before hosting a formal welcoming ceremony on the Mar-a-Lago lawn. Later, the two men and their wives will dine together. The talks will continue on Wednesday, expanding to include trade issues, before a news conference and another joint dinner. It amounts to hours of face time for Abe, who is the foreign leader Trump has met and spoken with the most since entering office last year. The Japanese leader has focused on fostering the relationship, including orchestrating multiple rounds of golf and ordering up white ball caps emblazoned with the words: "Donald & Shinzo: Make Alliance Even Greater." Comey who? Buoyant Trump kicks off week in Florida But even those efforts haven't prevented new levels of tension from arising. Like much of the world, Japan was caught off-guard by Trump's on-the-spot acceptance of an invitation for talks with Kim. As other Asian leaders like China's Xi Jinping and South Korea's Moon Jae-in meet with Kim, Abe has been left out. He's expected to press the importance of ensuring Japanese safety in his talks with Trump, particularly stressing the need to end test launches of intermediate range missiles, some of which have landed in the waters off Japan. "They've conferred extremely closely," said Matt Pottinger, the top Asia official on Trump's National Security Council, during a Tuesday briefing. "Prime Minister Abe and the President are going to want to exchange views in advance of a summit with the North Korean leader so that we make sure Japanese and American interests are both fully accounted for." Aside from differences over North Korea, Trump has taken harsh new measures on trade that are expected to come up during the two leaders' meetings. Japan was the only major US ally not to be exempted from Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. US officials said they expected Abe to lobby for an exemption during talks on Wednesday.</s>(CNN) Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who heads Tuesday to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, is in dire need of a policy win as he faces challenges abroad and protests at home.

After staking out a hawkish position on North Korea, Abe was caught on the back foot when Trump announced he was open to a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Tokyo's previous warnings not to trust Pyongyang have been dropped as both Washington and Seoul barreled forward with engagement. Abe is now seeking a summit with Kim for himself, rather than be further left out of North Asia's rapidly changing political situation.

While Abe had cultivated close ties with Trump, becoming the first foreign leader to meet him after his election, he has also faced disputes with the US leader over trade.

"It's a sign of the continuing close relationship that he was granted a meeting at short notice," said Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at Australia's Lowy Institute.

"But the shine is coming off there, too, given Trump's tendency to apply leverage freely between economic and security issues."

Tens of thousands protested outside Japan's Parliament in Tokyo on Saturday, calling Abe a liar and demanding his resignation over a corruption scandal which has dogged his premiership for months.

While this weekend's protests did not come near the size of rallies in 2015 protesting Abe's push to expand the military, the combination of pressure from within the LDP and from the public has some questioning whether Abe can hold on.

"Abe appears unable to shake off the scandals," said Graham, though he pointed out "there was a time when serving Japanese Prime Ministers would be lucky to register more than 20% popularity ratings."

"But it is the stickiest period he has faced since returning to the premiership, without question," he said.

Duncan Innes-Ker, Asia regional director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said there was "no question" that Abe had been hurt by the ongoing scandal.

"Against this background Abe badly needs a win," he said.

The Japanese leader may be hoping that win will come at Mar-a-Lago, where, according to a statement from the White House, Trump and Abe will "explore ways to expand fair and reciprocal trade and investment ties between the United States and Japan."

Innes-Ker said Trump "could potentially offer concessions on the steel and aluminum issue or he could signal a US intention to rejoin the (Trans-Pacific Partnership)."

While "both would be seen as a triumph for Abe," he warned they would not come without concessions from Tokyo.

While Trump did surprise observers by indicating last week he may be open to rejoining the TPP -- an Obama-negotiated trade deal he once slammed -- the White House is more likely to push Tokyo to sign a bilateral deal less to Abe's liking.

Since returning to the premiership in 2012, Abe has made security a key plank of his appeal. His tough response to North Korean missile testing last year was a key part of his election campaign during last year's snap election.

Abe's hawkish posture seems to have backfired, however, with both Seoul and Washington pursuing engagement with Pyongyang.

"On North Korea, Japan now looks the most isolated of the allies. It has even tried reopening independent contacts with Pyongyang, and is conducting fence-mending diplomacy with China currently," Graham said.

"But Abe has made his choice to double down on the US Alliance, and cannot be expected to reverse course now."

One major concern in Tokyo is that a US future deal with North Korea could result in Pyongyang retaining missiles which can target Japan.

He said he would call on Trump to push North Korea to "also abandon short and intermediate-range missiles that put Japan within range."

"Even South Korea is struggling to get its voice heard as the denuclearization push increasingly becomes a US-China-North Korean discussion," Innes-Ker said.

"It is not clear that any party is sidelining Japan as a conscious move, but they are certainly not reaching out to include it, and its priorities could get pushed down the list as a result."</s>NATIONAL

South Korea will open a press center next week to accommodate the massive number of journalists likely to come from home and abroad to cover the upcoming historic inter-Korean summit, the preparation committee and government officials said Monday.



The press center will open at the KINTEX exhibition hall north of Seoul on April 26, according to the officials. Its launch will come a day before South and North Korean leaders will hold what will be the third inter-Korean summit talks in history at the truce village of Panmunjom.



It is expected that more than 2,000 foreign and local journalists and related staff workers will gather at the press center to cover the historic event.



Taking up an area of around 1,000 square meters, the press center will provide around 1,000 seats, along with special purpose rooms for press briefings and interviews. The size is around seven times larger than the press centers that operated during the 2000 and 2007 summits.



Major events unfolding at Panmunjom will be briefed and broadcasted live there. For foreign reporters, simultaneous interpretation services will likely be provided.



A separate press center will also be established at Panmunjom to allow pool reporters to cover the inter-Korea summit, they said.





An image of the online platform for the inter-Korean summit (Yonhap)

In a related move, an exclusive online platform at www.koreasummit.kr will be operational from noon on Tuesday to provide up-to-date information on the summit to both journalists and the general public.Key information provided through the platform will be available in nine languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Russian, they said.The inter-Korean summit is drawing keen attention amid hopes that it could provide a breakthrough in the North's nuclear stalemate. This comes after the North continued to carry out missile and nuclear provocations up until late last year and sparked concerns over possible military action against the North's nuclear program.The two Koreas are expected to discuss ways to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, establish lasting peace and improve inter-Korean relations.The talks will be followed by an unprecedented US-North Korea summit likely to be held either in May or June. (Yonhap)</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean security officials may visit North Korea ahead of the first summit since 2007 if more high-level talks are necessary, a Seoul official said on Tuesday, with the South hoping the North will reaffirm its commitment to denuclearize.

After meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in March, South Korea’s national security adviser and spy chief said Kim was committed to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and had expressed a willingness to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

The April 27 meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim is scheduled for the border village of Panmunjom.

“Even though our special envoys confirmed his denuclearization will, it is entirely different if the two leaders confirm it directly among themselves and put that into text,” Moon’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, told reporters.

“We expect the summit will confirm the denuclearization will (of North Korea)”.

Reclusive North Korea is pursuing nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

It defends the programs as a necessary deterrent against a possible U.S. invasion, prompting bellicose rhetoric from both sides. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea but denies any invasion plans.

But tensions have eased in recent months, coinciding with North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics held in the South in February.

Seoul and Pyongyang are discussing the wording of a possible joint statement to be released at the summit, Im said.

He added it will likely focus on issues of denuclearization and peace on the Korean peninsula, and an improvement in relations not only between the two Koreas but also with other countries including the United States.

Any joint statement is not expected to include economic cooperation with the North, Im said.

North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - Senior South Korean officials may visit Pyongyang ahead of next week’s summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a senior South Korean official said on Tuesday.

Seoul and Pyongyang are discussing the wording of a possible joint statement to be released at the summit on April 27, the official said.

Likely agenda topics include the North’s nuclear weapons program and general inter-Korean relations, but any joint economic efforts are unlikely to be discussed, he said.</s>South Korean cinema fans were Tuesday mourning the death of 91-year-old actress Choi Eun-hee, who was kidnapped by the North Korean regime for eight years.

She died Monday in Seoul after suffering a prolonged illness, her family reported.
South Korea is expected to open a press center and online platform in preparations for the summit with North Korea.