HANOI: US President Donald Trump hailed “a very special relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they met in Vietnam for a second summit on Wednesday and said he was satisfied with the pace of denuclearization talks despite some criticism they were not moving quickly enough.
The US president appeared upbeat with Kim even as on the other side of the world in Washington his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen called Trump a “conman” who knew in advance about the release of stolen emails aimed at hurting his Democratic rival in the 2016 election campaign.
“Great meetings” and a “Very good dialogue,” Trump said on Twitter after dinner with Kim at Hanoi’s French-colonial-era Metropole hotel while the White House said the two planned to sign a “joint agreement” after further talks on Thursday.
Facing increasing political and legal pressure at home over investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, Trump has devoted significant time and effort to trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development, a foreign policy goal that has confounded multiple predecessors.
The Hanoi meeting was Trump’s second meeting with Kim in eight months and he appeared to reiterate recent statements that he was in no rush.
“We had a very successful first summit,” he told Kim. “I felt it was very successful, and some people would like to see it go quicker; I’m satisfied; you’re satisfied, we want to be happy with what we’re doing.”
Asked by a reporter if he was “walking back” on denuclearization demands, Trump said “no.”
Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before they sat down to dinner with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump’s acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim’s top envoy Kim Yong Chol and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho.
On Thursday, the two leaders are scheduled for a series of meetings at the Metropole, beginning with another one-on-one session lasting 45 minutes, the White House said.
The two leaders would hold a “joint agreement signing ceremony,” at the end of the meetings, which would be followed by a news conference by Trump at 3:50 p.m. Hanoi time (0850 GMT).
The White House has given no indication as to what the signing ceremony might involve, although the two sides have held discussions that have included the possibility of a political statement to declare the 1950-53 Korean War over, which some critics say would be premature.
Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty that North Korea has long sought, Trump said: “We’ll see.”
Their summit in Singapore in June was the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader and ended with fanfare but little substance.
Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, but there has been little progress since. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to meet a second time and praised Trump for his “courageous decision” to begin a dialogue.
“Now that we’re meeting here again like this, I’m confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and I’ll do my best to make it happen,” Kim said.
“We’re going to have a very busy day tomorrow,” a smiling, relaxed-looking Trump, said seated beside Kim at a round dinner table with the other four officials and two interpreters.
“Our relationship is a very special relationship.”
Observers said the pair were at pains to show their relationship had improved since June, with their body language closely mirroring each other.
Leverage
Trump said late last year he and Kim “fell in love,” but whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating a North Korean nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the big question.
Trump indicated a more flexible stance in the run-up to Hanoi, saying he was in no rush on denuclearization as long as North Korea, which has not tested a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, maintained that freeze.
Trump risks squandering vital leverage if he gives away too much, too quickly, critics said.
Evans Revere, a former US negotiator with North Korea, said Trump was under pressure given his domestic problems and “Kim may be tempted to push Trump even harder for concessions, knowing how much the president wants and needs that testing pause.”
Daniel Russel, who served as the top US diplomat for East Asia until early in Trump’s presidency, said telling Kim that he could take his time was anything but strategically wise.
“The yardstick for assessing ... results is not whether Trump proclaims himself ‘happy,’ but whether the outcome takes North Korea measurably closer to revealing and dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”
US intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which Kim’s ruling family sees as vital to its survival, and analysts say Pyongyang is unlikely to commit to significant steps without an easing of punishing US-led sanctions.
The two sides have discussed partial denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear reactor, US and South Korean officials say.
US concessions could include opening liaison offices or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects.
Trump has appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with Kim, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries.
“Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize,” Trump said on Twitter ahead of the meeting.
Trump touts rapport with North Korea’s Kim at summit, ‘satisfied’ with talks
Trump touts rapport with North Korea’s Kim at summit, ‘satisfied’ with talks
- Trump says ‘great opportunity’ for his ‘friend’ Kim
- US, North Korea leaders meet for second summit in Hanoi
ICC’s decisions must be respected, EU’s Borrell says
- Josep Borrell: “They’re not political. It’s a legal body formed by respected people who are the best among the profession of judges.”
BRUSSEL: Outgoing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on all EU member states to respect decisions by the International Criminal Court, including the arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We cannot undermine the International Criminal Court. It is the only way of having global justice,” Borrell, whose term as the EU’s top diplomat ends this month, said in Brussels.
“They’re not political. It’s a legal body formed by respected people who are the best among the profession of judges.”
The ICC issued arrest warrants last week for Netanyahu, his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas leader for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Though all EU member states are signatories to the ICC’s founding treaty, France said on Wednesday it believed Netanyahu had immunity to actions by the ICC, given Israel has not signed up to the court statutes.
Italy has said it is not feasible to arrest Netanyahu as long as he remains head of Israel’s government.
ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution, and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.”
Israel, which launched its offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, has said it will appeal against the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Asked if France would arrest Netanyahu if he stepped on French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot did not give a specific answer in an interview with Franceinfo radio.
He said France “is very committed to international justice and will apply international law based on its obligations to cooperate with the ICC.”
But he added that the court’s statute “deals with questions of immunity for certain leaders.”
“It is ultimately up to the judicial authorities to decide,” he added.
Unconfirmed media reports have said that Netanyahu angrily raised the issue in telephone talks with President Emmanuel Macron and urged Paris not to enforce the decision. France has been instrumental in efforts to end fighting in the Middle East and, with the US helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Article 27 of the Rome Statute — the foundation of the ICC — states that immunity “shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.”
However, Article 98 says a state cannot “act inconsistently with its obligations under international law concerning the ... diplomatic immunity of a person.”
France’s stance on potential immunity for Netanyahu prompted some strong reactions at home and abroad. Amnesty International called the French stance “deeply problematic,” saying it ran counter to the government’s obligations as an ICC member.
“Rather than inferring that ICC indictees may enjoy immunity, France should expressly confirm its acceptance of the unequivocal legal duty under the Rome Statute to carry out arrest warrants,” said Anne Savinel Barras, president of Amnesty International France.
French Green party boss Marine Tondelier, calling the government’s stance “shameful,” said it was probably the result of an agreement between the French and Israeli leaders.
Somali leaders face reciprocal arrest warrants over disputed regional election
MOGADISHU: Somalia’s federal government and the country’s Jubbaland region have issued reciprocal arrest warrants for their respective leaders in an escalating dispute over the conduct of elections in Jubbaland.
Jubbaland, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia and is one of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous states, reelected regional president Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe for a third term in elections on Monday.
However, the national government based in Mogadishu, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, opposed the election, saying it was held without federal involvement. Jubbaland’s Attorney General issued an arrest warrant for Mohamud late on Wednesday via the First Instance Court in Kismayo, accusing him of treason, inciting a civil war, and organizing an armed uprising to disrupt the constitutional order in the country.
It did not provide evidence supporting the accusations.
This warrant was in response to a similar one issued by a regional court in Mogadishu for Madobe’s arrest, which accused him of treason and revealing classified information to foreign entities.
The execution of these warrants remains uncertain, as Madobe and Mohamud command troops.
Somalia’s information minister, Daud Aweis, said that the matter was in the hands of the judiciary, which was tasked with enforcing laws through its rulings and judgments.
Jubbaland’s security minister, Yusuf Dhumal, did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, the national government dispatched additional troops to Jubbaland in response to the election.
In 2021, Jubbaland was among other regional governments that nearly clashed with the national government over plans to extend the time in office of the then-president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
Children among four dead in Greece migrant shipwreck
- Greek Coast Guard launch search-and-rescue operation involving patrol vessels, lifeboats, and land teams
ATHENS: Four people, including two children, have died after a boat carrying migrants ran aground on a rocky shoreline on the eastern Greek island of Samos, officials said on Thursday.
Sixteen people were rescued, but how many were aboard the boat remained unclear.
The Greek Coast Guard launched a search-and-rescue operation involving patrol vessels, lifeboats, and land teams to locate any potential missing passengers.
A Greek government official said he expected the risk facing migrants to rise over the winter months and blamed conflicts in the Middle East for a swell in illegal crossings this year.
The incident comes after eight migrants — six children and two women — died in a shipwreck off the island on Monday.
Samos and other Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea are key transit points for migrants crossing from Turkiye to the EU, with arrivals in recent months that Greek authorities say are linked to ongoing wars in the Middle East and parts of Africa.
“The conditions are certainly not favorable,” Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos told private Skai television on Thursday.
“They do not tend toward reducing the flow of migrants, but rather increasing them — with all the geopolitical turmoil, especially in the Middle East, with ongoing wars and other issues,” he said.
Panagiotopoulos said he expected the risk of tragedies in the eastern Aegean to increase in the coming weeks as weather conditions worsen.
They added that Greece will renew efforts to seek EU funding for border wall construction under the Polish presidency of the EU, which starts on Jan. 1.
Separately on Thursday, police announced the arrest of nine people accused of operating a smuggling ring that allegedly provided migrants with false and illegally used documents to travel to western European cities.
The group, active since July, provided migrants with safe housing, clothing, and travel documents before escorting them to Athens International Airport, police said.
Fees for those services ranged from €3,000 to €5,000 ($3,150-5,250).
Italy’s interior minister last month said the Group of Seven rich democracies will to set up specialized police units aimed at investigating migrant trafficking in order to tackle irregular flows. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, which holds the G7
rotating presidency this year, has sought cooperation with the EU and African governments to crack down on human traffickers.
Meloni last year signed a deal with Albania to build reception camps there, but the rulings taken so far by the Italian courts have frustrated the government’s efforts to pursue its flagship plan to crackdown on irregular arrivals
Italian police said on Thursday they had blocked and revoked 3,339 applications for the arrival of non-EU workers in Italy as part of an investigation into the smuggling of illegal immigrants by organized crime.
The alleged false requests to hire non-EU laborers were submitted by 142 different Italian companies in the agriculture, construction, and home care sectors, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza police said in a joint statement.
According to an investigation by anti-Mafia prosecutors in the southern city of Salerno, the companies were being used by several local criminal
groups — from which €1 million ($1.05 million) in cash was already seized in July — to smuggle non-EU migrants
into Italy.
Police measures allow the 29 Italian provinces involved in the investigation to block issuing current permits and revoking those that had already been granted, the statement said.
Macron welcomes Nigerian president in first state visit since 2000
- Trip will focus on economic partnerships between France and Africa’s most populous country
PARIS: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday began a two-day visit to France, with both sides seeking increased economic cooperation and Paris looking to boost ties in English-speaking Africa following a series of setbacks with former allies on the continent.
French President Emmanuel Macron greeted his counterpart at the historic Invalides memorial complex, with the first official state visit by a Nigerian leader in more than two
decades.
The two national anthems rang out in the courtyard of one of Paris’ landmarks, kicking off a visit focused on encouraging economic partnerships between France and Africa’s most populous country.
Macron has sought a “renewal” between Paris and Africa since his 2017 election and after military coups and changing attitudes lessened France’s influence on the continent.
The trip is “an opportunity to deepen the already dynamic relationship between France and Nigeria,” Macron’s office said.
The west African country is the continent’s leading oil producer and has a robust film industry, dubbed “Nollywood.”
But challenges posed by insecurity and corruption have left 129 million Nigerians — more than half the country’s population — living
below the poverty line.
For Nigeria, which has been battling soaring inflation and food prices, the visit represents an opportunity to tap economic investment.
Nigeria was looking to build ties in “agriculture, security, education, health, youth engagement, innovation and energy transition,” Tinubu’s office said in a statement. He and Macron will also address “shared values concerning finance, solid minerals, trade and investment, and communication,” it added.
South Korea officials say three dead in heavy snowfall
SEOUL: Heavy snowfall blanketed South Korea for a second consecutive day Thursday, resulting in three deaths overall and disrupting flights and ferry services, authorities said.
The snow caused three fatalities in Gyeonggi province around the capital Seoul, officials said, including one person killed when a tent-style garage collapsed during snow removal.
Another died when a golf practice net gave way amid the extreme weather.
The prolonged snowfall led to the cancellation of 156 flights and disrupted 104 ferry services across 79 routes, the interior ministry said.
The second day of snow came after Seoul on Wednesday recorded its heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago, according to the country’s weather agency. The record snowfall also marked the capital’s first snow of the season.
Up to 40 centimeters of snow accumulated in parts of the capital by 11 am (GMT 02:00), the interior ministry said, while other areas outside Seoul saw snow piles reaching nearly 45 centimeters.
The second day of snow prompted the city government to deploy 11,000 personnel and 20,000 pieces of equipment for snow removal operations in the capital.
