PN's Voice 84
Peace Network Korea
PN's Voice 84, 16-06-2016
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PN's Voice No. 84 16. 06. 2016
Small steps, Road to peace
N. Korea Sends Open Letter to UN
The IAEA, which has no access to North Korea and mainly monitors its activities by satellite, said it had seen signs of a resumption of activity at Yongbyon, including at the main reactor. “Resumption of the activities of the five megawatt reactor, the expansion of centrifuge-related facility, reprocessing – these are some of the examples of the areas [of activity indicated at Yongbyon],” IAEA chief Yukiya Amano told a news conference during a quarterly IAEA board of governors meeting.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Wednesday that the letter was adopted during a joint meeting of the North’s government, ruling party and the ruling groups and sent to the UN Secretariat on Monday.
The letter stated that leading figures of the UN Secretariat, including the Secretary-General, will be able to add a meaningful page to the history of the UN, if they help to ease tensions on the peninsula and resolve the reunification issue.
Source : KBS News
NK May have more than 20 Nuclear Weapons, warns Think Tank
North Korea may be significantly expanding its nuclear weapons production and could have added six or more weapons to its stockpile in the last 18 months, according to the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (Isis). Isis estimated last year that North Korea had 10 to 16 nuclear weapons at the end of 2014. In revised estimates contained in a report provided to Reuters on Tuesday when it said North Korea may have added another four to six weapons since then, giving it a total of 13 to 21 – or even more – today.
North Korea may be significantly expanding its nuclear weapons production and could have added six or more weapons to its stockpile in the last 18 months, according to the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (Isis). Isis estimated last year that North Korea had 10 to 16 nuclear weapons at the end of 2014. In revised estimates contained in a report provided to Reuters on Tuesday when it said North Korea may have added another four to six weapons since then, giving it a total of 13 to 21 – or even more – today.
The report came a week after a senior US State Department official said North Korea had restarted production of plutonium fuel, indicating that it planned to pursue its nuclear weapons program in defiance of international sanctions that followed its fourth nuclear test in January. Plutonium also can be used to make nuclear weapons.
Source : The Guardian
Trump Would Accept NK Leader to U.S. for Negotiations
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday he would "accept" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the United States and hold nuclear negotiations with him while eating hamburgers, according to news reports. "If he came here, I'd accept him," Trump said during campaigning in Atlanta, reaffirming his willingness to meet with the North's leader, according to reports. "Who the hell cares? I'll talk to anybody."
Trump first expressed his willingness to meet with Kim in an interview last month, drawing criticism not only from critics, but also from his own party that such a meeting would end up bolstering the dictator. But while Trump has insisted on his willingness to speak to the North's leader, but said he won't go to the North for such talks. Should Kim visit the U.S., Trump said he won't throw him a state dinner. "I wouldn't give him a state dinner like China or all these other nations who are ripping us off," Trump was quoted as saying. "We should be eating a hamburger on a conference table and making better deals." Trump said he will only "make a good deal" if he were to hold talks with the North's leader. The real-estate tycoon was even quoted as saying that there's a "10 percent or 20 percent chance" he could talk Kim out of developing nuclear weapons.
Trump has expressed negative views of the North's leader, describing him as a "total nut job" and a "madman playing around with the nukes." But he also said early this year it was "amazing" for the young leader to keep control of the country.
Source : The Korea Herald
China Bans More Exports to N.Korea
China on Tuesday banned the sale to North Korea of about 40 goods and technologies that could be used to make nuclear weapons and missiles. The move came two months after Beijing banned trade of 25 goods like iron ore, coal and aviation fuel after the UN Security Council adopted sanctions against the North on March 2nd. The ban delivers a clear message to Washington, which has doubted China is serious about taking action against the North following a visit from former North Korean foreign minister Ri Su-yong to Beijing. The 40 banned goods and technologies are so-called dual-use items that also have a harmless civilian application but can be used to make nuclear and biochemical weapons and missiles.
The U.S. State Department welcomed Beijing's latest action. "The United States and China agree on the fundamental importance of a denuclearized North Korea, and we welcomed China's agreement on the strongest sanctions the Security Council has imposed in a generation," said spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen. "Chinese officials have made clear that they intend to implement the resolution. These measures appear to be a step toward following through on those commitments."
Source : Chosun Ilbo
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