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Groton Daily Independent
Tuesday, March 06, 2018 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 235 ~ 31 of 35
siles that can viably target the U.S. mainland.
The North has repeatedly and bluntly declared it will not give up its nuclear bombs. It also hates the
annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises that were postponed because of the Olympics but will likely happen later this spring. And achieving its nuclear aims rests on the North resuming tests of missiles and bombs that set the region on edge.
Photos distributed by the North showed a beaming Kim dressed in a dark Mao-style suit and holding hands with Moon’s national security director, Chung Eui-yong, the leader of the 10-member South Korean delegation. Chung’s trip is the rst known high-level visit by South Korean of cials to the North in about a decade.
The South Korean delegates have another meeting with North Korean of cials on Tuesday before return- ing home, but it’s unclear if Kim Jong Un will be there.
Kim was said to have expressed at the dinner his “ rm will to vigorously advance the north-south rela- tions and write a new history of national reuni cation by the concerted efforts of our nation to be proud of in the world.”
There is speculation that better inter-Korean ties could pave the way for Washington and Pyongyang to talk about the North’s nuclear weapons. The United States, however, has made clear that it doesn’t want empty talks and that all options, including military measures, are on the table.
Previous warming ties between the Koreas have come to nothing amid North Korea’s repeated weapons tests and the North’s claims that the annual U.S.-South Korean war games are a rehearsal for an invasion. Before leaving for Pyongyang, Chung said he would relay Moon’s hopes for North Korean nuclear disar-
mament and a permanent peace on the peninsula.
Chung’s delegation includes intelligence chief Suh Hoon and Vice Uni cation Minister Chun Hae-sung.
The South Korean presidential Blue House said the high-pro le delegation is meant to reciprocate the Olympic trip by Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who became the rst member of the North’s ruling family to come to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Kim Yo Jong, who also attended Monday’s dinner, and other senior North Korean of cials met with Moon during the Olympics, conveyed Kim Jong Un’s invitation to visit Pyongyang and expressed their willingness to hold talks with the United States.
After the Pyongyang trip, Chung’s delegation is scheduled to y to the United States to brief of cials about the outcome of the talks with North Korean of cials.
President Donald Trump has said talks with North Korea will happen only “under the right conditions.”
If Moon accepts Kim’s invitation to visit Pyongyang it would be the third inter-Korean summit talk. The past two summits, one in 2000 and the other in 2007, were held between Kim’s late father, Kim Jong Il, and two liberal South Korean presidents. They resulted in a series of cooperative projects between the Koreas that were scuttled during subsequent conservative administrations in the South.
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AP writers Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
Today in History By The Associated Press
Today in History
Today is Tuesday, March 6, the 65th day of 2018. There are 300 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 6, 1836, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell as Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez
de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege; the battle claimed the lives of all the Texan defenders, nearly 200 strong, including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett.
On this date:
In 1475, Italian artist and poet Michelangelo was born in Caprese (kah-PRAY’-say) in the Republic of Florence.