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WORLD NEWS Friday 10 august 2018

Seoul: Rival Koreas to meet to prepare for leaders' summit

By YOUKYUNG LEE progress on nuclear disar-
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — maments between Pyong-
The rival Koreas will meet yang and Washington de-
Monday for high-level talks spite the Singapore summit
meant to prepare for a in June and U.S. Secretary
summit between North Ko- of State Mike Pompeo's
rean leader Kim Jong Un several visits to North Korea.
and South Korean President Pyongyang insisted that
Moon Jae-in, South Korea the U.S. should reciprocate
said, the third such meet- to the North's suspension of
ings between the leaders in missile launches and nucle-
recent months. ar tests and other goodwill
The announcement Thurs- gestures such as the return
day by the South's Unifica- of remains of American
tion Ministry, which handles troops killed in the Korean
inter-Korean issues for Seoul, War. The United States has
comes amid attempts by dismissed calls to ease
Washington and Pyong- sanctions until the North
yang to follow through on delivers on its commitments
nuclear disarmament vows to fully denuclearize.
made at a summit in June In this June 1, 2018, file photo, South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, speaks to The inter-Korean meeting
between President Donald media before leaving to attend South and North Korean meeting, at Office of South Korea-North on Monday will be held at
Trump and Kim. Korea Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea. Tongilgak, a North Korean-
Pyongyang has also Associated Press controlled building in the
stepped up its calls for a border village of Panmun-
formal end to the Korean is pushing for the North to fice rules, said the two Ko- Among the agreements jom. It wasn't clear who
War, which some analysts begin giving up its nuclear reas will also discuss ways was holding another inter- would attend the talks,
believe is meant to be the program. to push through tension-re- Korean summit in the fall in but such meetings have
first step in the North's effort A South Korean official at ducing agreements made Pyongyang. typically been handled in
to eventually see all 28,500 the Unification Ministry, during an earlier summit The rival Koreas may try to the past by South Korea's
U.S. troops leave the Kore- who spoke on condition of between Kim and South seek a breakthrough amid unification minister and his
an Peninsula. Washington anonymity because of of- Korean President Moon. what experts see as little counterpart in the North.q

Thai monk who flew in high style gets prison for fraud

By KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA The Ratchada Criminal abduction case against Wi-
Associated Press Court in Bangkok sen- raphol.
BANGKOK (AP) — A former tenced him Thursday to 114 Critics say Wirapol is an ex-
Buddhist monk infamous for years in prison, although le- treme example of a wider
a jet-set lifestyle was sen- gal technicalities capped crisis in Thai Buddhism,
tenced Thursday to more the actual time he must which has become mar-
than 100 years in prison in serve at 20 years. He was ginalized by a shortage of
connection with funds he found guilty of fraud, mon- monks and an increasingly
fraudulently raised from fol- ey laundering and violation secular society.
lowers. of the computer crime act At the court Thursday, a
Wirapol Sukphol caused for spending money he had smiling Wirapol was joined
a scandal when he ap- solicited for Buddhist statu- by around 10 followers
peared in a 2013 YouTube ary and temple improve- whom he told to relax.
video in his monk's robes ments instead on cars and "Prison is comfortable, there
aboard a private jet wear- luxury goods. are people always buying
ing aviator sunglasses with The court also ordered that you food and there's plenty
a Louis Vuitton carry-on by In this Thursday, July 20, 2017, file photo, ex-monk Wirapol Suk- Wirapol pay 28.6 million of space. Anyone want to
phol is escorted by the Department of Special Investigation of-
his side. He was defrocked ficials to the prosecutor's office in Bangkok, Thailand. baht ($864,000) in compen- join me?" Wirapol said. "If I
amid accusations that he Associated Press sation to 29 people who have to spend many years
had sexual relations with filed lawsuits saying he had in prison but can accept it,
several women — a major There were also allegations fled to the United States, cheated them. then it's comfortable. If you
violation of the precepts he had sex with a 14-year- where he was arrested in The same court will deliver can't accept it, just one
guiding monks' behavior — old girl. 2016 and extradited last a verdict on Oct. 17 on a day in prison can feel like a
and had impregnated one. Because of the furor, he year. child molestation and child thousand years."q