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North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un made a last-minute visit to Beijing Monday; marking the first time the brutal despot has left the Hermit Kingdom since taking control following his father’s death in 2011. According to Bloomberg, the details of the trip remain murky with three North Korean officials confirming the leader’s visit to the Chinese capital. The unannounced journey comes as the United States and North Korea prepare for their first face-to-face meeting between the communist ruler and President Trump; following months of escalating tensions between the two nations. “If this meeting is confirmed, it may actually be more...

Picture this: thanks to a combination of diplomatic ingenuity, unique personalities and a historic willingness to see tensions in Northeast Asia disappear, President Donald J. Trump convinces North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to do the unthinkable and give up his nuclear weapons. While we are a long way from even a meeting between the two taking place, let alone the ending of Kim’s nuclear weapons program, we can stargaze a little. If the Trump administration can somehow land the ultimate of deals, the geopolitical map would instantly be reset. America’s security, and that of its allies in Asia, would...

China’s Communist Party adopted a secret plan in September to bolster the North Korean government with increased aid and military support, including new missiles, if Pyongyang halts further nuclear tests, according to an internal party document. The document, labeled “top secret” and dated Sept. 15 — just 12 days after North Korea’s latest underground nuclear blast — outlines China’s plan for dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue. It states China will allow North Korea to keep its current arsenal of nuclear weapons, contrary to Beijing’s public stance that it seeks a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. Chinese leaders also agreed to...

China did not export any oil products to North Korea in November as U.S. sanctions against the isolated country continue take effect, according to a report Tuesday from Reuters. The move comes as North Korea ratchets up ongoing nuclear and missile programs despite years of U.N. resolutions prohibiting the actions. U.N. Security Council imposed a new batch of limits of oil products earlier this month to the communist country. China did not export any gasoline, jet fuel, diesel or fuel oil, or any other petroleum products to North Korea last month, according to the report, that relied on General Administration...

State-owned airline Air China suspended flights Tuesday between Beijing and North Korea due to a lack of demand, deepening the North's isolation amid mounting U.N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs. The move followed U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to add Pyongyang to a list of governments that support terrorism but there was no indication that prompted Air China's decision. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said he had no information. The suspension left North Korea's Air Koryo as the only airline with regularly scheduled service to the North. Its website lists flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Dandong in...

Fresh alarm is being raised over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, after a report that at least 200 people died in an accident at the country’s nuclear test site. Japan’s Asahi TV on Tuesday reported that at least 200 people died and 100 were trapped when a tunnel collapsed at the Punggye-ri test site. The collapse happened days after North Korea conducted its sixth and largest underground nuclear test in September, provoking fears that the Punggye-ri site may be falling apart. On Monday, Korea Meteorological Administration chief Nam Jae-cheol said that another detonation could possibly prompt a “collapse of the...

Chinese police asked South Korean citizens near the North Korea-China border to evacuate the area due to risks of an attack and abduction by the North, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. “We are aware that Chinese authorities have suggested South Korean citizens there evacuate on the possibility of an attack by North Korea,” the ministry here said. ocal media reports said Tuesday that Chinese police warned around 10 South Korean businesspeople, community associates and religious leaders residing near the border to evacuate due to the possibility of abduction by North Korea. They were notified during the Chuseok holiday earlier this...

Chinese regulators said on Thursday that North Korean companies in China, including those that have joint ventures with Chinese firms, must shut down within less than four months, a signal of growing tensions between the two countries over Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missiles programs. The move comes amid heavy pressure from the Trump administration, which has made the North Korean nuclear issue the cornerstone of its policy in Asia. President Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly signaled that the US depends on China to enforce international sanctions on North Korea in an effort to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions....

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It can be all too easy to see North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, as a nuclear-armed nuisance desperate for attention. But as is often the case with the belligerent young man, analysts say, there is a perverse logic to his carefully timed provocations aimed at China and the United States, including this week’s nuclear test – the country’s sixth, and by far its most powerful. In October, at the Chinese Communist Party’s once-every-five-years leadership conference, President Xi Jinping is likely to further consolidate his power. In the run-up, however, projecting an aura of stability is key. “North Korea knows that...

The presidents of China and Russia agreed late on Sunday to “appropriately deal with” North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test, Xinhua reported, with Beijing strongly condemning Pyongyang’s action. The agreement came as Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday night in Xiamen, Fujian province, ahead of Monday’s BRICS leaders summit. “The two leaders agreed to stick to the goal of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and keep close communication and coordination to deal with the new situation,” Xinhua said in a brief report. US President Donald Trump responded to the test on Twitter,...

China on Monday criticized President Donald Trump's threat to cut off U.S. trade with countries that deal with North Korea and rejected pressure to do more to halt the North's nuclear development. Trump issued the threat after North Korea on Sunday exploded a thermonuclear device in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. The threat was seen as a warning to China, North Korea's main trading partner and only major ally. A foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, criticized Trump's stance as unfair to Beijing. "What is definitely unacceptable to us is that on the one hand we work so hard...

North Korea may be preparing for sixth nuclear weapon test, South Korea says by Melissa Quinn | Aug 28, 2017, 9:46 AM South Korean officials are warning that North Korea may be preparing for a sixth nuclear weapon test, according to a report. During a parliamentary session, Seoul's National Intelligence Service told South Korean lawmakers it picked up signs that North Korea is preparing to conduct another nuclear test at its Punggye-ri underground test site, CNN reported Monday. Pyongyang last held a nuclear test in September, when the rogue regime detonated what it said was a miniaturized nuclear warhead that...

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TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in waters off the northern region of Hokkaido early on Tuesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, marking a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula. The test, which experts said appeared to have been a recently developed intermediate-range Hwasong-12 missile, came as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct annual military drills on the peninsula, against which North Korea strenuously objects. Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to fire four Hwasong-12 missiles into the sea near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam after U.S. President...

Beijing (China) is attempting to “trigger” President Trump’s internal neo-con and militaristic opposition. Stay frosty, avoid emotional reports demanding military engagement, and remain steady with a high altitude perspective. Multiple reports now confirming that North Korea has conducted a missile test. The flight path escalates the issues by crossing over part of Northern Japan. In essence, Beijing China just threw an elbow at President Trump. [The likely “Why” follows breaking report] "TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea fired a missile that passed over northern Japan early on Tuesday, the Japanese government said. The government’s J-Alert warning system advised people in the...

Kim Jong-Un secret escape route to China revealed as North Korea fears US strike IM Jong-un has an escape plan for fleeing over the border to China in the event of a US military attack on North Korea, intelligence sources reveal. By MARCO GIANNANGELI - EXCLUSIVE PUBLISHED: 00:33, Sun, Aug 20, 2017 | UPDATED: 13:01, Sun, Aug 20, 2017 The dictator would take only a tiny group of people with him, including his wife and two rocket experts. –– ADVERTISEMENT –– Details of the secret plan were given to MI5 and the CIA by Thae Yong-ho last year after his...

In a matter of a days, tensions with North Korea appear to have calmed down considerably. Most of that is thanks to China making a series of positive moves and statements. This is shaping up to be a big win for the Trump administration. -- Less than a week ago, the world seemed to be on the edge of a nuclear confrontation or at least a bloody military conflict in East Asia. What a difference a few days make. After a weekend filled with a series of conciliatory statements from China, some of them downright surprising, the situation with North...

China says it will stop importing North Korean coal, iron ore, fish and other goods in September as it implements UN sanctions. The UN Security Council, including China, backed a new resolution last weekend imposing fresh sanctions on the rogue state in retaliation for its controversial nuclear programme. The sanctions aim to block $1bn worth of North Korean exports - about a third of its total exports. The Chinese government said the imports would stop on 5 September. China is the country's closest ally, but has been angered by its missile tests and repeatedly pressured and berated by President Trump,...

It must be weird for the ordinary person around the world to view U.S. politics through the prism of the American MSM lügenpresse.  We’re often left wondering if international observers realize how much deception and fraud exists in media broadcasts of President Trump. However, that said, a few days ago CTH predicted via twitter that Friday would bring a “breaking news” revelation that President Trump’s administration had been in ongoing negotiations with North Korea.  Today, exactly that happened. [...] These back-channel discussions were/are entirely predictable because negotiation is the forté of President Trump’s entire life’s repertoire.  It’s just how he rolls.  Negotiation is what gets Donald Trump’s autonomic...