North Korean leader holds first direct talks with delegation from rival South

By Anna Fifield  | Washington Post

TOKYO — Reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a South Korean presidential delegation for “openhearted” talks over dinner in Pyongyang on Monday, according to the North’s state media, the latest surprising development in a burst of diplomacy that both Koreas hope will stave off threats from the United States.

The 34-year-old North Korean leader has not met another head of state — including the presidents of historical allies China and Russia — since he took over the totalitarian country after his father’s death at the end of 2011.

But now, possibly under pressure from U.S.-led sanctions and concerned about President Donald Trump’s unorthodox style, Kim Jong Un is suddenly willing to take the olive branches that South Korea has been offering him.

“This shows how desperate he is,” said Choi Jin-wook, who was head of the South’s Korea Institute for National Unification until last year. “His plan to become a nuclear state has almost become successful, but so what? He can’t eat nukes. So now he’s knocking on South Korea’s door.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday sent a 10-member delegation to Pyongyang to begin preparations for an inter-Korean summit, which would be the first in 10 years and the first since Kim Jong Un took over.

This follows a frenzy of visits linked to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last month, during which Kim Jong Un sent his younger sister to Seoul to hand-deliver the summit invitation to Moon.

To prepare for the summit, which Seoul hopes will happen quickly, Moon dispatched a delegation led by Chung Eui-yong, his national security adviser, and including Suh Hoon, chief of the South’s National Intelligence Service.

“I plan to hold in-depth discussions on various ways to continue talks between not only the South and the North, but also the North and the United States and the international community,” Chung told reporters before departing Seoul on Monday afternoon.

The delegation met with officials in the afternoon before having dinner with Kim, his wife Ri Sol Ju and his sister, Kim Yo Jong.

The South Korean Blue House did not release contents of the meeting but said it was “reasonable, educated speculation” to think they discussed denuclearization.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency said only that the two sides reached a “satisfactory” agreement.

Chung, who speaks fluent English and regularly talks to his American counterpart, H.R. McMaster, was specifically chosen to lead the delegation because he would be viewed in Washington as a credible and trustworthy messenger, according to people close to the Blue House.

After returning to Seoul on Tuesday and briefing the president, Chung will immediately travel to Washington to tell Trump administration officials about the meeting.

Some other officials in Moon’s inner circle, notably his chief of staff, are viewed with suspicion in Washington because of previous activities considered sympathetic to North Korea and hostile to the United States.

During his meetings in Pyongyang, Chung will almost certainly bring up the issue of denuclearization, the outside world’s most pressing concern, especially since North Korea last year exploded what was widely agreed to be a hydrogen bomb.

But it is far from clear whether North Korea will be willing to discuss this issue even in the vaguest terms. Pyongyang has previously said that its weapons are aimed only at the United States and are not a matter of inter-Korean concern.

But the international sanctions imposed are now approaching an economic blockade, and experts say they are beginning to hurt North Korea.

China said it was “a good thing” that the South Korean delegation had traveled to Pyongyang.

“We look forward to a positive outcome of the meeting,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday during a news briefing, according to the Associated Press. “We hope all sides will bear in mind the larger picture of peninsular peace and stability.”

South Korea’s Moon has been increasingly seeking ways to engage with North Korea, diplomatically or economically, as talk in Washington about military options has grown louder. He has repeatedly said that the United States must not strike North Korea without the approval of South Korea, where half the population lives within Northern artillery range.

Trump, for his part, has vacillated between threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea and seeming open to dialogue.

Trump said Saturday that he “won’t rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un.”

“Now we’re talking. They, by the way, called up a couple of days ago; they said, ‘We would like to talk,’ ” Trump said during a speech at the Gridiron dinner. “And I said, ‘So would we, but you have to denuke.’ ”

It was not immediately clear what Trump was talking about when he said that the North Koreans had called.

Vice President Mike Pence was set to meet the North Korean delegation at the opening of the Olympics, but the North Korean officials pulled out at the last minute, the White House said.

The White House has also said there were no meetings surrounding the closing ceremonies, when the National Security Council official responsible for Korea, Allison Hooker, traveled to South Korea with Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser.

North Korea sent one of its top officials on American affairs to the event, and his schedule in South Korea during the three-day visit remains unknown.”The dialogue we desire is the one designed to discuss and resolve the issues of mutual concern on an equal footing between states.”

While Trump was making his remarks Saturday, North Korea said it would only talk to the United States if it were on an “equal footing,” without any preconditions. The United States has previously insisted that North Korea commit to denuclearization before sitting down to talks.

“It is the consistent and principled position of the DPRK to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way through dialogue and negotiation,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday, using the abbreviation for the country’s official name.

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USS Lexington discovered by billionaire Paul Allen’s crew 76 years after WWII sinking

An aircraft from the USS Lexington rests on the bottom of the Coral Sea near Australia. The expedition crew of billionaire Paul Allen found the ship below 76 years after sinking.

 (Vulcan Photo)

Billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and Seattle Seahawks owner, has made another huge nautical find: the USS Lexington, which was lost at the Battle of Coral Sea 76 years ago.

The fleet aircraft carrier, the first to be sunk by opposing carrier aircraft in World War II, was found near Australia below Coral Sea in a remarkably well-preserved condition, news.com.au reported.

The expedition crew of Allen’s personal research ship R/V Petrel found the missing Lexington two miles below and about 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia, according to USNI News.

A five-inch gun on the USS Lexington is seen at the bottom of the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia.

 (Vulcan Photo)

“To pay tribute to the USS Lexington and the brave men that served on her is an honor,” Paul Allen said on his website. “As Americans, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who served and who continue to serve our country for their courage, persistence and sacrifice.”

As the Lexington was struck by multiple Japanese torpedoes and bombs on May 8, 1942, more than 200 Lexington sailors were killed in the fight, and nearby U.S. ships rescued 2,770 of the carrier’s remaining sailors, according to the Navy Times.

Once evacuated, the ship, affectionately known as “Lady Lex,” was torpedoed by the USS Phelps to prevent her capture, according to the Navy Times.

Commander of U.S. Pacific Command Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr.  told Fox News about his gratitude of the find: “We honor the valor and sacrifice of the ‘Lady Lex’s’ sailors — all, all those Americans who fought in World War II — by continuing to secure the freedoms they won for all of us.”

Harris’ father was one of the sailors evacuated.

The nameplate of the USS Lexington, which was struck by multiple Japanese torpedoes and bombs on May 8, 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

 (Vulcan Photo)

“Our Navy’s strength comes from those who have gone before. This is our heritage. Our Navy’s strength comes from those who serve now. This is who we are. No one should doubt that today’s warriors are ready to fight tonight and win,” he told Fox News Monday.

Harris, who oversees 375,000 military personnel and is responsible for threats to the U.S. across 100 million square miles — half of the earth’s surface — is currently in Australia “to meet with my counterparts and reinforce our amazing alliance.”

The expedition crew of Paul Allen’s personal research ship found the missing USS Lexington.

 (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

He added: “Alongside our allies, friends and partners, bound together by shared values, the United States is committed to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, which has brought security and economic prosperity to all who live in this critical region.”

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

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