Treasure trove seized from ex-Malaysia PM worth up to $273 million

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick Lee, June 27, 2018

The raids on several properties linked to ex-PM Najib Razak netted 12,000 pieces
 of jewellery, bags containing almost $30 million in cash and hundreds of watches
and pairs of sunglasses (AFP Photo/Mohd RASFAN)

A vast trove of valuables seized in raids on properties linked to Malaysia's scandal-mired former leader, including cash, jewellery and luxury handbags, are worth up to $273 million, police said Wednesday.

The searches, part of investigations into scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, netted 12,000 pieces of jewellery, bags containing almost $30 million in cash across 26 different currencies, more than 400 watches worth $19.3 million, and other high-end designer goods.

"I think this is the biggest seizure in Malaysian history," said Amar Singh, the police's head of commercial crime investigations, after officials completed the mammoth task of valuing all the items they uncovered in raids around Kuala Lumpur last month.

He said the items were worth between 910 million ringgit ($225 million) and 1.1 billion ringgit ($273 million).

The official salary of Najib Razak, the former premier, while in office was 22,827 ringgit ($5,670) a month.

Allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind last month's shock election loss of Najib's long-ruling coalition to a reformist alliance headed by Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib and his cronies were accused of plundering billions of dollars from 1MDB to buy everything from US real estate to artworks. Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.

His luxury-loving wife Rosmah Mansor became a lightning rod for public anger due to her vast collection of handbags and jewels, and her reported love of overseas shopping trips.

The mind-boggling collection of luxury items listed by police will increase public anger at the former first couple, whose spendthrift ways came to symbolise the decadence and rot in the Barisan Nasional coalition which ruled the country since independence from Britain in 1957 until its ouster last month.

Malaysian police say the raids on properties linked to the former prime minister 

led to the biggest property seizure in the country's history (AFP Photo/Mohd RASFAN)

Anger at allegations of graft swirling around Najib and his inner circle had become particularly acute in recent years, as many middle-class Malaysians increasingly struggled with stagnating wages and living standards.

Tiaras, sunglasses, watches

The items were seized in raids on six premises linked to Najib, including luxury apartments in Kuala Lumpur and his main residence in an upmarket part of the city.

The huge collection of jewellery included 1,400 necklaces, 2,200 rings and 14 tiaras. The most expensive item of jewellery was a necklace, which was estimated to be worth 6.4 million ringgit ($1.5 million), Amar said.

A total of 567 handbags were also seized, including 272 Hermes bags worth 51.3 million ringgit, police said, adding that the value of the other handbags was still being calculated.

A total of 423 watches worth 78 million ringgit were also discovered, along with 234 pairs of sunglasses.

It took officials five weeks, from May 21 to June 25, to count up the items and calculate their value, Amar said.

When items are uncovered in raids, police typically try to put a value on them on site, Amar said. But this was not possible with the Najib-linked searches due to the vast quantity of valuables.

"The next best option is to seal the items, to bring them back to a secure place and ensure that these items are not compromised," he said.

New Prime Minister Mahathir, who has just started his second stint as premier at the age of 92, has reopened investigations into 1MDB which were shut down by Najib, and has vowed the former leader will be charged.

Since their election loss, Najib and Rosmah have been questioned by anti-graft investigators over allegations that money linked to the state fund ended up in Najib's bank accounts.

The US Justice Department, which is seeking to recover items allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB cash in America, estimates that $4.5 billion was looted from the fund.

Koreas to hold reunions for war-separated families in August

Yahoo – AFP, 22 June 2018

The resumption of family reunions was one of the agreements reached
between the leaders of the two Koreas in April

North and South Korea agreed Friday to resume reunions for families separated by the Korean War in August -- the first such meetings since 2015 and the latest step in a remarkable diplomatic thaw on the peninsula.

Millions of people were separated during the 1950-53 conflict that sealed the division of the two Koreas.

Most died without the chance to see or hear from their relatives on the other side of the border, across which all civilian communication is banned.

The resumption of the reunions was among the agreements reached between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's president Moon Jae-in at their landmark summit in April.

Officials from both sides met at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang resort on Friday and set a date for late August.

"The reunion will be held from August 20 to 26 and 100 participants will be selected from each side," said a joint Seoul-Pyongyang statement released by the South's unification ministry.

South Korean officials will begin inspections of the Mount Kumgang resort -- the venue of the reunions -- from next week and the two sides will exchange their final lists of participants by August 4, it added.

Only about 57,000 people remain alive who are registered with the South Korean Red Cross to meet their separated relatives, and most are aged over 70.

For the lucky few chosen to take part, the experience is often hugely emotional, as they are given just three days to make up for decades of time apart, followed by another separation at the end -- in all likelihood permanent.

The reunion programme began in earnest after a historic inter-Korean summit in 2000 and the reunions were initially held annually, but strained cross-border relations have made them rare.

North Korea has a lengthy track record of manipulating the issue of divided families for political purposes, refusing proposals for regular reunions and cancelling scheduled events at the last minute.

Pyongyang has previously said it will not agree to family reunions unless Seoul returns several of its citizens, including a group of waitresses who defected from a restaurant in China.

It is unknown whether the defectors were brought up at Friday's meeting, but the two sides agreed to continue discussions on "humanitarian issues" through further Red Cross talks, according to the joint statement.

The rapprochement on the Korean peninsula was triggered earlier this year when Kim decided to send athletes, cheerleaders and his sister as an envoy to the Winter Olympics in the South.

Diplomatic efforts have gathered pace since then, leading to a landmark summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore earlier this month.

#UPDATE North and South Korea agree to resume reunions for families separated by the Korean War in August -- the first such meetings since 2015 https://t.co/tRqVzREmdl pic.twitter.com/DA2cUo40HQ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 22, 2018

North Korea's Kim briefs China's Xi on Trump summit

Yahoo – AFP, Becky Davis, 19 June 2018

China retains a strong influence in North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un briefed Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday about his historic summit with US President Donald Trump, a visit that underscores Beijing's efforts to remain at the centre of fast-moving nuclear diplomacy.

Xi urged the US and North Korea to implement the agreements reached at the June 12 summit in Singapore, while Kim thanked Xi for his role in the diplomatic efforts, according to Chinese state media.

Kim's third trip to China since March comes as Beijing tries to strengthen its role as a mediator between the US and the North, where it claims compelling security and economic interests.

The North's leader, who is believed to have landed in the Chinese capital Tuesday morning, was greeted with a military honour guard at the ornate Great Hall of the People, as the Cold War-era allies repair ties that worsened when Pyongyang tested nuclear weapons and Beijing backed UN sanctions.

Kim "felt thanks for and highly praised China's promotion of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and its important role in protecting the peninsula's peace and stability," state broadcaster CCTV said.

North Korea "hopes to work with China and other concerned parties to promote and establish a solid, long-lasting peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula and make joint efforts to achieve a lasting peace on the peninsula."

For his part, Xi told Kim he "wants North Korea and the US to carry out the results of their leadership summit", the report said.

The motorcade believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un 

is escorted through Beijing

Trump and Kim pledged in a joint summit statement to "work toward the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula".

In return, Trump made the shock announcement that he would stop joint military drills with South Korea, long seen as a provocation by Pyongyang and Beijing. The US and South Korean militaries confirmed Tuesday they have called off a major joint exercise.

Kim told Xi his summit with Trump "achieved results that are in line with the interests of all parties and the expectations of the international communities," according to CCTV.

"If the two parties can solidly implement the summit's consensus step by step, it will open a new, important phase of the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."

The United States relies on China to enforce UN economic sanctions against the North, giving Beijing potential leverage in its looming trade war with Washington.

"I think that North Korea can be another card Beijing can play to win leverage in negotiations with Washington," Yang Moo-jin, professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.

Following the Singapore summit, China suggested the UN Security Council could consider easing the economic restrictions.

Wang Dong, an international relations expert at Peking University, said he expected Kim to ask China for help in easing the sanctions in return for his pledge to denuclearise.

The visit is the North Korean autocrat's third to China since March, when he made 

his inaugural foreign trip as leader. The two leaders are pictyred together on May

"The Chinese and North Korean leaders are carrying out consultations on how to jointly move the Korean nuclear issue forward," Wang said.

China may not have been at the table in Singapore but it retains strong influence behind the scenes, Wang said.

Tuesday's visit shows that "China is indispensable to the entire Korean nuclear issue," he said.

'Differences ahead'

Trump had hailed Kim's denuclearisation pledge as a concession. But critics said the stock phrase long used by Pyongyang stopped short of longstanding US demands for North Korea to give up its atomic arsenal in a "verifiable" and "irreversible" way.

It was urgent for Xi and Kim to discuss how North Korea would work towards meeting US demands, said Beijing-based international relations commentator Hua Po.

"There may be differences ahead between the DPRK (North Korea) and the US in regards to denuclearisation, because the US wants irreversible and verifiable denuclearisation. It may be difficult for Kim Jong Un to accept," Hua told AFP.

"Therefore, both China and the DPRK want to strengthen communication and form an overall strategy to deal with the United States going forward," Hua added.

Analysts saw the summit outcome as a sign of China's influence.

Beijing has repeatedly called for a "suspension for suspension" approach, under which the North would stop its nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military exercises.

Related Article:

World can 'sleep well' after N.Korea summit, Trump says

Thai king granted full ownership of crown billions

Yahoo – AFP, June 16, 2018

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn inherited one of the world's great fortunes when he
ascended the Thai throne following the October 2016 death of his father (AFP Photo/
Panupong CHANGCHAI)

Thailand's king has been granted full ownership of the palace's multi-billion dollar assets under a law passed last year, according to a rare "explanatory note" published by the financial arm of the powerful but secretive monarchy.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn inherited one of the world's great fortunes when he ascended the Thai throne following the October 2016 death of his father, who ruled for seven decades.

Analysts say the Chakris are one of the world's richest royal dynasties, with estimates varying between $30-60 billion, although the monarchy does not publicly declare its wealth and is shielded from scrutiny by a draconian lese majeste law.

Most of the money is controlled by the opaque Crown Property Bureau (CPB), a vast portfolio that includes massive property ownership and investments in major companies.

But last July the Thai junta amended a royal property law for the first time in 69 years to give Vajiralongkorn full control over the CPB.

It is one of several steps taken by Vajiralongkorn to increase his personal control over the palace bureaucracy and its wealth since taking the throne.

The amendment means "all 'Crown Property Assets' are to be transferred and revert to the ownership of His Majesty, so that they may be administered and managed at His Majesty's discretion," according to a note featured prominently on the front page of the CPB's website.

The document was not dated and the CPB, which rarely grants interviews, could not be reached for further comment.

The note clarified that all of the CPB's shareholdings will also "be held in the name of His Majesty."

The CPB has major investments in some of Thailand's largest companies, such as Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement Company.

The note also said that previously tax exempt CPB assets will now be liable to taxation "in line with His Majesty's wishes."

Public discussion of the monarchy's actions remains taboo due to Thailand's lese majeste law, which punishes any perceived criticism with up to 15 years per offence.

All media based in Thailand must self-censor when reporting on the monarchy to avoid violating the lese majeste law.

Trump, Kim hail historic summit; questions over way forward

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew BEATTY, Sebastien BERGER, June 12, 2018

Standing in front of the flags of their two countries, Donald Trump and
Kim Jong Un made history in Singapore (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Singapore (AFP) - Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un hailed their historic summit Tuesday as a breakthrough in relations between Cold War foes, but their agreement was short on details about the key issue of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons.

The unprecedented encounter in Singapore saw the leader of the world's most powerful democracy shake hands with the third generation scion of a dynastic dictatorship, standing as equals in front of their nations' flags.

Kim agreed to the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula", a stock phrase favoured by Pyongyang that stopped short of long-standing US demands for North Korea to give up its atomic arsenal in a "verifiable" and "irreversible" way.

And in a blockbusting press conference after the summit, Trump said the US would halt military exercises with Seoul -- something long sought by Pyongyang, which claims the drills are a rehearsal for invasion.

With Pyongyang having declared a moratorium on weapons testing on the grounds its development programmes were complete, the move looked like a tacit acceptance of the "freeze for freeze" proposal pushed by Beijing and previously decried by Washington.

Map showing the venue of the June 12 summit between US President
Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AFP Photo/Laurence CHU)

The US stations around 30,000 troops in security ally South Korea to protect it from its neighbour, which invaded in 1950 in an attempt to reunify the peninsula by force.

"We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters, adding that "at some point" he wanted to withdraw US troops from the South.

Both Seoul and US military commanders in the South indicated they had no idea the announcement was coming, and analysts expressed immediate concern.

Ending the drills "is in excess of all expert consensus, South Korean requests, and even a close reading of North Korean demands", said Adam Mount of the Federation of American Scientists.

In Washington, Pentagon personnel -- also caught off guard -- spent the morning discussing what could amount to an epic shift in the US military's posture in South Korea.

All smiles

The Singapore summit was a potentially legacy-defining meeting for both men -- comparable to president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, or Ronald Reagan's 1986 summit with Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un shared upbeat words as they
sat down together for the first time (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

World powers from China to Japan, the European Union and Russia welcomed its outcome -- while cautioning it was only the first step towards resolving the nuclear stand-off with Pyongyang.

Many agreements have been made in the past with North Korea that have later fallen apart, and ahead of the meeting, critics expressed concerns that it risked being more about headlines than substantive progress.

It also legitimised Kim, whose regime stands accused of widespread human rights abuses, critics charged.

In the event, the two leaders showered each other with compliments in the sumptuous setting of a luxury Singapore hotel, a marked contrast from their previous rounds of mutual insults, such as "mentally deranged" and "little rocket man".

Trump said he had formed a "special bond" with Kim, whom he described as "very talented". As well as abuses at home, Kim is also suspected of ordering the assassination of his brother at a Malaysian airport last year.

In a blocbusting press conference after the summit, President Donald Trump 

said the US would halt joint military exercises with Seoul (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

After a day filled with smiles and handshakes watched around the world, the US "committed to provide security guarantees" to North Korea, while Pyongyang committed to "work towards" denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

Melissa Hanham of the US-based Center for Nonproliferation Studies said on Twitter that North Korea had "already promised to do this many times," adding the two sides "still don't agree on what 'denuclearisation' means."

Asked about the issue -- the crux of the summit -- Trump said "we're starting that process" which would begin "very, very quickly", but gave no concrete details.

Speaking later as he flew out of Singapore bound for the US territory of Guam -- towards which Pyongyang last year threatened to lob missiles -- Trump said he intended to hold North Korea to its word on denuclearisation.

"We're going to have to check it and we will check it. We'll check it very strongly," he told reporters on Air Force One.

In the meantime, the US leader declared himself satisfied with the summit outcome, saying "there was nothing more we could have done."

Asked whether he trusted Kim, he replied: "I do."

We'll meet again

Standing with Kim after the signing ceremony in Singapore, Trump vowed they would meet again.

"We will meet many times," said the president, who declared himself "absolutely" willing to invite Kim to the White House, when the time was right.

For his part, Kim -- who made headlines the evening before the summit with an nighttime visit to major tourist sites -- said the two Cold War foes had vowed to "leave the past behind", pledging "the world will see a major change".

Abraham Denmark of the Wilson Center in Washington tweeted: "It seems Kim got a huge propaganda win and a metric ton of legitimacy, and the US gave up joint exercises, for little new and nothing in return."

But he added: "The silver lining is that dialogue will continue, and where there is diplomacy there is hope."

Australia state to allow sex abuse victims to sue churches

Yahoo – AFP, 10 June 2018

Commissioners at the final sitting of the Royal Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney last December

Victims of child sex abuse will be able to sue institutions such as churches under proposed new laws in Australia's most populous state, authorities said Sunday.

The proposed legislation came after a five-year royal commission -- which released its final report late last year -- detailed thousands of harrowing abuse cases involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools and going back decades.

The overhaul of civil litigation laws in New South Wales state will allow claims of child abuse to be brought against organisations including churches which could not previously be sued, said NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman.

"The NSW Government will remove legal barriers that have stopped survivors of child abuse from seeking the justice they deserve," Speakman said in a statement.

"The Royal Commission found many survivors felt let down by the current civil litigation system which made it difficult for them to seek damages and hold institutions to account."

Under current laws, organisations such as churches whose assets are held in a trust can avoid liability for offences such as child sex abuse.

The proposed legislation will allow courts to appoint trustees to be sued if such organisations fail to appoint an entity with assets as a defendant, Speakman said.

It comes after the Catholic Church became the first non-government institution to join a national redress scheme for victims of institutional child sex abuse.

All but one of Australia's state governments have signed up to the programme, which will offer victims up to Aus$150,000 ($114,000) in compensation.

The royal commission found that Australian institutions "seriously failed" children in their care, with thousands sexually assaulted.

It heard horrific testimony during often emotionally exhausting hearings, with more than 15,000 survivors detailing their claims.

More than 4,000 institutions were accused of abuse.

Anti-nuclear group offers to foot summit bill for N. Korea's Kim

Yahoo – AFP, June 4, 2018

Who will cough up for lodgings is one of many reported logistical and protocol
headaches surrounding this month's Singapore summit between North Korea's
Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump (AFP Photo/handout)

Tokyo (AFP) - A Nobel Prize-winning anti-nuclear group offered Monday to pay for next week's historic summit between the US and North Korea -- including the delicate issue of Kim Jong Un's hotel bill.

Who will cough up for lodgings at the five-star Fullerton Hotel, believed to be the North Korean leader's preferred option, is one of many reported logistical and protocol headaches surrounding this month's meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

The United States is prepared to pay but fears offending cash-poor but pride-rich North Korea, the Washington Post wrote last week.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said it was willing to help resolve the impasse by bankrolling Kim's delegation, using part of the $1.1 million cash prize it received for winning last year's Nobel Peace Prize.

"We are ready to shoulder the cost of the summit, naturally including expenses for accommodation and conference venues," Akira Kawasaki, an ICAN representative in Japan, told AFP.

"If holding the summit is in danger because of financial problems, we are ready to shoulder the cost as it is an important, historic meeting," he added.

Kawasaki declined to say how much ICAN could stump up but said part of the Nobel Prize award would be put to the summit "in order to support peace in the Korean peninsula and a nuclear weapon-free world".

The sum would be negotiated if North Korea accepted the offer, he said.

The presidential suite at the Fullerton boasts, according to its website, a baby grand piano and claims to be "the most exclusive hotel suite in Singapore."

With a private elevator offering exclusive access, the suite is 201 square metres (2,164 square feet) and reportedly costs more than $6,000 for one night.

Reporters camped outside the hotel last week to catch a glimpse of Kim Chang Son, Kim's de facto chief of staff, who travelled to Singapore to lay the groundwork for the June 12 summit.

The Singapore dialogue will be the first time a sitting US president has met a North Korean leader.

Talks are expected to focus on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and improving relations between Washington and Pyongyang.

North Korea's 'military reshuffle' could be aimed at eliminating resistance to recent peace overtures with the US, analysts say https://t.co/xpR6KfCTa4

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 4, 2018

US-NKorea summit back on, Trump says after meeting Kim envoy

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew Beatty and Dave Clark, June 1, 2018

US President Donald Trump (R) poses for photographs with North Korea's Kim
Yong Chol (L) at the White House after their Oval Office talks (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Friday he will meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un as originally scheduled on June 12 for a historic summit after extraordinary Oval Office talks with a top envoy from Pyongyang.

Speaking after more than an hour of talks with Kim Yong Chol in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that denuclearization -- and a formal end to the decades-old Korean war -- would be on the table in Singapore.

But the US leader warned that he did not expect to immediately sign a deal to bring a halt to the North's nuclear program.

"I never said it goes in one meeting. I think it's going to be a process, but the relationships are building and that's very positive," he said, after waving farewell to the North Korean envoy, Kim's right-hand man.

Ending the war

Trump said they had discussed formally ending the Korean War, which has been largely frozen since an armistice ended hostilities, but not the underlying conflict, in 1953. Since then, there have been occasional clashes on the divided peninsula.

"We talked about it. We talked about ending the war," Trump said.

"Historically it's very important, but we'll see. We did discuss that, the ending of the Korean War. Can you believe we're talking about the ending of the Korean War?"

Washington is determined that Kim should agree to what US officials call the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" end of North Korea's nuclear weapons and intercontinental missile programs.

Chronology of diplomatic tensions between the US and North Korea

(AFP Photo/Sophie RAMIS)

Kim says he is committed to "denuclearization" in some form, but he is expected to demand security guarantees -- one of which could be an formal end to the conflict with the US and South Korea.

Most expert observers are skeptical that even an unprecedented summit between the two leaders can lead to a rapid breakthrough, and Trump admitted it would be a long and difficult process.

"We're not going to go in and sign something on June 12. We never were. I told him today, 'Take your time'," he said, adding nevertheless that he expects "a really positive result in the end."

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling party executive and the most senior North Korean to visit the United States in 18 years, spent almost 90 minutes in the Oval Office.

Afterwards, Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walked the North's small delegation to their waiting cars, smiling and shaking hands in front of the media before the motorcade pulled away.

Security guarantees

North Korean officials said Kim Yong Chol was expected to return to Pyongyang shortly. Meanwhile, discussions between US and North Korean officials continue in Singapore and in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

On Thursday, Kim Jong Un told Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that his commitment to denuclearization remains "unchanged and consistent and fixed," but experts warn he will seek concessions from Washington.

US President Donald Trump (R), flanked by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 

shakes hands with North Korean Kim Yong Chol (L) outside the White House 

(AFP Photo/Saul LOEB)

In addition to an end to the war, he is likely to seek international recognition as well as guarantees against any strike by the US forces stationed in South Korea.

As expected, Kim Yong Chol handed Trump a letter from Kim that may clear up some of the questions. The US leader said the missive was "very nice" -- but then admitted he had not yet read it. An aide later confirmed he did after the talks.

The Oval Office talks and letter delivery came only a week after Trump threatened to consign the entire process to history, abruptly cancelling the summit in a sharply worded letter, only to revive preparations shortly afterwards.

Trump said that, after Friday's talks, the parties are "totally over that and now we're going to deal and we're going to really start a process."

Since the short-lived boycott threat, diplomats from both countries have conducted an intense flurry of talks, culminating this week when Pompeo sat down in New York with Kim's envoy.

'Their decision'

Pompeo said on Thursday that, after what have now been two meetings with Kim Jong Un and three with Kim Yong Chol, he believes the North is at least ready to consider addressing US demands for denuclearization.

"I believe they are contemplating a path forward. They can make a strategic shift. One that their country has not been prepared to make before. This will obviously be their decision," he said.

The flurry of diplomacy has also seen a rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, with the two Koreas holding high-level talks Friday at the border truce village of Panmunjom.

The meeting followed two landmark summits between the leaders of North and South Korea in the last five weeks.

North and South Korea agreed to hold more meetings throughout this month to carry out the agreements reached between their leaders at the April summit, according to a joint statement issued after Friday's talks.