Why Singapore for the Trump-Kim summit?

Yahoo – AFP, May 10, 2018

An ultramodern city-state, Singapore has robust security infrastructure and is
widely considered one of the safest cities in Asia (AFP Photo/Roslan RAHMAN)

Singapore (AFP) - It has one foot in the East and one in the West, is ultra-modern, secure and sometimes mocked as being a little dull -- Singapore was the safe pick for a historic first meeting between the unpredictable leaders of the US and North Korea.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed that the summit -- a first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader -- would take place in Singapore on June 12.

"We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!" he tweeted.

Singapore also confirmed it would host the meeting, but did not give further details.

"We hope this meeting will advance prospects for peace in the Korean Peninsula," the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Thursday.

It followed a second visit to Pyongyang by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday to make arrangements for the summit.

The Southeast Asian financial hub was likely chosen for its neutrality, security advantages and track record of hosting international summits, observers say.

The ultramodern city-state has a robust security infrastructure and is widely considered one of the safest cities in Asia.

It has tight restrictions over media and public gatherings, which will allow for a controlled environment likely to be preferred by the North Koreans.

Singapore is also in the rare position of having friendly diplomatic ties with both Washington and Pyongyang.

It considers the US a close partner, while North Korea maintains a fully functioning embassy in the city-state.

Singapore and the North have a long history of cooperation -- the first law firm and fast food restaurant in Pyongyang were both set up by Singaporeans -- even if relations hit a snag last year when Singapore enforced new UN sanctions on trade.

Singapore will also be acceptable to China, North Korea's only major ally, which wields a strong influence despite its physical absence from next month's proceedings.

"As a neutral, and objective country with much-admired consistent foreign policy principles and a small state with no desire or capacity to harm other states and their interests, Singapore fits that bill well," said Lim Tai Wei, adjunct research fellow at the National University of Singapore's East Asia Institute.

Since Kim took over as leader, he has rarely left his isolated nation and has only 

officially ventured away from home this year, with two visits to China (AFP Photo/CCTV)

'No baggage'

By apparently agreeing to meet Trump 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) away from Pyongyang, Kim has to travel a significant distance out of his comfort zone, said Graham Ong-Webb, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

Since Kim took over as leader, he has rarely left his isolated nation and has only officially ventured away from home this year, with two visits to China, most recently travelling to the northeastern port city of Dalian where he met Xi Jinping.

He also stepped across the border into South Korea during a historic meeting with President Moon Jae-in in April, making him the first Northern leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ceasefire in 1953.

Remarkable images of the two leaders greeting each other warmly over the Military Demarcation Line that splits their countries, rich with symbolism and high political theatre, were broadcast around the world.

Trump had previously suggested that the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas could be a venue for his meeting with Kim, before ruling it out on Wednesday.

Nearby Mongolia was also ruled out as a possible neutral third-country venue, reportedly for security reasons.

But for Trump and Kim, Singapore is a convenient venue precisely because it "doesn't have the historical or political baggage," said Sarah Teo, an associate research fellow at RSIS's regional security architecture programme.

Singapore also has a track record for hosting international summits.

In 2015, the city-state played host to a historic meeting between China's president Xi and then Taiwanese president Ma Ying Jeou.

It hosts the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, a defence forum regularly attended by heads of state, defence ministers and high level military officials.

Now that the venue and date have been chosen, it only remains to be seen if Singapore will play host to a meeting that truly builds on hopes for the complete denuclearisation of the peninsula and a formal peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War.

#UPDATE US President Donald Trump has announced his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Singapore on June 12 https://t.co/iS1X9RtzU4

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 10, 2018

Malaysia's Mahathir wins shock election victory, toppling 61-yr-old regime

Yahoo – AFP, Martin Abbugao, May 9, 2018

As it became clear that Mahathir had won, supporters took to the streets
waving flags of the opposition alliance (AFP Photo/Mohd RASFAN)

Malaysia's veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, won a shock election victory Thursday, in a political earthquake that toppled the country's scandal-plagued premier and ousted a regime that has ruled for over six decades.

It was a stunning triumph that almost no one had predicted and ended the long hold on power of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since its birth as an independent country.

The victory capped a dramatic political comeback for Mahathir, who previously ruled the country with an iron fist for 22 years, and came out of retirement to taken on Prime Minister Najib Razak after the leader became embroiled in a massive corruption scandal.

When he takes power, Mahathir will be the oldest prime minister in the world.

His victory spells big trouble for Najib -- Mahathir has vowed to bring him to justice over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which the scandal-plagued leader set up and oversaw.

But at a press conference, Mahathir vowed: "We are not seeking revenge. We want to restore the rule of law."

Mahathir's return to the political frontlines saw him throw in his lot with an opposition alliance filled with parties that he crushed while in power, and which includes jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim -- his former nemesis.

When he takes power, Mahathir Mohamad, 92, will be the oldest prime minister

in the world (AFP Photo/Manan VATSYAYANA)

As well as seizing control of the national government, several state legislatures across the country fell into opposition hands for the first time, including the highly symbolic bastion of Johor, the birthplace of Najib's party that was the lynchpin of the ruling coalition.

Official results from the Election Commission showed that Mahathir's opposition grouping Pakatan Harapan, along with an ally in the Borneo state of Sabah, had secured 115 parliamentary seats. 112 are needed to form a government. BN were on 79 seats with just a few left to count.

As it became clear that Mahathir had won, supporters took to the streets waving flags of the opposition alliance.

After polls closed earlier in the day, journalists had flocked to the headquarters of Najib's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the lynchpin in the ruling coalition -- but he failed to turn up to give a victory speech and the media were told to leave.

Huge numbers of voters earlier flocked to the polls across the country, despite Najib having called the election on a weekday in what critics said was a bid to keep turnout down.

The BN wipeout is a disaster for Najib, who had been under pressure to score an emphatic win after the government lost the popular vote for the first time at the last elections in 2013.

The controversy surrounding 1MDB has dogged Najib since the story exploded in 2015. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund, which was set up and overseen by Najib. The leader and 1MDB deny any wrongdoing.

But in rural areas, the rising cost of living, which has hit poor Malays hard, was the main concern at the election particularly after the introduction of an unpopular sales tax in 2015.

#UPDATE Malaysia's Mahathir wins shock election victory, toppling 61-yr-old regime https://t.co/vijr5oPJud pic.twitter.com/XTDogeLUl7

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 9, 2018

VIDEO: 92-year-old former leader Mahathir is challenging the current scandal-hit Malaysian PM Najib - and it’s turning out to be one of the country’s closest-ever elections https://t.co/7qnKdpyjAP pic.twitter.com/X5NN4QFD9N

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 9, 2018

Xi urges Trump to consider N. Korea's 'reasonable security concerns': state media

Yahoo – AFP, May 8, 2018

China's President Xi Jinping (L) told US President Donald Trump that he supports
 the planned meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, according to
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV (AFP Photo/FABRICE COFFRINI, MANDEL NGAN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US counterpart Donald Trump to take Pyongyang's "reasonable security concerns" into consideration, in a phone call Tuesday hours after Xi met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Xi told Trump that he supports the planned meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The Chinese president "hopes the US and North Korea can work together, build mutual trust" and "consider North Korea's reasonable security concerns," the report said.

The North has long demanded the withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula and an end to its nuclear umbrella over South Korea.

Trump said last week that he was not envisaging a drawdown of troops in South Korea for now, but he admitted it was a possibility in the longer term.

The US said the two leaders agreed to keep economic pressure on North Korea. Beijing -- Pyongyang's sole major diplomatic and economic ally -- has backed UN sanctions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

"President Trump and President Xi agreed on the importance of continued implementation of sanctions on North Korea until it permanently dismantles its nuclear and missile programmes," the White House said in a statement.

Xi and Kim met on Monday and Tuesday in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, the North Korean leader's second trip to China in six weeks as the two countries seek to bolster frayed ties.

The meeting came as Kim is expected to meet with Trump in June, possibly in Singapore.

"China is willing to continue playing a positive role for the realisation of denuclearisation of the Peninsula and long term peace and security of the region," Xi told Trump.

Xi and Trump also discussed trade frictions.

"The economy and trade has always been the ballast and propellor of the China-US relationship," Xi said.

US and Chinese official held talks in Beijing last week, but no breakthroughs were announced.

Xi described the discussions as "frank, efficient and constructive".

"Both sides can maintain communication and strive to find a way to appropriately resolve the existing issues and obtain mutually beneficial win-win results," he was quoted as saying.

US scolds China over 'Orwellian' airline demands

Yahoo – AFP, May 5, 2018

As of May 5, the website of American Airlines listed Taiwan, Hong Kong and
Macau as entities separate from China (AFP Photo/Daniel SLIM)

Washington (AFP) - The United States on Saturday scolded China for attempting to impose "political correctness" on American carriers by asking them to classify Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as Chinese territories.

A sternly worded White House statement excoriated Beijing for the demands, which it termed "Orwellian nonsense."

"President Donald J. Trump ran against political correctness in the United States," it said. "He will stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens."

The statement added that the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration sent a notice to 36 foreign air carriers, including a number of American carriers, on April 25, asking them to comply with Beijing's standards.

As of Saturday, the website of American Airlines listed Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as entities separate from China. Rivals United Airlines and Delta listed Taiwan separately but not Hong Kong or Macau.

Taiwan has been self-ruled since splitting from the mainland after a 1949 civil war, maintaining its own government, military and independent foreign policy.

But Beijing has refused to recognize the island, viewing it as part of its territory awaiting reunification with the mainland -- by force, if necessary.

The US has maintained a delicate diplomatic balance since 1979, recognizing Beijing's sovereignty as part of its "One China" policy, while remaining Taiwan's most powerful unofficial ally and main supplier of arms.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong, a British colony until 1997, and Macau, a Portuguese colony until 1999, are now "special administrative regions" of China.

The move came after the US and China held high-stakes trade talks in Beijing aimed at forestalling a looming conflict between the world's two largest economies.

In January, Australia's Qantas Airways changed its website classification of Taiwan and Hong Kong from separate countries to Chinese territories, blaming its earlier approach on an "oversight."

Myanmar judge says policeman's 'entrapment' testimony stands

Yahoo – AFP, May 2, 2018

Detained Myanmar journalist Kyaw Soe Oo (C) is escorted by police to court
(AFP Photo/Myo Kyaw SOE)

Yangon (AFP) - A Myanmar court ruled Wednesday that crucial testimony from a whistleblowing policeman in the case against two Reuters journalists is credible, a decision seen as a "ray of light" by the defence.

Reporters Wa Lone, 32 and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, have been in custody since December.

They are accused of violating the country's Official Secrets Act for possessing material linked to security operations in conflict-hit Rakhine state.

The charge carries up to 14 years in prison.

Over months of pre-trial hearings, their defence team has insisted they were set up -- lured to dinner by a police source who handed them documents for which they were subsequently arrested.

Court testimony last month by Deputy Police Major Moe Yan Naing backed up that version of events, even though he had been called as a prosecution witness.

He said a superior ordered his men to set up the sting which resulted in sensitive documents being passed to the reporters.

In response prosecutors asked the court to declare Moe Yan Naing a hostile witness.

But the court found no problems with the police officer's account.

"The court rejects the proposal claiming the law officer to be a hostile witness," Judge Ye Lwin told the hearing Wednesday.

A lawyer for the journalists welcomed the decision.

"I am elated. The court has proved itself as a court of justice," Khin Maung Zaw said. "We have seen a ray of light. It strengthens our case."

The two journalists were also buoyed by the court ruling.

"We are happy about today’s decision. This shows that the truth will come out and proves that we have been treated unfairly," Wa Lone told reporters before they were taken back to prison.

On April 30 the police officer was jailed for breaching a police disciplinary act, a charge he had faced since December for previous communications with Wa Lone.

Police sources said he was sentenced before he gave his shock testimony to court -- an extremely rare instance of a security official openly challenging superiors in the formerly junta-run country.

In addition, the family of Moe Yan Naing was evicted from their police housing a day after he gave evidence. Police denied the two events were connected.

At the time of their arrest, the reporters were investigating the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din in the north of Rakhine state.

The military has denied allegations of widespread atrocities against the Muslim minority.

But it did concede that security officers took part in the killings at Inn Din which were later reported by Reuters.

Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since the army-led campaign was launched last August, ostensibly to combat Rohingya insurgents.

The stateless group has faced decades of systematic discrimination and persecution in mainly Buddhist Myanmar.

North, South Korea seek peace, denuclearisation in historic summit

Yahoo  - AFP, Sunghee Hwang,  April 27, 2018

The leaders of the two Koreas were in a jubilant mood after the successful
summit (AFP Photo/Korea Summit Press Pool)

The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on Friday to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearisation of their divided peninsula at a historic summit laden with symbolism.

The North's leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in embraced after signing what they called the Panmunjom Declaration, following a day that began with an emotional handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that splits their countries.

The pair issued a statement confirming their "common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula".

They agreed they would seek a permanent end to the Korean War this year, 65 years after hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Moon would visit Pyongyang in "the fall", the two leaders said, pledging to hold "regular meetings and direct telephone conversations".

But Kim did not mention denuclearisation and analysts warned that while the summit was a good first step, similar promises had been made before and much remained to be done to resolve the issue of the North's atomic arsenal.

The leaders of the two Koreas were in a jubilant mood after the 

successful summit (AFP Photo/Laurence CHU)

In coming weeks, Kim is due to hold a much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump -- who has demanded Pyongyang give up its weapons -- that will be crucial in shaping progress.

Trump hailed the Korea summit as historic, but warned "only time will tell".

He told reporters he would not be "played" by the North's leader at their upcoming meeting, with "two countries" now in the running to host the summit.

Trump also implicitly claimed credit for the Korean meeting, tweeting: "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!"

But he also offered a nod to his "good friend", Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had provided "great help".

'Filled with emotion'

The Panmunjom Declaration capped an extraordinary day, unthinkable only months ago as the nuclear-armed North carried out a series of missile launches and its sixth atomic blast.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in held 

a warm embrace near the end of their historic summit (AFP Photo/Korea Summit 

Press Pool)

Kim and Trump had traded personal insults and threats of war, sending tensions soaring before Moon seized on the Winter Olympics to broker dialogue, beginning a dizzying whirl of diplomacy that led to Friday's meeting in the Demilitarized Zone.

Kim said he was "filled with emotion" after stepping over the concrete blocks that mark the border, making him the first Northern leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ceasefire in 1953.

At his impromptu invitation, the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before beginning the summit, only the third of its kind.

During another symbolic gesture, the two men took part in the ceremonial planting of a pine tree.

It was a far cry from the last tree-related operation Moon was on duty for in the DMZ -- a monumental show of force after North Korean soldiers killed two US officers trying to prune a poplar in 1976, when he was a special forces soldier.

'Heart-wrenching division'

The truce village of Panmunjom was the "symbol of heart-wrenching division", Kim said, but if it became "a symbol of peace, the North and South that have one blood, one language, one history and one culture, will return to becoming one".

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walks with President Moon Jae-in after 

crossing into South Korea for an official summit at Peace House (AFP Photo/

Korea Summit Press Pool)

He pledged the two Koreas would ensure they did not "repeat the unfortunate history in which past inter-Korea agreements... fizzled out after beginning".

In the declaration, the two sides said they would seek meetings this year with the US and possibly China -- both parties to the 1953 ceasefire -- "with a view to declaring an end to the war, turning the armistice into a peace treaty, and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime".

But agreeing a treaty to formally close the conflict will be complicated -- both Seoul and Pyongyang claim sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula.

The two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught.

'First step'

Moon welcomed the North's announcement of a moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range missile launches as "very significant", calling it "an important step towards complete denuclearisation".

But how much progress was made on the nuclear issue remained unclear.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (2nd R) said the North's moratorium on
nuclear and long-range missile tests is "very significant" (AFP Photo/Korea
Summit Press Pool)

Pyongyang has always insisted it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against a US invasion, and is demanding still unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal, while Washington is pressing it to give up its weapons in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way.

Affirming a commitment to denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was "not new", said MIT political science professor Vipin Narang, "historic summit notwithstanding".

But he added: "Reaffirming it is better than not reaffirming it."

Paul Haenle of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing said it was "really just the first step in broader diplomatic efforts".

"Similar to a game of chess, this move opens up a series of possible developments but in many ways, the hard work really begins now."

After an early dispatch saying Kim was heading for the summit, the North's state media offered no further coverage of events, even as the leaders' handshake was beamed around the world.

But at a farewell ceremony, the two men watched images of their landmark encounter beamed onto the summit venue in a sound-and-light show, standing hand-in-hand for several minutes.

VIDEO: The inter-Korean summit has thrown up many memorable images, including those that highlight a certain chemistry between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in pic.twitter.com/xMyGjNjuut

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 27, 2018

Rouhani slams officials' 'vow of silence' in face of protests

Yahoo – AFP, April 21, 2018

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a parade on the occasion of the
country's annual army day on April 18, 2018 in Tehran (AFP Photo/ATTA KENARE)

Tehran (AFP) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that officials were failing to respond effectively to mounting popular protests, in part because they are being threatened by unnamed behind-the-scenes forces.

Recent weeks have seen social media filled with videos and reports of protests, but since they are barely covered by domestic media and access is restricted for foreign journalists, they have been hard to verify.

They include protests by farmers over water shortages in Isfahan; by ethnic Arabs over the treatment of minorities in the southern province of Khuzestan; and over administrative reforms in the southwestern city of Kazeroon.

The videos appear to show these localised protests taking on broader slogans against the Islamic establishment, such as: "Our enemy is right here and falsely they say America is our enemy".

But in a wide-ranging speech carried on state television, Rouhani said officials were failing to respond and appeared to have taken "a vow of silence".

"As people haven't got enough information... as people don't see plans for the future, as people see the current problems, they may get upset and angry, come to the streets and cry out," he told senior officials in Tehran.

"(But) we speak little to the people. Our government managers have taken a vow of silence. I don't know who told them to. I don't know what they are scared of."

Rouhani said a major problem was that officials were being intimidated by unnamed "supervisory bodies".

He did not name them, but Rouhani has previously clashed with the powerful Revolutionary Guards and the conservative-dominated judiciary over their outsized role in politics and the economy.

"When in the morning (an official) is going to work, somebody sends him a text message, another calls him, another threatens him... the country cannot be run like this," he said.

In the past month, Tehran's reformist mayor Mohammad-Ali Najafi and the deputy head of the environment agency Kaveh Madani both quit their posts following pressure from hardliners, though Najafi claimed he left for health reasons.

"Don't pay attention to some letters, some threats. If you are scared to respond, send them to me," Rouhani said.

'Illegal to be who I am' - Daley urges change in same-sex laws

Yahoo – AFP, Robert SMITH, April 13, 2018

Britain's Tom Daley has voiced his concerns about the treatment of homosexuals
 in large parts of the Commonwealth, whose athletes are gathered on Australia's
Gold Coast for the ongoing Games (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)

Gold Coast (Australia) (AFP) - English world champion diver Tom Daley on Friday urged Commonwealth nations who outlaw homosexuality to relax their anti-gay stance.

Openly gay Daley, who is expecting a child with his partner through a surrogate, grasped the opportunity of his gold medal triumph in the 10m synchro event to push for change.

Daley, who won gold with team-mate Daniel Goodfellow, said sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex are criminalised in 37 Commonwealth countries.

Daley voiced his concerns about the treatment of homosexuals in large parts of the Commonwealth, whose athletes are gathered on Australia's Gold Coast for the ongoing Games.

"Hopefully, I know this might sound a bit political, but by the next Commonwealth Games (in Birmingham 2022), there are 37 countries in the Commonwealth where it's currently illegal to be who I am, so hopefully we can reduce that number between now and then," Daley told reporters.

"Coming to the Gold Coast and being able to live as an openly gay man is really important and to be able to feel comfortable in who you are when you are standing on that diving board.

"For 37 countries that are here participating that's very much not the case."

Daley said it was time for those Commonwealth countries to change their anti-gay laws.

"You just have to face those things and try and make change," he said.

"There are lots of things that are going to take a long time to change, but I feel with the Commonwealth I think we can really help push some of the other nations to relax their laws on anti-gay sex."

Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg said his organisation was proud of its record on inclusivity.

"At the time of Glasgow 2014, 43 Commonwealth countries criminalised same sex activity, but today, that number has been reduced to 37," Grevemberg said Friday.

"We hope that the Commonwealth sports movement is playing a meaningful role in the wider global conversation around tolerance, empowerment and legal recognition for all."

Daley's comments were backed by New Zealand boxer Alexis Pritchard, who wore rainbow socks in support of gay rights in her 57kg semi-final on Friday.

"I think it's particularly sad that people cannot love who they want to love," she told AFP.

"It's important that each and every individual has rights to receive love and give love to the people that they choose.

"I find it absolutely sad that we are not open to that in so many nations."

The penalties for private, consensual sexual conduct between same-sex adults remain harsh in a number of Commonwealth countries, including imprisonment, hard labour and in some cases flogging.

The Commonwealth countries that outlaw homosexuality include Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tonga.

N. Korea ready to discuss denuclearization with US: report

Yahoo – AFP, April 9, 2018

Kim Jong Un is ready to discuss denuclearization with US officials,
according to reports (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Washington (AFP) - North Korean officials have told their US counterparts that Kim Jong Un is ready to discuss denuclearization, an assurance that could pave the way for a planned meeting with President Donald Trump, reports said.

It is the first time Pyongyang has made the offer of a summit directly to Washington, after its invitation was previously conveyed through a South Korean envoy.

"The US has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," a Trump administration official told The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post on Sunday.

Washington stunned observers when it announced last month it had agreed to a historic first meeting between Trump and Kim, to be held by the end of May.

The North's offer to meet was delivered to the White House by South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who had met Kim during a visit to Pyongyang days earlier.

But Pyongyang has failed to publicly confirm the offer since, beyond a commentary from its state-run KCNA news agency noting the "dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation" with the South and "a sign of change" with the US.

This silence had made US officials nervous that Seoul had overstated the North's willingness to negotiate over its own nuclear arsenal, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US gambit

Many remain skeptical about whether the planned summit can succeed.

It is scheduled to take place without the months of groundwork that usually precedes such meetings.

CNN reported Saturday that secret, direct talks paving the way for the summit were under way between North Korean and US intelligence officials, citing anonymous White House sources.

"The US has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss the denuclearization 

of the Korean Peninsula," a Trump administration official told The Wall Street 

Journal and Washington Post (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

But no specifics have yet emerged concerning the date or venue of the proposed summit, with a third country such as Mongolia or Sweden under consideration to host the talks, according to multiple reports.

Beyond that, a detailed agenda for the talks will need to be set.

Washington's long-held stance is that it will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. That means it wants to see "complete, verifiable, and irreversible" denuclearisation -- a very high bar.

The North has previously demanded the withdrawal of US troops based in the South and the end of the security alliance between Seoul and Washington -- an extraordinary concession that it is hard to imagine any previous US president acceding to.

Diplomatic flurry

South Korea on Monday welcomed the reported offer by the North to discuss denuclearization.

"We are not a directly concerned party since it is something that is taking place between the US and North Korea, but if the reports are true, we view it positively and welcome it," said Nam Sang-kyu, a spokesman at the South's presidential office.

The South will host its own summit later this month between Kim and the South's president Moon Jae-in.

Last week, the two Koreas held a working-level meeting aimed at ironing out protocol headaches and other logistics ahead of the rare inter-Korean summit, due to take place on April 27.

A different group of officials from the two sides met Saturday to discuss setting up a direct hotline between the offices of the leaders of North and South Korea.

Details of the talks were not released but officials from both sides agreed to further meetings on the topic later this week, a spokesman for the South's unification ministry said Monday.

The rapprochement on the peninsula was triggered by the South's Winter Olympics, to which the North sent athletes, cheerleaders and Kim's sister as an envoy.

Kim has since pencilled in the summit meetings with the South and the US, and made his international debut with a visit to Beijing -- his first overseas trip since taking power in 2011.

S. Korea's Park jailed for 24 years for corruption

Yahoo – AFP, Jung Hawon, April 6, 2018

Judge Kim Se-yoon reads the verdict in the trial of disgraced former President
Park (AFP Photo/Seoul District Court)

Seoul (AFP) - South Korea's disgraced former president Park Geun-hye was jailed for 24 years Friday for corruption, completing a dramatic fall from grace for the country's first woman leader who became a figure of public fury and ridicule.

A trial which lasted more than 10 months and highlighted shady links between big business and politics in South Korea ended with Park being found guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power.

Park's successor described the sentencing as a "heartbreaking event" for both the nation and the ex-leader herself.

"The accused abused the power bestowed by the people -- the true ruler of this country -- to cause chaos in national administration," said Judge Kim Se-yoon, delivering the ruling.

Park, 66, was convicted of receiving or demanding more than $20 million from conglomerates, sharing secret state documents, "blacklisting" artists critical of her policies, and firing officials who resisted her abuses of power.

"Despite all these crimes, the accused denied all the charges against her, displayed no remorse and showed an incomprehensible attitude by blaming Choi and other... officials," Kim said, referring to Park's secret confidante and long-time friend Choi Soon-sil.

Park was also ordered to pay a fine of 18 billion won ($17 million).

Updated timeline on the South Korean presidency of Park Geun-hye who was 

removed from power in March 2017 and indicted for bribery and other 

corruption-related charges. (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

When the wide-ranging corruption scandal broke last year it prompted massive street protests against Park across the country.

On Friday, the verdict was greeted with public displays of outrage and grief by several hundred Park supporters who had gathered outside the courthouse.

Many protesters sat or lay in the road crying, while others formed a protest rally calling for her release.

"The rule of law in this country is dead today," said Han Geun-hyung, a 27-year-old Park supporter.

Park herself was not in court for Friday's judgement which, in a rare move, was broadcast live on television. She had boycotted most sessions of the trial in protest at being held in custody.

Instead she was informed of her fate at a Seoul detention centre, where she sat in a reception hall with her lawyer awaiting the outcome, Yonhap news agency reported.

She now has seven days in which to file an appeal.

Park becomes the third former South Korean leader to be convicted on criminal charges after leaving office, joining Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were both found guilty of treason and corruption in the 1990s.

Supporters of Park stand next to a picture demanding her release outside

the Seoul Central District Court (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-je)

Judge Kim said he had passed a tough sentence to "prevent such an unfortunate event from happening again".

The presidential Blue House said in a statement after the verdict: "Each person must have different feelings about former President Park Geun-hye. But a bleak wind blew through the hearts of all of us today.

"It is a heartbreaking event for the nation as well as for the person's life. A history that is not remembered is bound to be repeated. We will not forget today."

A Korean 'Rasputin'?

Park, the daughter of dictator Park Chung-hee, lost both her parents to assassins. She took office in 2013 as a conservative icon who cast herself in the role of daughter of the nation -- incorruptible and beholden to none.

Less than four years later, she was impeached, stripped of all her powers and ousted from office on the back of months-long mass protests that brought millions on to the streets of Seoul and other cities.

Much of the public anger was focused on Park's relationship with Choi and accusations that she let her friend -- who held no formal position or security clearance -- meddle in state affairs, including high-level appointments and editing official speeches.

Choi is the daughter of a shadowy religious figure who had served as a mentor to Park for decades until his death in 1994. She was tried separately and sentenced in February to 20 years in prison.

The daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-hee, Park took office in 2013

 as a popular conservative icon who cast herself in the role of Daughter of the 

Nation -- incorruptible and beholden to none (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-je)

Condemned in the media for her "Rasputin-like" influence over Park, Choi was convicted of using her presidential ties to squeeze tens of millions of dollars out of major South Korean businesses, including Samsung -- the world's top smartphone maker -- and retail giant Lotte.

'No remorse'

Former leaders Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after each spent around two years in jail -- a privilege that may elude Park for many years, said Jeong Han-wool, an analyst at think tank Hankook Research.

"Given her attitude and public anger over her scandal that remains raw, it will be difficult to create a political environment in favour of her release any time soon," Jeong told AFP.

Park's left-leaning successor Moon Jae-in came to power largely because of the public backlash against Park and her conservative party, dimming hopes for a pardon under the current administration, he added.

Chun Sang-chin, sociology professor at Seoul's Sogang University, said the verdict could also spell bad news for Park's immediate predecessor Lee Myung-bak, who is in custody as prosecutors investigate multiple corruption charges involving him and his relatives.

"This is a good news for people who took to the street with candles but a nightmare for Lee Myung-bak," Chun told AFP.

Park's core supporters have always seen her as a heroically tragic figure who devoted her life to the service of her country despite childhood tragedy.

But for the vast majority of Koreans, she has now been permanently disowned, and will go down in history not as the country's first woman president but the first democratically elected leader to be forced from office.

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was formally indicted for corruption https://t.co/2x6zVUjmS8 pic.twitter.com/QTafoGzt5t

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 9, 2018