March 12, 2018, 3:10 PM
Poll: Conor Lamb leads in Pennsylvania district
The Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, Conor Lamb, is leading 51 percent to 45 percent against his Republican opponent Rick Saccone in a Monmouth University poll released Monday.
Voters in the district's special election will cast their ballot Tuesday to fill the open House seat to Rep. Tim Murphy's replacement after his resignation in October.
Monmouth's findings in Lamb's favor are based in a voter turnout model that mimics the Democratic surge seen in other special elections over the past year. It also found that a historical midterm election model as well as a model forecasting higher voter turnout yielded the same result, putting Lamb in the lead, although by smaller margins.
Just one month ago, all three models of the Monmouth poll gave Saccone the advantage against his Democratic opponent.
Overall, likely voters polled in Pennsylvania 18 have a 53 percent positive, 33 percent unfavorable view of Lamb and a more divided take on Saccone (47 percent percent favorable to 43 percent unfavorable).
Both candidates poll extremely well with voters who identify with their respective parties. Independents tend to favor Lamb by a 51 percent to 45 percent margin.
While President Trump's recently imposed tariffs -- 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum -- have prompted a negative reaction from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, very few voters polled said the decision would affect their vote. According to the poll, voters in the Pennsylvania district are divided on whether the steel and aluminum tariffs will boost or bust the local economy.
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from March 8 to 11, 2018 with 503 registered voters in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. Results in this release are based on the responses of 372 likely voters for Tuesday's special election and have a margin of error of +/- 5.1 percent. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Australian gun laws stopped 16 mass shootings, new calculations show - NBC News
Australian gun laws stopped 16 mass shootings, new calculations show
Strict guns laws passed after a 1996 massacre prevented more attacks, according to computer analysis
by Maggie Fox / Mar.13.2018 / 10:12 PM ET
An ATF agent poses with homemade rifles, or "ghost guns," at an ATF field office in Glendale, California.Jae C. Hong / AP file
An Australian program to buy back firearms and tighten rules on gun ownership has prevented an estimated 16 mass shootings over two decades, researchers said Monday.
The buyback law was enacted in 1996 after a mass shooting in which 35 people were shot and killed and 23 injured at a cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
The attack disgusted Australians, who supported the new laws and turned in more than 1 million illicit firearms, the researchers, who include pro-gun control activists, said.
“Provisions included uniform gun registration, repudiation of self-defense as a legitimate reason to hold a firearm license, locked storage, a ban on private gun sales and civilian ownership of semiautomatic rifles and pump-action shotguns, and standardized penalties,” they wrote in their report, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Two buyback programs and 26 uncompensated amnesties between 1996 and 2015 resulted in the surrender of 1,038,089 illicit firearms, according to the report.
The Australian law has been invoked with increasing frequency in the U.S. by gun control advocates, who cite it to counter arguments that gun control cannot and does not work.
How has Australia had no mass shootings in 20 years?
U.S. politicians seem little inclined to call for such programs and analysts say the U.S. public is unlikely to respond as enthusiastically as Australians did.
Simon Chapman of the University of Sydney and colleagues have watched to see what happened in Australia since then.
In the 18 years before and including the Port Arthur massacre, the new analysis showed that 13 mass shootings happened between 1979 and 2013. "None has occurred in the 22 years since," they wrote.
“Many believe that these data indicate that gun law reforms effectively stopped firearm massacres," the researchers wrote. "However, others contend that this interpretation is unwise because of the rarity of these events compared with more common incidents in which fewer than five persons died."
Would mandatory gun buybacks play in the U.S.?
Chapman, a former member of the Australian Coalition for Gun Control, and his team ran computer models to see what might have been expected in the absence of the law.
Before 1996, there were approximately three mass shootings in Australia every four years. “Had they continued at this rate, approximately 16 incidents would have been expected since then by February 2018,” they wrote.
Guns kill 1,300 U.S. kids a year
Australia has a smaller population than the U.S. and had stricter gun laws even before the 1996 measure was enacted. Gun death rates in the U.S. were 11.2 per 100,000 people in 2015. That compares to a rate of 1.2 per 100,000 people in Australia.
The statistics show that the U.S. has an exceptionally high share of gun violence. More than 90 percent of all children aged up to 14 who are killed by guns in high-income countries are killed in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has found that at least 1,300 U.S. children under the age of 17 die from gunshot wounds every year and nearly 5,800 are injured, and says that’s likely an underestimate.
Firearm-related deaths are the third leading cause of death overall among U.S. children aged 1 to 17 years, the CDC has found. That’s more than the number of deaths from pediatric congenital anomalies, heart disease, influenza and/or pneumonia, chronic lower respiratory disease, and cerebrovascular causes.
Medical groups and researchers say gun deaths are a public health issue and call for more studies to be done to help settle arguments over what factors lead to the extraordinarily high rate of gun violence in the U.S.
"Gun violence in the United States has become a profound public health crisis,' the National Association of County and City Health Officials has said. "It is an on ongoing, deadly epidemic and we must work to reduce its toll."
Guns are a major U.S. killer
But Congress has declined to remove funding language that forbids the CDC to use such data to advocate for gun control. And the CDC has interpreted this to mean it should play down gun research.
So privately funded researchers have been publicizing their own findings about gun violence.
They’ve found police officers are most likely to be killed in states where the most people own guns; that mass killings inspire copycats; and that states with the strictest gun laws have the fewest gun deaths.
Johns Hopkins University has established a Center for Gun Policy and Research where researchers have found, for example, that requiring universal background checks and permits to purchase handguns can reduce homicides, suicides, shootings of police officers and can help stop criminals from getting firearms.
Austin package explosion: 3rd Austin package linked to 2 deadly incidents, police say - CBS News
March 12, 2018, 6:53 PM
Austin package explosion: 3rd Austin package linked to 2 deadly incidents, police say
AUSTIN, Texas -- Police in Austin say "similarities" between three package explosions in Texas' capital city this month, two fatal, lead them to believe the incidents are related. The latest fatal incident, reported Monday morning, killed a 17-year-old boy and wounded a woman, Austin police chief Brian Manley said.
The boy died at the scene and the woman in her 40s was taken to the hospital with potentially life threatening injuries after the explosion at the East Austin home before 7 a.m. In an earlier incident March 2, Anthony Stephan House, 39, was killed when a package exploded at his northeast Austin home, CBS affiliate KEYE-TV reports.
Police also responded around 11:50 a.m. Monday to the report of an explosion in southeast Austin in which a woman was badly injured. Police received multiple calls about an explosion, Manley said at a press conference Monday afternoon. The victim in the incident came outside of her home to retrieve a package left on her front step, which exploded.
She is a 75-year-old woman and is listed in critical but stable condition, Manley said. Her injuries are considered life threatening.
"This is the third in what we believe to be related incidents," Manley said.
Manley said a task force had been formed to investigate the incidents. He urged residents to be careful and not to open suspicious packages. If residents encounter any packages left at their homes they aren't expecting, he urged them to call 911.
"It's not time to panic, but it's time to be vigilant and it's time to pay attention, it's time to come together as a city and solve this," Manley said.
austin2.png
The scene of a deadly package explosion in Austin, Texas, on Mon., March 12, 2018. KEYE-TV
In the two previous fatal incidents, the packages were also left at the doorstep of the home apparently in the overnight hours and opened by the resident in the early morning hours, Manley said. All three of the packages were apparently left at the doorstep and were not delivered through the postal service or another carrier service, according to Manley.
The three explosions occurred in different parts of Austin. Monday's first explosion happened at a home near the city's Windsor Park neighborhood and about 12 miles from the home where the March 2 package bomb killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House. His death was initially investigated as suspicious but is now viewed as a homicide.
Monday's second explosion happened in the Montopolis neighborhood, near the airport and about 5 miles south of the day's first blast.
View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
Chief Brian Manley
@chief_manley
My heart goes out to the family of the individual who died & was injured from the explosion on Old Fort Hill Dr. This type of crime will not be tolerated in #ATX. If you receive a package that you are not expecting or looks suspicious, DO NOT open it, call 911 immediately.
4:26 AM - Mar 13, 2018
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Speaking before the third incident, Manley said investigators aren't sure of a motive, but can't rule out the possibility of hate crimes because the residents of both homes were African-American. He now says they aren't ruling anything out, but they are no longer "making the connection to a hate crime."
The victim in the latest incident is Hispanic, Manley said.
Bomb-sniffing dogs were reportedly at the scene of the explosion Monday morning and nearby homes were evacuated. Police initially were concerned about a second package at the home, but have since cleared it and believe it to be unrelated, Manley said.
The explosions happened with hundreds of thousands of visitors in the city for the South by Southwest music, film and technology festival. The explosions happened far from the festival's main events, but organizers are urging those visiting Austin, "if you see something, say something." Police said festivalgoers weren't at risk but should be aware of what's happening.
In a tweet Monday, organizers said, "SXSW is heartbroken by the explosions in Austin" and asked the thousands of festival attendees to notify the authorities of anything suspicious.
@sxsw
SXSW is heartbroken by the explosions in Austin earlier this month and today. Our thoughts are with the victims and those affected. @Austin_Police are conducting ongoing investigations related to these incidents. Please stay safe, and if you see something, say something. https://twitter.com/chief_manley/status/973250049693151232 …
7:21 AM - Mar 13, 2018
Four years ago, a driver plowed through a barricade and into festival-goers, killing four people and injuring many others. Additional security measures were taken in the aftermath, including additional policing, tougher security checks and brighter street lighting, among others.
The FBI is helping Austin police in the package bomb investigation. The ATF was also responding to assist. Authorities are searching nearby homes for any external video cameras that may be able to offer clues.
Fifteen-year-old Isaiah Guerrero, who lives on the street behind where the most recent blast occurred, says the explosion shook him and his house. He says, "You don't hear that stuff in my neighborhood."
The Texas governor's office is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of those involved in the deadly package blasts. In a statement, Gov. Greg Abbott said he's been briefed by the Texas Department of Public Safety on the situation. He also says he's offered the Austin Police Department whatever assistance it needs in its investigation.
To be eligible for the reward, tips must be submitted to Texas Crime Stoppers by telephone to 1-800-252-TIPS (8477), by texting "DPS" and the tip to 274637 (CRIMES), by using the Texas Crime Stoppers website, or by using the DPS mobile app.
Abbott says he wants to assure Texans, especially those in the Austin area, "that local, state and federal law enforcement officials are working diligently to find those responsible for these heinous crimes."
Spy poisoning: How could the UK retaliate against Russia? - BBC News
13/3/2018
Spy poisoning: How could the UK retaliate against Russia?
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is braced to take "extensive measures" against Russia should it not offer a credible explanation of how an ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned on British soil with a military-grade nerve agent.
"Should there be no credible response," Mrs May told parliament, "we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom".
But what are the options available for the UK - both on its own, and with the help of allies? And how likely are the US, EU and others to be on board?
What could the UK do?
Britain could expel Russian diplomats, as it did after the poisoning of former Russian Federal Security Service operative Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 with radioactive polonium.
But many argue that this, and the other measures that were taken after that killing - including visa restrictions on Russian officials - did not go far enough. The man identified as the main suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, is not just at large, he is now a Russian MP.
It could also:
Expel senior diplomats, perhaps even the Russian ambassador, and known Russian intelligence agents
Take some sort of action to bar wealthy Russian oligarchs from accessing their mansions and other luxuries in London, as suggested by Tory MP and House of Commons foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat. One way this could happen is through the use of Unexplained Wealth Orders, which allow government officials to seize assets including property until they have been properly accounted for
A boycott of the Fifa World Cup in Russia later this year by officials and dignitaries - a symbolic move that UK allies are unlikely to emulate
Taking Russian broadcasters such as RT (formerly Russia Today) off the air - broadcasting regulator Ofcom has said it will "consider the implications for RT's broadcast licences" after Mrs May speaks on Wednesday
Pass a British version of the 2012 US Magnitsky act, which punishes Russians involved in corruption and human rights violations with asset freezes and travel bans. It is named after a Russian lawyer who died in custody after revealing alleged fraud by state officials. MPs have been pushing for a Magnitsky amendment to be added to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill now going through Parliament
Could the EU impose new sanctions?
Current sanctions on Russia that Britain supports are imposed via the European Union. They were first passed after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and backed rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine.
The measures target Russia's state finances, energy and arms sectors and include:
The exclusion of state banks from raising long-term loans in the EU
A ban on exports of dual-use equipment that could be put to military use and a ban on EU-Russia arms deals
A ban on exports of a wide range of oil industry technology
Western asset freezes and travel bans on 150 people, including senior officials, and 38 companies
Media captionPresident Vladimir Putin is asked whether Russia had a hand in the Skripal poisoning
EU countries are already divided on the sanctions, with diverging views among members as to how Russia should be treated. States like Hungary, Italy and Greece have all supported the weakening of sanctions.
Some doubt whether Britain could convince the bloc to further toughen its measures against Moscow, especially with the UK on its way out of the Union.
Could Nato act?
By framing the poisoning as a possible "unlawful use of force" by Russia against the UK, Theresa May prompted questions as to whether this could be a matter for Nato, the military alliance of 29 countries.
The alliance's policy of collective defence - under Article 5 - states that an attack on any one ally is seen as an attack on all.
It was invoked for the first and only time by the United States after the 9/11 attacks.
Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser, told the BBC that such an "unlawful act" warranted the involvement of Nato.
Any action "will be much more effective if there can be a broader, Nato-EU solidarity behind us", he said.
Media captionTheresa May: Spy poisoned by "military-grade nerve agent"
But Downing Street has played down suggestions that this is an Article 5 matter.
For its part, Nato has called the attack "horrendous and completely unacceptable". Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the incident was of "great concern" to the alliance, which has moved in recent years to deter Russia by sending troops to Poland and the three Baltic states.
Lord Ricketts suggested one option involving Nato could be a reinforcement of resources on the group's eastern flank.
Sergei Skripal - the spy at centre of poison mystery
What are Novichok nerve agents?
What about the UK's allies?
The UK could also seek to bring the issue to the UN - and seek to gather international support for action against Russia.
Theresa May has already spoken to France's President Macron and the two leaders "agreed that it would be important to continue to act in concert with allies", according to Downing Street. Although Mrs May has not yet spoken to President Trump about the case there have been "conversations at a senior official level".
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Police guard the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where traces of the nerve agent were found
The UK has already internationalised the matter by asking Russia to provide a "full and complete disclosure" of the Novichok nerve agent programme to an international agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Indeed, the magnitude of the response that may be announced on Wednesday will depend on the scale of international co-operation that Mrs May can secure, says BBC Diplomatic correspondent James Landale.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders called the attack an "outrage" and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went further, saying the attack "clearly came from Russia". President Donald Trump himself has not spoken out.
Spy poisoning: How could the UK retaliate against Russia?
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is braced to take "extensive measures" against Russia should it not offer a credible explanation of how an ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned on British soil with a military-grade nerve agent.
"Should there be no credible response," Mrs May told parliament, "we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom".
But what are the options available for the UK - both on its own, and with the help of allies? And how likely are the US, EU and others to be on board?
What could the UK do?
Britain could expel Russian diplomats, as it did after the poisoning of former Russian Federal Security Service operative Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 with radioactive polonium.
But many argue that this, and the other measures that were taken after that killing - including visa restrictions on Russian officials - did not go far enough. The man identified as the main suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, is not just at large, he is now a Russian MP.
It could also:
Expel senior diplomats, perhaps even the Russian ambassador, and known Russian intelligence agents
Take some sort of action to bar wealthy Russian oligarchs from accessing their mansions and other luxuries in London, as suggested by Tory MP and House of Commons foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat. One way this could happen is through the use of Unexplained Wealth Orders, which allow government officials to seize assets including property until they have been properly accounted for
A boycott of the Fifa World Cup in Russia later this year by officials and dignitaries - a symbolic move that UK allies are unlikely to emulate
Taking Russian broadcasters such as RT (formerly Russia Today) off the air - broadcasting regulator Ofcom has said it will "consider the implications for RT's broadcast licences" after Mrs May speaks on Wednesday
Pass a British version of the 2012 US Magnitsky act, which punishes Russians involved in corruption and human rights violations with asset freezes and travel bans. It is named after a Russian lawyer who died in custody after revealing alleged fraud by state officials. MPs have been pushing for a Magnitsky amendment to be added to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill now going through Parliament
Could the EU impose new sanctions?
Current sanctions on Russia that Britain supports are imposed via the European Union. They were first passed after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and backed rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine.
The measures target Russia's state finances, energy and arms sectors and include:
The exclusion of state banks from raising long-term loans in the EU
A ban on exports of dual-use equipment that could be put to military use and a ban on EU-Russia arms deals
A ban on exports of a wide range of oil industry technology
Western asset freezes and travel bans on 150 people, including senior officials, and 38 companies
Media captionPresident Vladimir Putin is asked whether Russia had a hand in the Skripal poisoning
EU countries are already divided on the sanctions, with diverging views among members as to how Russia should be treated. States like Hungary, Italy and Greece have all supported the weakening of sanctions.
Some doubt whether Britain could convince the bloc to further toughen its measures against Moscow, especially with the UK on its way out of the Union.
Could Nato act?
By framing the poisoning as a possible "unlawful use of force" by Russia against the UK, Theresa May prompted questions as to whether this could be a matter for Nato, the military alliance of 29 countries.
The alliance's policy of collective defence - under Article 5 - states that an attack on any one ally is seen as an attack on all.
It was invoked for the first and only time by the United States after the 9/11 attacks.
Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser, told the BBC that such an "unlawful act" warranted the involvement of Nato.
Any action "will be much more effective if there can be a broader, Nato-EU solidarity behind us", he said.
Media captionTheresa May: Spy poisoned by "military-grade nerve agent"
But Downing Street has played down suggestions that this is an Article 5 matter.
For its part, Nato has called the attack "horrendous and completely unacceptable". Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the incident was of "great concern" to the alliance, which has moved in recent years to deter Russia by sending troops to Poland and the three Baltic states.
Lord Ricketts suggested one option involving Nato could be a reinforcement of resources on the group's eastern flank.
Sergei Skripal - the spy at centre of poison mystery
What are Novichok nerve agents?
What about the UK's allies?
The UK could also seek to bring the issue to the UN - and seek to gather international support for action against Russia.
Theresa May has already spoken to France's President Macron and the two leaders "agreed that it would be important to continue to act in concert with allies", according to Downing Street. Although Mrs May has not yet spoken to President Trump about the case there have been "conversations at a senior official level".
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Police guard the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury where traces of the nerve agent were found
The UK has already internationalised the matter by asking Russia to provide a "full and complete disclosure" of the Novichok nerve agent programme to an international agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Indeed, the magnitude of the response that may be announced on Wednesday will depend on the scale of international co-operation that Mrs May can secure, says BBC Diplomatic correspondent James Landale.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders called the attack an "outrage" and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went further, saying the attack "clearly came from Russia". President Donald Trump himself has not spoken out.
Where could Kim Jong Un meet Donald Trump? - Reuters
MARCH 13, 2018 / 12:52 PM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO
Factbox: Where could Kim Jong Un meet Donald Trump?
Reuters Staff
SEOUL (Reuters) - Since U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week he was willing to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, speculation has mounted over where might be chosen to host the first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries.
Kim has yet to publicly confirm his invitation to meet with Trump in a bid to defuse a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear program, and officials in Seoul and Washington say the exact location and timing of any summit remain to be determined.
But that hasn’t stopped officials, analysts, and other observers from debating the pros and cons of possible summit sites, ranging from North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang, to the Joint Security Area (JSA) between the two Koreas, to farther afield in other areas of Asia or Europe.
Here are a few of the top locations being discussed:
JOINT SECURITY AREA, PANMUNJOM
One of the most likely sites being discussed is the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom that straddles the Military Demarcation Line between North and South Korea.
It’s the only spot along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where North Korean troops stand face-to-face with South Korean and United Nations Command forces.
“Places like Switzerland, Sweden or Jeju Island have been gaining a lot of attention, but we also view the JSA as a serious option,” an official with South Korea’s presidential Blue House said on Sunday.
Some skeptics see the JSA as a symbol of the Korean War and continued tensions, rather than a place for a peace deal.
However, it would allow Kim and Trump to meet without traveling far from either of their respective security forces or to be seen kowtowing in an“enemy” capital.
Kim is scheduled to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the JSA in April for their first ever summit, and South Korean officials see it as a top contender for a Trump summit as well.
“If North Korea and the U.S., who are the directly involved parties of the truce agreement, hold the summit at Panmunjom, it would hold the significant meaning of turning a symbol of division into one of peace,” the Blue House official said.
JEJU ISLAND
Another spot in South Korea that has been raised as an option is scenic Jeju Island, off the southern coast, easily accessed by either boat or airplane from the Korean peninsula.
Kim Jong Un’s father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, was known to be afraid of flying, but the younger Kim has been shown in official photos getting off airplanes and even“flying” a North Korean designed aircraft.
“In Korea, I’m sticking with Jeju Island. Jeju has soul, born of tragedy, and beauty and nature,” said Yonsei University Professor John Delury, who led a discussion of possible summit locations on Twitter.
The island hosts an annual“peace and prosperity” forum in May designed to attract international leaders.
“As the ‘Island of Peace,’ Jeju is the ideal place to hold the North Korea-US summit,” Jeju’s governor said in a statement.
FILE PHOTO: Emissions from a power plant chimney rise over Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia January 13, 2017. REUTERS/B. Rentsendorj/File Photo
EUROPE
Several spots in Europe, including Switzerland and Sweden, have been raised as possible neutral locations for a summit.
Both countries have international reputations as mediators, and both played a role as members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission helping to regulate relations between the two Koreas after the 1953 armistice that paused - but did not officially end - the Korean War.
As a child, Kim and his siblings attended an elite private school in Switzerland in the 1990s, according to former classmates there. However, Kim’s time in the West is not an officially acknowledged part of his biography and analysts say he may want to avoid drawing attention to that period in socialist and impoverished North Korea.
The Swiss foreign ministry has said the country is ready to facilitate talks between North Korea and the United States, and is in contact with both sides.
“It is up to the parties involved to decide if, when and where the talks will be held,” the ministry said in a statement.
Sweden’s prime minister told reporters on Saturday that the country stands ready to help“in any way.”
Slideshow (6 Images)
Sweden has held unofficial talks in the past, and North Korea’s foreign minister is expected to visit soon, according to Swedish media.
ASIA
A summit in Asia would be closer to home for the notoriously reclusive Kim, and cities including Beijing, Singapore, Hanoi, or even Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia have been raised as possibilities.
Beijing is seen as one of Pyongyang’s biggest backers, and has hosted a series of multilateral negotiations over North Korea held intermittently since 2003 and attended by China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.
In recent years, however, relations between Pyongyang and Beijing have cooled, and analysts say Trump may not be keen on providing a major rival like China a chance to steal some of the limelight.
Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, has been the site of past sensitive negotiations with North Koreans, maintains friendly relations with both sides, and has little in the way of political baggage.
Related Video
Its lack of pizzazz, however, may not provide the backdrop Trump is seeking for his riskiest diplomatic gambit.
PYONGYANG OR WASHINGTON
As far as is publicly known, Kim has not left North Korea since he came to power in 2011, meaning any trip outside the country might be problematic.
Previous meetings between North Korean and American officials have taken place in Pyongyang, including a 2000 meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Kim’s father and predecessor Kim Jong Il. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have also traveled to Pyongyang.
However, Albright’s trip in particular was criticized for appearing as an endorsement of a brutal and oppressive regime. Any summit in North Korea - even outside Pyongyang - is seen as a long-shot as any Trump visit would risk similarly unfavorable criticisms of the American president.
Kim could face similar problems traveling to the United States, where no North Korean leader has visited, making many observers think a more neutral setting will need to be found.
(This story was refiled to remove extra word in second to last paragraph.)
Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast
Japan cautious while South Korea upbeat after North Korea talks in Tokyo - Reuters
MARCH 13, 2018 / 9:51 PM / UPDATED 9 MINUTES AGO
Japan cautious while South Korea upbeat after North Korea talks in Tokyo
Tim Kelly
TOKYO (Reuters) - Differences between Japan and South Korea on how to handle North Korea emerged on Tuesday with South Korea upbeat on prospects but a more cautious Japan demanding that North Korea account for Japanese people it says North Korea abducted decades ago.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon (L) meets Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Signs of easing tension with North Korea began during the Winter Olympics last month, when the North sent a high-level delegation to the South for the Games, after more than a year of rising alarm over the North’s nuclear weapon and missile tests.
Japan has been more guarded about the prospect of talks between the two Koreas, and between North Korea and the United States. Japan has warned that“talks for the sake of talks” would be unacceptable.
South Korean officials have been briefing neighbors and allies, including Japan, on a South Korean delegation’s visit to North Korea last week, which included talks with leader Kim Jong Un and agreements on summits with both South Korea and the United States.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday met South Korean National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon. Suh, a member of the South Korean team that visited North Korea, held talks on Monday with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono.
Abe told Suh that Japan wanted any denuclearization talks with North Korea to also address a dispute over the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. He also said North Korea had to show its willingness to disarm.
“A resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues is Japan’s core policy,” Abe said.
“North Korea must match its words with actions.”
Abe has made the abductions a keystone of his political career and has said he would not rest until all 13 of the people North Korea admitted to kidnapping have returned and divulges information about the others Japan suspects were taken to train North Korean spies.
North Korea allowed five people it abducted to return to Japan.
Abe’s call for the abductions to be included in any North Korean talks may be a source of friction with South Korea.
Reflecting that possibility, South Korea’s presidential office made no mention of Abe’s call on the abduction issue in a statement after his talks with Suh.
The South’s presidential Blue House said Abe told Suh he did not believe North Korea would use the summits to buy time to pursue its nuclear and missile programs.
A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman declined to say whether Abe had made the remark but said it was unusual for South Korea to be making statements on Japan’s behalf.
‘EARLY STAGE’
Similarly, on Monday, the Blue House cited Japanese Foreign Minister Kono as saying the progress with North Korea was a“miracle”.
In Japan, Kono made no mention of a miracle but said Japan and South Korea had agreed to maintain“maximum pressure” on North Korea until it takes“concrete action”.
Suh was due back in Seoul on Tuesday, while South Korea’s National Security Office chief, Chung Eui-yong, who led the delegation to Pyongyang, is holding talks in Russia following talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
The Chinese leader told Chung China looked forward to an important opportunity for talks.
Trump has agreed to meet North Korea’s Kim by the end of May. South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to hold his summit with Kim by the end of April.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking on Monday in Nigeria, said preparations for Trump’s meeting, including determining the location and agenda, were still at a“very early stage.”
Washington had still to hear directly from Pyongyang, he added.
The White House said it fully expected the meeting to take place, if North Korea stuck to its promises.
Abe, who asked Trump for help to resolve the abduction issue in a telephone call after the planned talks were announced, said he planned to meet Trump in the United States next month.
Reporting by Tim Kelly in TOKYO, additional reporting by Christin Kim in SEOUL and Kyung Hoon Kim and Heejung Jung in TOKYO; Editing by Robert Birsel
Japan cautious while South Korea upbeat after North Korea talks in Tokyo
Tim Kelly
TOKYO (Reuters) - Differences between Japan and South Korea on how to handle North Korea emerged on Tuesday with South Korea upbeat on prospects but a more cautious Japan demanding that North Korea account for Japanese people it says North Korea abducted decades ago.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon (L) meets Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Signs of easing tension with North Korea began during the Winter Olympics last month, when the North sent a high-level delegation to the South for the Games, after more than a year of rising alarm over the North’s nuclear weapon and missile tests.
Japan has been more guarded about the prospect of talks between the two Koreas, and between North Korea and the United States. Japan has warned that“talks for the sake of talks” would be unacceptable.
South Korean officials have been briefing neighbors and allies, including Japan, on a South Korean delegation’s visit to North Korea last week, which included talks with leader Kim Jong Un and agreements on summits with both South Korea and the United States.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday met South Korean National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon. Suh, a member of the South Korean team that visited North Korea, held talks on Monday with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono.
Abe told Suh that Japan wanted any denuclearization talks with North Korea to also address a dispute over the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. He also said North Korea had to show its willingness to disarm.
“A resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues is Japan’s core policy,” Abe said.
“North Korea must match its words with actions.”
Abe has made the abductions a keystone of his political career and has said he would not rest until all 13 of the people North Korea admitted to kidnapping have returned and divulges information about the others Japan suspects were taken to train North Korean spies.
North Korea allowed five people it abducted to return to Japan.
Abe’s call for the abductions to be included in any North Korean talks may be a source of friction with South Korea.
Reflecting that possibility, South Korea’s presidential office made no mention of Abe’s call on the abduction issue in a statement after his talks with Suh.
The South’s presidential Blue House said Abe told Suh he did not believe North Korea would use the summits to buy time to pursue its nuclear and missile programs.
A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman declined to say whether Abe had made the remark but said it was unusual for South Korea to be making statements on Japan’s behalf.
‘EARLY STAGE’
Similarly, on Monday, the Blue House cited Japanese Foreign Minister Kono as saying the progress with North Korea was a“miracle”.
In Japan, Kono made no mention of a miracle but said Japan and South Korea had agreed to maintain“maximum pressure” on North Korea until it takes“concrete action”.
Suh was due back in Seoul on Tuesday, while South Korea’s National Security Office chief, Chung Eui-yong, who led the delegation to Pyongyang, is holding talks in Russia following talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
The Chinese leader told Chung China looked forward to an important opportunity for talks.
Trump has agreed to meet North Korea’s Kim by the end of May. South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to hold his summit with Kim by the end of April.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking on Monday in Nigeria, said preparations for Trump’s meeting, including determining the location and agenda, were still at a“very early stage.”
Washington had still to hear directly from Pyongyang, he added.
The White House said it fully expected the meeting to take place, if North Korea stuck to its promises.
Abe, who asked Trump for help to resolve the abduction issue in a telephone call after the planned talks were announced, said he planned to meet Trump in the United States next month.
Reporting by Tim Kelly in TOKYO, additional reporting by Christin Kim in SEOUL and Kyung Hoon Kim and Heejung Jung in TOKYO; Editing by Robert Birsel
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