Headlines, July 2, 2019

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Tuesday July 2, 2019

Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post media (www.koreapost.com) in English, (www.koreapost.co.kr) in Korean.

Trump says he looks forward to seeing Kim again soon

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he looks forward to seeing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again soon, following their surprise meeting at the inter-Korean border a day earlier. Trump returned to Washington on Sunday after making history as the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea. The two leaders agreed during their meeting held in the Demilitarized Zone to resume negotiations over the North's nuclear weapons program.

Trump thanks Moon for hosting him in S. Korea, says meeting with Kim was 'great'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday tweeted his thanks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for hosting him in Seoul last weekend, saying it was "great" to also meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while there. "Thank you to President Moon of South Korea for hosting the American Delegation and me immediately following the very successful G-20 in Japan," Trump said.

Hyundai Merchant to become member of major shipping alliance

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., a major South Korean shipper, said Monday it will join a major ocean carrier alliance next April in a bid to boost its competitiveness in the industry. Hyundai Merchant said it will become an official member of THE Alliance, and will work with Hapag-Lloyd AG of Germany, Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd. of Japan and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. of Taiwan. THE Alliance, formed in 2017, is considered one of the world's top three shipping alliances, along with 2M Alliance and Ocean Alliance.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)

S. Korea Expresses Serious Concern over Japanese Commercial Whaling

South Korea has expressed consternation over the resumption of Japanese commercial whaling following a 30-year hiatus. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a statement on Monday that such whaling poses a serious concern and warned that it should not disrupt whales in South Korean waters. A ministry official said that the government will analyze the impact of Japanese whale hunting on South Korean waters, adding the conservation and use of the ocean mammals should be discussed at the International Whaling Commission, which Japan withdraw from last month.

State Dept: US Not Preparing New Proposals for Talks with N. Korea

The U.S. State Department said on Monday that the United States is not preparing any new proposals for negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program. A department spokesperson told Seoul-based Yonhap News that no new proposals are currently being put together, adding its goal remains the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea. The spokesperson made the comment when asked about a Sunday New York Times article suggesting Washington may accept the North freezing its nuclear program as a "first step" in fostering a new round of negotiations.

S. Korea's Consumer Prices Stay Below 1% for 6th Straight Month

South Korea's consumer prices remained stable in June, posting growth below one percent for the sixth consecutive month, according to government data. According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, consumer prices increased point-seven percent in June from a year earlier. Consumer price growth has not exceeded one percent for six consecutive months, the longest such streak since a ten-month period from February to November in 2015. Prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products gained one-point-eight percent last month from a year earlier.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)

Bolton disputes report on U.S. acceptance of N.K. nuclear freeze

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Monday disputed a news report claiming that the U.S. may settle for a nuclear freeze by North Korea, retreating from its demand for complete denuclearization. The New York Times reported the alleged approach on Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a surprise meeting at the inter-Korean border and agreed to resume negotiations for the dismantlement of the North's nuclear weapons program.

S. Korean vice FM calls in Japanese ambassador to lodge protest over export restrictions

Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young called in Japan's top envoy in Seoul on Monday to lodge a protest over Tokyo's decision to toughen restrictions on high-tech exports to South Korea. Japan's industry ministry said earlier that it will begin enforcing stronger export controls on Thursday on a set of materials used to produce semiconductors and smartphones in an apparent response to last year's Korean court rulings against Japanese firms over wartime forced labor.

U.S. says it is not preparing new proposals for nuclear talks with N.K.

The United States is currently not preparing any new proposals for negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the State Department said Monday. The comment comes after the New York Times reported that the U.S. may accept a nuclear freeze short of complete denuclearization by the North. "We are not preparing any new proposals currently," a department spokesperson said in response to a Yonhap query. "Our goal remains the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)

Hong Kong police fire teargas at protesters in 'shocking' night of violence

Hundreds of protesters swarmed into Hong Kong's legislature Monday night, defacing portraits of lawmakers and spray-painting pro-democracy slogans in the chamber before vacating it as riot police cleared surrounding streets with tear gas and then moved inside. The three-hour occupation, which ended early Tuesday, came on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony's return to China, a city holiday, and reflected mounting frustration with Hong Kong's leader for not responding to protesters' demands after several weeks of demonstrations. The protests were sparked by a government attempt to change extradition laws to allow suspects to be sent to China for trial.

Trump smiles with North Korea, threatens Iran

With North Korea, President Donald Trump puts on the charm. But with Iran, he cranks up the pressure with economic sanctions and a stronger military presence in the Persian Gulf. He warned its leaders Monday they are ''playing with fire.'' Nuclear weapons are at the heart of the difficult U.S. relations with both Pyongyang and Tehran. But it's in North Korea where Trump has more leeway _ and perhaps a greater chance of striking a deal. Kim Jong Un has seemed as willing to meet with Trump as the U.S. president has been to talk and shake hands for the cameras with him. The North Korean leader jumped at the chance to meet Trump at the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas last weekend.

Moon's facilitation to gain momentum

President Moon Jae-in is expected to take on a bigger role in facilitating the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks following the historic Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) meeting Sunday between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The third in-person meeting of Trump and Kim Jong-un was mainly the result of the determination of the two leaders to revive nuclear disarmament talks that have been stalled since the collapse of their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February. Moon's undeniable influence, however, can be seen in several aspects of the Trump-Kim summit.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)

Japan to Make Semiconductor Materials Exports Harder

Tokyo said Monday it will tighten restrictions on the export of high-tech material used in semiconductor chips and smartphones in a potential blow to Korean manufacturers. A day earlier the Sankei Shimbun reported that the decision came after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe found no time to sit down with President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka.

Kim-Trump Border Meet Confirms Reshuffle in N.Korea

Sunday's impromptu summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump revealed a major reshuffle in the North Korean team of negotiators, confirming rumors that previous negotiators were purged after the failed summit in Hanoi in February. Conspicuous by their absence were Kim Yong-chol, Kim Jong-un's former right-hand man who laid the groundwork for the Hanoi summit, his key aide Kim Song-hye from the United Front Department, as well as chief nuclear negotiator Kim Hyok-chol.

Beijing Tears Down Samsung, Hyundai Billboards Overnight

Beijing authorities abruptly took down all billboards for Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors on the major thoroughfare of Changan Avenue overnight on Saturday. The billboards were the Korean conglomerates' property, but they were taken down without notice or offer of compensation.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)

Kim, Trump, and Moon’s Panmunjom meeting critical to dismantling Cold War Regime

On June 30, with the world looking on, the leaders of South Korea, North Korea, and the US met at Panmunjom, a symbol of the Cold War and the continuing division of the Korean Peninsula. With the support of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave each other a firm handshake at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) at Panmunjom. Echoing the events of the inter-Korean summit on Apr. 27, 2018, Trump crossed over to the North Korean side of Panmunjom and then returned to South Korean territory with Kim. In doing so, Trump became the first US president to step foot in North Korea. It was a truly historic scene.

The effectiveness of Trump’s top-down diplomacy with North Korea

The unpredictable “celebrity diplomacy” approach of US President Donald Trump has led to Panmunjom summits between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and to the scene of the North Korean and US leaders crossing the JSA Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) – the fortified inter-Korean border area where North Korean and US soldiers pointed their gun barrels at each other during the Korean War. Both of these things occurred for the first time since the armistice in 1953. The DMZ, one of the key symbols of a Cold War-era confrontation and conflict that has cast a shadow across both the 20th and 21st centuries on the Korean Peninsula, is now drawing worldwide attention as a setting for top-down diplomacy and the search for a new path forward in denuclearization and the Korean Peninsula peace process. Celebrities are capable of exciting major public interest in issues. With his command of Twitter-based politics and diplomacy, Trump is an excellent example of this.

Trump extends White House invitation to Kim

For one hour and eight minutes on the afternoon of June 30, a historic scene unfolded like a summer shower as North Korea and the US engaged in dialogue and as the South and North Korean and US leaders met at Panmunjom. The two leaders appeared much more relaxed and familiar than during their past North Korea-US summits in Singapore and Hanoi, and while it was an informal dialogue, it yielded substantial results. It certainly is significant that US President Donald Trump extended an invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit the White House, but in terms of substantive outcomes, the key thing was the agreement to commence working-level talks to break through the deadlock in North Korea-US dialogue. Trump also made reference to relieving economic sanctions through negotiations, while noting the absence of any long-range ballistic missile or nuclear testing by the North since dialogue was suspended.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

Rodong Sinmun calls Panmunjom meeting an astonishing event

Following the surprise meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the truce village of Panmunjom, North Korean news outlets called it an “astonishing event” that created an unprecedented amount of trust between the U.S. and North Korea. They drew the significance of this event from the alacrity of the meeting at the highest level where protocols and security escort were cut to a minimum.

Argentine VP pays a visit for Korea's disabled employment policy

It has been confirmed that Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti paid an unofficial visit to South Korea in late March this year. Suffering a paralysis waist-down from a car accident, Michetti wrote a dramatic success story by carrying an election to become vice president of Argentina in 2015. On March 25, Vice President Michetti had a meeting with Jo Jong-ran, the chairwoman of Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled (KEAD), at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul. Having been established in 1990 under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, KEAD is in charge of directing and executing employment policies for the disabled.

Japan takes economic retaliation against Korea for forced labor ruling

The Japanese government officially announced export restrictions that obligate Japanese companies to obtain government permission when they export to South Korea three items that are essential in manufacturing memory chips, televisions, and smartphones. Furthermore, it has decided to remove South Korea from its “white country list” that exempts companies from having to obtain permission in order to export cutting-edge materials that could be redirected to military use.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)

Disappointing Outcomes at the G20 Summit: “Abe Diplomacy” Loses Its Color

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe closed the G20 summit in Osaka with an uneasy look on his face. His plans to appeal to the voters in the upper house election on July 21 as a "diplomatic Abe" by highlighting his leadership as the host country of the G20 ended without any clear outcomes. What attracted the most attention at the G20 was the summit between the United States and China over the "trade war," and some experts pointed out that Prime Minister Abe failed to actively play the role of mediator, too busy studying the face of the U.S. On June 30, the day after the closing of the G20, President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjom and once again stole the spotlight.

President Moon Hopes to Avoid a Situation That Forces Him to "Choose One Country over the Other" in U.S.-China Trade War

On June 27, President Moon Jae-in met with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the G20 summit and said, "I hope the trade dispute between China and the U.S. can be smoothened out," and added, "I hope the situation will not force us to choose one country over the other." During the forty-minute summit held at the Westin Osaka in Japan this day, President Moon said, "The U.S. and China are both important to South Korea as the top two trading partners," according to a key Cheong Wa Dae official. It appears the president made it clear that we could not side with any one country due to our economic situation when it came to the trade dispute.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Seoul warns of WTO action after Tokyo enters economic retaliation

The Seoul government on Monday warned it could challenge Tokyo’s de facto export sanction on key materials for IT components to Korea in apparent retaliation of Korean court rulings on wartime forced labor at the World Trade Organization (WTO) or through other means according to international and domestic laws.

Japan’s sanction lifts Korean stocks of component material makers

Tokyo’s announcement to restrict shipments of chip- and display-making materials to South Korea, while triggering disruption concerns among Korean manufacturers, has lifted stocks of Korean material makers on expectations of a shift to local supplies.

Yuhan inks $870 mn out-licensing deal with Boehringer Ingelheim

South Korea’s Yuhan Corporation said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it has signed a deal worth up to $870 million with Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim over its therapy to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH. NASH is a liver disease characterized by an accumulation of fat along with inflammation and degeneration of hepatocytes, often progressing to liver cancer. There is no available cure of this disease. On Monday, shares of Yuhan closed up 2.86 percent at 251,500 won.

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