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Trump's Korea Visit to Include 'Long-Planned' Visit to DMZ
U.S. President Donald Trump said early Sunday that his schedule while in South Korea would include a visit with U.S. troops and a trip to the Demilitarized Zone.
It did not mention, however, the invitation Trump had sent through social media on Saturday, in which he tweeted an invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet him at the border "to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!"
After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2019
Sunday morning, Trump plans to address South Korean business leaders. He will then travel to the presidential residence to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
He will travel to the DMZ Sunday afternoon, and then address U.S. troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea, before departing for the U.S.
Speaking to reporters at the Group of 20 summit in Japan, Trump said he decided Saturday morning to "put out a feeler" to meet Kim, adding such a meeting would last only two minutes.
"We'll see each other for two minutes," Trump said. "That's all we can. But that will be fine."
Trump later said he would feel "very comfortable" stepping across the border into North Korea. If that happened, it would be the first time a sitting U.S. president visited North Korea.
Kim has not responded to Trump's offer. But North Korea's vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, called the invitation an "interesting suggestion."
"We see it as a very interesting suggestion, but we have not received an official proposal in this regard," Choe said in a statement published in the official Korean Central News Agency.
"It would serve as another meaningful occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders and advancing the bilateral relations," Choe added.
Another meeting between Trump and Kim could help reset stalled nuclear talks. But a meeting without substance risks becoming theatrics and would appear to further legitimize the North Korean leader, many analysts warn.
"The DMZ is too consequential a venue to be used simply as backdrop for a photo op," said Daniel Russel, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific.
Talks stalled
Trump and Kim met in Singapore last June and in Vietnam in February. Since Vietnam, working-level negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have broken down because of disagreement over how to pace sanctions relief with the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons.
In recent weeks, Trump and Kim have exchanged personal letters, raising hopes the talks may get back on track. But it isn't clear how additional top-level diplomacy can advance the talks, as neither side appears to have softened their negotiating position.
A key indicator of progress is whether North Korean counterparts meet with U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
"Progress on inter-Korean relations and denuclearization requires that the Kim regime agree to working-level talks to negotiate next steps," Easley said. Absent substantive talks, further summits with Kim "run the risk of appearing to accept North Korea as a nuclear state," he added.
Meeting at JSA?
U.S. officials haven't said where along the 250-kilometer Demilitarized Zone Trump intended to visit.
The Joint Security Area (JSA) has long been mentioned as a possible venue for a Trump-Kim meeting. The JSA, also known as the Panmunjom border village, is the only spot along the DMZ where North and South Korean soldiers can stand face to face.
Past U.S. presidents have used visits to the DMZ to deliver messages on strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance, to pay respect to the troops, and to demonstrate a symbolic show of resolve against North Korea.
"It is absolutely not the place to praise his 'friend' Kim, to complain about 'freeloading' allies, or to muse about withdrawing U.S. troops," said Russel, the former State Department official who is now a vice president at the Asia Society.
While Trump's language may differ from that of past presidents, some analysts welcomed a more conciliatory approach.
"While no major agreements will be signed, both sides can reaffirm their commitment to dialogue and diplomacy, essentially resetting the table for a future deal in the weeks and months to come," said Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.
DMZ visit planned ahead of time?
In 2017 during his first visit to South Korea as president, Trump canceled a surprise stop at the DMZ after heavy fog grounded the helicopters that were to take him there.
Bad weather is again a possibility, with the onset of the rainy season in South Korea. However, because of the possibility of a summit with Kim, Trump could choose to take a motorcade to the DMZ, if the weather becomes an issue.
Trump's visit to the DMZ is less spontaneous than the president suggests. In an interview Monday with the Washington-based newspaper and website The Hill, Trump acknowledged a likely visit to the DMZ, adding he "might" want to meet Kim there.
In Monday interview, Trump acknowledged likely visit to the DMZ and said he "might" want to meet KJU there. WH asked we delay publication, citing security concerns. We agreed. Then he just tweeted it out https://t.co/WHMqJ0ABHz
— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) June 28, 2019
However, White House officials asked the website to delay the publication of those remarks, citing security concerns.
Before leaving Washington, Trump said he would "not quite" meet with Kim, though he said he may talk with him in a "different form."
Earlier this week, a North Korean state media article said Kim was "seriously contemplating" the "interesting" contents of a recent letter from Trump.
In a statement, South Korea's presidential Blue House said "nothing has been finalized," adding it continues to call for more dialogue with North Korea.
The Financial Times reported late Saturday that White House officials were drafting an "official invitation" for Kim to meet Trump at the DMZ.
It isn't clear whether South Korea's Moon would also attend any meeting at the DMZ.
Wide gaps
There appear to be wide gaps between North and South Korea on how to proceed with nuclear talks.
Although Trump and Kim agreed in Singapore to work "toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," U.S. officials have acknowledged that Washington and Pyongyang do not agree on what "denuclearization" means.
North Korean officials have made clear they do not see "denuclearization" as Pyongyang unilaterally giving up its nuclear weapons.
Instead, the North wants to see the United States take reciprocal steps, including ending U.S. and U.N. sanctions and providing various security guarantees.
In Hanoi, Kim offered to dismantle a key nuclear complex in exchange for the lifting of most U.N. sanctions. Trump rejected that offer, insisting that Kim agree to give up his entire nuclear weapons program before receiving sanctions relief.
Kim has given the United States until the end of the year to offer what it sees as an adequate counterproposal.
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Nuclear Deal's Future in Europe's Hands, Iran Says
It is up to Europe to shield Iran from U.S. sanctions and prevent it from further scaling back its compliance with its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, Iranian state TV said Saturday, with only days left on Tehran's ultimatum.
Iran's envoy to a meeting of the remaining signatories to the nuclear accord said Friday that European countries had offered too little at last-ditch talks aimed at persuading Tehran to drop its plan to breach limits imposed by the deal.
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and has reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Tehran then stopped complying on May 8 with some of its commitments under the nuclear deal. It said it would suspend further obligations after another 60 days, meaning in early July.
"The ball is in Europe's court. Are Paris, London and Berlin going to again waste a chance under the influence of [U.S. President Donald] Trump, or use the remaining opportunity to fulfill their promises and act on their commitments under the [nuclear deal]?" Iranian state TV said in a commentary.
Enriched uranium limit
Iran will soon exceed an enriched uranium limit set under its nuclear deal after its remaining pact partners fell short of Tehran's demands to be shielded from U.S. sanctions, the semiofficial Fars news agency on Saturday cited an "informed source" as saying.
"As the commission meeting in Vienna could not satisfy Iran's just demands ... Iran is determined to cut its commitments to the deal, and the 300 kg enriched uranium limit will be soon breached," Fars quoted the source as telling the daily Khorasan.
On June 17, Iran said it would break through the limit on the size of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in 10 days.
Iran has repeatedly criticized delays in European countries' efforts to set up a trading mechanism that aims to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions.
On Friday, Britain, France and Germany said the trade channel, INSTEX, was finally up and running.
Jets deployed
Meanwhile, the United States deployed F-22 stealth fighters to the Gulf state of Qatar, as tensions mounted after Iran shot down a U.S. drone. Tehran said the unmanned U.S. aircraft was in its airspace, which Washington denied.
"These aircraft [F-22 Raptors] are deployed to Qatar for the first time in order to defend American forces and interests," the U.S. Air Force said on its regional website.
Iran's army chief said any attack was unlikely because of the country's strong military capability.
"We are ready [even] for nighttime attacks, and the enemy is closely monitored, but our intelligence does not point to war," Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi was quoted as saying by Fars.
'We persevered'
Separately, the Iranian foreign minister said Iran would resist any U.S. sanctions, just as it persevered during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war when the forces of then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein launched chemical attacks, including on an Iranian town.
"We persevered then, and will now," Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on the anniversary of the 1987 chemical bombing of the border town of Sardasht, which killed at least 130 people, mostly civilians, and injured thousands.
"We'll never forget that the Western world supported & armed Saddam ... Security Council never condemned his gassing of our people," Zarif wrote.
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US Urges End to Mobile Data Blackout in 2 Myanmar States
The United States on Saturday urged an immediate end to a mobile data blackout in parts of two Myanmar states, saying a service restoration would help provide transparency to what the government says are law enforcement actions to avert unrest.
Morgan Ortagus, the State Department spokeswoman, said the United States was "deeply concerned" by the data shutdown that has curbed internet-based communications for as many as 1 million people in Rakhine and Chin states.
On Monday, Yanghee Lee, the special U.N. rapporteur who monitors human rights in Myanmar, said the Myanmar military was conducting a "clearance operation" against Arakan Army rebels in the blacked-out areas. She said she feared troops were committing "gross human rights violations" against civilians under the cover of the shutdown.
The Arakan Army, an insurgent group fighting for greater autonomy for Rakhine state, recruits from the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority.
In a statement, Ortagus said internet service should be restored "without delay."
"Resumption of service would help facilitate transparency in and accountability for what the government claims are law enforcement actions aimed at preventing further outbreaks of violence in the affected areas," Ortagus said.
A leading Myanmar telecommunications operator, the Telenor Group, said on June 22 that the Ministry of Transport and Communications had ordered a temporary shutdown of internet services in western Myanmar, citing "disturbances of peace and the use of the internet to coordinate illegal activities."
A military spokesman said the army had no information about the shutdown and denied it was behind the blackout.
Rakhine state made world headlines in 2017 when the Myanmar military, responding to militant attacks, launched a crackdown that prompted 730,000 minority Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.
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Trump to Kim: Let's Shake Hands at the DMZ
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, "just to shake his hand and say hello."
Trump made the offer in a tweet just hours ahead of landing in South Korea on Saturday.
After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2019
Speaking to reporters at the Group of 20 summit in Japan, Trump said he decided Saturday morning to "put out a feeler" to meet Kim, adding such a meeting would last only two minutes.
"We'll see each other for two minutes," Trump said. "That's all we can. But that will be fine."
Trump later said he would feel "very comfortable" stepping across the border into North Korea. If that happened, it would be the first time a sitting U.S. president visited North Korea.
Kim has not responded to Trump's offer. But North Korea's vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, called the invitation an "interesting suggestion."
"We see it as a very interesting suggestion, but we have not received an official proposal in this regard," Choe said in a statement published in the official Korean Central News Agency.
"It would serve as another meaningful occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders and advancing the bilateral relations," Choe added.
Another meeting between Trump and Kim could help reset stalled nuclear talks. But a meeting without substance risks becoming theatrics and would appear to further legitimize the North Korean leader, many analysts warn.
"The DMZ is too consequential a venue to be used simply as backdrop for a photo op," said Daniel Russel, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific.
Talks stalled
Trump and Kim met in Singapore last June and in Vietnam in February. Since Vietnam, working-level negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have broken down because of disagreement over how to pace sanctions relief with the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons.
In recent weeks, Trump and Kim have exchanged personal letters, raising hopes the talks may get back on track. But it isn't clear how additional top-level diplomacy can advance the talks, as neither side appears to have softened their negotiating position.
A key indicator of progress is whether North Korean counterparts meet with U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
"Progress on inter-Korean relations and denuclearization requires that the Kim regime agree to working-level talks to negotiate next steps," Easley said. Absent substantive talks, further summits with Kim "run the risk of appearing to accept North Korea as a nuclear state," he added.
Meeting at JSA?
U.S. officials haven't said where along the 250-kilometer demilitarized zone Trump intends to visit.
The Joint Security Area (JSA) has long been mentioned as a possible venue for a Trump-Kim meeting. The JSA, also known as the Panmunjom border village, is the only spot along the DMZ where North and South Korean soldiers can stand face-to-face.
Past U.S. presidents have used visits to the DMZ to deliver messages on strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance, to pay respect to the troops, and to demonstrate a symbolic show of resolve against North Korea.
"It is absolutely not the place to praise his 'friend' Kim, to complain about 'freeloading' allies, or to muse about withdrawing U.S. troops," said Russel, the former State Department official who is now a vice president at the Asia Society.
While Trump's language may differ from that of past presidents, some analysts welcomed a more conciliatory approach.
"While no major agreements will be signed, both sides can reaffirm their commitment to dialogue and diplomacy, essentially resetting the table for a future deal in the weeks and months to come," said Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.
DMZ visit planned ahead of time?
In 2017 during his first visit to South Korea as president, Trump canceled a surprise stop at the de-militarized zone after heavy fog grounded the helicopters that were to take him there.
Bad weather is again a possibility, with the onset of the rainy season in South Korea. However, because of the possibility of a summit with Kim, Trump could choose to take a motorcade to the DMZ, if the weather becomes an issue.
Trump's visit to the DMZ is less spontaneous than the president suggests. In an interview Monday with the Washington, D.C., based newspaper and website The Hill, Trump acknowledged a likely visit to the DMZ, adding he "might" want to meet Kim there.
In Monday interview, Trump acknowledged likely visit to the DMZ and said he "might" want to meet KJU there. WH asked we delay publication, citing security concerns. We agreed. Then he just tweeted it out https://t.co/WHMqJ0ABHz
— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) June 28, 2019
However, White House officials asked the website to delay the publication of those remarks, citing security concerns.
Before leaving Washington, Trump said he would "not quite" meet with Kim, though he said he may talk with him in a "different form."
Earlier this week, a North Korean state media article said Kim was "seriously contemplating" the "interesting" contents of a recent letter from Trump.
In a statement, South Korea's presidential Blue House said "nothing has been finalized," adding it continues to call for more dialogue with North Korea.
The Financial Times reported late Saturday that White House officials were drafting an "official invitation" for Kim to meet Trump at the DMZ.
It isn't clear whether South Korean President Moon Jae-in would also attend any meeting at the DMZ.
Wide gaps
There appear to be wide gaps between North and South Korea on how to proceed with nuclear talks.
Although Trump and Kim agreed in Singapore to work "toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," U.S. officials have acknowledged that Washington and Pyongyang do not agree on what "denuclearization" means.
North Korean officials have made clear they do not see "denuclearization" as Pyongyang unilaterally giving up its nuclear weapons.
Instead, the North wants to see the United States take reciprocal steps, including ending U.S. and U.N. sanctions and providing various security guarantees.
In Hanoi, Kim offered to dismantle a key nuclear complex in exchange for the lifting of most U.N. sanctions. Trump rejected that offer, insisting that Kim agree to give up his entire nuclear weapons program before receiving sanctions relief.
Kim has given the United States until the end of the year to offer what it sees as an adequate counterproposal.
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Trump 2020 press secretary: Alyssa Milano 'doesn't matter' Trump 2020 national press secretary Kayleigh McEnany lashed out at actress and activist Alyssa Milano on Friday, saying that everyday women "tune out" the Trump critic and that Hollywood's opinions on political issues are irrelevant.
June 29, 2019 at 12:32PM
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Jeff Flake offers rare defense of Trump after Jimmy Carter suggests POTUS is 'illegitimate' Outspoken anti-Trump critic Jeff Flake offered a rare defense of President Trump in response to former President Jimmy Carter's remarks suggesting the current president isn't a legitimate one.
June 29, 2019 at 11:03AM
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Mexico Bolsters Borders as US Talks with Northern Triangle Continue
VOA associate producer Jesusemen Oni contributed to this report from Washington.
As U.S. lawmakers agreed this week to provide billions of dollars in funding to federal law enforcement agencies at the Southwestern border, Mexico ramped up its own border efforts, deploying thousands of newly commissioned National Guard troops to its southern and northern frontiers.
The country's immigration agency also announced it would hire new agents for the third time this year, though on a decidedly smaller scale than the troop deployment. The original posting was for 66 officers, but authorities said they might approve funds for more.
Meanwhile, Kevin McAleenan, acting head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Friday that he would be meeting again with Northern Triangle officials in the coming week, as Washington attempts to lock down an asylum deal with Guatemala to divert asylum seekers away from Mexico and the U.S.
Expectations on migration
Despite a dizzying number of moving parts to the multicountry brokering, McAleenan told reporters he expected to see results of the attempts to mitigate unauthorized migration across the southwestern U.S. border by next month. An increasing number of families and unaccompanied children entered in the first half of the year.
"In terms of when we're going to know if these efforts in Mexico are making an impact … basically by the end of July if these efforts are sustained and having significant impact," McAleenan told reporters at a news conference that had been set for Thursday but was postponed after the U.S. House agreed to allocate additional funds to DHS operations at the border.
In Mexico, Defense Secretary Luis Sandoval ordered 15,000 members of the country's newly formed National Guard and other military units to the northern border.
Thousands were previously dispatched to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala and Belize.
But their role with respect to limiting border access into and out of Mexico remains unclear, said researcher Daniella Burgi-Palomino, a senior associate at the Latin America Working Group, an activist organization that promotes just U.S. policies toward Latin America and the Caribbean.
"All of that lack of clarity around their role is extremely concerning. It seems to be that Mexico already agreed to certain things with the U.S. and … is going out of its way, really wanting to show that they really want to show results within these 45 days," she said, referring to Mexico's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs. Under the deal, Mexico must reduce the number of unauthorized border-crossers into the U.S. from its territory to avoid the punitive financial measures Trump ordered.
Immigration agent initiative
In announcing its hiring initiative, the Mexican immigration agency said the new agents were necessary to ensure that foreigners "are treated with dignity, and with unrestricted respect for their human rights." The agency is under new leadership this month after its previous commissioner resigned in the middle of Mexico's response to Trump's tariff threat.
Burgi-Palomino said that in theory, only Mexico's National Institute of Migration could handle immigration-related cases and detentions. Mexico also is documenting an increased number of migrants to and through its territory.
But just how that squares with the mandate given Mexico's National Guard at the borders in blocking migrants — largely from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — from entering Mexico from the south and entering the U.S. at the north has not been resolved.
"They're a new force, which I think leads into the question of how much training have they received," said Rachel Schmidtke, program associate for migration at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "I think if there's not proper training, and sensitization to how to deal with populations that have less access to power, bad things can happen. And I think that's … what could happen at the Mexico border."
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Highest wicket-taker in World Cup 2019
June 28, 2019 at 09:00PM
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Iran, European Partners Meet With Nuclear Accord Threatened
Senior officials from Iran and the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear deal met Friday with the future of the accord under threat as Tehran was poised to surpass a uranium stockpile threshold.
At the heart of the meeting is Iran's desire for Europe to deliver on promises of financial relief from U.S. sanctions that are crippling the country's economy. Iran insists it wants to save the agreement and has urged the Europeans to start buying Iranian oil or give Iran a credit line to keep the accord alive.
There was no comment from participants who arrived at a Vienna hotel to take part in the regular quarterly meeting of the accord's so-called joint commission, which brings together senior officials from Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and the European Union. The main session of the meeting lasted about three hours.
The agreement was aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The U.S. withdrew from the accord last year and has imposed new sanctions on Iran in hopes of forcing Tehran into negotiating a wider-ranging deal.
President Donald Trump said on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan that "there's no rush" to ease current tensions with Iran.
"There's absolutely no time pressure," he added. "I think that in the end, hopefully, it's going to work out. If it does, great. And if doesn't, you'll be hearing about it."
Iran recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium. It previously said it would surpass a 300-kilogram stockpile limit set by the accord by Thursday, but an Iranian official said it was below the limit Wednesday and there would be no new assessment until "after the weekend." It is currently a holiday weekend in Iran.
European countries are pressing for Iran to comply in full with the accord, though they have not specified what the consequences would be of failing to do so. But Iranian officials maintain that even if it surpasses the enrichment limit, it would not be breaching the deal, and say such a move could be reversed quickly.
The Europeans also face a July 7 deadline set by Tehran to offer long-promised relief from U.S. sanctions, or Iran says it will also begin enriching its uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.
Iranian state TV reported Thursday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter urging European signatories to the accord to implement their commitments, saying Iran's next steps depend on that.
Britain, France and Germany are finalizing a complicated barter-type system known as INSTEX to maintain trade with Iran and avoid U.S. sanctions, as part of efforts to keep the nuclear deal afloat. It would help ensure trade between Iran and Europe by allowing buyers and sellers to exchange money without relying on the usual cross-border financial transactions.
Tensions have been rising in the Middle East. Citing unspecified Iranian threats, the U.S. has sent an aircraft carrier to the region and deployed additional troops alongside the tens of thousands already there.
The U.S. has been worried about international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since tankers were damaged in May and June in what Washington has blamed on limpet mines from Iran, although Tehran denies any involvement. Last week, Iran shot down a U.S. Navy surveillance drone, saying it violated its territory; Washington said it was in international airspace.
Cornelius Adebahr, an associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Berlin, said there was a risk of "a big conflict."
"There is so much space for miscalculations, for misperceptions and there is no direct communication between Iran and the U.S.," he said. During the Cold War, he noted, Washington and Moscow had a direct hotline for crises, but now "there is nothing comparable and that makes this all so dangerous."
On Thursday, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook met top European diplomats in Paris and said he wants them to get tougher on Iran, instead of clinging to the nuclear deal.
The U.S. is trying to drum up support for an international naval force in the Persian Gulf, notably to protect shipping. On Friday, Hook met in London with the head of the International Maritime Organization, the U.N. shipping safety agency, to share intelligence on "Iran's recent aggression in and around the Strait of Hormuz."
Hook said that "we have put ourselves in a strictly defensive position but we are, we think, making strides to restore deterrence."
He also stressed that "you can't do business with the United States and Iran, and everyone has chosen the United States over Iran for a number of reasons."
In Osaka, Japan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and Trump discussed Iran "and the question of how we can get into a negotiating process, which I advocated very strongly."
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also at the summit, said the Gulf region stands "at a crossroads of war and peace," news agency Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV reported.
"China always stands on the side of peace and opposes war," Xi said, calling on all sides to stay calm, exercise restraint and promote dialogue.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world can't afford a conflict, adding it was "essential to de-escalate the situation" and avoid confrontation.
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UN Accuses Lendu of Mass Killings of Hema in DR Congo's Ituri Province
Members of the Lendu group are responsible for the mass killings of Hema during inter-ethnic clashes earlier this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, according to a preliminary investigation by the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office.
The investigators report at least 117 people were killed during a series of attacks on multiple villages in Ituri province between June 10 and 13. They confirm at least 94 people were killed in Djugu territory and 23 in Mahagi territory.
U.N. human rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado says the victims include women and children, and the deaths were of a particularly vicious, gruesome nature.
"Some of the victims were beheaded. Homes and warehouses were burned down after being looted," she said. "Most of the victims belonged to the Hema community, and the rest to the Alur group. The attackers are reported to be unidentified individuals from the Lendu community."
Hurtado says the ferocity and scorched-earth nature of the attacks suggests the assailants intended to prevent survivors from being able to return to their villages.
The Hema and Lendu groups have been fighting with each other over land and other resources sporadically for the past two decades. Clashes between the two groups hit renewed heights this month, causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
The U.N. refugee agency reports more than 300,000 people are internally displaced, and around 7,500 others have fled to neighboring Uganda.
Hurtado says the motives of the perpetrators of these latest attacks are unclear, though information gathered by investigators indicates additional political and economic motives.
The U.N. human rights office is calling on the Congolese authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent investigation into the killings and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
At the same time, the agency is urging the government to make sure the Lendu community is not subject to collective punishment for the actions of specific individuals or groups.
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LeBron James 'gifting' No. 23 to Anthony Davis amid anticipated trade to Los Angeles Lakers: report LeBron James is really trying to make sure Anthony Davis feels right at home.
June 28, 2019 at 10:43PM
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Chick-fil-A worker leaps through drive-thru window to save choking boy The Georgia teen is now "feeling like a hero."
June 28, 2019 at 10:25PM
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US women's soccer takes on France in Women's World Cup quarterfinal: How to watch, key players & more The Women's World Cup matchup that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived.
June 28, 2019 at 08:04PM
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Chick-fil-A worker leaps through drive-thru window to save choking boy The Georgia teen is now "feeling like a hero."
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US women's soccer takes on France in Women's World Cup quarterfinal: How to watch, key players & more The Women's World Cup matchup that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived.
June 28, 2019 at 08:04PM
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Chick-fil-A worker leaps through drive-thru window to save choking boy The Georgia teen is now "feeling like a hero."
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US women's soccer takes on France in Women's World Cup quarterfinal: How to watch, key players & more The Women's World Cup matchup that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived.
June 28, 2019 at 08:04PM
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Chick-fil-A worker leaps through drive-thru window to save choking boy The Georgia teen is now "feeling like a hero."
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US women's soccer takes on France in Women's World Cup quarterfinal: How to watch, key players & more The Women's World Cup matchup that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived.
June 28, 2019 at 08:04PM
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Trump and Kim Exchange Letters, But Will They Meet at DMZ?
Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
The latest exchange of letters between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have raised hopes of restarting stalled nuclear talks.
But don't expect it to necessarily result in a third summit between Trump and Kim during the U.S. president's brief visit to South Korea later this week.
That's the message from U.S. officials, who insist there is no plan for a summit during Trump's stop in South Korea, which begins late Saturday and is expected to last just 24 hours.
"He's there to see (South Korean) President Moon (Jae-in)," a senior administration official told reporters ahead of the trip. "They've got a lot of ground to cover in two days, and then (Trump) is coming back to DC."
That hasn't stopped speculation that Trump, who values unpredictability and routinely overrules his advisors, may meet Kim during the visit. The rumors intensified after the two men's latest correspondence.
"Just a nice letter back and forth," Trump said Tuesday of his exchange with Kim. "He wrote me a beautiful letter on my birthday." Asked whether the letters mentioned another summit, Trump replied: "Maybe," adding he will meet again with Kim "at some point."
Kim last week said he was "seriously contemplating" the "interesting" and "excellent" content of Trump's latest letter, according to North Korean state media.
Raising further intrigue, South Korea's President Moon said earlier this month that Trump's letter to Kim contained a "very interesting part," though he refused to reveal any details.
Talks stalled
Both Trump and Kim have said they are open to an eventual third meeting, even while hardening their stances following a failed second summit in February in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Trump is looking for a "big deal" under which Kim would agree to completely abandon his nuclear weapons. Kim, eager to receive sanctions relief, prefers an incremental approach and has given the U.S. until the end of the year to become more accommodating.
Neither side has publicly softened their stance. And with working level talks stalled, it's not clear what another Trump-Kim summit could accomplish, says Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
"Absent working-level negotiations for a verifiable freeze in fissile material production, further summits with Kim run the risk of appearing to accept North Korea as a nuclear state and normalizing its sanctions violating behavior," says Easley.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley Jr., said the U.S. intelligence community continues to assess that Kim "is not ready to denuclearize."
U.S. officials have also acknowledged that the U.S. and North Korea do not share a common definition of "denuclearization." That, despite Trump and Kim agreeing in Singapore last June to "work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
"The hypothesis that a 'top-down approach' can realize denuclearization has been tested," says Easley. "North Korea has more nuclear capabilities today than it did a year ago."
A DMZ visit?
But if Trump wants to push ahead with another summit, his upcoming visit to Korea could provide a dramatic backdrop.
South Korean officials say Trump is considering a stop somewhere along the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.
Visiting U.S. presidents often tour the Joint Security Area, or JSA. It is the only place along the DMZ where North and South Korean soldiers can stand face-to-face. The area, also known as the Panmunjom truce village, has long been mentioned as a possible venue for a Trump-Kim summit.
"If they meet in Panmunjom, the location will deliver a powerful message," says Yun Jiwon, professor of international politics at Seoul's Sangmyung University.
Under President Moon, South Korea has tried to convert the JSA from a symbol of separation into one that celebrates unity. Guard posts and weapons have been removed, and the JSA now includes memorials marking the spot where Moon and Kim first met in 2018.
While the odds of a Trump-Kim meeting are "very low," Yun says, Trump could still use a DMZ visit "to provide a message about permanent peace in the Korean peninsula, the momentum of peace."
It wouldn't be the first time Trump tried to visit the border with North Korea. During a 2017 visit to South Korea, Trump canceled a surprise stop at the DMZ after heavy fog complicated what would have been a short helicopter ride.
That visit, Trump's first to South Korea as president, came as Kim and Trump routinely exchanged personal insults and threats of nuclear war.
This time, the mood is much different. Both men tout their close relationship and are apparently eager to continue high-level talks.
Senior delegation
Trump, who is stopping in South Korea after attending the G-20 summit in neighboring Japan, is bringing along a high-level delegation, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Special Representative for North Korea Steve Biegun.
While such a presidential delegation is not unprecedented, it has drawn the attention of some Korea watchers.
Of Turmp's forthcoming trip to Seoul, I now understand that:
— Chad O'Carroll (@chadocl) June 24, 2019
- John Bolton will join in ROK
- Mike Pompeo, a day or two before
- Steve Biegun (according to Yonhap) from Thurs.
Quite a cast of characters ahead of a post-G20 POTUS trip to South Korea, en route home to the U.S.
"Quite a cast of characters ahead of a post-G20 POTUS trip to South Korea, en route home to the U.S.," said Chad O'Carroll, the CEO of Korea Risk Group, on Twitter.
Others shrugged off such speculation, saying Trump is purposefully dangling the possibility of another summit in order to get attention.
This is like the buildup to The Apprentice finale. A lot of intrigue and drama, but that was ultimately an extreme letdown. We actually play right into Trump's hand by tuning in and hanging on to every word. Someone let us know how it ends. https://t.co/5BZKwsdhMN
— Vipin Narang (@NarangVipin) June 25, 2019
"This is like the buildup to The Apprentice finale," tweeted Vipin Narang, a Korea watcher and nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "A lot of intrigue and drama, but that was ultimately an extreme letdown. We actually play right into Trump's hand by tuning in and hanging on to every word. Someone let us know how this ends."
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Guatemalan Poverty, Violence Top Concerns Ahead of Possible Asylum Pact
VOA's Patsy Widakuswara at the White House, and Aline Barros and Eugenia Sagastume contributed to this report.
As the U.S. attempts to strike an asylum deal with Guatemala, many of the Central American country's own rural residents continue to flee persecution at alarming rates.
President Donald Trump told VOA on Tuesday that the U.S. was "close" to reaching a safe third-country agreement with Guatemala.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Guatemalans accounted for the second-highest number of U.S. asylum applications in 2018 (31,000), second only to El Salvador. That same year, an additional 86,900 Guatemalans were awaiting decisions on pending claims.
Ninette Kelley, UNHCR New York office director, said a struggle with "law and order" continues to plague the Northern Triangle, a region that includes Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
"There are very gripping accounts of situations where neighborhoods are controlled by rival gangs, and where the choice for a young male is, you either join a gang and murder others, or you be murdered yourself," Kelley told VOA. "For a young woman, it can be conscripted into trafficking and sexual abuse."
In a pair of June 17 tweets addressing a possible asylum "fix" and a premature ICE raid announcement, President Donald Trump declared, "Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third [Country] Agreement," confirming VOA's initial reporting on ongoing U.S.-Guatemala bilateral discussions.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted again, announcing a delay of mass deportations "to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border."
According to a copy of an unsigned draft agreement obtained by VOA and presented by a U.S. delegation to Guatemala on June 13, a "safe third country" deal between the two countries would effectively block Salvadoran and Honduran nationals from seeking asylum in the U.S. With few exceptions, asylum-seekers would have no choice but to file their claims in Guatemala.
The discussions continue after the State Department announced foreign aid cuts to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras on June 17.
'Social and economic' consequences
The proposed asylum deal by the U.S. is part of a larger push aimed at curbing the current Central American migration crisis at the U.S. southern border. Mexico has indicated a willingness to sign a regional asylum pact with countries like Guatemala, Panama and Brazil, if all other efforts fail.
But experts warn such a plan, if signed, would result in significant consequences for Guatemala, where roughly six in 10 residents live below the national poverty line, according to World Bank Group data.
High homicide rates and extreme poverty, including food insecurity, are among the central forces driving Guatemalans north.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more Guatemalans have been apprehended along the U.S. Southwest border in the current fiscal year than nationals from any other country. Since last October, 1% of Guatemala's 17 million residents have migrated to the U.S., according to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan.
"If here in Guatemala we lack the social and economic conditions to provide work and development opportunities to our own residents, we are much less capable of receiving a wave of immigrants — large, medium or small — that come here with those same humanitarian necessities and requirements," Giulio Talamonti, a security and political analyst and a professor at Mariano Gálvez University in Guatemala City, told VOA's Latin America Division on June 12.
"The only thing this could bring us is increased levels of poverty, unemployment, a lack of opportunities and of course — consequently, in many cases — even higher levels of insecurity and violence," Talamonti said.
Assessing grounds for asylum
Groups intent on restricting Central Americans' ability to seek asylum in the U.S., like the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), argue regional countries should do more to help curb and discourage Central American migration to the U.S. border.
"It's not fair for us to simply dump all these failed asylum-seekers back on Mexico," CIS' director of policy studies, Jessica Vaughan, told VOA. "If all the countries in North America and Central America work together, then the migration that's been occurring recently can be better controlled."
Fernando Chang-Muy, a professor of refugee law and policy at the University of Pennsylvania, explained that for any asylum agreement to work, several assumptions must be addressed, including whether the country in question is actually safe and equipped with sufficient "trained, competent" asylum officers.
"Do they have the expertise — the emotional intelligence — to listen to people, to assess whether this person looks credible, because they have no other evidence that the gangs are after them or that the gangs are extorting them, or any of the grounds (for asylum)?" Chang-Muy told VOA.
"Often, it's just your story, your trauma, trying to persuade an asylum officer or an immigration judge that you truly do have a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion," he said.
A nationwide poll conducted by CID-Gallup Latinoamérica ahead of Guatemala's elections earlier this month showed residents remain mostly concerned about poverty, violence and corruption.
In the nation's capital, some locals worry an asylum plan could make those problems worse.
"The situation in our country is very hard," Jorge Fuentes, a resident from Guatemala City, told VOA. "(When) people come from outside, they come to commit crimes. They rob and form gangs."
Another Guatemala City resident told VOA, "They (migrants) only cause harm to everyone," citing the country's issues with extreme poverty. "Nothing good can come out of it."
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US Plays Down Expectations of Trump-Xi Meeting
Top U.S. officials are saying no one should expect any major deals when President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet later this week at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
The officials say the main purpose of the meeting is to reach agreement to restart trade negotiations that broke off in May.
Eleven rounds of talks have failed to ease U.S. concerns over China's massive trade surplus with the U.S. and alleged intellectual property theft.
Trump has already threatened another $325 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, which would cover just about everything China exports to the U.S. that is not already covered by the current 25% tariff on $250 billion in Chinese imports.
China has slapped its own tariffs on U.S. products, including those produced by already financially strapped American farmers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Tuesday in Beijing the meeting will hopefully "promote mutual trust" and "resolve some of the outstanding issues we are facing now."
A senior U.S. official said Monday the meeting will provide Trump the chance to get China's position on the escalating trade war. The official added Trump would be "comfortable with any outcome" of the meeting.
The U.S. has accused China of building a huge trade surplus with the U.S. while stealing technological and trade secrets. It alleges China demands U.S. businesses operating in China to give up some of that information if they want access to the Chinese market.
China denies the charges and says the U.S. is trying to deny a competitor a piece of the global marketplace.
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AP-NORC Poll: LGBT Candidates Still Face Some Extra Hurdles
A sizable number of U.S. voters say they'd have some hesitancy about supporting an LGBT candidate for president, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In fact it's an issue for many more than a candidate's race or gender.
In the poll, 32% of registered voters said they would be less excited about supporting a presidential candidate who was gay, lesbian or bisexual; 42% said that about a transgender candidate. By contrast, only about 1 in 10 voters expressed such hesitance in regard to a candidate's gender or race.
Yet many LGBT candidates have overcome such attitudes, even winning statewide elections, and political experts predict that the path for future LGBT office-seekers will steadily grow smoother.
One intriguing test case: the presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has gained significant support with minimal controversy over the fact that he's gay.
"While the polling data shows there is still reluctance to vote for an LGBT candidate among a minority of the electorate, that reluctance has been steadily declining," said Professor Charles Franklin, a pollster at Marquette University in Milwaukee. "There are more success stories demonstrating that LGBT candidates can win despite this disadvantage."
He cited two LGBT candidates who won statewide races in swing states last year: Democrats Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, easily re-elected to the U.S. Senate, and Jared Polis of Colorado, the first openly gay man elected governor.
The poll finds that Republican voters are especially likely to show resistance to LGBT candidates. But even among Democrats, 18% said they'd be less excited to vote for a gay, lesbian or bisexual candidate. Older Democrats and those who describe themselves as moderates or conservatives were more likely to have reservations than their younger and more liberal counterparts.
David Flaherty, a Republican pollster in Colorado, said generational demographics are likely to be pivotal in making it easier for LGBT candidates to win, given that voters under 45 are far more open to them.
"That 32% is not an insurmountable hurdle," Flaherty said. "A lot of it is the 65 and older voters. As those folks pass on, sexual orientation will be an afterthought in future elections."
He said sexual orientation never became a major issue during the governor's campaign in Colorado by Polis, who won by 10 percentage points over his Republican opponent with strong support from young and independent voters.
It's a trend that has unfolded over many years. In a recent Gallup poll, 76% of Americans expressed a willingness to vote for a gay or lesbian presidential candidate, up from 26% when Gallup first asked the question in 1978.
Other polls show broad backing for LGBT rights. A Pew Research Center poll in March pegged Americans' support for same-sex marriage at 61%; a new Gallup poll found that 71% support allowing transgender people to serve in the military, a stance at odds with President Donald Trump's efforts to sharply restrict their military presence.
Buttigieg is the most prominent test right now of how Americans view LGBT politicians. He has neither highlighted being gay nor sought to play it down. He's indicated he's comfortable showing affection for his husband, Chasten, during their occasional joint appearances.
Appearing recently on NBC's "Meet the Press," Buttigieg mentioned his overwhelming re-election victory in South Bend in 2015 just months after coming out.
"What that tells you, I think, is that people, if you give them the chance, will evaluate you based on what you aim to do, what the results are, what the policies are," he said.
That's a message that the LGBTQ Victory Fund conveys to the LGBT candidates it endorses for various levels of elective office across the U.S.
"We tell our candidates, no one is going to vote for you because you're LGBT," said Annise Parker, a lesbian who served three terms as mayor of Houston and is now the fund's CEO.
Referring to the AP-NORC poll, she said, "If you only have one data point about a candidate — a data point that puts them in a minority status you don't share — you might have some hesitations."
"But we don't vote for hypothetical gay candidate X — we vote for someone who's a part of the community, who has a plan for addressing some issues," she said. "The goal is to represent ourselves as whole people, and give them multiple data points."
The new poll suggests that it might be a harder climb for transgender candidates than for gays and lesbians.
In liberal Vermont, the country's first major-party transgender candidate for governor, Democrat Christine Hallquist, won 40% of the votes in November against Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who took 55%.
In 2017, Democrat Danica Roem became the first transgender person to win a state legislative seat, ousting a Republican who served 13 terms in Virginia's House of Delegates.
"My gender was a non-factor among Democrats," said Roem, whose campaign emphasized job creation and fixing traffic problems.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,116 adults was conducted June 13-17 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
