SEOUL, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, an increasingly prominent figure in the country’s leadership herself, will be part of the North’s delegation coming to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Seoul said Wednesday.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said North Korea informed it Wednesday that Kim Yo Jong, 1st vice director of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, would be part of the delegation led by the country’s nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam.
North Korea also said the delegation will include Choe Hwi, chairman of the country’s National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the North’s agency that deals with inter-Korean affairs.
Seoul previously said the delegation would arrive Friday but the statement Wednesday was the first confirmation a member of the North’s ruling family would be included.
Kim Yo Jong, believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s, was promoted by her brother last year to be an alternate member of the decision-making political bureau of the ruling party’s central committee, which analysts said showed that her activities are more substantive and more important than previously thought. She is believed to be one of Kim Jong Un’s closest confidants. They were born to the same mother, Ko Yong Hui.
The war-separated rivals are cooperating for a series of conciliatory measures during the Olympics, which Seoul sees as an opportunity to ease tensions with Pyongyang following an extended period of animosity over its nuclear weapons and missiles program. Skeptics think the North is trying to use the Olympics to weakened US-led sanctions and pressure against the country and buy more time to advance its nuclear weapons and missiles program.
Sister of North Korean leader to come to South for Olympics
Sister of North Korean leader to come to South for Olympics
Trump discussing how to acquire Greenland; US military always an option, White House says
- Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States
- Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and the use of the US military in furtherance of the goal is “always an option,” the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump’s ambition of acquiring Greenland as a strategic US hub in the Arctic, where there is growing interest from Russia and China, has been revived in recent days in the wake of the US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States.
The White House said in a statement in response to queries from Reuters that Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a US national security priority necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.”
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House said.
A senior US official said discussions about ways to acquire Greenland are active in the Oval Office and that advisers are discussing a variety of options.
Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump, the official said.
“It’s not going away,” the official said about the president’s drive to acquire Greenland during his remaining three years in office.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said options include the outright US purchase of Greenland or forming a Compact of Free Association with the territory. A COFA agreement would stop short of Trump’s ambition to make the island of 57,000 people a part of the US.
A potential purchase price was not provided.
“Diplomacy is always the president’s first option with anything, and dealmaking. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be struck to acquire Greenland, that would definitely be his first instinct,” the official said.
Administration officials argue the island is crucial to the US due to its deposits of minerals with important high-tech and military applications. These resources remain untapped due to labor shortages, scarce infrastructure and other challenges.
Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people.
