Trump releases ‘very nice’ letter from Kim Jong Un

President Donald Trump released a letter from Kim Jong Un in which the North Korean leader describes his June 12 summit with Trump in Singapore, and the resulting joint statement agreed by both sides, as the start of a meaningful journey. (AFP)
Updated 12 July 2018
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Trump releases ‘very nice’ letter from Kim Jong Un

  • A very nice note from Chairman Kim of North Korea Trump tweeted alongside a copy of the letter dated July 6
  • However after Pompeo visit to Pyongyang North warned that the future of the peace process was being jeopardized by overbearing US demands

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump Thursday released a letter from Kim Jong Un, in which the North Korean leader voices confidence in efforts to end their nuclear standoff, while calling on his US counterpart to take “practical actions” to build trust.
“A very nice note from Chairman Kim of North Korea,” Trump tweeted alongside a copy of the letter dated July 6 — the day that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Pyongyang for what turned out to be difficult talks with Kim’s regime.
“Great progress being made!” Trump added in his tweet.
In the letter Kim describes his June 12 summit with Trump in Singapore, and the resulting joint statement agreed by both sides, as the “start of a meaningful journey.”
“I firmly believe that the strong will, sincere efforts and unique approach of myself and Your Excellency Mr. President aimed at opening up a new future between the DPRK and the US will sure surely come to fruition,” Kim writes.
“I deeply appreciate the energetic and extraordinary efforts made by Your Excellency Mr. President for the improvement of relations between the two countries and the faithful implementation of the joint statement,” he adds.
The North Korean leader also voices hope that “the invariable trust and confidence in Your Excellency Mr. President will be further strengthened in the future process of taking practical actions.”
Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang for two days last week in a bid to flesh out denuclearization commitments made during last month’s historic summit between Trump and Kim.
North Korea has long trumpeted a denuclearization goal, but one that it sees as a lengthy process of undefined multilateral disarmament on the entire Korean peninsula, rather than a unilateral dismantlement of its nuclear arsenal.
Speaking afterwards in Tokyo, Pompeo insisted the talks were making progress and were being conducted in “good faith.”
But in stark contrast, Pyongyang’s take was overwhelmingly negative, with the North warning that the future of the peace process was being jeopardized by overbearing US demands for its unilateral nuclear disarmament.


Air India 777 aircraft turns back after drop in engine oil pressure, regulator says

Updated 5 sec ago
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Air India 777 aircraft turns back after drop in engine oil pressure, regulator says

  • The aircraft, which was headed to Mumbai, landed safely back in ‌Delhi and ‌the incident will be investigated
  • Air India has been under intense scrutiny this year after the June 12 crash of a Boeing Dreamliner killed 260 people

BENGALURU: An Air India Boeing 777 aircraft had to turn back after a drop in oil pressure forced the pilots to turn off one of the jet’s engines, India’s aviation regulator said on Monday.
The aircraft, which was headed to India’s financial capital of Mumbai, landed safely back in ‌Delhi and ‌the incident will be investigated, the ‌Directorate ⁠General ​of ‌Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement. Modern aircraft are designed to safely fly and land on a single engine, if required. Air India has been under intense scrutiny this year after the June 12 crash of a Boeing Dreamliner killed 260 people. The DGCA has ⁠flagged multiple safety lapses at the airline, which was previously owned ‌by the government till 2022. An ‍Air India investigation into ‍why one of its planes conducted commercial flights ‍without an airworthiness permit found “systemic failures,” with the airline admitting it needed to do better on compliance, Reuters reported earlier this month.
On Monday, pilots observed a low ​engine oil pressure on the B777-300ER aircraft’s right-hand engine during flaps retraction after take-off. The pressure ⁠shortly thereafter dropped to zero and the crew shut down the engine and turned back as per procedure, the DGCA said.
“Air India sincerely regrets inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen situation. The aircraft is undergoing the necessary checks,” an Air India spokesperson said in a statement. The aircraft is 15 years old and has flown to locations such as Vienna, Vancouver and Chicago, according to Flightradar24. Boeing did not immediately respond ‌to a request for comment on the incident.