NKorean leader boasts of removal of "filth" in new year after execution of his uncle

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is boasting of internal strength in the new year because of the elimination of "factionalist filth" — a reference to his once powerful uncle and mentor, who was purged and executed last month.

Kim made the comments Wednesday in a public speech that will be closely scrutinized for clues about the opaque country's intentions and policy goals.

Analysts are divided about what Jang Song Thaek's execution means, but many believe it shows Kim Jong Un has yet to establish the same absolute power that his father and grandfather enjoyed.

This year's annual New Year's message by the North has added significance because of the elimination of Jang for alleged treason. The purge was one of the biggest political developments in the country in years.

More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/31/nkorean-leader-boasts-removal-filth-in-new-year-after-execution-his-uncle/

North Korea frees US veteran Merrill Newman

An 85-year-old US veteran of the Korean war has been released by North Korea after weeks of detention, state-run media reported on Saturday.

Merrill Newman was “deported from a humanitarian viewpoint,” KCNA news agency said.

Merrill Newman was taken off a plane shortly before departure on October 26 from Pyongyang and detained. His relatives said they suspect the arrest was connected with his service in the 1950-53 war.

KCNA released a story and video on December 1 showing Mr. Newman’s “confession to indelible crimes” against Korea.

The US State Department said it was pleased that Mr. Newman has been allowed to depart North Korea and rejoin his family.

“We welcome the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) DPRK’s decision to release him,” it said.

The State Department also urged Pyongyang to release another US citizen, Kenneth Bae, serving a 15-year prison sentence after his arrest a year ago on charges of committing hostile acts.

“We call on the DPRK once again to pardon and grant Mr. Bae special amnesty and immediately release him as a humanitarian gesture so that he too can return home to his family,” spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

More: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/north-korea-frees-us-veteran-merrill-newman/article5432828.ece

North Korea Accuses Captive U.S. Veteran of War Crimes

North Korea accused a captive American military veteran of war crimes, saying he was involved in the killing of innocent civilians during the Korean War, state news media reported on Saturday.

The veteran, Merrill E. Newman, 85, of Palo Alto, Calif., has been detained in North Korea since Oct. 26, when he was taken off a flight as he was about to leave the country. He had been visiting on a tourist visa.

The Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday that Mr. Newman had “admitted his crimes” and apologized for his actions during the war, which lasted from 1950 until 1953.

Mr. Newman, who is a retired technology executive, served as an infantryman during the war and had long wanted to revisit the country.

Mr. Newman’s son, Jeff Newman, had said that the day before his father was to leave North Korea, he had a meeting with his tour guide during which the Korean War was discussed.

The news agency said Mr. Newman had “masterminded espionage and subversive activities against the D.P.R.K., and in this course he was involved in killings of service personnel of the Korean People’s Army and innocent civilians.” The D.P.R.K. stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

KCNA also published what it said was Mr. Newman’s apology, a statement in often stilted English that described actions during the war. It also released a video in which Mr. Newman was seen reading excerpts from the statement.

‘‘During the Korean War, I have been guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against DPRK government and Korean people as advisor of the Kuwol Unit of the U.N. Korea 6th Partisan Regiment part of the Intelligence Bureau of the Far East Command,’’ it said.

Relatives had appealed to the North Korean government to release Mr. Newman, with Jeff Newman calling the situation a “misunderstanding.” He said his father has a heart condition and a bad back and was on several medications.

Mr. Newman’s relatives were not immediately available to comment on his arrest.

The detention of Mr. Newman led the United States to issue a travel warning about visiting North Korea, saying, “U.S. citizens crossing into North Korea, even accidentally, have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.”

North Korea continues to hold Kenneth Bae, 44, a Christian missionary who was sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor for committing “hostile acts” against the North.Mr. Bae’s mother was recently allowed to visit him in a hospital, where he was being treated after becoming ill after working at a labor camp.

Mr. Newman was detained at the end of a nine-day trip he made to North Korea with a companion from his California retirement village. The friend, Bob Hamrdla, said Mr. Newman’s talk with the tour guide the day before his planned departure had not gone well and had left him upset.

His flight was about to take off from Pyongyang to Beijing when he was pulled off the plane.

The State Department had no immediate comment on the North Korean report.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/30/world/asia/north-korea-accuses-captive-us-veteran-of-war-crimes.html?_r=0

N Korea seeks to restart nuclear talks

Country calls for resumption of talks on its nuclear programme, but says there should be no preconditions.

North Korea's senior nuclear strategist has called for a new round of six-nation denuclearisation talks without precondition.

The remarks by Kim Kye Gwan, first vice foreign minister, in Beijing came on Wednesday at a forum marking the 10th anniversary of the talks, which have been stalled since the last round in 2008 broke down over how to verify North Korea was meeting its pledges.

"The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea/North Korea) supports the six-party talks and any small regional talks within the framework, but we hope the talks have no preconditions, because preconditions lead to mistrust," he told delegates.

"We will make sincere efforts for denuclearisation but it is against the September 19 Joint Statement to let the DPRK take action before restarting the talks."

Kim was referring to an agreement on 19 September 2005, which in part saw the six parties agree to a principle of "action for action" and "words for words".

US officials have rejected holding new discussions before the North makes a clear commitment to carry out earlier promises to disarm, saying holding new talks that go nowhere will only undermine the six-party framework.

South Korea and Japan are also suspicious of such calls.

The other two parties to the talks, Russia and China, have been more supportive of getting the dialogue back on track.

In his speech to the Beijing forum, Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister, said the parties should seize on a warming trend on the Korean Peninsula to take whatever actions are needed to restart talks.

Since the breakdown in talks, North Korea has escalated tensions with a third nuclear test and missile launch, prompting a tightening of UN sanctions against the isolated communist regime.

Recent months have seen the North take a more moderate line as it sought to restart contacts with South Korea and repair ties with China, its most important ally.

The 10th anniversary forum had been promoted as a way of highlighting the achievements of the negotiations, but there were no immediate signs that it had brought the sides any closer.

The US embassy in Beijing said that it was sending a diplomat to attend only as an observer and that there were no plans to meet any North Korean representatives.

More info:http://www.aljazeera.com