{"id":55963,"date":"2018-01-03T06:27:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T06:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=55963"},"modified":"2018-01-03T06:27:41","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T06:27:41","slug":"trump-says-nuclear-button-bigger-north-koreas-north-reopens-border-hotline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/trump-says-nuclear-button-bigger-north-koreas-north-reopens-border-hotline.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump says his nuclear button ‘bigger’ than North Korea’s; North reopens border hotline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump says his nuclear button ‘bigger’ than North Korea’s; North reopens border hotline<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

North Korea said it would reopen a long-closed border hotline with South Korea on Wednesday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to mock the North\u2019s leader by saying he has a \u201cbigger and more powerful\u201d nuclear button than Kim Jong Un.<\/span><\/p>\n

The North\u2019s unscheduled statement, read out on state television, came a day after Seoul proposed high-level discussions amid a tense stand-off over North Korea\u2019s missile and nuclear programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

That followed Kim\u2019s New Year\u2019s address, in which he said he was open to speaking with Seoul and would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held just across the border in Pyeongchang in February.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. officials said Washington would not take any talks between North and South Korea seriously if they did not contribute to denuclearizing North Korea. A State Department spokeswoman said North Korea \u201cmight be trying to drive a wedge of some sort\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim gave an order to reopen a border hotline with South Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom at 0630 GMT on Wednesday, said North Korean official Ri Son Gwon.<\/span><\/p>\n

That gesture came only hours after Trump again ridiculed the North Korean leader on Twitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWill someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!\u201d Trump tweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

While appearing to open the door to discussing taking part in the Winter Olympics – which would be the first direct negotiations in more than two years – Kim also sternly warned that he would push ahead with \u201cmass producing\u201d nuclear warheads in defiance of U.N. sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n

His New Year\u2019s Day speech came after a steep increase in missile launches in 2017, as well as the North\u2019s sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Kim, who has vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the United States, said he had a nuclear button on his desk.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018SERIOUS AND SINCERE\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The hotline with the South was shut down by North Korea in February 2016 in retaliation against the closing of Kaesong, a border factory town that was jointly operated by the two Koreas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDetailed orders were given regarding setting up working measures with the South Korean government that should be taken up with a serious and sincere stance,\u201d said Ri, chairman of North Korea\u2019s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which deals with issues relating to South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

The talks would aim to establish formal dialogue about sending a North Korean delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Ri said.<\/span><\/p>\n

An official from South Korea\u2019s unification ministry told Reuters they were ready to speak with North Korean officials once the hotline was opened. Government officials check the hotline, a telephone line at the border, twice every day in the morning and afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan said North Korea\u2019s decision to open the hotline had \u201csignificant meaning\u201d because it could lead to constant communication between the two Koreas.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. officials had voiced scepticism about the possibility of meaningful talks, particularly if they did not take steps towards banning North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned North Korea against staging another missile test and said Washington was hearing reports that Pyongyang might be preparing to fire another missile.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-northkorea-missiles-hotline\/trump-says-his-nuclear-button-bigger-than-north-koreas-north-reopens-border-hotline-idUSKBN1ES07X<\/span><\/p>\n

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