North Korea rejects Kim-Trump meeting as Shenzhen readies for APEC
Kim Jong Un's sister tells Washington to drop its "hostile policy" two weeks before China hosts Asia-Pacific leaders, as a Putin-Xi meeting is announced.
North Korea's Kim Yo Jong has told Donald Trump to drop what she called Washington's "hostile policy" before any meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, The Japan Times reported, two weeks before China hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen.
Kim Yo Jong is the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior figure in the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. The Japan Times described her intervention as a familiar ultimatum and reported that it had cooled prospects of a Kim-Trump meeting around the APEC gathering. The report did not say when the statement was issued or through which channel.
Shenzhen, the southern Chinese technology hub that borders Hong Kong, is in the last stage of preparations for the summit. A South China Morning Post reporter saw at least 50 construction workers at an intersection about a kilometre from the APEC venues in the central Futian district on a weekday night, laying pebbles and planting trees along the pavements.
Nikkei Asia reported that the city will keep cars off some roads and close schools while Asia-Pacific leaders are in town, and that motorists can earn rewards for not driving. The measures indicate the scale of the security and traffic operation being built around the meeting.
Diplomatically, a senior Russian official said President Vladimir Putin would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the forum, according to Anadolu Ajansı. The Turkish state news agency did not name the official in its report.
APEC brings together Pacific rim economies for talks on trade and economic cooperation, and the host city sets the stage each year. For Shenzhen, the summit puts a city of more than 17 million people on show, with pavement works, planting and traffic restrictions running up to the opening.
Kim Yo Jong's statement places North Korea's conditions on any new diplomacy with Washington at the centre of the summit's news cycle. Her demand echoed language Pyongyang has used in previous rounds with Trump, when it insisted that US military pressure and sanctions be lifted before talks could advance.
The Japan Times did not report any response from the White House to her statement.
How the reports differ
The Japan Times led with Pyongyang, reporting Kim Yo Jong's demand that Washington drop its "hostile policy" and her dismissal of a Kim-Trump meeting. South China Morning Post and Nikkei Asia led with the host city instead: Futian's tree planting and pavement works, and the traffic curbs around the venues. Nikkei alone reported that schools would close and that motorists could earn rewards for staying off the road. Anadolu Ajansı carried the summit's other diplomatic thread, a senior Russian official's announcement that Putin and Xi would meet on the sidelines.
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