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NORTH KOREA HAS hit out at what it called America’s “rapacious demands” and “extremely regrettable” attitude, according to a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, just hours after concluding talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang.
“The US attitude and positions at the high-level talks on Friday and Saturday were extremely regrettable,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Yonhap reported.
This comes as something of a contrast to how US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saw the talks having gone – Pompel insisted prior to the North’s statement that two days of talks with his North Korean counterpart on dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal had been “very productive”.
But, briefing reporters before flying on to Tokyo, he offered few new details as to how North Korea would honour its commitment to “denuclearise” in exchange for US security guarantees.
“These are complicated issues, but we made progress on almost all of the central issues, some places a great deal of progress, other places there’s still more work to be done,” he said.
Pompeo spoke after emerging from more than eight hours of talks over two days with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man Kim Yong Chol in a Pyongyang diplomatic compound.
Summit
Last month, at a historic summit with US President Donald Trump, Kim agreed to “work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” in return for security guarantees and an end to a dangerous stand-off with US forces.
Trump hailed this as a successful resolution of the crisis, but the short joint statement was not a detailed roadmap to disarmament and it fell to Pompeo to follow up and put meat on the bones of the sparse commitment.
This quest brought him back to Pyongyang yesterday for his third visit and first overnight stay, and he left en route to brief his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in an upbeat frame of mind.
“We talked about what the North Koreans are continuing to do and how it’s the case that we can get our arms around achieving what Chairman Kim and President Trump both agreed to, which is the complete denuclearisation of North Korea,” he said.
No-one walked away from that, they’re still equally committed. Chairman Kim is still committed, I had a chance to speak to President Trump this morning.
I know my counterpart spoke with Chairman Kim during the course of our negotiations as well. We had productive, good-faith negotiations.
In practical terms, however, Pompeo mentioned only that officials from both sides would meet on 12 July 12 as a working group to discuss the repatriation of the remains of some US soldiers killed during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
And he said some progress had been made towards agreeing “the modalities” of North Korea’s destruction of a missile facility.
Mausoleum
Today’s talks were held at a villa in an official compound close to the imposing mausoleum where North Korea’s former helmsmen Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il – the current leader’s grandfather and father – lie in state.
As the day began, Pompeo left the compound to make a secure call to Trump away from potential surveillance, then returned to restart talks and they continued through a working lunch for almost six hours.
Pompeo, who was on his third visit to Pyongyang, began the outreach when he was still Trump’s CIA director and remained the pointman on negotiations after the process became public and he became secretary of state.
In comparison to past international nuclear disarmament negotiations, the discussions between Washington and North Korea on thawing ties and dismantling the North’s arsenal appear to be proceeding in reverse.
Rather than the two leaders crowning years of detailed negotiation with their one-on-one meeting, the short statement marked instead the start of a diplomatic long slog, and Trump earned the scorn of Korea watchers and non-proliferation experts when he declared the crisis over.
The task of establishing the disarmament programme now falls to Pompeo, who is seeking a formal declaration by the North of the size of its nuclear programme as well as an eventual timetable for it to be ended under international verification and inspection.
Many experts doubt Kim’s sincerity – a nuclear deterrent to US intervention has long been a strategic goal of his isolated, autocratic regime – and few expect this to be a quick process, even if Washington wants results within a year.
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The authorities really need to rein this practice in
If 6500 horses were slaughtered for their meat with Dept of Agriculture approval, where is the market for this meat and is it sold as stated ie horse meat for human consumption so the purchaser is aware of exactly what it is they are buying ,my concern naturally is that it is being sold as beef.Additionally what health record is kept of these animals prior to slaughter, I assume the same standards relating to beef apply and the same age profile of animals ie 36 months at slaughter is also the rule and that these animals are veterinary assessed through their lives.
@Honeybee: horse meat is popular on the continent, that’s where it usually goes from factories here. Horses are to have a record of all medications on their passports, are are listed as either on or off the human consumption lists, depending on the medications and owners preferences. They do not require testing for tb, which is the biggest testing for cattle. No age profile, as this was brought in for cattle due to the instances of bse in older stock.
@Honeybee: fact is that veterinary standards for horses going to the factory is more stringent than that of cattle
@Liam Carlin: are more stringent
Giddy up
Would want to be a very fast horse nowadays not to get eaten.
What’s a microship?
@Doz: A boat
@Peter: A very small ship
@Doz: It’s a small ferry-shaped object used subcutaneously to identify an animal; not to be confused with a microchip, a large silicon wafer used to transport people and goods between islands. Confusingly, microchips sometimes carry animals carrying microships. :)
@Doz: I think they come with pocket battleship.
We’re already eating chlorinated chicken from Brazil, just labelled “Made in Ireland” as it’s cooked, sliced, diced and packaged here.
Shergar burger anyone !!.
@tommytukamomo: A stallion should never be mixed with a scallion
It seems unbelievably crude
That the kindred of Shergar
Could get mixed in a burger
In Monaghan’s Silvercrest food
Why the long face?
Ate the goverment asleep?? And the ESB scandal went unnoticed also
Is there a health risk with eating horse meat?
@Coco86: It’s not great for the horse…
@Coco86: No, if the horse is/has been checked by Veterinary professional at time of slaughter.
@Coco86: yes, in that it’s not traceable and so is not properly regulated.
@Coco86: Yes , if the horse has been on certain medications , the horse is not considered fit for human consumption. Horses are meant to be chipped and if given those meds , that would need to be recorded on their passport .
@Coco86: it was reported on the news that the horses were unfit for human consumption hence the falsifying of paperwork.
@Coco86: ya can get the trots
Springer’s final thought;
Who was supplying incorrectly labelled horsemeat throughout Europe?
Mafia et al.
Who do they need to get rid of?
Lots of people who may negatively impact profits.
What did folk not test for in meat samples?
Human DNA.
Let that one sink in over dinner folks ;)
Well horse, how’s she cuttin’.
What’s with the long face sir? Not enjoying ur burger?
Meat products like certain foods say may contain nuts etc … Should say may contain other meats .
Does anyone actually regularly buy horse meat?
@Hardly Normal: its popular on the continent not so much here.
@Hardly Normal: I lived in Holland around 2003 and someone told me they were into it over there.. I was a vegetarian at the time so I didnt investigate it further..haha…but that’s as far as my horse eating knowledge goes..
@Hardly Normal: the belgians
It appears that the journal.ie don’t want certain establishments mentioned
Free press is certainly not alive and well where these shower are concerned
@builditnow: well let’s just say the biggest restraunt in Ireland
Have certainly brough their chickens home to roost all the way from twiwan
All the laughs and Jokes and many stupid comments above indicate that some people don’t mind if our international reputation is again destroyed and export income is lost and the result of that sort of effect means less money to pay the bills and the social welfare and all the rest of the costs of running this little Republic . Shame on those gangsters whoever They are ! It’s isn’t a laughing matter at all at all.
@Terry Cahill: Just remember that the firm which owned and operated the operation with the rotten imported Polish horse meat was owned by Europe’s biggest beef baron and he used the ensuing stink as an excuse to reduce the price he was paying to his own Irish suppliers AND GOT AWAY WITH IT.
@Terry Cahill: could not agree with you more. Why is there always some b……..ls cropping up every so often, destroying the reputation. And no heads will roll, vets, managers or owners.Saints and scholars…….
@John Mc Donagh: again same old, same old as i mentioed above
To many neigh sayers on this site.
Christ lads if ye knew where mc Donald’s are sourcing their chicken ,you never look at a chicken again
Couldn’t eat a whole one, maybe a fallabella with chips and a Coke!
Ahhh horsesh#t…
Steak Tartare ..
Expensive when you can get it
What are the odds for a bovine only burger.
Must have got the hind leg of a one from ballydoyle last night in the chipper I scorched up the town to back a looser
Is it illegal to eat horse meat?
@sb: Only if you’re an ass!
Neigh,not again
on holidays in France at the min had horse steak twice it’s bloody lovely
Here we go again!
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