North Korea 'executed' officials after failed Trump summit: report
Seoul: North Korea executed its special envoy to the United States following the collapse of the second summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, a South Korean newspaper reported Friday.
The Chosun Ilbo said Kim Hyok Chol, who laid the groundwork for the Hanoi meeting and accompanied Kim on his private train, was executed by firing squad for "betraying the supreme leader" after he was turned by the US.
"Kim Hyok Chol was executed in March at Mirim Airport along with four senior foreign ministry officials following an investigation," the newspaper quoted an unidentified source as saying.
The other officials were not named.
Kim Hyok Chol was the North's counterpart of US special representative Stephen Biegun in the run-up to the Hanoi summit in February. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations, declined to comment on the report.
The paper also said Kim Jong Un's interpreter Shin Hye Yong was sent to a prison camp for a mistake at the summit.
She failed to translate Kim's new proposal when Trump declared "no deal" and walked away from the table, Chosun reported, citing another unnamed diplomatic source.
Kim Jong Un and Trump left the Vietnamese capital without a deal after they failed to reach agreement on rolling back Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
The North has since sought to raise the pressure and carried out two short-range missile tests in May.
Senior party official Kim Yong Chol, the North's counterpart to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in nuclear talks, was also sent to a labour camp, the paper said.
In April, South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee said Kim Yong Chol had been censured over his handling of the Hanoi summit, despite the fact he had recently been named a member of the State Affairs Commission, a supreme governing body chaired by Kim Jong Un.
News of the reported purge came as North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, mouthpiece of the ruling party, Thursday warned that officials who committed anti-party or anti-revolutionary acts would face the "stern judgement of the revolution".
Previous South Korean reports of North Korean purges and executions have later proved inaccurate.
The Chosun Ilbo itself incorrectly reported in 2013 that Hyon Song Wol, head of the North's Samjiyon Orchestra, was executed by firing squad for distributing and watching pornographic content.
And the Unification Ministry also mistakenly announced in February 2016 that Ri Yong Gil, chief of the general staff of the North Korean People's Army, had been executed.
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US pauses visa processing for individuals from 75 countries
New York/Washington (PTI): The Trump administration on Wednesday announced pausing immigrant visa processing for individuals from 75 countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Russia, as part of increasing crackdown on foreigners likely to rely on public benefits in the US.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said in a post on X.
“The Trump administration will PAUSE immigrant visa processing from 75 countries until the US can ensure that incoming immigrants will not become a public charge or extract wealth from American taxpayers. AMERICA FIRST,” the White House said in a post on X.
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people. The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused," the State Department said.
"The Trump Administration will always put America First," the State Department added.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement, "The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people."
A report in the Fox News said that the pause will begin from January 21.
The State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs “consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures”.
The list of countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Fox News report added that in November 2025, a State Department cable sent to missions around the globe instructed consular officers to “enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called "public charge" provision of immigration law.
The guidance had instructed US consular officers across the world to deem those individuals seeking to enter and live in the US ineligible if they have certain medical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, saying these people could end up relying on public benefits.
The foreigners applying for visas to live in the US “might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions”. “You must consider an applicant’s health…Certain medical conditions – including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions – can require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care,” the cable had said.
The cable also advised visa officers to consider conditions like obesity in making their decisions, noting that the condition can cause asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
The guidance directed "visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the US for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits.
The guidance says that such people could become a “public charge” — "a potential drain on US resources — because of their health issues or age”.
The report added that older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalisation.
