North Korea willing to talk denuclearisation, U.S Officials confirm
Washington, April 9: North Korea has confirmed to the US that it is willing to negotiate about the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, clearing the way for a summit meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, US officials said.
"The US has confirmed that Kim Jong-un is willing to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," said a senior administration official on Sunday. A second official also confirmed that Pyongyang representatives had delivered a direct message to Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported.
At the same time, US officials cautioned that Pyongyang offered no details about its negotiating position and noted that North Korea has violated past agreements during the George W. Bush administration to freeze its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
It was unclear what kind of concessions the US would be willing to make to secure commitments from Pyongyang.
The unprecedented summit is slated to happen in May and will be the first time a sitting US President would meet the leader of North Korea. Preparations for the meeting included secret, direct talks with North Korea, Trump administration officials were cited as saying by the New York Times.
US and North Korean intelligence officials reportedly spoke many times and met in a third country.
Meanwhile, South and North Korea will also be holding a summit on April 27, the first meeting between the leaders of the two sides in 11 years.
Word of Kim's willingness to talk about denuclearisation came the day before John R. Bolton, who has made the legal case for a pre-emptive attack on North Korea, was to officially begin work as Trump's new National Security Adviser.
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Canadian cop suspended for attending pro-Khalistan protest outside Hindu temple
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Ottawa (PTI): A Canadian police officer has been suspended for participating in a pro-Khalistan protest outside the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton, according to a media report.
On Sunday, protestors carrying Khalistani flags clashed with people at the Hindu temple and disrupted a consular event co-organised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate.
There were unverified videos circulating on social media about the protest. The videos appeared to show demonstrators holding banners in support of Khalistan, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Peel Police is "aware of a video circulating on social media which shows an off-duty Peel Police officer involved in a demonstration," said Media Relations Officer Richard Chin in an email to CBC News.
"This officer has since been suspended in accordance with the Community Safety and Policing Act," he said.
"We are investigating the circumstances in totality depicted in the video and are unable to provide further information until such time that this investigation is complete."
Peel police previously said three people have been charged after violence erupted as Indian consular officials visited the Hindu Sabha Mandir temple Sunday.
Videos circulating on social media show demonstrators holding banners in support of Khalistan, the CBC report added.
Later in the day, demonstrators made their way to the Westwood Mall in neighbouring Mississauga, according to the World Sikh Organisation of Canada.
A short time after, a third protest was held outside the Malton gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship on Airport Road in Mississauga, the report added.
"Although these demonstrations occurred at three different locations, they appear to be related to one another. Several incidents between protestors and worshippers broke out," police said in a news release.
India on Monday condemned the attack on the temple with an expectation that those indulging in violence "will be prosecuted".
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi remains "deeply concerned" about the safety and security of Indian nationals in Canada.
"We condemn the acts of violence perpetrated by extremists and separatists at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton, Ontario. We call on the government of Canada to ensure that all places of worship are protected from such attacks," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying in the statement.
