US to help N. Korea economically if it gets rid of nuclear weapons
Washington, May 12: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced here on Friday that the US government "would be willing" to offer economic aid to North Korea it is gets rid of its nuclear weapons and takes concrete steps toward a "complete" and "verifiable" denuclearization.
"If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearize, the United States is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on the par with our South Korean friends," Pompeo said at the State Department during a joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha, Efe reported.
Until an agreement is reached, Washington plans on maintaining pressure through sanctions, which have made it harder for North Korea to trade with China, its main ally.
Kang said South Korea wanted the sanctions to stay in place until Pyongyang takes "visible, meaningful action" to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
"We're not talking about sanctions relief at this point," she said.
Pompeo's offer to provide economic aid comes as the US and North Korea are preparing for a historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, which will take place in Singapore on June 12.
Both Kang and Pompeo stressed that their goal is to achieve a "complete" and "verifiable" denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Journalists asked Pompeo what such a denuclearization would look like and if it meant carrying out inspections in North Korean nuclear plants.
"I think there is complete agreement about what the ultimate objectives are," Pompeo said, providing no further details.
Pompeo returned on Thursday from Pyongyang, where he met with Kim and helped secure the release of three American prisoners being held in North Korea.
Pompeo was the head of the CIA for 15 months prior to being sworn in as Secretary of State on April 26.
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SWR announces special trains for passengers stranded by large-scale IndiGo cancellations
Bengaluru (PTI): The South Western Railway on Saturday announced a series of special trains, in coordination with Central, South Eastern and Southern Railways, to clear stranded passengers following large-scale IndiGo flight cancellations across the country.
The special services will operate between December 6 and 10 on high-demand routes, including Bengaluru–Chennai, Bengaluru–Pune, Yesvantpur–Hazrat Nizamuddin, Shalimar–Yelahanka and Ernakulam–Yelahanka, officials said.
According to an official statement, SWR will run Train No. 06255/06256 between Chennai Egmore and KSR Bengaluru, 06257/06258 between Bengaluru and MGR Chennai Central, 06259/06260 between Yesvantpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin, and 06263/06264 between Bengaluru and Pune.
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Central Railway will operate Train No. 01413/01414 between Pune and Bengaluru, while South Eastern Railway will run Train No. 08073/08074 between Shalimar and Yelahanka. Southern Railway will operate Train No. 06147/06148 between Ernakulam and Yelahanka, the statement said.
Railways has advised passengers to check updated timings on its official channels and arrive early at stations.
For at least five days in a row, IndiGo flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with a large number of cancellations and delays causing hardships to thousands of passengers. In many cases, baggage has been misplaced.
