Moon, Kim hold surprise meet over US-N. Korea summit
Seoul, May 26: South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a surprise second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday, the presidential office said, in an apparent move to convince Kim to hold his scheduled summit with US President Donald Trump.
"The President held a second summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un at Tongil-gak on the North Korean side of Panmunjom from 3 p.m. through 5 p.m. on (May) 26," Moon's Chief Press Secretary Yoon Young-chan said in a statement.
The summit came about one month after the leaders held their first-ever meeting on April 27 at the joint security area of Panmunjom, which sits directly on the inter-Korean border.
"The two leaders exchanged their candid views on the implementation of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration and successful opening of the North-US summit," the statement said.
The second meeting also came two days after Trump called off his scheduled meeting with Kim in Singapore, citing the North's "tremendous anger and open hostility" towards Washington.
The first-ever US-North Korea summit was originally set to be held on June 12.
On Friday, Trump said his meeting with Kim could still take place as scheduled after the North's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan said his country has the "intent to sit with the US side to solve problems".
South Korea's presidential palace refused to confirm any details of the latest inter-Korean summit, saying President Moon himself will explain the outcome in a press conference on Sunday.
Photos and footage of the meeting released by the presidential palace showed that Moon was accompanied by Suh Hoon, the chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service spy agency.
While Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party and head of the United Front Department handling inter-Korean relations.
The two leaders embraced each other before parting after their second summit, possibly indicating a successful outcome for the talks widely expected to have focused on the US-North Korea summit.
Trump earlier said his country too was talking to North Korea about their summit. "We're talking to them now. They very much want to do it. We'd like to do it. We're going to see what happens," he said.
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Virat Kohli fined 20 per cent match fees, one demerit point for his altercation with Sam Konstas
Melbourne, Dec 26: India superstar Virat Kohli was on Thursday fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point by the ICC following his on-field altercation with Australia debutant Sam Konstas on the opening day of the fourth Test here.
The incident happened in the 10th over when Kohli and the 19-year-old Konstas bumped their shoulders and also exchanged a few words in the first session’s play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here.
"Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct relates to: "inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match"," the ICC said on its website.
"No formal hearing was needed as Kohli accepted the sanctions propsed by Match Referee Andy Pycroft. On-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig levelled the charge," it added.
While moving across the pitch after the completion of the over, both the players bumped their shoulders and exchanged a few words before Australia opener Usman Khawaja and on-field umpires Gough and Wilson intervened.
Konstas later played down the incident after the end of the play, saying "Virat Kohli accidentally bumped into me, that's cricket and can happen with tension."
"Have a look where Virat walks. Virat's walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that confrontation. No doubt in my mind whatsoever."
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024
- Ricky Ponting #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/zm4rjG4X9A
Kohli and Konstas come together and make contact đź‘€#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/adb09clEqd
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024
