Trump declines to say if he will visit Korean DMZ on Asia trip

[webfact]

Trump declines to say if he will visit Korean DMZ on Asia trip

 

U.S. President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he departs the Oval Office of the White House for Dallas, in Washington D.C., U.S. October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say on Wednesday whether he will visit the Korean Peninsula's demilitarized zone during an upcoming Asia tour.

 

"I’d rather not say, but you’ll be surprised," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn as he prepared to depart on a trip to Dallas.

 

Trump is scheduled to depart on Nov. 3 on a trip that includes visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. His trip is expected to be heavily dominated by the nuclear and ballistic missile threat that North Korea poses.

 

The DMZ is a border barrier between South and North Korea and is a traditional stop for American dignitaries.

White House officials say Trump is to visit South Korea's Camp Humphreys during his visit to South Korea to hail the U.S.-South Korean alliance.

 

There are no concerns about what message Trump would send by not going to the DMZ, a senior White House official told reporters on Monday.

 

"The message is that we are guests during a state visit of President Moon Jae-in, who's invited us to make a visit to Camp Humphreys. So we'll keep talking with the South Korean government to see if there are things that they want to adjust," the official said.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland, editing by G Crosse and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-26

[Becker]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say on Wednesday whether he will visit the Korean Peninsula's demilitarized zone during an upcoming Asia tour.

 

"I’d rather not say, but you’ll be surprised," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn as he prepared to depart on a trip to Dallas.

 

No, we won't. But we would be surprised if it turns out you knew what the DMZ was - very, very surprised.

This is a tactic the Slimeball In Chief uses every time he doesn't know the answer to a question (which is all the time). He starts blathering about how surprised we all are going to be.

[hawker9000]

1 hour ago, Becker said:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say on Wednesday whether he will visit the Korean Peninsula's demilitarized zone during an upcoming Asia tour.

 

"I’d rather not say, but you’ll be surprised," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn as he prepared to depart on a trip to Dallas.

 

No, we won't. But we would be surprised if it turns out you knew what the DMZ was - very, very surprised.

This is a tactic the Slimeball In Chief uses every time he doesn't know the answer to a question (which is all the time). He starts blathering about how surprised we all are going to be.

Why don't you go and visit it if you think it's such a great idea? 

 

What would REALLY be surprising is if wingnuts could ever stop yammering about Trump and the election he won.  All the incessant loser lunacy really is pathetic.   There's a spoiled brat billionaire in California who's actually spending a few million to air impeachment ads on television - join his support group.

 

 

[baboon]

26 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

Why don't you go and visit it if you think it's such a great idea? 

Thousands do every year and do not have a problem.

[craigt3365]

20 minutes ago, baboon said:

Thousands do every year and do not have a problem.

Agreed.  Yet some do visit and never come back.  Or have a very bad time in prison for a long time.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_North_Korea

[Becker]

43 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

Why don't you go and visit it if you think it's such a great idea? 

 

What would REALLY be surprising is if wingnuts could ever stop yammering about Trump and the election he won.  All the incessant loser lunacy really is pathetic.   There's a spoiled brat billionaire in California who's actually spending a few million to air impeachment ads on television - join his support group.

 

 

Whether or not it's a good idea to visit the DMZ is completely beside the point but that a man-child supporter spectacularly fails to grasp what the point is comes as no surprise at all.

What a "spoiled brat billionaire" does or doesn't do in CA is of no national nor international interest at all. What the spoiled brat in the WH does is.

He's America's greatest embarrasment and all those who voted for the abomination should hang their heads in shame and apologize to the nation and the world.

[baboon]

15 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Agreed.  Yet some do visit and never come back.  Or have a very bad time in prison for a long time.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_North_Korea

How many on the list were arrested at the DMZ?

[farcanell]

And... Kim jung whatthefluk announces.....  Duck shootin’ season opens early in the DMZ  

[Si Thea01]

20 hours ago, Becker said:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say on Wednesday whether he will visit the Korean Peninsula's demilitarized zone during an upcoming Asia tour.

 

"I’d rather not say, but you’ll be surprised," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn as he prepared to depart on a trip to Dallas.

 

No, we won't. But we would be surprised if it turns out you knew what the DMZ was - very, very surprised.

This is a tactic the Slimeball In Chief uses every time he doesn't know the answer to a question (which is all the time). He starts blathering about how surprised we all are going to be.

An absolute gem of a response.

[dexterm]

Perhaps his bone spurs will keep him away from the front line ..again.

[Bluespunk]

Don’t forget to bring along some paper tissues to throw at the North Koreans, mr grand poobah. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Bluespunk

[Bluespunk]

On 26/10/2017 at 5:22 AM, Becker said:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say on Wednesday whether he will visit the Korean Peninsula's demilitarized zone during an upcoming Asia tour.

 

"I’d rather not say, but you’ll be surprised," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn as he prepared to depart on a trip to Dallas.

 

No, we won't. But we would be surprised if it turns out you knew what the DMZ was - very, very surprised.

This is a tactic the Slimeball In Chief uses every time he doesn't know the answer to a question (which is all the time). He starts blathering about how surprised we all are going to be.

I’m continuously surprised at what emerges from his mouth when he starts blathering. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Bluespunk

[Skeptic7]

On 10/26/2017 at 12:21 AM, baboon said:

Thousands do every year and do not have a problem.

True dat...been there, done that!

(2 years ago)

 

Above...train to nowhere. South's train stops here, but planning for a unified Korea in the future? Not likely...

 

 

Propaganda City (above) on the North's boarder. Looks nice, but nobody's home! Called Peace Village...what a joke! 

 

Far right, South Korean flag. Far left, North's flag. (enlarged below)

 

For Baboon! 

 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Skeptic7

[baboon]

4 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

True dat...been there, done that!

(2 years ago)

 

Above...train to nowhere. South's train stops here, but planning for a unified Korea in the future? Not likely...

 

 

Propaganda City (above) on the North's boarder. Looks nice, but nobody's home! Called Peace Village...what a joke! 

 

Far right, South Korean flag. Far left, North's flag. (enlarged below)

 

For Baboon! 

 

Ahh, 'tis always a pleasure to see the flag fly...

I liked the photos, but weren't you allowed to take any in the JSA?

[manarak]

Maybe Trump still has to consult his special advisor on foreign policy, Sheriff J.W. Pepper (http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/J.W._Pepper)

Trump or Pepper, sometimes I cannot tell the difference.

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, baboon said:

Ahh, 'tis always a pleasure to see the flag fly...

I liked the photos, but weren't you allowed to take any in the JSA?

Did not enter the JSA. Did enter and go all the way down to the barricade of Tunnel #3 ...Third Infiltration Tunnel. Quite steep and low clearance. There we were required to wear hardhats (glad I kept it on as bumped my head at least 3 times!) and also required to check our cameras and phones in lockers at the entrance. No photos permitted down there, though surely some disregard the rules. Fascinating and memorable experience.  

 

That side trip was unplanned and regrettably did not have my SuperZoom digital camera with me, thus the pix are subpar...but still pretty cool!

[baboon]

7 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Did not enter the JSA. Did enter and go all the way down to the barricade of Tunnel #3 ...Third Infiltration Tunnel. Quite steep and low clearance. There we were required to wear hardhats (glad I kept it on as bumped my head at least 3 times!) and also required to check our cameras and phones in lockers at the entrance. No photos permitted down there, though surely some disregard the rules. Fascinating and memorable experience.  

 

That side trip was unplanned and regrettably did not have my SuperZoom digital camera with me, thus the pix are subpar...but still pretty cool!

Oh, right. I thought those Dorasan / tunnel tours included a venture to the JSA. Clearly I was wrong.

As for photos not being permitted in certain places, well, if you had seen the DMZ from the other side you would have encountered a much more liberal attitude towards photography...

[craigt3365]

18 minutes ago, baboon said:

Oh, right. I thought those Dorasan / tunnel tours included a venture to the JSA. Clearly I was wrong.

As for photos not being permitted in certain places, well, if you had seen the DMZ from the other side you would have encountered a much more liberal attitude towards photography...

A more liberal attitude towards photography?  Are you talking about the North?

[baboon]

1 minute ago, craigt3365 said:

A more liberal attitude towards photography?  Are you talking about the North?

I am. At locations such as the armastice talks hall and at the JSA you can photograph what you like. You can also wave and shout over to the other side, which I do not believe is permitted on tours from the South.

[craigt3365]

16 minutes ago, baboon said:

I am. At locations such as the armastice talks hall and at the JSA you can photograph what you like. You can also wave and shout over to the other side, which I do not believe is permitted on tours from the South.

My buddy just did the tour from the capital to the DMZ in NK.  He had an armed army escort and a guide.  There were STRICT orders not to take any sneaky photos while on the bus.  None.  Zip.  He did, but said they were watched constantly.  The guide told them he'd lose his job if anybody was caught taking a picture.

 

Either way, it's far more controlling in the North than it is in the south.  No denying that.

[baboon]

11 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

My buddy just did the tour from the capital to the DMZ in NK.  He had an armed army escort and a guide.  There were STRICT orders not to take any sneaky photos while on the bus.  None.  Zip.  He did, but said they were watched constantly.  The guide told them he'd lose his job if anybody was caught taking a picture.

 

Either way, it's far more controlling in the North than it is in the south.  No denying that.

Not at the DMZ it isn't. The soldiers were quite friendly too, not that you would want to go round calling them a load of bum bandits. They were quite happy to shake hands and natter, nor was there any of the Taekwondo posturing you see from the other side. There were no indemnity forms to sign or warnings other than a little friendly advice not to try and cross to the South or both sides would use you for a bit of target practice.

 

I would be interested to hear from anybody who has been there recently...

[Publicus]

On 10/26/2017 at 11:53 AM, hawker9000 said:

Why don't you go and visit it if you think it's such a great idea? 

 

What would REALLY be surprising is if wingnuts could ever stop yammering about Trump and the election he won.  All the incessant loser lunacy really is pathetic.   There's a spoiled brat billionaire in California who's actually spending a few million to air impeachment ads on television - join his support group.

 

 

 

Oh my, another sore winner.

[Publicus]

 

I made the visit in 1997 with my Korean American friend named Kim from New Jersey (each time I called his name 17 people turned their heads hah). He and I were among the several hundred English teachers in SK from US and Canada (usandcanada).

 

Eerie and creepy is how I found it. We didn't take cameras and I think the photo policy was the same then as now but I can't be sure at this point. We were led into a tunnel or two and got good looks across the DMZ and over to "Peace City" and the NK flag on its tower. Had lunch there at a restaurant with window walls that gave a view over much of it. So thanks for the excellent photos which are vivid. It wuz btw better to leave than to arrive.

 

I also met a Korean Korean Kim which was after he' been assigned to the border on conscription into the SK army. He wuz a shorter stronger guy who was assigned at the DMZ because he could fit down gopher holes and move easily in the low tunnels, negotiate a fence effectively and the like. He said he didn't like it but he accepted it and he did it for God and country and so on.

 

I taught public middle school then high school and the kids were very nervous about the stalemate and dangers. They're happy kids who daily hit on their parents for bucks in their prosperous democracy but they get to muse a bit when sitting on a train for a school trip. I always tried to assure 'em the Kim Dynasty had nothing to gain from war or conflict.

 

That however was before Kim the Nuclear Kid and Trump the Lunatic Madman. Korean adults back then always kept it in the back of their minds and they did what they had to do, i.e., soldier on in their daily lives. Given it was tough then on adolescents and teenage young adults I figure it hasn't got any better for 'em in these times. I was with a group of canadiansandamericans in Guang-ju City in the SW that didn't get too much effect of the Korean War, especially those who lived on the islands. These same folk know though there'd be no escaping another one.

 

It's impossible to consider nuking NK now or of a war when you've still got the Kodaks of the Korean families and friends you got to know over some years, to include their kids in the classrooms, playing sports and while on the fun school trips. So indeed, the only time to use military force is when you see the other guy starting to squeeze his trigger. Then you plug him between the eyes. And not before then.

[ballpoint]

Yes, the North Koreans love taking photos from their side of the DMZ:

The photo is of a New Zealand navy lieutenant delivering an official message to North Korea, since they stopped picking up the phone earler this year.  It shows how close the two sides do get to each other.  Maybe Trump can stand in the same place and tell them he's going to build a wall.

[Skeptic7]

8 hours ago, baboon said:

Oh, right. I thought those Dorasan / tunnel tours included a venture to the JSA. Clearly I was wrong.

As for photos not being permitted in certain places, well, if you had seen the DMZ from the other side you would have encountered a much more liberal attitude towards photography...

You are not wrong. Some of the "real" tours included the JSA. I just went on an impromptu half-day tour with 4 others in a mini van w/driver tour guide. Would have done the JSA, but had to sign a liability waiver warning of danger...possible injury or worse...due to being in a hostile area. The others were uncomfortable with that. 555

Edited October 28, 2017 by Skeptic7

[baboon]

53 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

You are not wrong. Some of the "real" tours included the JSA. I just went on an impromptu half-day tour with 4 others in a mini van w/driver tour guide. Would have done the JSA, but had to sign a liability waiver warning of danger...possible injury or worse...due to being in a hostile area. The others were uncomfortable with that. 555

What a load of wussies...

[Publicus]

 

I taught English in Gwang-Ju City in the SW of SK. It was memorable militarily in several respects.

 

First, the Gwang-Ju Electronic Technical High School was a stone's throw from Gwang-Ju Air Force Base. It was a new school on a campus of community college size in the U.S. The school was in a newly annexed district of the city and both were still being completed. First time I walked into the Language Lab I'd thought I might be at mission control instead. But that's another story (which is off topic). 

 

One autumn morning the AFB scrambled to launch fighters in a roaring succession that drowned me out in the classroom. A swarm of F-15 Eagle fighter planes both U.S. and SK were lifting off the runways that sent 'em past the front of the school and rising just above it. At the windows of the classroom the planes were just right so that we could see each pilot in his flight helmet. No one had advised me of anything about it and the grade 11 learners didn't know any more than I did, which was nothing.

 

The 17 year olds looked as uncomfortable as I did as the fighters roared past and upward in a constant stream of thunder. We tried to put on a brave or nonchalant face and demeanor, saying it was an unannounced exercise which of course it was. Thingy was that nobody knew for sure. After about twenty minutes the commotion had passed and we let the 5 of so minutes of the class that remained simply pass without anyone saying anything. The general silence was truly golden.

 

It was helpful that during the takeoffs commotion no announcements came from the school central office via the address system. We figured without saying it that since we were left on our own there was no need to do anything or to consider going anywhere outside the classroom. I can still picture all those intimidated faces and scared eyes there in front of me, and I knew I didn't present my own self much differently than the kids themselves were. Many of 'em pressed back in their seats and slid down a notch or two. There were a lot of frozen people all around in our view outside. All the kids said they'd never been that up close and personal to anything like it either at home or at any school.

 

One can understand and appreciate the need of confidentiality in any military exercise in SK but all the same it would have been very good to have had some advance inkling of this particular one. We wanted to assume it was an exercise and to simply continue with our class lesson as per normal, but acting normal was just impossible under the noisy circumstances. So fighter jets roaring skyward outside our window became the new normal. More of 'em sometimes, fewer of 'em other times. Many times during the school year.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2017 by Publicus

[Skywalker69]

North Korean tunnel at nuclear test site collapses with as many as 200 workers killed, Japanese media report

 

 

As many as 200 construction workers are feared dead after the collapse of a tunnel at a nuclear test site in North Korea, according to a Japanese media report.

The tunnel was being built at the Punggye-ri test site when it collapsed, according to a report on Japan's TV Asahi citing an unnamed source in North Korea.

It said that about 100 people were initially trapped in the tunnel and another 100 may have been killed by a second collapse as they tried to rescue the first group.

The broadcaster said the collapse took place around 10 September.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-tunnel-collapses-nuclear-test-site-workers-killed-punggye-ri-a8028901.html

 

 

 

 

[craigt3365]

From what I've read, that whole mountain is ready to collapse.  If that happens, the radiation leak will be huge.