The president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in gives remarks at the Korea National Prayer Breakfast in Goyang, South Korea, March 8, 2018. With an inter-Korean summit planned in late April, Moon said many obstacles remain in denuclearizing and settling lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. [Photo/IC] SEOUL - The president of the Republic of Korea said on Thursday that many critical moments still lie ahead to end the nuclear crisis despite the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's recent outreach to Seoul and Washington. Moon Jae-in spoke before two senior Seoul officials left for the United States to brief officials about the outcome of their recent visit to Pyongyang. Chung Eui-yong, top security adviser for Moon, and Suh Hoon, director of the National Intelligence Service, will meet senior US officials on security and intelligence affairs. The Seoul officials said Pyongyang had offered talks with the US over normalizing ties and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The ROK said the DPRK also agreed to suspend nuclear and missile tests during such future talks. According to the Seoul officials, Pyongyang said it has no reason to possess nuclear weapons as long as military threats against the country are removed and its security is guaranteed. That's the same position Pyongyang has long maintained to justify its nuclear program or call for the withdrawal of 28,500 US troops and a halt to annual US-ROK military drills as a condition for scrapping its nuclear program. The DPRK sees the allies' drills as an invasion rehearsal. Choi Hyun-soo, spokeswoman of Seoul's Defense Ministry, said the military will announce the schedule for the joint drills after the Pyeongchang Paralympics, which started on Friday and run through March 18. We've overcome one critical moment. But there are many critical moments that we still have to go through before reaching the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a permanent peace, Moon said in a meeting with church leaders. Moon still described the outcome of his envoys' DPRK trip a big step toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula that was possible with a strong support by the US government. It's unclear whether the US would accept the DPRK's reported offer for talks. US President Donald Trump expressed both hope and skepticism, calling Pyongyang's move possible progress that also may be false hope. Seoul and Washington plan to kick off their delayed springtime drills next month, and how Pyongyang reacts will affect the reconciliation mood revived by the its participation in last month's Winter Olympics held in the ROK. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan's policy of pressuring the DPRK will not change. Moon and DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un are to meet at the border truce village of Panmunjom in late April, when the ROK-US drills would likely be still under way. If realized, the Moon-Kim meeting would mark the rivals' third summit talks since their 1945 division, according to Moon's office. Reuters - Xinhua colored rubber bands for braceletspaw print silicone braceletsextra large silicone wristbandscheap silicone wristbands for fundraisingathletic silicone wristbandsprinted wristbandsembossed printed wristbandblank wristband
Forbidden City, a popular tourism spot in Beijing, is seen under a blue sky, Aug 6, 2017. [Photo/IC] High-level environmental protection inspectors have filed 134 cases against companies in North China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region over air pollution as part of an ongoing campaign to catch rule-breaking businesses. About 200 supervision teams have been sent to the region, with the focus on steel, coal-fired power plants and construction industries, according to Li Ganjie, the minister of ecology and environment. The campaign is a long-term mechanism rather than a short-term movement, which aims at helping local governments solve their pollution problems and improve the environment, he said on Sunday. The ministry said on Sunday that teams had checked 1,254 companies in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, as well as surrounding areas, and discovered three companies that failed to meet air pollution standards. In Hebei, North China's Shanxi province and Central China's Henan province and Tianjin, a total of 13 companies failed to meet the anti-air pollution installation standards, and 11 industrial companies' anti-air pollution facilities were not in working condition. The ministry also announced one excessive pollutants discharge case in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, and 35 construction fugitive dust emissions in Hebei and Shanxi. The ministry has handed over all the cases to local governments, which will deal with the involved companies and individuals according to laws and regulations. The ministry started the environmental protection campaign to strengthen the supervision against illegal pollution on June 11. It focuses on areas that include the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Fenhe-Weihe plain in North China and the Yangtze River Delta region. The number of days in a year with good air quality in Hebei, Shanxi and Henan, and East China's Shandong province and Tianjin is less than 60 percent, the ministry said. The campaign will last till April 28. During the campaign period, the ministry will examine several times the cities involved and help local governments improve their industrial, energy and transportation structures and land use. The ministry gained experience in this during an environmental protection campaign in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region between 2017 to 2018. It will make full use of that experience in the enlarged area for the new campaign this year to 2019.
