N. Korea's Kim, China's Hu to meet

(News Today) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is expected to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Thursday in a move that some hope will trigger the return of six-party denuclearization talks, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Kim is believed to have arrived in China early Monday by train via the border city of Dandong, Yonhap reported earlier this week, citing unnamed sources in Seoul and Beijing.

His trip to the country comes as North Korea is seeking a conditional return to the six-party talks, Yonhap said, citing the terms as a peace treaty with the United States to end what North Korea considers a state of war on the Korean Peninsula, and the lifting of U.N. sanctions against North Korea.

"It is predicted that the summit talks between North Korea and China will be held on Thursday," Yonhap quoted an unnamed a source in Beijing as saying.

North Korea last year cut off the six-party talks also involving the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia, in anger over international criticism of its nuclear and missile tests.

Yonhap said Thursday's expected meeting may lead Pyongyang to rejoin the stalled talks in return for heavy economic aid from Beijing.

Source : CNN

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Report: North Korean leader may be in China

(News Terupdate) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is believed to be in China, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Quoting unnamed sources in Seoul and Beijing, Yonhap said Kim is believed to have arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong early Monday by train and to be heading to the port city of Dalian.

The South Korean government was trying to confirm details, Yonhap said.

A visit by Kim to China has long been anticipated in Seoul and Washington, according to Yonhap, with the hope that the visit would be followed by a North Korean announcement that it would be returning to the so-called six-party talks on denuclearization.

Kim, who is said to be afraid of flying, has visited China four times since 2000, by train only, according to Yonhap.

The North has said it will not return to the nuclear negotiations until the removal of the U.N. sanctions and the start of discussions for a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, there are suspicions in South Korea that the North may be behind the sinking of a South Korean warship on March 26 that killed 46 South Korean sailors.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan earlier said his country will oppose resuming the nuclear negotiations if the communist North is found to have been involved in the sinking of the 1,200-ton warship, Cheonan, because the North "must be made to pay for its actions," according to Yonhap.

The nuclear talks, involving both South and North Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, were last held in December 2008.

Source : CNN

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Taxi driver pleads guilty in New York subway terror plot

New York (News Terupdate) - A New York taxi driver pleaded guilty Friday to involvement in a plot to blow up crowded subway trains.

After entering his plea Zarein Ahmedzay delivered a message: "I strongly urge the American people to stop supporting the war against Islam," he said, adding, "I am thankful for myself that I did not do anything to harm anyone but fear someone else will do the same thing."

Prosecutors said Ahmedzay and another man, Adis Medunjanin, conspired with Najibullah Zazi on the attack in mid-September 2009, which authorities thwarted.

Zazi pleaded guilty and has been cooperating with authorities, investigators have said. Medunjanin has pleaded not guilty.

During Ahmedzay's hearing, prosecutors for the first time revealed the names of the two al Qaeda leaders who, officials said, ordered the plot: Saleh al-Somali, head of international operations for al Qaeda, and Rashid Rauf, a key operative.

U.S. officials said both al Qaeda figures were killed in drone in attacks in Waziristan, the tribal region along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Rauf was reported killed in a drone attack in Waziristan in November 2008; al-Somali was reported killed in December 2009, U.S. officials said.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in a written statement, said the facts disclosed Friday "add chilling details to what we know was a deadly plot hatched by al Qaeda leaders overseas to kill scores of Americans in the New York City subway system in September 2009. This plot, as well as others we have encountered, makes clear we face a continued threat from al Qaeda and its affiliates overseas."

"Prosecution underscores the importance of using every tool we have available to both disrupt plots against our nation and hold suspected terrorists accountable," Holder said.

Ahmedzay previously pleaded not guilty to making false statements to the FBI about the plot.

But Friday, appearing before before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold in U.S. District Court, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use a weapon of mass of destruction against people in the United States; conspiracy to commit murder; and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Ahmedzay told the court that he, Zazi and a third man traveled to Pakistan in August 2008 to join jihadists fighting in Afghanistan, but they were turned away. But al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan told the group they would be more helpful to the jihad cause if they conducted suicide attacks in New York.

"We discussed the matter amongst ourselves, and we agreed to go forward with the plan," he said. "I personally believed that conducting an operation in the United States would be the best way to end the wars."

At one point, Ahmedzay said, he began to have second thoughts but ultimately committed to the plan. He said his primary input was to develop targets because he was a taxi driver and knew the city well. Eventually, the three settled on an attack on subway trains during the month of Ramadan, but abandoned that plan when they believed law enforcement was watching them.

Ahmedzay concluded his statement to the court with his belief that "Zionist Jews" are "the real enemies of this country" who are "destroying this country from within" and "want a permanent shadow government within the government of the United States."

He faces a sentence of up to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of July.

"Ahmedzay's plea makes clear that he betrayed his adopted country and its people by providing support to al Qaeda and planning to bring deadly violence to New York," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller in a written statement.

Robert Gottlieb, attorney for Medunjanin, said Friday's developments do not change his client's plans to proceed to trial. "The evidence and the facts as they pertain to him will come out in court," Gottlieb said.

No trial date has been set for Medunjanin.

Source : CNN

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