Kim Jong Un complains of US 'hegemonism' as summit nears

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un complained of "U.S. hegemonism" to Russia's visiting foreign minister on Thursday, as one of his top lieutenants was in New York trying to pave the way for a summit with President Donald Trump.

Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pose for a photo during a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, May 31, 2018 . (Valery Sharifulin/TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP)

Kim told Sergey Lavrov that he hopes to boost cooperation with Russia, which has remained largely on the sidelines in recent months as Kim has reached out diplomatically to the United States as well as to South Korea and China.

"As we move to adjust to the political situation in the face of U.S. hegemonism, I am willing to exchange detailed and in-depth opinions with your leadership and hope to do so moving forward," Kim told Lavrov.

Kim has previously made harsher comments and even threatened to launch nuclear attacks on the United States numerous times. But his comments Thursday come at a sensitive moment, when a senior North Korean official was in New York for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the planned summit.

After his meeting with North Korean senior envoy Kim Yong Chol, Pompeo said "real progress" has been made in the last three days toward setting the conditions needed for Trump and Kim Jong Un to have a successful summit in Singapore. Still, Pompeo said he doesn't yet know whether the meeting will proceed on the announced date of June 12 and that he believes North Korea's leaders are contemplating a different path forward that would allow their nation to more fully integrate into the international community.

Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talk to each other during a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday, May 31, 2018 . (Valery Sharifulin/TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP)

Kim Yong Chol, the highest-level North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years, plans to travel to Washington to convey a personal letter by Kim Jong Un to Trump.

Kim Jong Un's comment on U.S. hegemonism wasn't carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, which targets an external audience. The agency quoted Kim as saying that the North's willingness for the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula still remains unchanged" but also that the process should be "stage-by-stage basis by founding a solution to meet the interests of each other."

Since January, Kim has significantly toned down his rhetoric against Washington and Seoul and tried to reach out to them following a year of heightened nuclear tensions that saw increased fears of war on the Korean Peninsula.

But continuing differences led Trump to abruptly cancel the planned summit last week, and then quickly announce it might still be held as scheduled.

Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, third left, pose for a photo with unidentified officials during a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, May 31, 2018 . (Valery Sharifulin/TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP)

Despite having a border with North Korea and relatively cordial relations that President Vladimir Putin has seemed to want to develop further, Russia has kept a surprisingly low profile as Kim has emerged onto the world stage this year, meeting twice with Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Lavrov's visit suggests Russia wants to become involved and make sure North Korea informs it of its intentions and is mindful of Moscow's concerns.

In their talks, Lavrov relayed Putin's "warmest regards and best wishes" for Kim's "big endeavors" on the Korean Peninsula. He also expressed Moscow's support for an agreement Kim reached with Moon at a summit last month that focused on measures to ease hostilities and increase exchanges between the two Koreas.

Video of the beginning of their meeting also showed Lavrov inviting Kim to Moscow.

According to Russian media, he also discussed ways to expand relations during a meeting with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov bows after laying flowers at the statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, May 31, 2018. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

"We welcome the contacts that have been developing in the recent months between North and South Korea, between North Korea and the United States," Lavrov said in comments to the media. "We welcome the summits that already took place between Pyongyang and Seoul as well as planned meetings between North Korean and U.S. leadership."

He vowed Russia's support for denuclearization and a broader effort to create a stable and long-lasting peace in the region, but indicated that Moscow believes sanctions can be eased while the process is in progress, which diverges from the U.S. position that denuclearization must come first.

"It's absolutely obvious that when a conversation starts about solving the nuclear problem and other problems of the Korean Peninsula, we proceed from the fact that the decision can't be complete while sanctions are still in place," he said.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, center rear, walks to lay a floral basket before the statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, May 31, 2018.  (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of iPad Pros and Airs — models that will boast faster processors, new sizes and a new display system as part of the company's first update to its tablet lineup in more than a year.

The showcase at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, comes after the company disclosed its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the pandemic’s outset, deepening a slump that’s increasing the pressure on the trendsetting company to spruce up its products. Apple is expected to make a much bigger splash next month during an annual conference devoted to the latest version of its operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers — software that analysts expect to be packed with more artificial intelligence technology.

Both lines of new iPads add bells and whistles but have adjusted prices to match. The iPad Pro sports a new thinner design, a new M4 processor for added processing power, slightly upgraded storage and incorporates dual OLED panels for a brighter, crisper display. Prices have been hiked to match its new offerings, with the 11-inch model going for $999 and the 13-inch model fetching $1,299.

The new iPad Air has the faster M2 chip, boasts a new design, more base storage, a new 13-inch display option and a recentered camera. It will also support use of the new Apple Pencil Pro, which was a function previously exclusive to the Pro models. The 11-inch display will sell for $599 while the new 13-inch model will fetch $799.

However Apple did announce a price reduction for its 10th generation iPad, which will now retail for $349, down from $449.

Apple is trying to juice demand for iPads after its sales of the tablets plunged 17% from last year during the January-March period. After its 2010 debut helped redefine the tablet market, the iPad has become a minor contributor to Apple's success. It currently accounts for just 6% of the company's sales.

“The enhancements were both needed and predictable, in a maintenance sort of way, and may help stanch some of the revenue loss in that product line,” Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said of the new iPads. “But it’s nothing to get terribly excited about.”

All the new models will be available in stores starting May 15, with preorders beginning Tuesday.

Apple's biggest announcements from its iPad event: brighter screen, faster chips and the Pencil Pro

Apple's biggest announcements from its iPad event: brighter screen, faster chips and the Pencil Pro

FILE - In this June 16, 2020 file photo, the sun is reflected on Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York. Apple will reports earnings on Thursday May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)